Episode 734 – Jeep Jobs to Mexico?

This Week In Jeep

Jeep’s Parent Company Explains Why They Are Moving Jobs To Mexico

Last week we reported on Stellantis shutting down the Belvidere assembly plant in Illinois and that they were trying to cover up the fact that all those jobs are now being moved to Mexico. This week Stellantis has given its reasoning for doing so. To boil it down from all the politically correct legal jargon, it comes down to one word. Cost.

The commercial conflict between the United States and China, the supply chain vulnerabilities revealed by the pandemic, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have accelerated the relocation of Asian, American Union, and European companies to Mexico because of reduced manufacturing costs and a government all too willing to welcome global brands. Big Brands in fact. Names like Samsung, Daewoo, Amazon, Nissan, Heineken, Bosch, Alsea, Pirelli, and Walmart have made multimillion-dollar investments in Mexico. The pandemic-related influx of businesses to Mexico has bolstered the industrial market substantially. As such, at the end of the second quarter of 2022, gross industrial building absorption already surpassed 2.7 million square meters. In other words, that’s roughly 29 million sq. feet of new industrial business that has been built. Naturally, Mexico’s cheap labor and energy costs and free trade policies are also luring automakers, hence why Jeep is leaving the US to produce its Cherokee for far less in Mexico, even after spending millions to tool a plant down there. While it is easy for you and me to sit here and blame Stellantis for moving production and American jobs overseas, it’s the U.S. government that should bear the responsibility for this. If you’re going to fail to provide incentives to keep businesses in the country then you can’t blame them when they pack up and leave. Since supply chain issues, chip shortages, and rising labor and raw material costs are already hurting the auto industry, you can’t blame Jeep’s parent company for taking every cost-cutting opportunity they can. Unfortunately, Washington doesn’t seem to get this and chooses to remain silent when businesses and workers suffer. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. LET’S GO BRANDON! The focus of Washington and state authorities moving forward should be on devising strategies to encourage automakers to establish operations in the United States. Starting with tax credits, loans, monetary incentives, or even free land and infrastructure projects and ending with things as simple as expedited permitting.

I mean there are countless ways in which the authorities can work with automakers to create win-win situations but they chose to hang on with a white-knuckle grip to the woke ideology. So we already know where this is going. American employees and new vehicle buyers should expect that more automakers will move jobs abroad, where they can find better offers and more enticing incentives. Hey, at least all this means there is at least a chance that new car prices will start to come down or at least stabilize.

I’m trying to stay optimistic here! 

Feel Good Jeep Story

Christmas morning was brighter for thousands of youngsters in Lake and McHenry counties this year after a “Jeeps on the Run” event raised almost $60,000 and brought in tens of thousands of toy donations by early December. 500 Jeeps participated in this year’s run, which took place on Dec. 4th and went from Ray Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Fox Lake Illinois, to the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan Illinois. Event participants paid $25 per Jeep to get in on the run. At the end of the run, an after-party took place at the Genesee Theater. According to Mike Missak, who founded Jeeps on the Run 10 years ago, they were able to fill two 53-foot semi-trailers and two seven-ton military trucks with toys. But that wasn’t enough, Mike then collected the funds from the Jeep run, including the funds from the raffle they did to give away a brand new Wrangler, and after everything was squared, they had about $25k left over. Ten days later, on Dec. 14, Mike and the crew from “Jeeps on the Run” went shopping with that money and they filled another box truck with countless amounts of toys.

Missak said, “Jeeps on the Run” worked with Toys for Tots in Lake and McHenry counties to ensure that toys would be distributed in time for Christmas to children in need across the entire region. Checks for $14,500 and $20,000, respectively, were written to Toys for Tots Lake County and Toys for Tots McHenry County to make last-minute toy purchases for age groups in which toys were falling short. I don’t know about you, but after being directly involved with a Toys for Tots run, I get all kinds of warm fuzzies knowing that so many kids got to wake up Christmas morning to plenty of great, fun gifts under the tree thanks to the efforts of these Jeepers. The generosity of the participants made the 10th annual “Jeeps on the Run” event the most successful one to date. Transportation officials limited the number of Jeeps that could participate to 500 this year. And although that may seem like a massive number of Jeeps to be in one place, as many as 800 Jeeps participated in previous years. Next year’s event will be on Dec. 3rd. So if you would like to get involved with this run either as a participant or a sponsor, we’ll have the link you’ll need in the show notes for this episode at Jeeptalkshow.com.    Visit https://jeepsontherun.com/ for more information.

High Tide And Jeep Beach Special Edition Wrangler

The rumors were true, the Jeep Wrangler High Tide and Jeep Beach editions are back for 2023. But don’t get too excited, they’re nearly identical to last year’s models, but with some color and graphic differences. The Jeep Beach edition also specifically calls out the 20th anniversary of the event that gave it its name. The High Tide is the starting point for both special models. It’s based on the Wrangler Unlimited Sport S with the V6 and automatic transmission (the only powertrain available on these special editions) but comes with the Xtreme Recon Package. That adds fat 35-inch tires on 17-inch bead-lock-capable wheels perfect for floating on top of soft sand. That package also includes a 1.5-inch suspension lift with matching shocks, a deeper 4.56 rear axle ratio, bigger fender flares, an uprated and repositioned spare tire mount, and a jack extender. Specific to the High Tide is a body-color hardtop with a flip-up front section, special graphics, rock rails, rubber floor mats, and LED lights. All in all a pretty decent Jeep right off the showroom floor. The Jeep Beach takes all the stuff you get on the High Tide, and piles on a bunch more. And it’s because of all these extra goodies that Jeep is committed to building only 500 of them. They celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Jeep Beach event at Daytona Beach, Fl. The event attracts 200,000 people and thousands of Jeeps and includes a huge parade on the beach. The special Wrangler has Jeep Beach logos on the hood and spare tire mount, as well as embroidered in the Katzkin leather seat covers. It gets body-color fender flares and an anniversary shifter medallion, too.

Color options are different for the 2023 model year as well. In addition to last year’s High-Velocity Yellow, Straight Black, Bright White, and Sting Gray, Jeep has added Hydro Blue and Punk’n… Jeeps special Pumpkin flavored Orange paint. 

Both special models are available to order right now. Jeep promises that these Jeeps will be delivered by April in time for the next Jeep Beach event. The High Tide starts at $53k, and the Jeep Beach version starts at $55k.

Newbie Nuggets with Wendy

New Year’s Goal for Wheeling in 2023

As we say goodbye to 2022 and usher in 2023 I have to ask? What are your wheeling goals for 2023? Are you new to jeeping? Or Did you get a brand new jeep for Christmas, or perhaps you have been wheeling some but want to do more? OR maybe you are fairly experienced but want to explore more difficult trails and challenges.

Whatever your goals are, this is a great time to plan your adventures. I have a few suggestions that might help you plan and I thought it might be fun to find out what the JTS team goals are for next year

1)   Make a list of what, or where, you want to try wheeling – maybe a different state. BTW So Calif has some great wheeling trails LOL

JTS Team – any place, in particular, you want to wheel

2)   What obstacles do you want to tackle – maybe a bigger, more difficult trail like the Rubicon or Black Bear Pass?

3)   What club or group run do you want to attend – Jeep Jamboree or a Jeep Fest in your neck of the woods?

JTS team: what event do you want to attend in 2023?

4)   Does your list include taking a class to gain more confidence and learn what your jeep can do? – Like a #Trials411 class if you are in So Calif.

5)   Maybe you want to get out of the passenger seat and try your hand at driving.

6)   What about catching up on all the past Jeep Talk Show episodes? You can binge-listen to all of our episodes at jeeptalkshow.com and really learn a lot 

7)   Maybe you want to add an upgrade on your Jeep, OR finish that Jeep on the rack and get out and wheel again 

Whatever your thoughts and plans are, you need to write them down. It’s like a Goal – if you don’t write it down it probably won’t happen. So if you are very new and you have been watching your partner drive for years and now you want to try. Just Do It! The experience and knowledge you will gain from it are huge. 

NOTE: If you have been driving for a while and your partner wants to drive, you need to take it slow and remember what it was like to be brand new. Don’t yell at them; don’t expect them to “know” everything just because you do. If you can’t teach in a calm manner, then let them take a class or wheel with someone who can. The newbie drivers I see just need to feel confident to try. Once in the seat, and with guidance, they blossom and before you know it there are two Jeeps in the driveway – his and hers. But honestly, once you start to drive, you will be able to begin to “feel” your jeep, know what it’s capable of and learn that it’s a lot of fun in the driver’s seat. I know you can do it, so put that on your list of goals and go for it in 2023.

Jeep Talk Show Gladiator Update

You may have seen various internal upgrades you can do for your JL or JT but thought “Why is that so damned expensive?!?!”

I have a GMRS radio mounted in my Gladiator, but it would be nice to have a GMRS handy talky available to give to a passenger/spotter or grab and hand to someone outside the Jeep.

I liked the mounts that attach to the “oh shit” handle in front of the glove box.  I started adding up the parts, and it was going to cost $75 to $100 just to mount a $30 handy talky to the dash!

I found a RAM mount 1” ball to replace a bolt on the oh shit handle.  Another 1” ball to 1” disk articulating mount (also RAM Mount).  Total cost $22 (still high).  I then designed a handy talky mount that fit the articulating RAM Mount.

The handy talky mount allows you to use the clip on the radio to “clip” to the mount.  Small tabs on either side keep the radio from swinging side to side.

I’m no CAD person.  I used an open-source program called OpenSCAD.  It was recommended to me by ChatGPT.  Who?  ChatGPT is a free A.I. service available online.

I described what I wanted to make to ChatGPT and it wrote code that I copied and pasted into OpenSCAD.

The mount appeared in front of me on my computer screen, then once I liked what I saw, I copied it to my 3D printer and it became reality!

I designed it to fit my RETEVIS RB27 GMRS but it also works for my BaoFeng UV-5R, RETEVIS RT82 DMR HAM, and the RETEVIS RB26 that I have recommended several times here on the show.

No sanding or any cleanup of the 3D print has been done yet.  It literally popped off the 3D printer and installed it in the Gladiator.

Links Mentioned in this Episode

NEXEN Tires USA https://www.nexentireusa.com/

Trails 411- POWERING Your Adventure https://www.youtube.com/user/backcountrydriver

The 4×4 Radio Network http://4x4radionetwork.com/

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Jeep Talk Show on Facebook https://facebook.com/jeeptalkshow

Rat Bastards Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/ratbastard

Rat Bastards Webpage https://ratbastard.lol

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