Given the importance of the Wrangler to Jeep, the automaker is reluctant to hastily make big decisions regarding it. After much speculation about whether or not Jeep would make the next-generation Wrangler out of aluminum, word came in May that the company will stick with a steel body while using aluminum for certain parts attached to it.
However, what about the future of Toledo, the home of Wrangler production? That city and the state of Ohio have offered land and other incentives to Jeep in order to keep Toledo workers employed manfacturing the legendary off-roader, but thanks to the still-lower costs of other FCA plants, those might not be enough. FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne, who’s trying to avoid taking the Wrangler out of Toledo, should have an answer for us and the people who create that vehicle by the end of the summer.
Some of you prefer to purchase American-made products whenever possible. How important is the ability to buy a Toledo-made Wrangler to you, though? Would you think twice about buying one if it were made elsewhere, even if that meant Jeep could keep the price of it from increasing significantly? Would the Wrangler be less of a Wrangler?
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
