First Jeep Gladiator Officially Rolls Off the Assembly Line
With production now in full-swing, the Gladiator is here and is ready for battle.
Well, it’s been years – 27 years, in fact, but Jeep has a production pickup truck again. That’s right, the long-awaited Jeep Gladiator production line has been fired up at the historic Toledo Assembly plant, and they’re stocking up on the new Wrangler-based trucks ahead of the first dealer deliveries scheduled for June.
According to The Drive, the first Gladiator rolled off the line on March 19. Finished in Billet Silver, the go-anywhere Rubicon model had the standard 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine under the hood. And since it’s the first, we’re guessing it was loaded with goodies like the 8-inch UConnect infotainment screen, adaptive cruise control, and just about anything else you could throw at it.
And can we talk about that tailgate?! Of course, it’s no different from the one we saw on the auto show circuit. But seeing a production Jeep truck roll down the line with a plain, simple tailgate and that iconic script just feels right. It’s a sight that we won’t be getting sick of anytime soon.
But while we’re thrilled that the Gladiator is now officially a reality, June still feels like a ways away. The inevitable photo of a bunch of Gladiators ready for shipping is likely just around the corner. As exciting as that is, we still can’t wait for the day they’re stocked at our local Jeep dealerships. Until then, everything else will just feel like a tease. A good tease, yes. But still a tease.
Photos: Instagram
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