Wrangler truck could give owners the chance to drop the top just like they can in a regular Wrangler.
The all-new JL Jeep Wrangler is on its way. Pictures of it will flood the web once it appears at this year’s L.A. Auto Show. We’ll be driving it in December and bringing you our first impressions of it. Eventually, a Wrangler-based pickup (aka Scrambler, according to Automotive News) will be on the market. Its Wrangler DNA should manifest itself in a variety of areas, including the top.
Automotive News reports, “A source with direct knowledge of the design says the Scrambler, like the current and next-generation Wrangler, will come with an optional soft top capable of being removed or lowered, making the Scrambler a true convertible.”
While developing the JL Wrangler, engineers had to redesign its roof supports to make them compliant with safety regulations concerning the roof’s crush resistance. They’ll take what they learned from that vehicle and apply it to the roof design of the Scrambler.
At this point it looks as if Jeep will start producing the Scrambler in November of 2018 – on the same line of the Toledo Assembly Complex that produces the JK version of the Wrangler.
You may remember the Crew Chief 715 concept (pictured on the right) from last year’s Easter Jeep Safari. If you don’t, here’s a great summary: It was a four-door Jeep truck with a fabric roof. As cool as it looks and as similar in concept to the upcoming Scrambler as it seems, don’t expect its grille to carry over the JL-based truck. That should come off the line with a more traditional seven-slot grille, just like its Wrangler cousin. However, don’t be surprised if the JL pickup adopts some of the Crew Chief’s styling cues.
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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.
