Freedom of choice. That’s one thing Jeep vehicles, such as the XJ Cherokee, give their owners.
You can choose to take one over large rocks, across deep water, and up trails that’ll make your nose bleed once you reach the top of them.
Jeeps also give you the ability to decide how to make them even better off-road performers and more of a reflection of your tastes and personality.
The freedom of choice Jeeps give you even extends to how you decide to retire them at the end of their useful lives. The guys in the video below used an XJ “to build MX and MTB trails, pulling logs, moving equipment etc.” Unfortunately, rust, electrical, and mechanical issues as well as the fact that it couldn’t meet car safety standards in the UK meant repairing it properly would’ve cost more than it would’ve to buy a solid replacement Cherokee.
So they decided to send it off – in pieces. A popped tire and a broken wheel here, a spine-breaking jump there, crunched body panels everywhere. In other words: the world’s most brutal retirement party ever.
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.
