Why a Hemi? Stock 2012s do 0 to 60 in the high 6 seconds, that was sport car territory a few years back, plus the ability to cruise at 75 mph and get 21 mpg. All that combined with a 5yr / 100k miles warranty and as stated before, the new Pentastar will hurt Hemi conversion sales.

 

LOL, I know, no problem. I only suggested that (Ram) because it was the only non-car I knew where one could get a hemi on a 4x4!!!

 

A lot of you were probably not around during the CJ days. Altho they were great fun they got a nasty reputation for KILLING PEOPLE. They literally scared the hell out of people. I personally know of many, MANY fatality's from rollovers when I was a kid. Even tho the new Jks damn near feel like they ride like a normal vehicle, it is deceiving as they STILL rollover VERY easily. Combine that with the power of a Hemi, and Jeep would be looking for trouble. I personally feel that Jeep still wants to stay as far away as they can from the reputation they got not so long ago.

 

I remember multiple CJ rollovers on the street in the mid 1980's, and I was a passenger in a 70's Bronco rollover on a dirt road in 1988. Hi power, high COG, and short wheelbases/narrow tracks are a recipe for disaster if the driver is even remotely careless.

 

Bingo......!

 

Thanks everyone. This was helpful.

 

But they looked so BA back then....lol

 

This ^^^^^^


After that Consumer Reports article came out on the CJ in the early 1980s, we're lucky Jeep even continued to build them at all.

Notice what happened.. there was a full year with no Jeeps produced and then the YJ came out with wider axles and a 4-cylinder. They've made sure ever since that the Wrangler doesn't have tons of power for our own good.

 

Very good points. That is one reason, among others, that I have not lifted this Jeep and probably never will. It handles pretty damn well as is, for what it is.

Obviously there is a price paid in weight, dimensions, and complexity but the JK is night and day different in handling than any old Jeep I have driven, at least until lifted too high and/or driven too fast. That said, I rarely ever break 85 mph in the thing. But damn 0-60 is fun sometimes away from town.

Safety is relative. As my body ages and reflexes slow down, the JK is still much safer for me than my ZX-11 was, or 7" lifted V-8 FrankenRanger still is. I love the Jeep thing, but 30 years of adrenaline high from the go fast days is not easy to give up overnight. The setup I have now is perfect, for me. I can have a little performance on the street and still do relatively mild offroading with confidence. All while having near the open air feeling of a motorcycle.

After all, a person can kill themselves on a 5 hp minibike if they want to get careless enough.

Although, epecially if someone comes out with performance systems like a supercharger for the 3.6, indeed conversion sales should diminish except for the V-8 diehards.

 

It all comes down to numbers. A rubicon fully loaded runs around $40k or more. You put a hemi in it and now it costs $50k. I complained when I bought my 2012 JKU sport for $25k. So why would JEEP release a Hemi powered model when the Rubicons already break under prolonged mild wheeling conditions. As for now you can buy a JK Sport new/used for cheap, put in a hemi, Dana 60s, and airlockers and still come out less than $50k.