Update

I called Chrysler yesterday for an update on the build status of our Jeep.  It took some time, but the guy was able to tell me that it's in the system and has an estimated ship date of January 1st (Isn't that a holiday?).  Folks at the Jeep forums think the color and/or the half doors are making it take longer than it should.  At least we'll be able to save more for the down payment (and wheels & tires, and other upgrades...).  We wait for 1/1/11...

D Status

Today was allocation day at our dealer.  I got an email saying our Jeep is being built!!  We are in "D Status", which I guess means scheduled and we also have a VIN number.

Also, we've joined TreadLightly.org, which is supposed to give us a price that's 1% below invoice and a $100 rebate on new Goodyear tires.

Be a Sport

Just got back from our dealer.  They're going to order us a Sport this week.  We added half doors (of course), the tow group (which changes the rear axle to 3.73), the Infinity speakers, and the limited slip rear differential.  It's going to be about $7000 cheaper than the Rubicon.  The things we're going to get asap are the heated seats, a GPS unit (I think the Garmin Nuvi 550, which is waterproof and rugged, so I can take it snowmobiling), and better wheels and tires.  The wheels and tires are pretty cheesy, only 16", but they'll do for now.

Of all the stuff we wanted, we got the two most important things, and the things that would have been the most expensive to do after:  the Bright White and the half doors.  Everything else is either doable after we get it, or not important.  Thinking back, we kinda talked ourselves into the Rubicon, using the old line, "ah, we're getting a new car let's do it up right, what's another couple thousand?"  In a way I'm glad we weren't able to order the Rubicon when we wanted to, the extra time has helped us make a better decision.  And now it'll be easier to pay it off early.

The sales manager said he'd be able to order it Wednesday the 13th, and if we're lucky we'll have it for Christmas.  He's going to call us with the VON (vehicle order number) and then I should be able to track the progress.

Until then I can finish researching the GPS and start looking at wheels and tires.

Our Prerogative

We've (I've) changed our minds.  We now want the Sport with the 1/2 doors, built up as much as we can.  We want to add the factory tow group, which also changes the rear end to 3.73, the Trac-Lok limited slip rear diff, and the Infinity speakers w/subwoofer.  This way we get most of what we want.  The stuff we can't get is mostly serious off-road equipment.

Sport		Rubicon
3.8-Liter V6 SMPI Engine
6-Speed Manual Transmission
Command-Trac® Shift-on-the-Fly 4WD System		4:1 Rock-Trac® Part-Time 4WD System
(can upgrade to limited slip rear diff $295)		Tru-Lok® Electronic Locking Frnt/Rear Differentials
Electronic Stability Control
Media Center 130 CD/MP3		Media Center 130 CD/MP3 (we'd upgrade 1)
	>>	SIRIUS Satellite Radio w/ 1-Yr Radio Subscription
6 Speakers (upgrade to 368W 7-Spkr Infinity w/sub - $395)		368W 7-Speaker Infinity® Sound Sys Incl Subwoofer
Steering Wheel-Mounted Audio Controls
Cloth Seats with Adjustable Head Restraints
16-Inch Styled Steel Wheels	>>	17-Inch Aluminum Wheels Painted Satin Carbon
P225/75R16 BSW On/Off-Road Tires	>	LT255/75R17 BSW Off-Road Tires
Matching Spare Wheel
Full-Size Spare Tire
Next Generation Dana® 30 Solid Front Axle	>	Next Generation Dana® 44 Heavy Duty Front Axle
Next Generation Dana® 44 Heavy Duty Rear Axle
Full Mtl Drs w/ Roll-up Wind (replace w/Half Doors & Locks)	<<<<<	Full Metal Doors with Roll-up Windows
Sunrider® Soft Top
	>	Remote Keyless Entry
Air Conditioning
(would want to have one put in)	>>	Security Alarm
	>	Rock Rails
		Speed Control
	>?	Performance Suspension
	>	Elctrnc Frt Sway Bar Dscnnct (for serious off-road)
	>	115-Volt Auxiliary pwr Outlet
		Leather-Wrapped Steering Wheel
Mileage 15 city/19 hwy
Jeep Badge
Sport Badge		Rubicon Badge
Trail Rated Badge
Wrangler Unlimited Badge
100-MPH Speedometer
140-Amp Alternator
22.5-Gallon Fuel Tank
4-Wheel Disc Anti-Lock Brakes
600-Amp Maintenance-Free Battery
Accent-Color Fender Flares
		Automatic Headlamps
Auxiliary 12-Volt pwr Outlet
Base Interior Accents
Black Front Bumper
Black Front Frame Overlay
Black Rear Bumper
Body-Color Grille
		Bright Interior Accents
Bucket Seats with Adjustable Head Restraints
Cargo Compartment Floor Mat
Cargo Tie-Down Loops
Center High-Mount Stop Lamp
		Chrome / Leather-Wrapped Shift Knob
Easy-Folding Soft Top
Electronic Roll Mitigation
Fog Lamps
Front and Rear Floor Mats
Front Axle Differential
Front Dome with On/Off Switch Lamp
Front Passenger Seat Belt Alert
Front Seat Area Carpet
Front Seat Back Map Pockets
Front Stabilizer Bar
Fuel Tank Skid Plate Shield
Full-Length Floor Console
Halogen Headlamps
Height-Adjustable Driver's Seat
Hill Start Assist
	>	Hood Insulation
Hydraulic Brake Assist
Instrument Panel Parts Module
		Leather-Wrapped Steering Wheel
Locking Glove Box
Non-Locking Fuel Filler Cap
Normal-Duty Suspension	>?	Performance Suspension
Power Steering
Premium Instrument Cluster with Tachometer
Protective Coating and Remover
Rear 60 / 40 Split Folding Seat
Rear Compartment Covered Storage
Rear Dome Lamp with On/Off Switch
	>	Rear Passenger Assist Handles
Rear Stabilizer Bar
Rear-Seat / Wheelhouse / Cargo Carpet
Rear-Seat Adjustable Head Restraints
Rearview Day / Night Mirror
Reclining Front Seats
Sentry Key® Theft Deterrent System
Single Low Note Horn
Sliding Sun Visors with Mirrors
Speed Control (out with 1/2 doors?)		Speed Control
Sport Bar with Full Padding
Storage Tray
Temperature and Compass Gauge
Tethered Fuel Filler Cap
Tilt Steering Column
Tinted Front Door Glass (not with half doors)		Tinted Front Door Glass
Tire and Wheel Parts Module
Tire Pressure Monitor with Warning Lamp
Traction Control
Transfer Case Skid Plate Shield
Two Front Tow Hooks and One Rear Tow Hook
Variable Intermittent Windshield Wipers (out with half doors?)		Variable Intermittent Windshield Wipers
Vinyl Shift Knob
Monotone Paint
	>	Deep Tint Sunscreen Windows
Tinted Windshield Glass
Mirrors
Manual Fold-Away Mirrors		pwr Heated Mirrors
Audio Jack Input for Mobile Devices
Fixed Long Mast Antenna
Advanced Multistage Front Airbags
Manual Locks		pwr Locks
Manual Windows		pwr Windows with Front One-Touch-Down Feature
grnd clrnce - at curb wgt - Approach Angle - 40.6	>	grnd clrnce - at curb wgt - Approach Angle - 44.4
grnd clrnce - at curb wgt - Breakover Angle - 17.8	>	grnd clrnce - at curb wgt - Breakover Angle - 20.8
grnd clrnce - at curb wgt - Departure Angle - 37.5	>	grnd clrnce - at curb wgt - Departure Angle- 40.5
grnd clrnce - at curb wgt - Running grnd clrnce - 8.7	>	grnd clrnce - at curb wgt - Running grnd clrnce - 10.1
Overall Body Width - 82.8
Overall Height - Hard Top - 70.8		Overall Height - 72.1
Overall Length- 183.7		Overall Length - 184.4
Overhang - Front - 28.3
Overhang - Rear - 39.4
Track - Front - 61.9
Track - Rear - 61.9
Turning Diameter - curb-to-curb - Left - 41.2
Turning Diameter - curb-to-curb - Right - 41.2
Wheelbase - 116
Cargo Capacity - Behind 2nd Row Seat - 46.4
Cargo Capacity - Behind Front Seat - 82
Head Room - Front - 41.3
Head Room - Rear - 40.4
Hip Room - Front - 55.6
Hip Room - Rear - 56.7
Leg Room - Front - 41
Leg Room - Rear - 37.2
Passenger Interior Volume - 103.9
Seating Capacity - Maximum Seating - 5
Seating Capacity - Standard Seating - 5
Shoulder Room - Front - 55.8
Shoulder Room - Rear - 56.8
Trunk Lift-Over Height - 31.4		Trunk Lift-Over Height - 32.9
Base Curb wgt - Automatic Trans - 4203		Base Curb wgt - Automatic Trans - 4442
Base Curb wgt - Manual Trans - 4180		Base Curb wgt - Manual Trans - 4419
Fuel Tank Capacity - 21.6
Gross Vehicle wgt Rating (GVWR) - Maximum - 5400		Gross Vehicle wgt Rating (GVWR) - Maximum - 5500
Gross Vehicle wgt Rating (GVWR) - Standard - 5300		Gross Vehicle wgt Rating (GVWR) - Standard - 5448
Payload Capacity - Standard - 1220		Payload Capacity - Standard - 1081
Towing Capacity - Maximum - 3500		Towing Capacity - Maximum - 3500
wgt Distribution - Automatic Trans - Front - 50		wgt Distribution - Automatic Trans - Front - 49
wgt Distribution - Automatic Trans - Rear - 50		wgt Distribution - Automatic Trans - Rear - 51
wgt Distribution - Manual Trans - Front- 50		wgt Distribution - Manual Trans - Front - 49
wgt Distribution - Manual Trans - Rear - 50		wgt Distribution - Manual Trans - Rear - 51
$27305 (MSRP)	<<<<<<<	$35050 (MSRP, includes heated seats & MyGig)
		Options We'd Get:
can't get factory, but Mopar has for $300 + install		heated seats
can get standalong Nav & HD or use flash drive		1better radio with Nav & HD

So we now think we want the Sport. Let's face it, we're not going to seriously off-road a 35k vehicle, and we can do a lot of upgrades for the eight thousand dollar difference (like buy a whole 'nother car!).