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!).

Chrysler to the rescue, not!

Got an email from "Chrysler Group LLC Customer Assistance" today.  I had emailed them asking for any info on half door availability, and also about colors.  The good news:  Bright White is in!  
The Bad News:

"As the power heated mirrors are standard factory 

equipment on the 2011 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon,
it prohibits the option of ordering half metal doors."

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

So I called the 800 number in the email to ask which, if any models do still offer half doors.  The answer was only the Sport (the basic Sport, not even the Sport S).  Then I went online to build a Sport, and of course you can't get the MyGig radio (hard drive, navigation etc) or the heated seats.  What ever happened to all the choices American cars offered?

So I called back and got a very nice lady who put up with me for about 30 minutes.  She looked in her info and found no mention of heated mirrors in any of the models.  It was her thought that if we went down to the Sahara or the Sport S, and they didn't have standard heated mirrors, maybe we could get the half doors.  She promised to get back to me.

Looking at the website info, here's where (I think) we are:

First, we'll optimistically wait 'till the 13th and hope that when our wonderful local dealer tries to build our Rubicon the way we want it, the half doors will be there.

If that doesn't work we have to decide:

1.  Rubicon with everything we want, except with full doors instead of half (I may be able to talk myself into this)

2.  Sport with half doors, but no upgraded radio or heated seats (Mopar has a kit for about 300 bucks), we could upgrade the rear axle and differential a little, but they wouldn't be as good as the Rubicon.  We wouldn't have the 4.1 Rock Track, the electronically locking front and reaf diffs, the performance suspension or the electronic disconnect front sway bar (no big deal).  I know we don't need all the off-road stuff that the Rubicon has, but I NEVER want to get stuck.  I could upgrade the radio later, and get an external hard drive.

3.  Something else entirely.

Waiting for SuperJeep

Today I was messing around at the official Jeep site and noticed that in the "Build Your Own" section that the 2011 in the 2010|2011Wrangler Unlimited title was a link.  When I clicked it the page refreshed and the heading was now 2011|2010 Wrangler Unlimited.  Hmmm...  So I built a Rubicon and no white and no half doors at all were selectable.

Fast-forward a couple hours and a call to the sales manager, who assured my wife that white would never be eliminated.  He also told her that the next allocation date is October 13th, 8 days from now.  Then we'll find out if half doored Wranglers are going to be built.  He also said that if we decide on full doors, he give us dealer cost on the half doors whenever we decided we wanted them.


All this uncertainty should make the wait after it's ordered no big deal.


EDIT (...some time later...)  Just talked to the manager.  He said that the half doors at dealer cost would be too much money, at least $900 each.  He assured me again that white will be a color and he still thinks half doors will be available too.  I asked him if no half doors were available on the 13th, should we wait until the next allocation date?  He said he thought that if they didn't allocate them this month, they probably wouldn't for the model year.  This is not good.  Well, my son and I were talking about WRXs today, maybe I'll have to change the name of this blog...

Where are you Mr. Marchionne?

"The Leadership Team and I promise to deliver all the products we have shown today and to execute the development plans highlighted just before me, at competitive quality levels and with adequate marketing support, in exchange for your commitment to deliver our growth objectives, to comply with our dealer standards, to invest in our brands and to adopt commercial practices that treat our products and our customers with the dignity they deserve.

An exchange of a promise for a promise.

Simple, straight, uncomplicated."

 

Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Chrysler (and Fiat), made that promise to his dealers less than a month ago.   He didn't say anything about delivering products in a timely manner.  The uncomplicated part isn't really ringing true, though.