Hello there Cherokee connoisseurs.

Intro: Have been an Cherokee owner since 2009. A 2000, black, bone stock Sport edition. Since day one, I wanted to lift it and make it more bad ***, but recession and money issues kept that from happening. Finally in 2011, I threw down the CC and had a Rough Country 4" lift installed with some Falken 31" tires. Then in early 2012 I was broadsided on the highway and spun 360 into the center guard rail (amazed it didn't flip over). Front destroyed, but still drive-able. So the past couple of years have been spent on maintenance and just keeping the thing running smooth. Never thought after five years that I would still have this thing, and now I'm married to it. So figured I would join this site since I have been here many times as a lurker, trying to get tech tips and mod ideas.

Thoughts, rants and questions: So now that I have developed some brand loyalty to Jeep, and finances are finally improving, I got excited when the prospect of a New Cherokee was introduced. I figured why dump more money into my 14 year old one, when I could get a new one and lift it. Well, that all was crushed when I finally saw the new one. I think the 1st time I saw an ad, I didn't even believe it was a Cherokee. It is hideous! Now doing more research about lift capabilities and options, and they are about as good as trying to lift a Patriot. (Which means none. No point if you can't be 4" or higher.) I just spent a few hours scouring the web to find out what was Jeep thinking in the design of this monstrosity, and watched a video of the CEO telling people that they received a lot of input from the Jeep owners. WHAT? Every Cherokee owner I know wants a Jeep to MODIFY it! They don't drive these things for the gas mileage or the comfort. They don't buy them because it makes them look good when they drive up to the country club. They buy them to make them bad-*** looking and occasionally go off road, but not so much where I live. I don't get it (from Jeep). I was hoping to have a newer version of and old classic, like Ford did with Mustang and VW did with the Beetle. Hell, when the Patriot came out, I wondered why it wasn't named the Cherokee, because the body style is like an updated version of it. I would even buy a Patriot if it could be lifted like my old XJ. It has the potential. I figured at the time that Jeep decided to do away with the Cherokee name for PC reasons, like school sports teams no longer use Native American references in their names. It is as if the design teams sat at there cubicles and were tasked with designing the new Cherokee with no pictures of the old body style to influence their thoughts. If you look at the progression of the Grand Cherokee body style, it is a really similar shape to the original and still very modifiable. Same goes for Wrangler (without saying).

So in my quest for answers as to why Jeep f'd this up so bad, and why wouldn't they at least make something the aftermarket companies could go crazy over coming up with add-ons for, I've come to the conclusion that I will just have to spend more money and time to keep the Jeep I have going. It will end up looking like most everyone else's modified creations I see on here and I will be happy with it, except the gas mileage and the terrible back pain the seats give me after a long drive. "Fashion, never function", Lance Mountain. Someday it would be nice to have both.

Thanks for listening. Let the flaming begin...........

 

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