Well, it was a typical entrance for the 2007 Jeep Wrangler. Not typical that new Wranglers are normally shown this way, but typical for what it can, and does, often do.

Buried under six-tons of mud, the all-new 2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited was introduced at the New York International Auto Show Wednesday.

Picture this: A fire truck roars in with sirens blaring. The team of firefighters blasts mud off the first-ever four-door Wrangler.

When uncovered, Jeep’s classic featured room for five passengers, removable tops and doors, and class-leading off-road capability.

…and now we have a 4-door Jeep Wrangler. This should be a worthy replacement for the old Cherokee - so all those whining about it’s passing and lamenting the Liberty as it’s replacement can shut up - we now have a worthy successor.

Due to debut this weekend at the 2006 New York International Auto Show, the Jeep Wrangler 4-door has been eagerly anticipated. Here’s one of the first official shots of it.

It’s a great looking rig which should be a solid performer. The added versitility of 4 doors should open new opportunities for Jeep and help them expand sales of this profitable platform.

Look for updated pics over the rest of the weekend and early next week.

It’s been a very good quarter for Jeep. While others are skirting the Grim Reaper (you know who you are…*cough* GM) or declaring “We will NOT go bankrupt!” (nods to Bill Ford, then offers a finger for cancelling the GT - dork), our merry offroad-image-loving friends have racked up record sales numbers. GO JEEP!

The Liberty slid a bit - perhaps the timing is right for the Compass to bow in as a more fuel-efficient, easier-to-live-with alternative to the full-on SUV experience?

Thanks to CanJeepYJ for posting this over at JeepNewsNow:

Jeep Wrangler Sets New Monthly Sales Record; Sales Rise 21 Percent Year-Over-Year to 8,180 units.

For the 1st Quarter of the year:
Wrangler……………….17,683 up 13%
Liberty………………..35,424 down 13%
Grand Cherokee………….40,567 down 14%
Commander………………19,277 (and still getting 9 MPG)
JEEP BRAND……………..112,951 and up 9%

Here’s snippet from the official DC press release:

“Strong sales of key products like the Dodge Ram pickup, Dodge Caliber, Jeep Commander and Chrysler 300 drove us to outperform the industry in March and the quarter,” said Gary Dilts, Chrysler Group Senior Vice President - Sales. “The Dodge Caliber and the success of our LX platform pushed the company’s car business up 13 percent, making the Chrysler Group a…”

Read the full article after the jump. (Opens a new window)

Spotted this past week cruising a parking lot (I kid you not), the next-gen Jeep Wrangler looks almost ready for prime-time - well, if you can look past the wrapping.

Apparently Jeep will unveil this rig at the New York Auto Show in the coming weeks. The newest update includes not only the four door variant, but also a new engine. Looks like the solid-front axle is still with us, though.

The new motor is the typical trade-off - smaller displacement, more power, more torque, but at higher revs.

Given how well past models actually performed off-road when in low-range, moving the torque peak from 3,200 RPMs (with the old 4 litre straight six) to 4000 RPMs with the new, smaller displacement mill, shouldn’t really be noticable.

On paper there IS a difference, but when was the last time you saw paper driving over logs & rocks?

Given the design improvements, comfort improvements and relatively low number of Jeep owners who actually take their trucks off-road, I think Jeep will have a winner on their hands here. Those who do offroad their rigs will be pleased, those who don’t will more comfortably rest easy with the knowledge that they COULD.

Let’s just hope the remembered to include decent cup holders with those two extra doors…

The specs are out and JP magazine has, in informal “around the office” chatter, basically said - “You gotta choose the new one - it’s simply miles ahead of the old design.”

Can’t say I blame them - jeep went to a lot of trouble updating what could be called the backbone of their “image” models.

Good looks and gee-whiz features aside, one place the old TJs won out was with the 4.0 litre engine - it’s not dead yet - not by a long shot!