Latest / Jeep Talk Show / Behind the Scenes at America's Biggest Jeep Factory with Jerry Huber

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Behind the Scenes at America's Biggest Jeep Factory with Jerry Huber · Jeep Talk Show

0:00
(upbeat music)
0:04
Hi, yo, boys and girls.
0:05
It's time for another
0:06
interview with the Jeep Talk Show.
0:08
We're gonna be talking
0:08
with old friend of the show.
0:10
And I'm not talking about your age.
0:12
You've just been on the
0:12
show quite a bit, Jerry.
0:14
We're gonna be
0:15
talking with Jerry Hubbard.
0:16
And did I get it right?
0:18
I just asked you how to pronounce it.
0:20
You didn't get it right, but that's okay.
0:21
Hubert. Jerry, you.
0:22
Hubert.
0:23
I don't know why that's so hard.
0:24
It's only like five
0:26
letters and I can't pronounce it.
0:27
This is my problem.
0:29
This is my albatross
0:30
around my neck, Jerry.
0:32
So Jerry, yeah, Jerry, so give the folks
0:36
that haven't been here and
0:37
haven't seen one of your,
0:38
God, I think you've been on the show
0:39
four or five times now,
0:42
which I'm not complaining.
0:44
It's always good to have you here.
0:46
So tell people who you
0:47
are, what's your background,
0:48
and especially about
0:50
the Toledo Jeep Fest.
0:53
Basically, I'm a Jeep
0:55
guy for a long, long time.
0:57
I had the opportunity to work at
0:59
and run the Jeep plant
1:01
here at Toledo, the old plant,
1:03
and about almost 10
1:06
years there as plant manager.
1:09
And then moved around
1:11
to a couple other jobs
1:12
at Chrysler Manufacturing
1:13
and at Daimler Chrysler.
1:15
And as the continuation continues,
1:20
I ended up in Canada at the Windsor plant
1:23
for a couple of years.
1:25
And then I retired in 2005
1:29
from the working style of the Jeep side,
1:31
but I've been involved with off-roading
1:35
a couple of Jeep clubs
1:37
and a close-knit group
1:39
of my friends and
1:41
buddies from the working days
1:43
that still get together
1:45
and wrench when we can.
1:47
And this Jeep Fest has
1:51
kind of filled a lot of time
1:54
since 2016 when we actually got started.
1:58
It was our first year.
1:59
I bet you that was an easy fit for you
2:00
because you're dealing with Jeeps,
2:02
but now you're having more fun.
2:03
I mean, I know it's a lot of work.
2:04
I know whenever the
2:05
Toledo Jeep Fest is going on,
2:07
you're very busy moving
2:08
around and doing things,
2:09
but at least you get to
2:10
stay involved with Jeep
2:11
and more importantly, the Jeep people.
2:14
Yeah, it was kind of a nice fit for me.
2:17
2016 was the 75th anniversary of Jeep.
2:22
And folks over at the
2:24
Union Hall had gotten together
2:26
and they wanted to do
2:27
something to kind of commemorate,
2:30
celebrate, and so forth.
2:32
And we decided we had done
2:34
car shows at the Jeep plant
2:35
and at the Union Hall, had
2:37
picnics and things like that
2:39
over the years, but the
2:42
collective mindset was that,
2:44
hey, this is 75 years.
2:46
We need to do something a little more
2:47
significant than that.
2:49
So we started talking with one of the
2:53
County Commissioners,
2:54
Pete Gerken, the president
2:56
of the local at that time,
2:58
Bruce Baumauer, and we
3:00
decided we wanted to go up a notch,
3:03
if you will, with some type of an event.
3:06
And shortly after a couple of meetings,
3:09
we got involved with the
3:12
thread marketing group,
3:13
Whitney Rothkar, that you and I have had,
3:16
we've been on the show together.
3:19
And we put together what
3:21
was basically a one day,
3:24
kind of a celebration in downtown Toledo.
3:27
And we weren't sure at that time
3:30
whether it was gonna be
3:31
something that we would do
3:32
every other year, every year or whatever,
3:36
but it turned out to be
3:38
such a rip roaring success
3:40
that we kind of decided
3:45
it was gonna be a year
3:46
and a yearly event until
3:48
ideas changed otherwise.
3:49
So each year, we've tweaked
3:53
it a little bit each year,
3:54
and it's grown.
3:56
Right now, it's three full days,
3:58
and we have a half day on Thursday.
4:04
We do an off-road, we don't
4:06
have a lot of off-road access
4:07
to downtown Toledo, but we have,
4:11
one of the dealers has
4:13
an off-road test track
4:14
with about 18 obstacles.
4:16
So they have kind of a
4:17
welcome party up there.
4:19
And then the next day, we
4:21
move the show to downtown Toledo.
4:25
And we're at a point right now, Tony,
4:28
where we're shutting
4:29
down about 20 square blocks
4:32
of downtown Toledo,
4:33
including one of the major arteries
4:37
that goes through the downtown right
4:39
along the riverfront.
4:42
It's a unique kind of an arrangement.
4:45
There's Jeep events all around,
4:48
Jeep Beach, both at
4:50
Myrtle and Dauda Daytona.
4:53
You've got Butler, the Bantam event.
4:56
You've got the event down in
4:58
Tennessee, Spooky Mountain.
5:01
And what's kind of
5:03
different about our event
5:04
is that we're in a downtown--
5:06
Yeah, you're not going out
5:08
in the middle of nowhere.
5:09
It's downtown.
5:12
And there's some nice things about that.
5:15
You've got amenities that
5:17
you're not gonna have out
5:17
in the cornfield in Western
5:20
Pennsylvania, that's for sure.
5:22
But the downside of
5:24
that is if you wanna park
5:27
5'10", 53-foot trailers with awnings
5:32
from our vendors and sponsors,
5:34
it gets a little
5:35
tricky on downtown streets.
5:38
But we've been managing
5:40
and we're on target this year
5:44
to have another pretty
5:45
interesting event for folks.
5:46
So I know this from the many years of
5:48
interviewing you guys,
5:49
you and Whitney, that
5:50
the trick to get parking
5:53
is to be in the parade
5:55
and in the show and shine.
5:57
(laughs)
5:57
That certainly is an advantage.
6:01
(laughs)
6:01
So you have to pay, but
6:04
you're close to everything.
6:07
Well, basically, the other
6:10
thing I have to blow the horn
6:12
of the group that has
6:13
been operating this thing now
6:15
for this many years, we
6:17
have started from the beginning
6:19
to try and keep it as low
6:22
cost or free event as we can.
6:25
Well, I mean, if I remember correctly,
6:27
there's no pay to go and see the show.
6:30
It's only if you're
6:31
going to the show and shine
6:32
in the parade that you pay.
6:35
It's a mental well.
6:37
Yeah, I call it a
6:38
nominal registration fee
6:40
for it to be in the
6:41
parade or to have your vehicle
6:43
in the show and shine or to be in the
6:46
specialty vehicle show
6:47
in the convention center.
6:50
But frankly, it's kind
6:51
of like a placeholder,
6:52
so we know who's coming.
6:54
Yeah.
6:55
And with that, you get
6:56
the obvious advantage,
6:59
as you mentioned, is
7:00
this parking situation.
7:01
And you're close to the
7:02
event, which is really cool.
7:04
And you park right in
7:06
the heart of the event.
7:07
Right.
7:08
And we do a goodie bag and
7:11
there's a t-shirt involved
7:12
and so forth, so.
7:14
And how cool is it to be in
7:16
a Toledo Jeep Fest parade?
7:18
I mean, you guys have over
7:21
1,000 vehicles in the parade.
7:23
I forget what the limit is,
7:25
but you guys always go over it.
7:27
But how cool, you can say,
7:28
yeah, I was in the parade in 2026.
7:30
So I show up on
7:32
Facebook or wherever you guys
7:34
post that stuff.
7:35
Yeah, it's really quite an event.
7:41
Everybody that's been in the
7:42
parade, it seems to enjoy it.
7:45
And the other thing that I think is a
7:47
little bit different
7:48
about our event is that it's
7:50
broadcast, it's TV broadcast.
7:53
And we had a couple of sponsors
7:58
that actually did a webcast
8:00
or posted it on their network
8:03
and they showed it internationally.
8:05
We had some folks here two years ago
8:07
calling from Romania,
8:09
saying, hey, this is a real cool parade.
8:11
You've had people attend
8:13
from around the world, right?
8:16
Yep, and we have a sister
8:18
city in La Drena, Brazil,
8:22
and they have now
8:23
started their own Jeep Fest.
8:25
And they were at our event the last year,
8:28
they'll be here this year.
8:29
And they're asking
8:31
for people to come down
8:32
to their event in Brazil.
8:34
So, you know, it's unique.
8:36
It's unique to what you've started here.
8:37
And also too, I was
8:39
gonna mention earlier,
8:39
it's gotten a lot bigger than 2016.
8:42
It really blew up quickly.
8:46
Well, I think, you know, the other thing
8:48
that makes it unique is
8:50
that, you know, Toledo,
8:52
for all intents and
8:53
purposes, you can have some arguments
8:55
with folks about where
8:56
the home of the Jeep is
8:57
and where the Jeep was born.
8:59
You know, I'll concede
9:00
that right off the bat
9:02
Butler, Pennsylvania, it's probably,
9:04
you know, where the Jeep idea was born.
9:07
But I can also proudly attest to the fact
9:10
that it's been
9:11
produced in Toledo since 1941,
9:15
and it's produced there today.
9:17
And from the investment
9:19
that Stellantis is making,
9:21
it's pretty likely it's
9:23
gonna be produced here
9:24
for the foreseeable future.
9:26
Right.
9:27
And 85 years this year.
9:29
And thanks to our
9:30
current political structure,
9:33
let's say that the federal
9:34
government is encouraging
9:36
the Jeeps to continue
9:38
being built in America
9:40
and not go into other countries.
9:43
You mentioned earlier
9:44
when you were talking about
9:45
working for Jeep that you were working
9:48
at the Canadian facility for a while.
9:52
Did you travel back and forth
9:53
or did you actually
9:54
live in Canada at the time?
9:56
No, no, I actually commuted.
9:58
Yeah, that's what I thought.
9:59
You know, kind of
10:01
surprising if you live in Toledo
10:04
and you have a job at
10:05
the Chrysler Tech Center
10:07
up at Auburn Hills,
10:08
it's about a 90 mile drive.
10:12
Oh, wow.
10:13
So Windsor, which is where the Pacific
10:19
and the minivans are produced,
10:20
it's about a 45 minute drive.
10:22
So it's actually less of your day
10:27
being consumed, getting
10:28
back and forth to work,
10:29
working in Canada than it is
10:31
working here in the States.
10:32
My goodness, but it's
10:33
probably a nice drive too.
10:34
You just have to dodge
10:35
the mooses, the mesas,
10:36
the mooses.
10:38
No mooses on that route, believe me.
10:43
But it's not as
10:45
inconvenient as it might sound.
10:46
Right, so let me ask you this.
10:49
During the time, those 10
10:50
years that you were working
10:52
for Jeep at the
10:53
plant, what were the Jeeps
10:54
that were being produced at that time?
10:56
Would that be TJs and XJs and YJs?
11:01
I gotta tell you, I was, you know,
11:03
the window of time that
11:04
I was able to be there,
11:05
I landed there in 1983.
11:09
I had worked for Ford for 15 years,
11:11
went to AMC at that time.
11:14
Actually, you know, the
11:15
American Motors, the real deal.
11:19
We were building the CJ,
11:22
we were building the
11:25
Grand Wagoneer and the SJ,
11:29
and we were building the J
11:31
series trucks at that time.
11:33
Yep, the full size vehicles.
11:35
Full size, full size
11:37
Jeeps and then the CJs,
11:41
and then in 83, we
11:44
introduced the XJ Cherokee.
11:47
And then, you know,
11:49
not too long after that,
11:50
we built the MJ, you know, K
11:53
and we phased out some
11:57
of the full size Jeeps
12:00
and just retained the Grand Wagoneer,
12:02
you know, the woody version, if you will.
12:05
We built out the full size trucks
12:08
and there was a, would
12:11
we built out the Scrambler
12:14
and the, you know, the CJ8s and the,
12:16
and then ultimately the CJ7,
12:21
which we moved to Canada to
12:23
the Brampton plant as the YJ
12:25
that was first produced
12:27
over there for two years.
12:29
And then very quickly we
12:30
were able to return the YJ
12:34
back to the Toledo plant in 1991,
12:38
when we built the last
12:39
of the Grand Wagoneers.
12:41
If you can believe it,
12:42
that vehicle's been out
12:43
of production since 1991.
12:45
Yeah, I'm surprised it was
12:47
still being made at that time.
12:49
Cause really I didn't,
12:50
I wasn't paying close attention to Jeeps
12:52
until I got the XJ in 1998.
12:55
And that's really when I started learning
12:56
about the lineage of Jeep.
12:58
Let me ask you this.
12:59
So, you know the SJ,
13:02
how did, what did you think about the XJ
13:05
compared to the SJ?
13:06
Cause I would think,
13:07
there's a lot of people that say,
13:08
oh, you know, the SJ
13:10
was the first Cherokee.
13:12
That's the real Cherokee.
13:14
Yeah, the senior Jeep, you know,
13:16
did have the Cherokee model,
13:18
the big, the full size Jeep, if you will.
13:21
And they did a,
13:22
they did a pretty spectacular version,
13:26
was called the Wide Track.
13:27
And it had the exposed fender flares,
13:31
which were actually
13:31
extensions of the wheel housing.
13:34
They weren't, you know,
13:35
an add-on fender flare
13:36
like they are on these vehicles today.
13:39
And it had wide track axles,
13:41
and they were very, very capable.
13:44
You know, you could get, you know,
13:46
the V8 engines in them,
13:47
they had all the data, you know,
13:49
underpinnings and so
13:50
forth, pretty heavy duty stuff.
13:53
So I was in the three quarter ton variety
13:55
with those vehicles.
13:57
And that was probably, in my estimation,
14:01
that was the first of the Cherokees.
14:03
And then when you get to the XJ,
14:05
they're all the small Cherokee,
14:08
it was a pretty remarkable vehicle.
14:11
The difference is that the full size Jeep
14:17
was always a frame vehicle.
14:19
And the Cherokee was
14:20
the first of the unitized.
14:22
So it was a different kind of, you know,
14:25
construction process altogether,
14:28
different type of suspension.
14:31
You know, it was
14:34
definitely a dramatic change
14:37
you know, whether you call it a Cherokee
14:39
or an SJ, a full size,
14:41
it changed it far more
14:43
than just the name plate.
14:44
Oh yeah.
14:45
So that's kind of my point.
14:47
I mean, I know how I feel about the XJ
14:49
and three million other people
14:50
know how they feel about the XJ.
14:52
But I'm thinking, you know,
14:53
when the new Jeeps come out,
14:55
we have a tendency to
14:56
poo poo the new one.
14:57
Oh, that's not as good as this one.
14:59
And this, so I was curious
15:00
about what you felt about it.
15:01
You're not working for Jeep anymore.
15:02
So you can say, did you hate on the XJ
15:06
when it first came out?
15:06
Like what the hell
15:07
are these people doing?
15:08
No, no.
15:09
In fact, I was pretty impressed with it
15:11
because, you know,
15:13
having worked at Ford for those 15 years,
15:17
I had already gone through a transition
15:18
on the full size Ford,
15:20
where it was a body
15:21
on frame construction,
15:22
when we started to go
15:24
unitized with the Fox body.
15:26
In fact, it was the
15:27
Fairlains and Toritos first
15:29
and then the Mustang.
15:31
And, you know, you start to
15:33
appreciate the construction
15:35
and the rigidity of that body.
15:37
And that it's quite a bit different.
15:40
I mean, the whole concept is
15:42
significantly different
15:43
than a body on frame construction.
15:45
Right.
15:46
So where you have the,
15:49
the body actually sits
15:50
on top of a separate frame
15:52
and it's isolated,
15:54
hopefully from a lot of the road,
15:56
vibration and so forth,
15:57
whereas with a unitized vehicle,
16:01
they're much between you and the road.
16:04
You know, it's a
16:05
very, very solid vehicle.
16:07
They have the tendency to
16:09
not have a lot of flexibility.
16:12
You know, you get,
16:13
you've seen the old pickup trucks
16:15
or full size trucks with a frame
16:18
that they'll get them into such an
16:20
articulation situation
16:22
where the pickup box
16:24
actually could hit the cab
16:27
because of the individual articulation.
16:29
Well, you're not
16:29
gonna get that, you know,
16:32
on a unitized body
16:34
because they are really stiff.
16:36
They are really stiff.
16:37
I was just gonna say though,
16:39
because that's something similar
16:40
that can happen with an XJ.
16:42
You've got it all twisted off road
16:44
and you make the mistake
16:45
of opening the back hatch.
16:46
You may not be getting it closed again.
16:49
Well, the newer ones, you know,
16:52
when we first, the first
16:54
couple of years with the XJ,
16:58
you know, there was an emphasis,
16:59
hey, we gotta make
16:59
sure this thing is stiff.
17:00
And we did.
17:02
And it was so stiff in some places
17:04
that when it wouldn't get
17:06
into a torsional situation
17:08
and flex that you can actually get a
17:10
split in the corners,
17:12
the upper corners where the deck opening
17:16
would be to the roofline.
17:18
And we made a couple
17:21
of changes in that area
17:22
with different types of
17:23
steel and changing thickness
17:25
and, you know,
17:28
positioning of those corner patches
17:30
and so forth to allow for more flex,
17:33
which is kind of odd because, you know,
17:35
the tendency is, hey,
17:37
you wanna make these
17:37
as stiff as possible.
17:39
And then when we get
17:40
into an off road situation,
17:42
the contrary, you need
17:43
to have some flexibility.
17:44
Yeah.
17:45
I noticed when I put some
17:47
stiffeners on the unibody,
17:50
it's not the ones that
17:52
wrap around the unibody.
17:54
It goes along the side of the unibody
17:58
and then you do plug welds into it.
18:00
But anyway, when I put those frame
18:02
stiffeners on my XJ,
18:04
oh my God, I couldn't believe
18:06
about how much more solid the XJ was.
18:09
And I think the deal is
18:10
when you start modifying it
18:11
and you start putting armor
18:13
and things making it heavier,
18:15
then the unibody is kind of struggling
18:18
to maintain its stiffness
18:19
because it's, you know, it's a thin
18:21
pressed sheet metal.
18:22
I've always liked frame
18:24
on, frame makes more sense,
18:25
but the unibody would
18:27
allow you to save weight
18:29
and save gas mileage,
18:31
which I'm sure is one of the
18:31
reasons why they were doing it.
18:33
Oh yeah, and you know,
18:34
don't forget the other things
18:35
that changed on the
18:36
Cherokee is you started to see
18:39
high-strength steel as an
18:41
upgrade to the sheet metal.
18:43
Oh, that's
18:44
interesting, I didn't know that.
18:46
Yeah, you had high-strength steel
18:48
in a lot of the components.
18:49
And the other thing, if you
18:52
looked at the door opening,
18:54
the door opening on
18:55
like a lot of the vehicles
18:57
was a series of pieces
18:59
that were welded together.
19:01
And when you get into the Cherokee,
19:04
we started to trend
19:06
towards more of, you know,
19:08
one-piece stampings or
19:11
what they actually did
19:13
in the front door
19:14
opening was a welded blank
19:16
where they would take and weld
19:18
different types of metal thicknesses
19:20
and high-strength
19:22
versus, you know, more valuable
19:24
into a single blank and then stamp it.
19:27
So there was a lot of technical--
19:29
You know, Jeep has always done
19:31
extraordinary engineering.
19:33
I mean, and especially
19:34
when you start getting
19:35
into the vehicles and
19:37
making modifications
19:38
or just looking at how it's put together,
19:40
they have done a fantastic job.
19:43
Let me ask you this, I
19:44
mean, I'm gonna set you up,
19:45
but I'm sure you've
19:45
been asked this before,
19:46
especially since you came from Ford.
19:48
Now you weren't at Ford
19:49
when the Bronco was being made,
19:51
but what's your estimation between the
19:53
offerings from Jeep,
19:54
the JL, JLU, the JT,
19:57
compared to the Ford Bronco
20:00
that everybody seems to love?
20:01
And of course, I like
20:02
seeing the social media
20:03
where they're talking
20:03
about Bronco is beating Jeep.
20:06
And I'm like, well, yeah, if
20:07
you're not taking it off road
20:09
and you don't mind breaking a tie rod end
20:12
when you do mild
20:12
off-roading, it's a great vehicle.
20:14
I mean, it's a comfort
20:15
vehicle and it's wide,
20:16
which those two things
20:17
really just don't go together
20:19
as far as my concern is for his Jeeps.
20:21
What's your opinion of the new Bronco?
20:24
Are you even aware of it?
20:25
Or did you just blank it out?
20:28
When I was working at
20:29
Ford, I started there at 69.
20:32
Now those were good Broncos back then.
20:35
I always leased the Bronco, you know?
20:38
I had the, and typically in 69,
20:43
you were starting to see more of the
20:46
F-150 based Broncos,
20:49
which what I was driving.
20:52
And I always liked
20:54
that vehicle, you know?
20:56
But the new Bronco compared to a JL,
21:00
I think it's a very comparable vehicle.
21:03
I think it's very well engineered.
21:05
There's a lot of things that I think are,
21:08
you know, obviously
21:09
they did their homework
21:10
from a design standpoint.
21:13
I can't imagine that they
21:14
didn't tear down, you know,
21:17
hundreds of Jeeps.
21:18
Oh, of course, yeah, absolutely.
21:21
That's the way that business works.
21:22
But, and there's some nice features.
21:25
There are some really nice--
21:26
Oh yeah, there certainly are.
21:28
But if you need comfort,
21:30
if you need comfort
21:31
from an off-road vehicle,
21:33
then you do not need a Jeep.
21:34
I'm not saying Jeeps aren't comfortable,
21:36
but that's not the
21:37
purpose of an off-road vehicle.
21:41
Well, yeah, and you know, even whenever,
21:43
when I first came to Jeep,
21:45
one of the things that
21:47
there was a study group
21:50
that was always asking,
21:52
"How many people really
21:54
take these vehicles off-road?"
21:56
We'll talk about that here too.
21:57
We were always stressing that, you know,
21:59
it's the capability and
22:01
if you take it off-road,
22:02
and you know, at that
22:04
time for certain vehicles,
22:06
I mean, the YJ at the
22:10
time when we started,
22:11
the YJ was always taking, you know,
22:13
had a lot of exposure off-road.
22:15
The XJ, very little, I mean--
22:18
Oh, sure, that's a grocery gooder, man,
22:19
that's a station wagon.
22:21
Yeah, the first
22:21
couple of stuff that I saw
22:23
on the Cherokee were
22:25
like 96 or 97% of them
22:28
never got off payment, you know?
22:31
And, you know, I think that's interesting
22:33
because the Jeep engineering people,
22:37
it's in their system, in their blood,
22:40
to have that off-road
22:41
capability into the vehicle,
22:43
whether you use it or not.
22:45
And that's why today we all often laugh,
22:50
I mean, the Cherokee
22:52
been out of production
22:53
since the XJ Cherokee's
22:54
been out, what, since 2001?
22:56
2001.
22:57
2001, 2002, in that timeframe.
23:00
So, you know, they're all,
23:02
one of those that you see
23:03
out on the trail now today
23:05
is at least, you know, 20, 25 years old.
23:07
They are quote unquote
23:09
classic vehicles, absolutely.
23:11
Exactly, and the
23:12
standing joke is because of,
23:15
with some minor modifications, you know,
23:18
some additional suspension travel,
23:20
different kind of tires,
23:21
usually, you know,
23:22
pretty healthy gear set,
23:25
you know, you can
23:26
build a reasonably priced,
23:28
inexpensive, in many cases, Cherokee,
23:32
that will perform
23:33
equally as well as, you know,
23:36
some of these higher priced vehicles
23:38
that we're driving on those trails today.
23:40
Right, so I've always
23:42
maintained that the XJ
23:44
is basically the same thing as the TJ,
23:46
it just has a longer wheelbase
23:48
because it's
23:48
basically the same drivetrain.
23:50
I mean, the transmission's different,
23:52
but what's your thoughts on that?
23:54
Am I wrong on that?
23:56
Well, you know, you're not wrong
23:58
on the dimensional aspect of it,
24:00
but don't forget that TJ
24:01
is still a frame vehicle.
24:02
Oh no, absolutely, it's
24:04
frame versus a uni-body,
24:05
but I look at that as a
24:07
plus if you got a frame,
24:09
it's better than being
24:10
frameless and shameless.
24:12
Yeah, I mean, I think
24:13
if you lay the dimensions
24:14
of a long wheelbase
24:18
TJ next to a Cherokee,
24:20
you're gonna find it darn
24:22
near identical, you know?
24:24
But they just didn't make many LJs.
24:26
I mean, LJ is like
24:27
the unicorn to find one.
24:29
A lot of people are just stretching them.
24:31
They get a TJ and stretch it.
24:32
That's exactly what I
24:33
call, my LJ is on the hood
24:38
and where it would say
24:38
Rubicon, it says unicorn.
24:42
Because they're different, you know?
24:44
And there weren't that many of them.
24:45
Right.
24:46
Weird looking Jeep too.
24:48
I mean, Jeeps are already weird looking.
24:49
It's like a Jeep is like
24:51
only a mother could love
24:52
type of thing, but once
24:53
you learn about what the Jeep
24:55
can do and especially
24:56
when it takes you places
24:57
that you have a hard time walking,
24:59
you learn to love the look of the Jeep.
25:02
But the LJs always look funny to me.
25:04
They just looked out of proportion.
25:07
Well, that's like the
25:08
first time you see a CJ6.
25:13
It looks like it's way out of proportion
25:17
and then you
25:17
understand why it's like that.
25:19
Yeah, they're doing
25:20
it not for aesthetics.
25:21
They're doing it to
25:21
make it good for off road.
25:23
And I love that about Jeep.
25:24
I mean, Jeep is making other vehicles
25:26
that aren't off road vehicles.
25:28
Although they seem to have
25:29
the trail rated badge anyway.
25:32
I think the trail rated
25:32
badge means that you can be drug
25:35
off road by a capable Jeep.
25:40
I'm not sure.
25:42
Like the Liberty.
25:43
I hate the damn Liberty.
25:44
And they came up with
25:45
Liberty when they got rid
25:46
of the XJs, bastards.
25:49
Yeah, I'll tell you what.
25:51
I was on a Jeep Jamboree
25:54
and there was one of those
25:56
CRD diesels in a,
26:01
and I'll tell you what, it
26:04
performed very, very well.
26:06
Oh, I'm sure.
26:08
It was kind of a surprise because they,
26:12
I think of the Jeeps that
26:13
we've seen over the last 10
26:15
or 15 years, they were
26:17
definitely the ugly ducklings.
26:19
But they, if they're
26:21
equipped properly, they'll perform.
26:24
Oh no, you can rebuild anything.
26:27
You can make it right.
26:28
But from the factory, and I think
26:31
everybody agrees with this,
26:32
the Wrangler and the
26:33
Gladiator is a off road vehicle
26:36
straight off the factory floor.
26:38
I mean, modifying it is fun, but you
26:40
don't got to do that
26:41
to be able to go off road.
26:42
You don't have to do that.
26:43
Yeah, I mean, you have to
26:44
learn how to drive off road.
26:51
That's one of the things though
26:52
that I think is interesting.
26:53
If you take like an 82, 83 CJ,
27:02
seven or even a CJH
27:04
Scrambler with a longer wheelbase,
27:07
the vehicle
27:07
dimensionally is relatively narrow,
27:11
it's relatively high, has a
27:13
little higher center of gravity
27:14
than these vehicles
27:15
that we're driving now.
27:16
But if you take, park one of
27:17
those next to a JL or a JT,
27:20
and it's doing the
27:22
four Broncos, same thing,
27:23
it's a huge vehicle.
27:25
Yeah, absolutely.
27:27
I've got a Gladiator,
27:28
I've got a 2021 Gladiator.
27:30
And it is huge, even
27:32
though it's a small truck,
27:33
small for a truck, it
27:35
is a really big vehicle
27:37
and performs extraordinarily like an EJS.
27:41
I mean, EJS isn't generally hard anyway,
27:44
because you're wheeling on sandpaper,
27:46
but going down stair steps and stuff,
27:48
especially with that ass hanging out
27:50
there in the back end.
27:51
That overhang is be exciting.
27:53
Yeah, what the hell was that?
27:56
I hope I didn't need that.
27:58
Somebody looked neat on the radio.
27:59
So anybody see any parts back there?
28:01
I've got a full skid system on it now.
28:03
So an aftermarket
28:05
bumper, so I'm not worried.
28:06
I just need to get back to EJS.
28:07
Oh man, that is such a great thing.
28:09
You've been to EJS or you've
28:11
been to Moab before, right?
28:12
I've been to Moab.
28:13
I haven't been there
28:14
during the Easter Jeep Safari,
28:16
but I think that Moab, as you say,
28:20
you can have a lot of fun there.
28:23
You can even take a Bronco to Moab.
28:25
It's easy.
28:26
I see.
28:28
If you were there
28:29
during the warm weather,
28:30
you saw those people on a bicycle,
28:33
if you're really
28:33
adventurous, if not the U.S.
28:35
The first year I went,
28:36
which was 2023, I believe,
28:37
I saw a stretch limo, a
28:39
long stretch limo off-road.
28:43
Yeah, well, I'm sure
28:44
he had his limitations
28:45
to where he was, was not going.
28:47
He didn't seem to care.
28:49
(laughs)
28:49
And there was a lot of
28:51
cameras pointing towards him.
28:52
So I know you really like XJs
28:56
because you own one, at least one,
28:59
but I heard a rumor
29:00
that you got rid of it.
29:02
Say it's not true.
29:04
Yeah, I sold it.
29:08
Running out of room in the garage, Tony.
29:10
That's a good reason.
29:11
That's a good reason.
29:12
Have you ever had an MJ?
29:13
I've always wanted the MJ.
29:14
Once I found out that they were,
29:16
that there was
29:18
basically a Cherokee truck,
29:20
and I just thought they were so cool.
29:22
And then I found out
29:23
that you could take a,
29:25
what was it last year
29:26
they made those things,
29:27
94 or something like that, maybe 91, 92.
29:30
And, but you could take a,
29:32
they redid the body style
29:35
in 97, 96, 97 on the XJ,
29:38
but you could pull out the dash,
29:39
you could take the hood, the fenders,
29:41
and turn that MJ into a 97 plus MJ.
29:46
Yeah, you could upgrade an
29:47
MJ, you know, significantly.
29:49
And I see a couple of those
29:50
on the market out there today.
29:53
You know, my favorite, when
29:55
I was working at the plant,
29:56
we had a pilot vehicle that
29:58
was, it had the VM diesel,
30:00
the Vittoromatori Italian diesel.
30:03
It was a five speed.
30:05
And I would use it on weekends.
30:10
My son was racing a go-kart at
30:12
the time, so it made a great-
30:14
Oh God, that's so dangerous.
30:16
Yeah, right.
30:17
It made a nice race vehicle.
30:19
And with that VM diesel, it
30:20
was a little four solar diesel.
30:23
You could get, you know,
30:24
Jeep people will slap me
30:26
when they hear this, but
30:27
you can get close to 40 mile
30:29
a gallon once you got
30:30
a roll in fifth gear.
30:32
Right.
30:33
You know, it was not
30:34
much on acceleration.
30:36
Our government has done a
30:37
disservice to the American people
30:39
by making it so hard to
30:41
have diesel powered vehicles
30:42
because diesels have always
30:44
been a very fuel efficient
30:48
mode of transportation,
30:50
especially if you were a Volkswagen
30:52
and you defeated the
30:53
checks for the emissions.
30:58
Well, anyway, but if you,
31:00
when you come to Jeep Fest
31:02
or Chris comes down, he's
31:04
gonna see just about every
31:06
one of the Jeep that's
31:07
been produced, you know,
31:09
since 1944.
31:11
This is great because this
31:12
is a great way for people
31:13
that maybe are just
31:14
getting interested in Jeep
31:15
or maybe they only know the modern Jeeps
31:17
to see the heritage,
31:18
to see the DNA, where
31:20
all this stuff came from.
31:22
Yeah, you know, one of
31:24
the guys that I work with,
31:25
Brett Cutsley, he used to
31:28
work at the Jeep plant also.
31:29
He was a tooling engineer there.
31:33
We go to a lot of car
31:34
shows and we shake hands
31:36
with a lot of these Jeep
31:37
owners and we woo to bring
31:39
the vehicles to the
31:42
exhibit in the convention center
31:44
because we try to get
31:46
vehicles in there that, you know,
31:48
a lot of the Jeep
31:49
community, even some of the real,
31:51
what they call the real
31:52
enthusiasts have never seen.
31:53
Yeah.
31:54
You know, and it's quite an
31:57
eye-opener for a lot of folks
32:00
when they see the variations of vehicles
32:03
that Jeep has produced over the 85 years.
32:07
I'm sure you know a lot of them,
32:09
but one of the ones I was really
32:10
surprised to see was
32:12
what was it called,
32:12
the FC100 and the 150?
32:16
Man, those things are crazy.
32:18
FC for forward cab folks.
32:20
We had one last year, year before,
32:25
guy named Tom Shaw owns
32:26
it and he restored it.
32:30
There's two
32:30
variations that Jeep produced.
32:33
It was an FC150, very short wheelbase.
32:36
And then it was an FC170,
32:38
which was longer, you know,
32:41
longer wheelbase, almost
32:42
like a full size eight foot bed
32:43
on it.
32:45
And the FC170 is like a CJ6.
32:50
It's very awkward when you look at it,
32:52
you just say, "What's
32:53
wrong with this vehicle?
32:54
It's too long for what it looked."
32:57
So he had this 150,
33:00
and if you look at a 150,
33:02
they're really pretty short.
33:03
I mean--
33:03
Yeah, it's weird, it's so weird.
33:05
The story is if you don't
33:07
have any load in the back
33:09
and you really crank down on the brakes,
33:12
because you're actually
33:12
sitting over the front axle,
33:15
that you can do a rear
33:16
wheelie, if you will,
33:17
and you get the rear wheels off.
33:18
So he wanted to, you know,
33:21
he wanted to rectify that situation.
33:24
So he made some modifications
33:26
and he stretched the wheelbase on it.
33:29
So we jokingly tell him he's
33:31
got the only FC160 in captivity.
33:36
And what he did on the,
33:37
you know, kind of, you know,
33:38
identified is in
33:40
addition to having the cab
33:43
over the front axle right behind that,
33:46
and the engine is
33:47
literally right next to you.
33:49
Right, just like the old vans were, yeah.
33:51
That's the engine.
33:52
And then it's got a spare tire,
33:54
most of them had a
33:55
spare tire on one side.
33:56
Well, Tom put a spare tire on each side,
33:59
just for the added balance
34:01
and a little extra balance.
34:02
That's a good idea.
34:03
Yeah, in that back area.
34:04
Oh, he's a really,
34:05
really good engineering guy.
34:07
But yeah, FC170 and so forth,
34:11
a lot of people have never seen those.
34:14
There's also the FJ trucks.
34:19
I don't know if you've seen an FJ truck.
34:21
I think, but go ahead
34:22
with what you were gonna say.
34:23
It looks like an old mail
34:26
truck or like a miniature.
34:28
Oh, is that the one where
34:29
the mailman would stand up in?
34:32
They were really tall.
34:33
They had stand up, set up, set up,
34:36
and a lot of them were right-hand drive
34:38
because they were used for the mail.
34:40
And then some of them
34:40
were left-hand drive
34:42
as a regular delivery vehicle.
34:45
But what's unique about
34:46
them is they are mounted
34:47
on a CJ3 frame, and
34:51
that's how small they are.
34:53
Oh, it's a tiny vehicle.
34:55
It's really tall, huge front windshield.
34:58
I'm trying to remember,
34:59
I think Greg Henderson,
35:00
unofficial use only, was actually--
35:03
Greg, I think, had one of those.
35:04
Yeah, he was actually
35:05
building one for somebody
35:06
that for a, to put a motorcycle,
35:09
carry a motorcycle in the back.
35:11
And I thought that was really cool.
35:13
And then there was, I'm forgetting,
35:15
I'm forgetting the
35:17
individual that was on the show.
35:18
He's a handicap, so it was perfect for
35:20
him for one of those.
35:22
So he could get his
35:22
wheelchair in there and then drive it.
35:24
Yeah, Dave, Dave Adams?
35:28
Adams, yeah, I remembered Adams,
35:29
but I could remember the first name.
35:31
Yeah, that's the guy that's got that one.
35:32
Yeah, so it's a
35:34
really, really cool vehicle.
35:35
Oh, real quick, on the FC,
35:38
you remember the concept vehicle from
35:40
like 2016 or something,
35:42
don't you?
35:43
It was a more modernized look at FC.
35:46
Yeah, man, that was such a cool vehicle.
35:49
You know, one of those FCs would be,
35:51
I was just thinking that one of those FCs
35:52
would be a great platform
35:55
to put a barbecue pit on.
35:57
You could drive, drive out
35:59
the EJS and cook barbecue.
36:01
It's really a great
36:02
platform for a lot of things.
36:04
There was also a
36:06
prototype version of that
36:08
that was like a van, was
36:10
fully enclosed with side doors on.
36:12
Yeah, I think I did see that.
36:13
They did a military version of it.
36:18
It's called an M677, I believe.
36:22
We had one of those
36:23
at the show last year,
36:26
which is interesting.
36:27
Yeah, I think that if you take a Jeep
36:29
and turn it into a van like that,
36:31
you need to put a free 10
36:33
millimeter socket on the side
36:34
so you can suck in the Jeepers.
36:36
(laughing)
36:38
Yeah, we'll have all kinds of
36:41
varieties of the Jeeps there.
36:43
A couple of years ago, we
36:47
hooked up Rugged Ridge with,
36:50
they had a development program
36:54
where they would donate
36:55
some of their accessories
36:56
and so forth to fire departments
37:00
or first responder type operations.
37:03
We have an outfit out
37:04
in Berency, Michigan
37:07
that they have a really a sweet vehicle.
37:12
It's a Rubicon brush truck
37:14
set up to fight small fires
37:18
and stuff out in the field
37:19
or in the woods, all four wheel drive.
37:22
And it's got a little
37:24
pumper set up on it,
37:25
similar to the old fire trucks,
37:27
the old Willys fire
37:28
trucks that you used to see,
37:31
built on a Rubicon chassis.
37:35
So before we get too far away from this,
37:37
and I forget about it
37:38
again, let me ask you,
37:39
so rumor has it, and if you know
37:41
something more detailed
37:43
to this than rumor, I'd like to know,
37:45
but rumor has it by 2030,
37:48
the Wrangler,
37:49
because I don't think the
37:50
Gladiator's gonna be around
37:51
by 2030, I think
37:52
they're gonna get rid of it,
37:54
much like they did with the MJ.
37:55
The MJ only had a few years,
37:57
the last Jeep truck before the Gladiator.
38:01
But the rumor is is that by 2030,
38:05
all the Wranglers are gonna be IFS,
38:08
which to me is, I wouldn't buy a Jeep
38:12
unless it had a solid front axle.
38:15
Yeah, I don't know.
38:15
I mean, I've seen that story or rumor
38:19
or whatever you wanna call it.
38:21
Okay, so you can't talk about it.
38:22
Okay, I gotcha.
38:23
Well, I think you're gonna see,
38:26
I think you might see a
38:27
variant of that before then,
38:30
before 2030, if
38:32
they're talking about doing
38:36
this new Scrambler version
38:38
for desert racing or whatever.
38:41
And that may have an IFS--
38:43
Because that's what
38:43
everybody wants to do,
38:45
is desert race.
38:46
I mean, if you talk about
38:48
people not taking it off-road,
38:49
let's see if they're
38:50
gonna take it to the desert.
38:52
I think they're looking
38:53
for a reason to go IFS
38:55
simply because of death wobble.
38:57
They don't like
38:58
dealing with death wobble.
39:01
I don't know.
39:03
You can pass, this is my opinion.
39:06
All I can tell you is that again,
39:08
this is not tell the tales out of school,
39:11
but about 1986 or 80, no,
39:17
it would have been 1995.
39:21
There was some
39:22
discussion about doing an IFS
39:24
and Wrangler, and we
39:26
actually built a prototype.
39:28
Sure, I can see that.
39:29
At the plant, at Toledo plant.
39:31
We had a very good working relationship
39:35
with the Jeep design people,
39:39
and they would work with us,
39:42
and we had the
39:43
capability there at the plant
39:44
because of the
39:46
stamping plant and so forth
39:47
that we needed to have
39:48
some individual looking
39:51
front frame member or
39:52
whatever, we could do that,
39:54
as opposed to go on to an
39:56
outside engineering firm
39:58
to do the design.
39:59
So we built a couple of those,
40:02
and they did their evaluation of them,
40:04
and the decision
40:06
basically pretty quickly was,
40:07
hey, this solid front
40:09
axle makes a lot of sense
40:11
for the way we are
40:12
using the vehicles today.
40:14
Well, again, correct
40:15
me if I'm wrong on this,
40:16
but my opinion has always
40:17
been that the solid front axle
40:19
is the cheapest and
40:20
strongest thing that you can do
40:22
for an off-road vehicle.
40:23
It's not a desert racer.
40:25
I don't give a crap, a
40:26
rat's ass about racing anywhere
40:28
in my Jeep.
40:29
I wanna go, I wanna be slow and curious.
40:32
I wanna take it
40:33
off-road and go over things
40:35
because not everybody can do that.
40:38
And I don't, I mean, I'm not gonna say
40:40
that it's the cheapest and the strongest,
40:42
but it's obviously cost-effective,
40:45
or we wouldn't be doing it.
40:47
And it's very strong, or it can be built.
40:51
I mean, you see, you talk
40:54
to any of the guys from Dana,
40:55
and they can build
40:57
you an axle that will do
40:58
just about anything you wanna do.
40:59
Oh, Dan, I have no
41:00
doubt that IFS can be made
41:02
very, very strong, but it's
41:04
gonna cost you a lot of money.
41:06
But I go back to my days at Ford
41:09
when one of the plants that I worked at
41:11
built a full-size Ford,
41:15
galaxies, and so forth.
41:17
And then we also had a truck plant
41:20
attached to our facility
41:22
that built the F, they
41:24
were F100s at that time,
41:26
where they went to the 150.
41:27
And they had the twin
41:29
I-beam front suspension,
41:32
which is kind of an IFS derivative
41:36
that got a lot of moving parts.
41:39
And if you are ever wanting
41:42
to do an engineering study
41:44
on tire wear, that's the kind of vehicle
41:47
you wanna put in your
41:50
regimen for testing,
41:52
because they're just the articulation
41:55
of how those front wheels move.
41:58
Again, there are some
42:01
desert racer vehicles
42:02
that have not a standard IFS,
42:06
but a highly modified IFS
42:08
with very centrally located
42:11
pivot points and so forth.
42:13
They're really pretty amazing.
42:14
And there's very little movement
42:16
other than straight up and
42:17
down when you look at those.
42:21
For desert racing, that kind of a vehicle
42:23
kind of makes a lot of sense.
42:24
And I have no problem with IFS.
42:26
I have no problem with anybody
42:27
that wants to do
42:28
anything different like that.
42:29
It built a great thing.
42:30
But to me, if I'm buying a Jeep,
42:33
I want a solid front axle.
42:35
I do not want IFS.
42:37
Now, if I'm not taking it off road,
42:40
the ride's gonna be better.
42:42
I'm not gonna have to
42:42
deal with death wobble,
42:44
because it's just not
42:46
something that you get with IFS.
42:47
At least that's what I've been told.
42:49
But I mean, the Jeep
42:52
could just simply put heavier
42:55
steering components on
42:57
the front of the Jeep
42:58
and it wouldn't have death wobble.
43:01
But I know Steersmart's
43:02
happy that they don't,
43:03
because they sell stuff
43:06
that you can put on there
43:07
that's beefy as hell.
43:09
I mean, the aftermarket
43:11
obviously is very happy
43:13
with the opportunities
43:15
that they have on the Jeep
43:16
for whatever reasons.
43:19
But wait, there's more, yeah.
43:21
I hear less and less about death wobble
43:25
than I have for years.
43:27
Once you've experienced it,
43:31
you're not gonna forget.
43:33
Yeah, we always tell people
43:34
that the little shaky
43:36
steering wheel thing,
43:37
that ain't death wobble.
43:39
That's not, that's exactly right.
43:40
Death wobble is when you
43:41
thought you were going to die.
43:45
It was registered as a 45 MB,
43:55
but it had been rebodied and so forth.
43:58
But the frame itself
43:59
was a 44 or 45 Willys.
44:02
And you got rolling too fast.
44:06
You were putting
44:07
yourself at serious risk.
44:08
But you can't say too fast and Willys,
44:11
because Willys didn't go fast.
44:14
Lest it was you were going down a hill.
44:19
Yeah.
44:21
Anyway, there's a ton of opportunity.
44:25
I think that's one of the reasons
44:27
that the Jeep is such a popular vehicle
44:29
because of the
44:31
aftermarket and the interest.
44:33
Oh my God, the aftermarket is huge,
44:36
just absolutely huge.
44:38
You come to the Jeep Fest Parade,
44:42
and if we have a
44:43
thousand Jeeps in that parade.
44:45
Oh, it's usually 1200,
44:46
because you guys don't know how to count.
44:49
I challenge you to see two
44:51
of them that are the same.
44:53
In any way, they might be the
44:54
same color or the same year.
44:56
But beyond that,
44:57
it's a vehicle that you can put your own
45:01
personal touches on.
45:03
And a lot of people do that.
45:06
I guess-
45:08
And you don't have to be a welder.
45:09
I mean, I think going out a
45:10
weld is a very good thing,
45:12
but you can make so many
45:14
modifications that are a bolt on.
45:15
I mean, you can literally do this
45:17
in your garage or your driveway.
45:19
Just take the proper precautions.
45:21
All right, before we wrap up, Jerry,
45:23
who's your grand marshal at Tilly the
45:27
Jeep Fest this year?
45:29
Yeah, well, we gotta
45:29
talk about the Jeep Fest
45:31
there a little bit more.
45:32
Brad Callis is gonna
45:33
be our grand marshal.
45:35
Brad, as you know, is,
45:36
I call him the king of the YouTube folks.
45:42
I think he's a very
45:43
well-respected guy in the Jeep community.
45:45
He does a nice job for
45:48
all kinds of reasons.
45:50
My personal interest is the guy's got
45:53
a good veteran background,
45:56
and he participates in a lot of the
45:59
events with his son.
46:00
I think he embodies the
46:04
family aspect of the jeeping thing.
46:06
He's always emphasizing
46:07
the environmental aspect.
46:09
Get out there and have fun and be safe.
46:12
And to me, that's what it's about.
46:15
I think he's gonna be
46:16
a good representative
46:18
for the grand marshal position.
46:22
And I think he's gonna have a lot of fun
46:25
here at Tilly the Jeep.
46:25
Oh, you know he's gonna have fun.
46:27
You didn't say, but I just
46:29
wanna mention really quick,
46:30
it's Brad from Trail Recon.
46:32
So Trail Recon is the
46:35
channel, the YouTube channel.
46:37
If you're not already aware of it, you
46:38
should check it out.
46:39
Beautiful videos, a lot
46:41
of off-road type stuff.
46:43
As Brad has gotten rich,
46:45
he's using things that are
46:47
other than Jeeps out there,
46:48
like vans and things.
46:51
But there's plenty of
46:52
Jeep videos that he has here.
46:53
So he's gonna be the
46:55
grand marshal this year.
46:57
Is this your first year
46:58
to have a grand marshal?
46:59
Cause I don't remember
47:00
grand marshal before.
47:01
We've had a grand
47:02
marshal just about every year
47:03
for the parade portion of it.
47:06
And it varies.
47:10
I mean, Bob Bernerdorf
47:13
was the general manager
47:15
for Jeep, the new guy
47:16
who was here last year.
47:18
Oh, nice.
47:19
And he came down and
47:22
he had such a good time
47:24
that I think that's one of the reasons
47:25
that Jeep is one of our
47:27
co-title sponsors this year.
47:29
They're getting more involved with stuff.
47:31
I mean, whenever
47:32
Tavares was part of Jeep,
47:34
they kind of pulled away from that.
47:35
And I think that was a huge,
47:37
a very bad decision on Jeep's part,
47:39
but he's gone and I
47:41
think some more people
47:43
that are more interested in Jeeps
47:45
and the Jeepers and the
47:46
individuals that actually buy Jeeps,
47:48
they're getting more involved in things.
47:49
Now, I think that you
47:51
guys usually have one or two
47:53
of the Jeep concept
47:54
vehicles that are shown
47:55
at Easter Jeep so far.
47:57
Yeah, typically we're
47:58
getting as many as five and six
48:00
of the Jeep concepts.
48:02
We've done this now and
48:04
we have enough contact
48:05
that basically they give me
48:10
a list of what's available
48:13
and we kind of pick
48:14
and choose where we can.
48:15
Call it size.
48:16
And even one of the
48:19
fellows that still has access
48:22
to the old, the vehicles
48:23
that are in the Chrysler Museum
48:26
inventory, we've been able to,
48:29
the last couple of
48:30
years we were able to get
48:31
one or two of those vehicles as well.
48:34
No, I don't know if you're familiar
48:35
with the Comanche Eliminator.
48:37
It was a red short wheelbase
48:42
with unique fender flaring and so forth.
48:46
Not all off and up in my head.
48:48
And folks, we were
48:49
talking about the MJ earlier,
48:51
the Comanche is the MJ.
48:53
Comanche is an MJ.
48:54
So yeah, take a look.
48:55
It's Comanche Eliminator concept.
48:58
You'll be impressed.
49:00
But yeah, we've been
49:03
getting more of those vehicles
49:05
each year they bring and
49:07
then the Jeep brand group
49:10
will bring a lot of their
49:12
demo vehicles that they have
49:14
that runs the show circuit.
49:17
Got to figure that the majority of the
49:18
new car show circuit
49:19
is over by the time
49:20
Jeep Fest rolls around.
49:22
So those vehicles are there.
49:23
That's a good segue,
49:24
because I forget what are the dates
49:26
for the Toledo Jeep Fest again?
49:29
Yeah, August 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th.
49:32
And the big days are, the
49:34
7th, it's a Friday evening.
49:37
The 8th is the main day of activity,
49:39
including the parade.
49:41
And then on Sunday, we were
49:44
open till about one o'clock
49:46
and we have the four
49:49
mile race and one mile walk.
49:53
That's all Jeep themed
49:54
for the outdoorsy folks.
49:57
And they have one of the most
50:01
remarkable finishing battles.
50:04
They've done a series of them that are,
50:07
have become quite
50:08
collectible over the years.
50:11
So there's some things that
50:14
are going on new this year.
50:15
Whitney and I have talked in the past,
50:17
we always try to ramp it up a little bit.
50:19
So one of the things
50:21
we're doing this year
50:22
is that we have this
50:25
glass city crawlers group
50:27
that is one of the main
50:29
Jeep clubs in our area.
50:31
They've got a block
50:32
party that's in a parking lot
50:36
down in the footprint of our event.
50:39
It's about, it holds about
50:40
300 vehicles during the week
50:43
for folks that park downtown.
50:45
And we'll have some car
50:47
crushing, some balance beams
50:49
and some other activities
50:50
where you can drive your Jeep.
50:53
We have a, one of the
50:55
things that we found is we have
50:57
a guy in our community who's a fireman,
51:00
who's a professional
51:02
bodybuilder and whatever.
51:03
He competes in the Arnold
51:05
Schwarzenegger competition
51:07
each year.
51:08
And a couple of years ago,
51:10
he was the world's strongest firefighter.
51:11
That was his, his moniker or whatever.
51:15
But he has, he has
51:16
Jeep themed his activity.
51:19
So he'll run a little
51:20
competition, I believe on Friday.
51:24
And they've got a rig set up where,
51:27
in fact, at one of our hype events,
51:29
he used my LJ that it
51:33
clamps underneath the rear axle.
51:35
And the guy actually
51:36
does, he did like seven squats
51:38
raising by the entire S end
51:40
of that Jeep up off the ground.
51:42
He's also got a set of,
51:44
for guys that have put a,
51:47
changed a 37 inch tire out on the trail,
51:50
and you have to put that flat
51:52
back up on that tire carrier
51:53
in the back, you get a
51:55
sense of how well this guy does,
51:58
but he's got a simulated axle with 37s on
52:02
and a couple of
52:03
additional plates that he'll be,
52:05
he'll be benching and then
52:08
there'll be a small competition
52:10
and along with that.
52:12
And that'll be one of
52:14
the Friday activities.
52:16
And then our Thursday, Friday,
52:18
we have a concert
52:19
downtown on the riverfront.
52:22
And this year we're
52:23
gonna have a drone show.
52:24
It's a Jeep themed drone show.
52:26
You're gonna see, I think some, you know,
52:29
visual displays that recognize 85 years
52:33
of the Jeep production.
52:35
Hopefully we'll get some silhouettes
52:37
and some different grills and so forth.
52:39
Oh, that reminds me, I
52:40
was supposed to send Whitney
52:43
a vector of the Jeep
52:44
talk show logo so that the,
52:47
so that the drones could
52:50
do the Jeep talk show logo.
52:51
That's a good logo for everybody to say.
52:53
(laughs)
52:53
And the other thing is as
52:55
a sweet activity outside
52:57
of just the, you know, the
52:58
Jeep stuff that's going on
52:59
is that, you know, this
53:01
minor league baseball team
53:02
that we have in Toledo is
53:04
one of the more famous ones
53:05
across the United States.
53:06
It's called the Toledo Mud Hens.
53:08
And one of the things
53:09
that they're able to do
53:11
from a management standpoint
53:12
is a couple of times a year
53:14
and they're
53:14
restricted, they get to rebrand.
53:17
So they're gonna be the
53:19
Toledo Mud Shuggers again
53:21
and they'll have the
53:23
Jeep themed uniforms.
53:25
We had some tire track,
53:28
grills and so forth.
53:29
And then they sell the
53:30
merchandise obviously,
53:32
it's gotta be something
53:33
for marketing in this.
53:34
But it's a fun event.
53:37
There is--
53:38
It's a family event too.
53:40
Absolutely a family
53:41
event, stuff for the kids,
53:42
all kinds of stuff.
53:43
It's a great event that you go to.
53:46
Yeah, and a lot of events that somebody,
53:48
they'll always say, oh,
53:48
there's something for everybody.
53:50
Well, you know, we can
53:51
say that and beat it.
53:53
And in fact, there's a schedule out,
53:56
if you go to our
53:56
website at ToledoJeepfest.com
53:59
and look up schedules,
54:00
there's a schedule
54:03
that has the activities
54:06
and times listed.
54:07
And literally there are
54:09
some things that you can attend
54:11
both at the same time.
54:13
There's so much going on.
54:17
And there's a couple of events that,
54:20
you know, you overlook or whatever.
54:23
We partnered with the Toledo Metro Parks
54:26
and we have a Jeep base camp
54:29
that is just outside of our footprint.
54:31
It's, you know, what is
54:32
it, maybe a hundred yards
54:34
from where we
54:34
marshaled and staged a parade.
54:38
It's in one of the Metro Parks
54:39
and they've got some
54:40
really sweet campsites
54:42
that are set up there.
54:43
Well, you know, Chris is gonna be there.
54:45
He's gonna be out there in the--
54:46
Is he gonna be at the
54:47
camp, in base camp this year?
54:49
Thar camper.
54:50
I don't know if you've
54:51
heard of thar camper.
54:51
It's an inflatable camper,
54:53
but he's gonna be out
54:54
there with a recent interview
54:56
that we did with thar camper there.
54:58
Thar camper, always
54:59
have a hard time with that.
55:00
It's like the air camper without the E.
55:03
So he's gonna be out there with that.
55:04
If you get a chance to check it out,
55:06
if you're not familiar with that.
55:08
So Jerry, you guys,
55:09
you talk about all
55:10
these things that you do,
55:11
you do things new, you add
55:13
on to the event every year.
55:16
Damn it, I think it was three years ago
55:18
when I had a wonderful Jeep talk show,
55:21
million dollar idea,
55:23
was having a Jeep honor
55:25
badge if you were in the parade.
55:29
And it hasn't happened yet.
55:31
I asked Whitney about this and she says,
55:32
yeah, we've been
55:33
talking to Jeep about it.
55:34
I don't think you guys wanna do it.
55:35
If it's a bad idea, just tell me
55:37
and I'll stop bringing it up.
55:39
You guys need an honor badge.
55:40
They did an honor badge.
55:41
I think this is right.
55:42
They did an honor
55:43
badge for EJS this year.
55:45
And that's just EJS.
55:48
I mean, EJS is a big deal,
55:49
but this Toledo Jeep Fest in
55:51
the shadow of the Jeep plant,
55:53
they need to put a honor
55:56
badge for the Jeep parade,
55:58
the Toledo Jeep Face Parade.
56:00
I mean, it's great because
56:03
you say I was in the parade.
56:04
Not everybody gets those honor badges.
56:06
I mean, you'll probably be
56:07
able to buy them on eBay,
56:09
but still.
56:11
And that's such a good idea
56:13
that we're gonna
56:13
actually do that this year.
56:15
You will be able to get an honor badge.
56:17
You're kidding me.
56:18
So this must have happened
56:19
after I spoke with Whitney.
56:21
Well, you know, we might
56:23
not be the fastest rabbits
56:25
in town, but it's a good idea.
56:29
We'll work it through.
56:29
And yes, we've gotten a buy-in and Jeep.
56:33
Excellent.
56:35
Oh, that's wonderful.
56:36
I really, so Chris is
56:38
gonna have to get one.
56:39
That's wonderful.
56:42
He'll have to sign up.
56:43
I think he's gonna be in the parade.
56:45
I think he's gonna be driving his
56:46
Gladiator in the parade.
56:48
Okay, good.
56:49
I had a chance to ride with him
56:50
when we were down at
56:51
Bowling Green at his Gladiator.
56:52
He really likes that vehicle.
56:54
Yeah, I was talking to him yesterday.
56:55
He's been doing a lot
56:56
of modifications to it,
56:57
including that camper I
56:58
was telling you about.
56:59
He just recently got the AEV lift
57:02
and 35-inch tires and
57:05
additional wheels on there.
57:06
So he's getting it in the air
57:08
and looking a little more Jeep-y.
57:11
And so we were talking about it.
57:14
And he said that the
57:16
Gladiator's growing on him.
57:17
He had a JK before.
57:19
And when he was gonna replace the JK,
57:20
he actually thought about replacing it
57:22
with another Wrangler.
57:23
And he says the
57:24
Gladiator's really growing on him.
57:25
I love mine.
57:26
I think it's wonderful.
57:28
And also too, like having something
57:29
that isn't like every other Jeep.
57:32
It's kind of like the XJ.
57:33
I mean, but whenever I got the XJ,
57:35
the TJ was really the way to go.
57:37
And then, but we went with the XJ
57:39
because it's a four-door.
57:40
And I mean, frankly, if
57:41
the TJ had been a four-door,
57:43
we would have gotten a four-door TJ
57:44
to carry the family.
57:46
But that didn't happen
57:47
until the JKs came out.
57:49
Well, and I think that folks,
57:53
you get into a Gladiator,
57:55
you understand what
57:57
it is and how it works.
57:59
There's a lot of advantages to that.
58:01
And I think it's
58:03
caught on a little slower
58:04
than I think some
58:05
people would anticipate.
58:06
But I haven't talked to
58:08
anybody that's got one
58:09
that doesn't like it.
58:12
And there are definitely some advantages.
58:14
I mean, you can say,
58:15
well, the bed's not that big.
58:16
You can't do this.
58:17
You can't do that.
58:18
And I said, well, but it has a bed on it.
58:20
It's bigger than the one on the Wrangler.
58:22
And it's not exactly.
58:23
And I see some,
58:27
we're located here,
58:30
just as you come into Michigan from Ohio
58:34
or come from the South,
58:36
we're the intersection of 80, 90 and 75.
58:41
So we see a lot of
58:42
recreational type vehicles
58:45
and we see a lot of towing out here
58:48
in our part of the country.
58:49
I'm sure you do in Texas as well.
58:52
Everybody that I've
58:53
talked to that has toed
58:55
with a Gladiator is
58:57
impressed with how well it toes
58:59
compared to a Wrangler.
59:01
Jeep engineers do such a wonderful job.
59:04
And keep in mind, I
59:05
drove my XJ for 23 years.
59:08
I have a single owner XJ.
59:10
And I drove it every day for 23 years
59:13
until I got the Gladiator.
59:15
And I don't, I didn't lose the experience
59:20
of driving my XJ when
59:21
I got the Gladiator.
59:22
The driving the two are very similar.
59:26
To me, that is the
59:28
only thing I miss really
59:30
is the sound of the 4.0.
59:32
That 3.6 sound is not
59:34
anywhere like the 4.0.
59:35
The 4.0 sound is so unique,
59:38
but it's still a Jeep.
59:39
It's absolutely a Jeep
59:41
from the XJ to the JT.
59:44
All right, so we've talked
59:45
about the Toledo Jeep Fest.
59:47
We talked about a lot
59:47
of interesting things
59:49
have to do with Jeeps
59:49
and the background
59:50
that you have on Jeeps.
59:51
I think I say this every
59:52
time that we get on here
59:53
and talk, Jerry, we need to get you on.
59:56
Whenever we can just talk about Jeeps
59:58
and all the stuff
59:59
that you've been through
1:00:00
with the Jeeps for over the years.
1:00:03
But you can learn a
1:00:04
lot of this for yourself
1:00:05
by going to the Toledo Jeep Fest
1:00:08
coming up here in this August.
1:00:10
And make sure that if you see Jerry,
1:00:13
he's gonna be in a
1:00:13
golf cart, streaming by,
1:00:16
wave him down, make him stop and say,
1:00:18
"Hey, I saw you on the Jeep Talk Show."
1:00:20
(Jerry laughs)
1:00:22
Well, hopefully we'll be there
1:00:24
and we'll take time to chat with you.
1:00:26
So, but seriously,
1:00:29
I think you hit on a very positive note.
1:00:32
When you at an event like this,
1:00:35
you see a cool Jeep,
1:00:36
stop and talk to the
1:00:37
people that either own it.
1:00:39
They'll be close by.
1:00:40
They'll be happy to tell you everything
1:00:42
that you wanna know
1:00:43
and some stuff you never wanted to hear.
1:00:45
Exactly, some stuff you wouldn't have
1:00:47
thought out otherwise.
1:00:47
That's right.
1:00:48
Exactly.
1:00:50
(Jerry laughs)
1:00:50
Every Jeep is cool,
1:00:51
but there's cooler
1:00:52
stories with each model.
1:00:53
Jeep people are not standoffish
1:00:55
and they want to share the information
1:00:58
about the Jeep that they have
1:00:59
because they're proud of it.
1:01:01
And if you've always
1:01:02
wanted to have a Jeep
1:01:03
but you never got one,
1:01:05
this is a great way of going out
1:01:07
and being a part of the Jeep community
1:01:09
and learning about the Jeep community.
1:01:11
Very friendly, very helpful.
1:01:14
And just be careful
1:01:16
because you might buy a Jeep after going.
1:01:17
(Jerry laughs)
1:01:18
Well, it's also not a bad thing.
1:01:20
No, it's not a bad thing at all.
1:01:21
But if they're scared of doing it.
1:01:23
All right, Jerry, thank you so much
1:01:25
for being here with us.
1:01:25
Fascinating as always.
1:01:27
And I'm serious, we
1:01:28
need to get you on here
1:01:29
and just talk about
1:01:30
Jeeps the entire time.
1:01:33
Some of that background
1:01:34
hidden stuff that nobody knows.
1:01:36
One of these times,
1:01:37
maybe I'll be able to sign on
1:01:39
to when you got one of your panel
1:01:40
discussions and we'll--
1:01:42
Yeah, our round table.
1:01:43
That would be wonderful
1:01:44
because that would give
1:01:45
everybody an opportunity
1:01:46
to ask you all those questions.
1:01:48
All right.
1:01:48
All right, Jerry, thank you.
1:01:50
Thank you and we'll see you
1:01:51
guys at the Toledo Jeep Fest.
1:01:53
You're my friend, you're my new friend.