May 5th, 2009 by Ross Edwards
According to Edmunds, Chrysler’s restructuring plans include the possibility of eliminating the Jeep Wrangler. This sounds like a terrible idea, why would Chrysler get rid of the Wrangler, the company’s most recognizable, most fun, most utilitarian and most awesome vehicle?
Apparently because nobody would buy it. Inside the thousands of pages of Chrysler’s restructuring documents, financial advisors suggest that the Jeep Wrangler might not be sellable, if it came to that. According to the documents, buying, building and selling the Wrangler would cost a buyer between $550 million and $1 billion, and the market for auto brands is weak right now. So weak, in fact, that there might not be anyone willing to pay that much.
This is terrible news, but seems pretty unlikely. There’s no way that Chrysler and Fiat are so dumb that they’d let the one of the only desireble car in Chrysler’s lineup just disappear. And if Jeep were on the auction block, it’s hard to believe that not a single automaker would be willing to shell out the dough for it.