MotorWeek goes back to the AMC days of Jeep and gives us a glimpse at the strengths and weaknesses of the 1983 Wagoneer.
These days, the Jeep Wagoneer is an object of desire. There are entire businesses dedicated to their restoration and sale because so many people want the massive “wood”-sided SUVs. Fashion blogs show SJs turned into glorified personal accessories and the go-to transportation for those who want to look as if they just walked out of an L.L. Bean ad.
That’s not to say the Wagoneer hasn’t always been wanted. It was in production for decades, so, clearly, people had a thing for its handsome styling and four-wheel-drive capabilities. It’s just that back in the day, the Wagoneer was just a vehicle for sale, not an anachronistic object of lust for the fashion- and investment-conscious. MotorWeek was around during that time and got the chance to shake the ’83 AMC Jeep Wagoneer down on and off road.
It’s hard to imagine in these times when a Grand Cherokee Trackhawk can have a sticker price of more than $90,000, but back in the early ’80s, you could buy a top-of-the-line Wagoneer Limited for less than $20,000. That got you a bouncy ride, leather seats, loads of passenger space, and 95 cubic feet of storage room when you removed the rear bench seat. With that also came plastic wood trim, flimsy tailgate hinges, and a whole lot of glare on the gauges. On the plus side, using the Wagoneer’s Selec-Trac four-wheel drive system was as easy as pulling down on a knob and moving a lever right or left. Getting the two-speed transfer case to cooperate and switch between 4HI and 4LO took a little more strength and assertiveness.
In the early days of the Reagan era, MotorWeek balked at the optional 5.9-liter V8’s thirst for fuel. Thirteen mpg in the city, 18 mpg on the highway, and 14 mpg in the real world was awful back then and it still is. Good thing gas is pretty cheap these days. Instagram fashion shoots wouldn’t be the same without it.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
