Part of what helps you, our passionate forum members, get along so well is that you all share a common experience: the lovable sickness that is owning a Jeep JK.
That lovable sickness manifests itself in several ways, and you all were kind enough to identify the various symptoms in the excellent thread, “You know you own a JK if…“. (Many of you did the same thing concerning Jeep ownership in general.)
Logically, a lot of the symptoms of being a JK driver involve your wallets. For instance, according to forum member LeeMick, you own a JK if you add up your wife’s or your girlfriend’s shopping list and say, “I could have bought (insert next mod) with that…” Mark71 said, “4 months later and your wife is still throwing it up in your face about how much money you spent on wheels, tires, and lift, and you think to yourself, just wait till she sees the invoice for the new bumpers and winch.”
Other signs of having a raging case of JK ownership make themselves known in social ways. “You know you own a JK if you know at least one person at every parts store within 100 miles. Most of the time 2 people just incase one has the day off,” Lancejk said. jkfireman18 discovered another indicator of JK ownership: “When you park your doorless jeep in a parking lot and you overhear a mother talking to her little son about getting a doorless vehicle when he gets older”.
There are plenty more symptoms in the thread below. Once you read them, you’ll probably end up saying the same thing Skidster said: “After reading these posts, I’m now sure I am addicted to my JK….”
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.
