It’s a little misleading to say a lot of people want a new Jeep pickup. They want new Jeep pickups. Plural. If you ask 100 prospective buyers of the truck, you’ll probably get 100 different dream versions of it they want to roll out of Toledo.
A writer for Road & Track has his own vision of the rig. “I imagine—and would prefer—four seats and a small bed attached. This will make it longer and less off-road capable than the Unlimited model, it’s true, but simply replacing the rear seats with a bed (as is the case with the current JK-8 conversion kit offered by Mopar) is a bit too limiting.”
A special design with some visual toughness and originality (think the AEV Brute Double Cab pictured above) would also be appreciated, as would a garage-friendly size. To hell with towing capacity. Just make sure the truck is capable off-road. In other words: a Jeep.
Those preferences are hard to disagree with, although many of you probably want the Jeep truck to have robust payload and towing capacities so you can pull a boat or other weekend toys. Such figures probably won’t be hard to achieve with aluminum panels (a la the next Wrangler) that should free up weight to be used elsewhere and a diesel engine. It would be nice if the Jeep pickup has the latest version of Uconnect, a backup camera, and the availibility of a Rubicon Hard Rock package.
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.
