Whether it be the body being made out of aluminum or not, the motor being smaller or not or the roof being removable or not, it seems like much of the changes we will see in the all new 2018 Jeep JL Wrangler will all be focused on weight savings". In yet another article published in AllPar, there is a growing amount of evidence or, should I say, reasonable speculation and all of it pointing to a Wrangler that will not have a removable top as we know it.
The sad truth is that I get it. I understand why Jeep would need to make these changes or more to the case, is being forced to make these changes by our government and I can only imagine how frustrating it is for the designers. That being said, I know they are a creative bunch and I for one am eager to see what kind of solutions they come up with.
...changing the basic design of the top of the Wrangler could save even more weight. Cars without tops, such as convertibles and roadsters, need a great deal of body bolstering to maintain torsional rigidity and to avoid falling apart — a special concern for Wrangler, which is built to withstand abuse.
This, combined with the possibility of new safety rules, reportedly resulted in a redesign which eliminates the “safety bar” in favor of a stronger set of permanent tubes over the top of the vehicle, which would weight by cutting the need for lower-body reinforcement. Weight remains the biggest factor in city mileage.
If this is true, and sales flagged, Jeep could do a fixed-roof version with relatively little re-engineering and retooling.
This does not mean there will be no soft top at all, no removable doors, or even no fold-down windshield, though the latter may be difficult to justify.
http://www.allpar.com/SUVs/jeep/wrangler/2017.html
The sad truth is that I get it. I understand why Jeep would need to make these changes or more to the case, is being forced to make these changes by our government and I can only imagine how frustrating it is for the designers. That being said, I know they are a creative bunch and I for one am eager to see what kind of solutions they come up with.