Still Scrambling

A new version of the Scrambler no longer will be slotted into Jeep's lineup this year, but that doesn't mean a sport/utility-truck (SUT) project is dead.

“I wouldn't rule it out at all,” says Craig Love, vice-president-activity vehicle product team, Jeep. “There are 4-wheel-drive SUTs in Jeep's history and there could be in Jeep's future.”

Love points to past iterations of the Scrambler and the long-gone Comanche pickup as integral to the brand's identity. And the Scrambler's likely platform, a stretched Wrangler, just debuted underpinning the 4-door Wrangler Unlimited.

Chrysler wants to grow Jeep's lineup but has struggled to put its finger on the right product.

“We think the Jeep brand can grow,” Love says. “What we cannot do is badge-engineer something and call it a Jeep when it's not a Jeep.”

The Wrangler Unlimited joins the Wrangler, Liberty and Grand Cherokee, which is getting an overhaul for the '05 model year, in Jeep's limited SUV lineup.