Hmph...

[Madame X]

:cry:
Boy, here I was all excited about owning my new Liberty and I find out we're the redheaded stepchild of the Jeep community.

I went to read some posts in a few Jeep newsgroups and I all I see is flack about the IFS and the V6.

Maybe I won't be doing any rock crawling in my Liberty, but I expect it to handle a TON better on the nasty, pitted, pot-holed dirt roads that you have to travel to get to most Arizona lakes than what I've driven in the past. It may not be off-roadin' by some people's standards but lemme tell ya, you'll tear up a car (and probably most car-based SUV's) if you drive on them every weekend like I do.

I guess I'll stick to the Liberty-only forums so I don't get my feelings hurt. :?

[deserthorizons]

Don't let others spoil your excitement or fun..
It keeps getting better all the time..
Jeeps have been like this since the beginning,
the new kid on the block has to prove itself..
Which is all fine and dandy, cause that means we
have to go Jeepin to do that..

I don't know how many of the posts you have read
on this board, but there are quite a few that show what the KJ can do..

[Snotty]

Everytime Jeep comes out with a new Jeep, everyone hates it. I remember when everyone gave Wranglers crap for the square headlights and they still don't like the coils that are under my TJ. You have a Jeep, I happen to think it's cool looking so don't worry about it...

[deserthorizons]

You may have stumbled across this post in your 'surfing'..
It is on the jeepsunlimited bulletin board..

http://forums.jeepsunlimited.com/ubb/Forum21/HTML/001255.html

(it was an early attempt at showing the KJ is a Jeep..)

[MutantNinjaJeepinator]

You'll find folks more accepting here and at Rockcrawler.Com.
I've found that, once you leave the tight circle of "hardcore Jeep only" fans, folks are more accepting. I've had respectful comments from non-Jeep 4-wheelers from the start. Some of the more hardcore are starting to soften a little: (a) as more Liberty owners try to use their KJs off-road and (b) as they see that the KJ is really capable for 90%+ of off-roading uses (and some would say comparable to 99%+ when talking stock vehicles). And, with the local folks that I have wheeled with from JeepsUnlimited, they have come to know me and encourage me; in spite of what they think of the KJ.

But, no matter. You and I bought our Jeeps to do with them what we will and let the rest of those folks be damned. It's none of their business.

Now, having said all that: the folks on this forum are really great and helpful and have provided a lot of support to us KJ Owners. Even if we are the step-children of the family :D

[MutantNinjaJeepinator]

P.S. For all the talk you might hear and read, I don't think half those people regularly tackle the kind of terrain you will in Arizona. For the simple reason that they don't have it in many parts of the country.

Like the folks from NYC, for instance. [I'm not picking on anyone, I just haven't forgot the time when someone from New York insinuated we didn't have any real mountains or terrain out here in Washington state.]

[Chris S]

Yeah, don't let it bug you.
The Cherokee and YJ especially got all the same flack when they first came out. It's true that the Liberty is not as easy to modify as most past Jeeps, but in near-stock form it does better than most non-Jeep rigs in it's class. Certainly better than any non-Jeep rig in it's price range.

Remember that half the guys who give Libertys a hard time for not being a "True Jeep" are also bashing the new Rubicon TJ ( the best off-road vehicle Jeep has ever built) because there's no need for someone to spend weeks of work and thousands of dollars modifying the Rubicon to do hard core trails. So they don't want to see streetable Jeeps, and they don't want to see hard core Jeeps. These guys should just put a mirror in front of their monitor so they can be happy and leave the rest of us alone. :D

[Madame X]

Thanks, all... I've already decided to take mine out to play in the dirt this weekend and hopefully I can get a few decent pictures. If nothing else, it'll make ME feel vindicated. 8)

By the way, Jeepinator: I went to high school in a teeny-tiny little town in southern Washington. We lived up a dirt road that was probably rougher than most of the terrain those guys have! It was so steep you couldn't get up it in the winter time without 4WD. I remember sliding my stupid ol' Ford around trying to get home from school, only to end up walking and having my dad come pull me out with the Blazer...

I sure would have loved to have a Liberty back then!

[MutantNinjaJeepinator]

These guys should just put a mirror in front of their monitor so they can be happy and leave the rest of us alone. :D

ROFLOL :D :D
That's a great characterization Chris!
I think you've nailed it.

Cheers!

[MutantNinjaJeepinator]

Thanks, all... I've already decided to take mine out to play in the dirt this weekend and hopefully I can get a few decent pictures. If nothing else, it'll make ME feel vindicated. 8)

By the way, Jeepinator: I went to high school in a teeny-tiny little town in southern Washington. We lived up a dirt road that was probably rougher than most of the terrain those guys have! It was so steep you couldn't get up it in the winter time without 4WD. I remember sliding my stupid ol' Ford around trying to get home from school, only to end up walking and having my dad come pull me out with the Blazer...

I sure would have loved to have a Liberty back then!

Have a great time. My son and I have really come to enjoy taking the Jeep out and seeing what kind of trouble we can get into.

I grew up in the deserts and mountains of California, Nevada and Arizona and have been wondering lately why I never owned a Jeep before. I certainly could have used one for some of the places I took my "street" cars :) The only reason I can come up with was that I always thought they were expensive, which, of course, is rediculous [unless you count what I've spent on mods :)]. I had an Ford station wagon and a really old Caddy that I used to take on backroads near Lake Mead and Mt. Charleston. I remember learning the hard way that I got more traction in reverse after sliding my Caddy down a frozen road at Kyle Canyon (Mt. Charleston). My sister used to live at Lee Canyon (Mt. Charleston) and she bought an XJ to get in and out.

[JeepTJ2K]

Dear Madame,

I kinda got the same feeling the first time I took my brand new shiny black Wrangler up to Radical Hill and Redcone, here in Colorado. A couple of the LandCruiser guys were pointing and laughing and making comments about helping to push if I needed it. It was so totally gratifying to wipe the smiles off their faces as I easily drove to the top without bottoming out once or having to stop and reverse to make the last turn ( like they did ). You own a Jeep - Be Proud !!

[firegod33]

Not to drag threads up, from the archives, but thought you folks might like this. This Libby was a rental. It did as well as my XJ, and even outperformed my XJ, on a very rough and rutted hill climb.

http://imagem.webphotos.iwon.com/1000015060/1000015060_923200295539AM0.1149103