Pre-wave!

chessiehokie

New member
Howdy!

I've really caught the itch and am fitting the JL into my master plan for retirement in conjunction with a planned move from Virginia to southwest Colorado... as of midnight tonight I am exactly 365 days from retirement! But I'm getting ahead of myself, so here's my story...

I did a 3-year enlistment in the Army in the late 1970's, stationed in Germany. During those three years, I regularly drove an M151A2 "Jeep" in all sorts of conditions... roads (even Autobahns!), off-roads, cross country, snow, mud, etc. and loved every minute of it! Would still love to have such a basic machine to putter around in and work on. In the mid-80's I acquired a 1978 CJ-7 which I really liked and puttered around in for a couple of years before being stationed in Germany again. On my return to the States I got a used Bronco II with an automatic, which was fun, but I didn't have a lot of faith in the transmission or transfer case. Next came a manual Dodge Dakota 4X4, which was rugged, but the long wheelbase was a hindrance. Then I got soft... a Honda CR-V with automatic, which I convinced myself was capable... against all evidence. Next up, and my current ride... a 6-speed manual Subaru Outback, which I really love and is the best riding car I have ever had. Along the way there have been a few other vehicles... VW Super Beetle, Renault Alliance, Renault 11 (while in Germany), Plymouth Voyager and Grand Voyager, Honda Odyssey and Civic.

For years I have planned to move to southwest Colorado for retirement and have spent a couple of weeks there in the fall every year for the past 5 years. Two years ago I attempted briefly to drive the historic Bachelor Loop around Creede in a rental sedan, but wisely gave up before getting stuck. So this fall I rented a JK Sport S Unlimited for a day to do the drive as well as a visit to the Summitville ghost town and rediscovered the joys and capabilities of The Real McCoy. I had been planning to get a new Outback in conjunction with my future move, but this Jeep rental started some serious soul searching and a re-evaluation. The more I looked into the back roads of southwest Colorado... in particular a YouTube video of Black Bear Pass... I realized that an Outback wouldn't do what I needed to be able to do. An RV is part of my retirement plan as well... but an Outback can't be towed like a Jeep can behind an RV.

Then I discovered just a couple of weeks ago about the JL release and started looking into it. Everything I have seen has convinced me this is the way to go and I am salivating at the possibilities! This past Saturday I visited the local Jeep dealer... they had just received their very first JL (4-door Sahara). I took it for a test drive and was surprised at the refinement in the ride compared to the JK I had driven in the fall... everything on the JL seems to be an improvement! Naturally I'm leaning towards the Rubicon. I'm also curious about the future diesel, since my purchase likely won't be until Spring 2019 right after the retirement move.

Can't wait! :)
 

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