[markbila]

It was a different world in 2002. Again I repeat: "they kept with the big monster Hummer as the only offering for too long really killing the name's appeal."

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As Ninjahedge calls jeep a dying brand, February Wrangler sales are up 28% over 2008. Apart from the new Challenger, Jeep is the only bright spot in Chrysler corp sales.

An interesting article from Ward's Auto :

Jeep Brand as Intrepid as Its Vehicles
By Eric Mayne
WardsAuto.com, Sep 10, 2008 9:44 AM

In an economic climate where SUV has become a 4-letter word, what does an auto maker do with a brand solely comprised of utility vehicles? If you are General Motors Corp., you put Hummer up for sale. And if you are Tata Motors Ltd.’s Land Rover, you thumb your nose at volatile pump prices by repositioning the marque as an elite luxury brand. As for Jeep, analysts recommend little or no change. “Jeep is secure just because it’s Jeep,” says Alexander Edwards, president of Strategic Vision Inc.

Regular-grade gasoline prices peaked in July at $4.11 per gallon, nearly 50% above year-ago levels, according the American Automobile Assn., and sucked the life from the once-thriving SUV segment. Jeep deliveries fell also, but at a lesser rate, 24%, than SUV sales. The brand recorded 247,717 sales through the year’s first eight months, compared with 326,209 in like-2007.

Observers credit Jeep’s strong brand image for its resilience. And while Chrysler LLC executives are eager to highlight Jeep’s substance, they concede the brand benefits from a unique style. “It’s a really tribal brand,” says Deborah Meyer, vice president and chief marketing officer. “People become part of a club. You drive your Wrangler and (other Jeep drivers) wave at you. You wave at other Jeeps. You have that whole sense of community.” This affinity even has spawned a $500 million cottage industry around branded consumer products, from T-shirts to toys. In the fourth quarter, marketers expect to sell their 2-millionth Jeep-emblazoned baby stroller.

“Think about where branding’s going today,” Meyer tells Ward’s in a recent interview. “People, when they choose brands, a lot of times, bring it into their lives, because it’s part of who they are. We see it as a big trend, and we think it’s going to continue.” Says Edwards, whose California-based consultancy studies consumer buying patterns and brand loyalty: “Jeep is not your soccer-mom SUV, even though it’s used as a soccer-mom SUV.”

He contends Jeep’s bold message, derived from its military heritage as a battlefield workhorse, is best defined by a special-edition Wrangler released in 2003. Featuring an appearance package that suggested toughness, the limited-run model celebrated video-game heroine Lara Croft, who was portrayed that year in an action film starring Angelina Jolie.

Compass sales in 2008 lag last year’s levels by 24.7%, according to Ward’s. However, Patriot deliveries, which totaled 44,154 through August, are more than double the Compass tally and represent an 89% jump compared with the first eight months of its launch year. “The hard-core Jeepers will probably never accept those products,” Plecha says in a recent interview. “But that’s OK as long as we give them great products like (the) Wrangler.” In addition, Ralph Gilles, who became vice president-design Sept. 1 following the retirement of Trevor Creed, tells Ward’s he envisions a Jeep-brand pickup inspired by the JT concept truck Chrysler unveiled last year. “Jeep will be all right in the end,” Peterson says, partly because of the brand’s cache.
Says Meyer: “Consumers are at a much higher level of brand sophistication or brand savvy than they were when I started in marketing 20 years ago. So, when they choose a brand, it is something that they take on as part of their lifestyle.”
The phenomenon can be explained, in part, through the theory of “conspicuous consumption” put forward by 19th century sociologist and economist Thorsten Veblen, according to Canadian academic Vicky Paraschak. Conspicuous consumption is the act of acquiring over-the-top possessions, and being seen to acquire them. Combine this with the fundamental human need for socialization and you have a snapshot of the Jeep experience, suggests Parashak, a sociology instructor at Ontario-based University of Windsor. “You crave belonging, a sense of self-esteem through being valued by the group,” she says. “(Jeep owners) find a community they can belong to that lines up with the values that they ascribe to themselves.”

http://wardsauto.com/ar/jeep_cachet_intrepid_080910/

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As I was saying: GM messed up a great oppurtunity with the Hummer brand.

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