How lame is my idea?

[Jack72]

I recently had an epiphany that I wonder why no one at Jeep had thought of and then I thought, well maybe it’s lame. So here it is: why doesn’t Jeep follow the same dealership model that Harley Davidson does?

When you go to buy a Jeep, you’re dealing with a car salesman at a car lot. Ask about differentials, lift or tire size, you’ll probably get a blank stare. The dealership itself is like any other car dealership.

Harley Davidson dealerships are places people will visit just to say they visited there. Each dealership sells T-shirts marketing that dealership and people buy them like they would a concert T-shirt. They have a big section of the dealership just for merchandise. The salesman typically rides a Harley or at least owns one and can speak about the specs of the latest models.

It seems to me that sometimes being a fan of the Jeep brand is similar to being a Dallas Cowboys fan. Full of disappointment and let down.

Seems to me that if Jeep wanted to turn the brand around, they would create these environments which would as a result, boost sales.

But maybe it’s a lame idea.

 

[JMT]

Jeep seemed to be climaxing in 2003-2004 with the Rubicon and LJ. Perhaps they could have capitalized on that moment as you describe.

 

[rasband]

You'd be surprised how many states have laws perpetuating the "dealer" model, which is largely why buying and servicing cars sucks. But like @JMT indicated, the enthusiast crowd is few and far between (and even in the Jeep world this group is a bit of an anomaly).