Notes on the 2007 JK
Jeep Wrangler:
I saw this
parked in a pullover on an off ramp on I70 at the Mt. Evan's exit in
Idaho Springs on 8-21-05. I was in the left lane and was unable to exit
over and park right next to it. I got off at the next exit in Idaho
Springs and came back, because of were they had parked it I was unable
to legally or safely pull up behind it. I had hoped to drive right up
behind it, park, and then run out and take some photos of the
undercarriage, interior, and exterior. I was able to park across a
creek from them about 200 feet away about about 50 feet higher up.
I
quickly put my telephoto on and took some pictures, some other DCX guys
were in the parking lot where I was taking pictures from. I was yelled
a
couple of times but with no particular message other than "HEY!" I took
some photos from the rear and side because that was the only clear shot
I could get at the time, I had planned to try and get closer by
walking, but the DCX guys down at the Jeep noticed what I was doing and
hurried their loading along (the Jeep and other test mules were being
loaded into a semitrailer). Several DCX guys tried to block my view by
standing between me and the Jeep while they were loading it, and then
pulled a large dodge van between me and the Jeep and pulled it into the
trailer.
I wish I would have been able to get a clearer shot of the
interior. At one point a driver opened the drivers side door, had I
been on the other side of the Jeep I would have been able to see more
of the interior. However what you can see of it seems to be very
similar to the gladiator concept. If you look at the third brakelight
it
can be seen that it is an LED style, and I noticed when the brakes were
applied to pull it forward that they came on quicker than normal bulbs,
like the way LEDs do. I suspect the age old trailer light tail-lights
will be replaced with a newer lower profile light.
Overall the vehicle
seemed larger and boxyer than the TJ. The front LCA seemed rather long
compared to the TJ/XJ setup, it also seemed to be tucked in higher to
the body. The rear brakes are no longer a drum, switching to discs. The
bottom rear shock mounts come down quite far as to be almost level with
the inside rim of the wheel. The muffler runs left to right, not front
to back. A 2inch receiver hitch is seen, however it should be noted
that the other DCX test car spotted(a 4 door sedan) also had a receiver
hitch installed. Reports from other colorado Jeepers said they saw
other DCX test vehicles towing Uhaul trailers. Therefore I do not know
how much faith I place on the hitch being an accurate indicator of it
being a permanent feature on the vehicle. When the vehicle
started up
it was clear that it was not a diesel engine test-mule. I had hoped
that I would get some confirmation about a diesel option. The
windshield still appears to be foldable, and the doors removable. The
BFG mud terrain tires are also an interesting thing to see, I suspect
they have been picked for testing only, but perhaps this choice in
testing indicates that a similar tire will be used, or not at all, I
guess I will have to wait until the release before I can find out for
sure.



Note the tow
hook on the front:

Tow hitch and shock
mount:


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