Mrs Chance and I got a Jeep Wrangler about a year ago. It’s a good set of wheels for up here in the wilds of the Blue Ridge Mountains: tough, dependable, and hasn’t slowed down regardless of the weather. Even took it through a corn field once when a combine decided to play chicken with me (those suckers take up more than their side of a two-lane, let me tell YOU).
My question is this: ever since we’ve had it people have been waving to us. Not in your normal small-town friendliness, we’re used to that. I mean that people driving other Jeep Wranglers driving on the road wave to us.
As mentioned, we live in the Blue Ridge mountains, halfway up the Short Hill near the WV line. Farther towards Washington DC no one waves.
To sum up:
Only in rural areas
Only Jeep Wranglers
Driver only waves
Did we accidentally join a revolutionary underground by purchasing this Jeep? Are we fomenting rebellion by waving back all the time? If there IS a secret society why are we not getting our newsletters?
Does this happen in other areas of the country or is it just here in VA? Both Virginians and West Virginians wave.
I do not own a jeep, but when my friend Kurt came by to visit in his jeep, he explained that driving around, it was customary to wave, smile and honk at other jeep drivers. It was a hoot n anny of a good time, I must admit.
Well, how do, Mr. Chance. As a fellow owner of a Wrangler, I can tell you I’ve noticed the exact thing over here in the bustling burg of Springfield, IL.
I think the deal is this-Wranglers, much like Mustangs or Corvettes, have a very distinct following and loyal customer base, dating back to the CJ-5, CJ-7, and Willys days. These owners often have local clubs whose members organize off-roading trips or trade parts, and so on. The wave is simply the smallest ritual of this group of enthusiasts.
There’s also an annual nationwide meeting of Jeep enthusiasts called Camp Jeep or Jeepboree or something like that. People from all over migrate to some predetermined spot and show off their customized/classic/hot shot Jeeps, buy paraphanalia and parts, and swap stories. Never been to one, but I’d guess it’s a lot of fun. And if I’m not mistaken, this year’s Camp is going to be right around you area-the brochure I got mentioned the Blue Ridge area, I think.
As for the newsletters-I’m surprised you’re not getting them. I’ve been getting these glossy little newsletters and catalogs for the Jeep stuff since I got mine around 2 years ago. Not too deep in the writing, but a nice gesture if you don’t mind the junk mail every other month.
So, anyway, the wave’s just a little code thing between Jeep owners. Don’t freak out, and if you’re not uneasy about waving to complete strangers whose only connection to you is an automobile, wave back.
Up here in Vermont the ski resorts host “Jeep Days” where anyone driving a Jeep gets a free lift pass on a given day. Any Jeep, any year, if you can roll it into the parking lot, you get a (on average) $30 ticket free. Always struck me as a strange marketing ploy, but after reading about the Cult of Jeep, it suddenly makes sense.
My ex-husband and I had a Jeep Wrangler back in 1996 and the same thing happened. No matter where we went, the drivers in other Jeeps waved at us. And it was just the one finger wave too. Every year one of the car dealerships here in town has a Jeep Jamboree and hundreds of Jeep owners get together to go on scavenger hunts and to go muddin. They have contests for oldest Jeep, best lookin Jeep, etc. It was a lot of fun.
I’ve got a new Jeep Wrangler (recently got rid of an '81 CJ-7 that I had since '90, but it’s still in my family) and a Harley. Yes, you bought into a club. I’m sure that it was unintentional. I think that with a lot of people and the Harley thing, it’s not so unintentional. Personally, I just like practical vehicles and motorcycles.
When you’re driving a CJ or Wrangler and you approach another CJ or Wrangler, wave and smile. When you’re driving a Hog and you approach another Hog (or, for me, any other two-wheeler), casually wave an extended to the side “V” at him or her. As Flypsyde said, it’s just a little ‘code’ thing among owners of an easily distiguishable vehicle. I guess it’s like people with a third arm growing out of their head being able to recognize others with their affliction easily in a crowd and waving to them.
(btw, I’m Richmond, originally - in NC now. I’m not sure where the next Jeep-thing is, but if a fellow Doper is there, that may be a bit more of an incentive for me to go.)
(man! – there have been 15 posts to this since I started typing)
Y’all are receving the Jeep Wave. It is mandatory that everyone who owns a Jeep wave to other Jeep owners. I wave at every Jeep on the road, but rarely get any waves back because although my Jeep is slightly modified, i have a yuppyfied Jeep(see pic below).
Also, if you have any ?s about Jeeps, or just want to hang out with some Jeep owners, jeepsunlimited.com has the best forum on the http://www.
I don’t know about the Blue Ridge Mountains, but here in Eugene, OR, a college town, almost all the Jeep Wranglers are owned by frat boys, who would die sooner than take their shiny new rig off-road.
I know what you mean about the secret society, though. When I was a kid, my dad had a CJ-5 (he dorve it off the road more than on the road), and any other Jeep owner would wave and honk politely upon passing. I’m guessing that only the drivers who know what a good thing they’ve got belong to this secret society. The urban Jeep owners up north obviously don’t know the pleasure of taking a well-crafted off-road machine off the friggin’ road, which is where Jeeps truly belong.
<<<hijack>>>
They buy these vehicles because of the rugged imagery seen of TV, the Jeep going up Everest, or across the Mississippi, and they say to themselves, “I must have that.” And WTF is up with rich people buying HumVees? Talk about using the wrong tool for the job!! Have you ever ridden in one of these bastards? The ride is worse than a Pinto, they handle like a Maverick, and accelerate like a Vega. But they look cool, and I guess that’s all that matters when you have a shitload of money, and a need to compensate for your shortcomings…
<<<men in white coats dragging me away>>>
Don’t worry – no one in a brand new $25,000 (every bell and whistle I could get) Jeep is going to wave at your piece of shit.
I’ll have to agree w/ Spolvy:
I have always thought that the Wranglers were girly compared to my bad-ass CJ, especially the early '90’s models, but, due to the public bitching, the new ones are pretty ballsy.
Yeah, Mynd, they have done a lot to them. I got one reasonably cheap, because the only thing I asked for that was extra was the soundbar that holds the speakers above and directly behind the two front seats. I neglected to mention, however, that I wanted nice, meaty tires, and instead got these puny things that look like bicycle tires. I keep meaning to get a new set, but money seems to be finding a way out of my account of late. Other than that, I’m pretty happy with mine-how can you not like a vehicle in which the carpet unsnaps and comes up from the floor for easy hosing out?
The pullout carpet was a HUGE bonus!!
Also, I thought they were pretty flexible as to where you could put your accessories…
After getting the soundbar stolen for the 2nd time, I bought a set of big-ass waterproof boat speakers and bolted/screwed them to the wheel wells next to the back seats. They were soooo easy to put in and they never left after that. (they did get beat on a bit, but they never left)
Yeah yeah yeah, just don’t go callin me up to pull your little jeep out of the wet grass
But seriously… I have a friend who had a Jeep back in '97 (97 Wrangler).
We used to go out cruisin in it all the time. Some of the things we did in it were pretty amazing to the girls we would bring along, but it was pretty embarrasing when we had to call the tow trucks to come pull us out of the mud puddles.
Once we were out with 3 other jeeps, and when we got stuck in the mud, a cj came after us… and got stuck in the mud. Luckily, we were the only idiots out there without a tow rope, and we all made kind of a chain… 4 jeeps roped together, 2 in the mud, 2 out, and got out in abou 10 minutes… still embarassing. Anyway I started carrying my camera with me whenever we went out. The pictures are posted on my friend’s website at:
The worst part yet was when we tried to go up a simple little hill and couldn’t make it over the very top. As we sat there trying to make it over the top, the engine quit, and we ended up… well just go look at the last few pictures on the page. The damage was over 4600$.
Hmmm, another reason to buy the older, tougher scout. It costs less to turn around and buy another one than it does to fix a jeep
I thought that it was pretty funny that the video, if I recall correctly, recommended hosing out the Jeep to clean it.
You had 2 soundbars stolen? That sucks. I was hoping that they weren’t too easy to grab. I like the security of the hard top, but it is summer. A friend of mine got a pretty good alarm system for her Jeep from Circuit City – a Viper system – for $400, installed w/ keyless entry for her half-doors (not as stupid as it sounds – locked half-doors are (somewhat) a deterrent.)
Ya got me there. The day before I bought my Wrangler I was supposed to go to Charlotte to purchase an 84 CJ-7 for ~$3600 (I was hoping for some negotiation). I do like older vehicles, since they’re a hell of a lot easier to work on, and cheaper, too, but I love warranties more, I guess.
I liked that Jeep demolition site, I think. It actually made me a bit nauseous – my Jeep is the same color. I could just feel my insurance rates going up as I viewed that site.
I have a Grand Cherokee, and hubby has a Wrangler. He takes his jamboreeing usually twice a year at least.
I have noticed that when I drive his little Jeep, most other Wrangler drivers wave. When I drive my Grand Cherokee, I don’t get any waves, but there is still a sort of jeep club. It’s most noticeable in heavy traffic, other Jeeps will let me in faster. I tend to do the same. Jeep prejudice, I guess. shrug
