Anyone with info on when dealers will be taking orders on the Off-road version....I'm thinking I might go for the Trail-Rated version but I'm not sure how long I have to wait to order it?

There's more info in this thread (http://www.jeeppatriot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=497) you might want to check out on this subject.

You can actually build and price a Patriot with the off-road tranny at jeep.com bu the don't list the off-road group as an option?

I'm thinking it won't take until next Fall....that doesn't make sense to me...the 08's will be out then...they have done a lot of marketing on the trail-rated version of the Patriot....surely, they want to produce it soon so people can buy it??

Asked my dealer today, said he had no idea - didn't even know the FDII was an option and couldn't find it in the computer. Wasn't the smartest on the Patriot, I told him more about the SUV then he knew.

The reason I believe that FDII will be taking awhile is that the Patriot is built on the same line as the Caliber and Compass as most of you know. Since it is just one line building all 3 vehicles, I think it takes them longer to integrate new options because they don't want a problem to shut the line down and lose the capability of producing the other two vehicles.

Well Put Fuzz. And FDII is a niche market...dealers wont mind not having FDII until later either cause they will try to put those customers in a full off road liberty or GC.

I went to the Houston auto show yesterday and spoke with the Jeep rep. They had a Patriot there and the guy seemed pretty knowledgable. He said that due to the production delays he said the FDII's were behind but they should be hitting dealerships in May.