Quite a run indeed!

Sadly, I guess all good things come to an end.

Jeep Compass and Patriot production ends at the Belvidere plant, retooling begins - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

 

As the world goes around, its been awhile coming!
Nice to see the last model is a White Patriot.

Who's got the nice butt BTW

 

It was fun seeing Belvidere grow through the years. That place was buzzing around 2011-12. The workers made a so so MK line respectable and we saw this happen through forum posts by all of you. Happy Holidays and GL through next year!

 

Sad to see the Patriot go. :crying:

Hard not to be cynical about the so-called 'replacement.' Less in every way, except price. :frown2:

I just hope lil Ignatz outlasts the replacement and lives to see a bona fide worthy replacement vehicle in the FCA line-up.

Considering FCA's failure with the Chrysler 200, the Dodge Dart, the re-introduction of Fiat, and now the new Compass, :doh: they've launched a bunch of losers in recent years. While the Renegade is doing so-so it still isn't up to the Patriot sales figure, even though Patriot sales declined. I don't think there will be a swarm of buyers rushing out to replace their Patriots with Renegades. Sure some will rush out to buy something new like the Compass, but I can't imagine much after that initial surge.

Really the FCA sales ledger looks rather bleak. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fca-us-reports-november-2016-us-sales-300371404.html

I feel for the dealers. How can they sell these things? "Hey, take a look at the new Compass. Its almost as good at the Patriot and doesn't cost much more!" Pay more and get less. Now that's one heck of a sales pitch! :BLAM:

 

Fiat wants to use their platforms etc. They want to employ Italians since the government is begging companies to increase employment. When the employees had a 42% share of Chrysler, I thought they might keep their share of the company. Use it as leverage against Fiat if Fiat would ever try to pull some tricks. Well, they are pulling tricks. Wrangler is the next older Jeep on the chopping block. Then Grand Cherokee might see some Fiatizing. Challenger, Charger, Durango......Need I go on.

 

That's a Dude Croat !!! :surprise:

 

It's a shame, really. The Patriot has proven to be an extremely popular vehicle. Here in Vegas, you can't go to the 7/11 on the corner without seeing at least one.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

It's a shame, really. The Patriot has proven to be an extremely popular vehicle. Here in Vegas, you can't go to the 7/11 on the corner without seeing at least one.

The same for me in my part of Wisconsin. I would find it odd to not see another on the road at any given point.

 

A sad day indeed. I'm fortunate to own one. I'll keep an open mind regarding the Compass. Renegade with 1.6 was unimpressive. Turbo and manual trans just doesn't work. It might work if they offered the larger engine with the manual transmission. I wish Jeep would offer a farm/ranch/woods version of the Wrangler. Under 3000lbs, 2.0 – 2.5 naturally aspirated 4 cyl, 5spd with low/high, lower to ground so wife can get in, not too unlike my 2002 Tracker. They can keep their fully automated, bloated, Hummeresque V12 super turbo charged crap for the portion of the population who confuse power and bulk with ability.

 

A few places on your side of the Mississippi River have Willys MB models for sale in good condition. Browsing craigslist, they're impossible to find out here, but I've found the occasional jackpot in Salt Lake City, Sacramento, Reno, etc. in decent condition for $22k or so. 70-75 yrs old, and still pretty as ever.

 

Trying to find a stripped down Wrangler for son coming back from England. He says the Impreza will do OK so I am looking.

 

I think FCA is doomed. I suppose the Wrangler will survive . . . unless FCA decides to replace that, too. What will they have left that sells? Can they float the entire corporation on Ram P/Us, Renegades and GCs?? Keep in mind the Renegade sales are still less than the Patriot/Compass sales, even with Patriot/Compass availability drying up. Sales of everything else are falling off the charts and they just killed their #2 seller while sales were still increasing. :frown2:

Does FCA have a board of directors? Are they pleased with those sale numbers?

 

I think FCA is doomed. I suppose the Wrangler will survive . . . unless FCA decides to replace that, too. What will they have left that sells? Can they float the entire corporation on Ram P/Us, Renegades and GCs?? Keep in mind the Renegade sales are still less than the Patriot/Compass sales, even with Patriot/Compass availability drying up. Sales of everything else are falling off the charts and tthey just killed their #2 seller while sales were still increasing. :frown2:

Does FCA have a board of directors? Are they pleased with those sale numbers?

Yup, I agree! I see Patriots on the road everywhere, they must have been a good seller. And yet the lot down the street has a bunch of Wranglers that have been on the lot since early last year... How do you make money keeping inventory on the lot for a whole year?

I really enjoy my Patriot, for what I do it's the ideal vehicle. Oh well, since I bought mine new last Feb it should last me for a good few years yet, as long as I don't bang it up or something!

 

I have a 2015 Patriot with almost 26K miles. I'm debating on what my next vehicle will be after I pay this vehicle off. The transmission in the Cherokee and Renegade continues to be a problem and a service manager confirmed it still is in the newer models although not as bad as the first couple of years of those vehicles. I assume the new Compass will have the same issue and I can't shake all the bad customer reviews of those other two models.

I was thinking a Cherokee or Compass Trailhawk would be in my future and I'd use my Patriot as a down payment, I'm not sure. Also, the new Compass will be rolling the 215/65r17's which you can't get an A/T tire for. So now I'm debating if I should take the gamble or see if something new comes out from a different company in the next couple of years.

If they bump up the horsepower on the new improved Impreza or Crosstrek I may need to go that route. Good gas mileage and reliability.

 

Why not just continue to drive the Patriot after you pay it off?

 

When I pay the Patriot off I have about 5 years until I retire. I'd like to have something a little bit newer and paid off when I retire.

 

Ahh, I see...it's a timing thing. Too bad they won't still be making the Patriot then.
I'm already retired and my 2012 has 32k miles on it. In a couple more years I plan to find a 2016 with very low mileage (with a 6 speed transmission), and that may be the last one I'll ever need. I don't drive even 10k miles a year, and some of those go on my old truck.

 

Ok I may not have the "last" Patriot. But I did buy a 2017 Patriot Sport in mid September. Somewhat close to last. I'm in Winnipeg Canada. Supposedly I was the 1st to buy a 2017 in this region. Even had a problem registering it for insurance, they didn't have all the details on it yet from Jeep Canada.

 

You get a stick, or auto?

 

I want that last patriot Wonder if I can find it someplace. The last of the boxy 4x4s are going away... Next up the wrangler, the sole survivor.

 

The Wrangler will not be long for this world if FCA continues to own Jeep. They will likely replace it with something built on a Fiat platform. After all the Wrangler is based on a design from the 1930s, suffers from dated styling, etc., etc. . . .

I'm serious -- I'm sure they have plans to restyle, update, whatever you want to call it, it means phasing out the Wrangler and replacing it with a new design of their own. They'll call it the "next generation Wrangler." Just wait and see.

 

Auto.

 

If you look back at automobile history car companies make the same mistakes over and over and go bankrupt
or just go out of business. When Lee Iacocca saved Ford (Mustang etc.) they fired him so he went on to save
Chrysler (mini van etc.). Jeep is the most successful line in the FCA empire so it's the candidate to mess with
and destroy. They may get their act together, but the odds of that look bleak seeing what they have done so
far. My 07 just became a orphan like my dad's old Desoto. I plan to stand back and see what happens. After
3 Jeeps I would like to stay with the brand. My son in Chicago just bought a Wrangler (he had a 2002 Cherokee
the last real one made) and he said they are not dealing on them because it is the only vehicle that they have left
that is selling.

 

I would LOVE to receive the last Patriot off the assembly line in order to carry on a tradition: In the spring of 1993, through my workplace, I received the very last Dodge Ram D-model pick up truck off the Warren Michigan assembly line, #2,867,766. Yes, the truck belonged to my workplace, but I cared for it as my own. Regular washing and waxing. I even displayed it in several local MOPAR auto shows (Forgot to mention that to my employer!). Sadly, I was directed to use the truck as a work vehicle and it served Michigan in a public role. It eventually went to a private buyer and I don't know its whereabouts.

I have pictures and a newspaper article of the event, with me accepting the keys to the truck.

 

I had hoped they'd keep the Patriot and give it the Compass name. It would have been the best way to combine the 2. The Compass is a goofy looking thing and the Patriot is a good little rig.

-Charles