We last left the Jeep Wagoneer at a branching point in 1984, where the SJ Wagoneer Limited was rebranded as the Grand Wagoneer, and the new XJ Cherokee donned some fancy trim and became the base trim Wagoneer and upmarket Wagoneer Limited. AMC’s desired outcome was for the XJ Cherokee to replace the SJ in all ways, and send the old Wagoneer off into the sunset. While that strategy worked for the Cherokee models, buyers were not keen on the expensive and compact XJ Wagoneer. Sales of the new Wagoneer never hit 25,000 in a year and dropped off quickly. Meanwhile, AMC was forced to continue selling the old and outdated but profitable Grand Wagoneer.
As mentioned previously, at the launch of the XJ Wagoneer the SJ lineup was consolidated from two trims into one. The base model Brougham was discontinued, and the Wagoneer Limited was renamed Grand Wagoneer. Midway through 1984 the single-model lineup was interrupted when Jeep introduced a Wagoneer Custom, a short-lived and odd experiment. The Custom trim was last used in 1983 and was sold at that time as Custom Wagoneer. But this time the Custom was even more basic. It went without wood …
Go to Source
Author: Corey Lewis
