Commander
It seems to be common practice now for automotive stylists to seek inspiration from vehicles that were sold decades earlier. Some notable reincarnations have been the VW Beetle, the Ford Mustang and the PT Cruiser.
So far, it has been found that retro-designs do find plenty of willing buyers. Probably, because there are many car owners out there who still reckon, “They don’t build ‘em like they used to”.
However, the Jeep designers didn’t have to delve too deeply into time to ‘invent’ the new Commander. They, seemingly, just pulled out the drawings of the recently-discontinued XJ Cherokee (1984-2001), stretched the dimensions here and there, and found enough room into which they could squeeze two more passengers.
So, the Commander might attract ex-Cherokee owners. There are plenty of those. Over its incredibly-long life span, Jeep sold more than 3 million of the compact Cherokees.
Even if no old-timers considered the Commander, the big wagon should still prove to be a money-earner for DaimlerChrysler. Buyers will be attracted by styling that is ‘different’, will appreciate the extra room (and practicality) created by the flat body panels, and be assured by the fact that the 4WD system is purpose-built to take them almost anywhere their dreams suggest.
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