Jeep Showcases Easter Treats

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy

The annual Easter Jeep Safari in Moab will kick off later this month, meaning we’re in for a deluge of teaser shots for whatever the mad scientists have cooked up in the Jeep labs ahead of this year’s gathering.

Straight out of the box we have this artist’s rendering of a Wrangler, clad in High Velocity paint and showing up for duty in Willys trim. We speculate this is a Wrangler and not a Gladiator thanks to the charging door peeking out from the right-hand side of the image, a dead giveaway this thing rocks a 4xe powertrain. Although, it’d certainly be cool if Jeep used this year’s EJS to show off a preliminary look at a Gladiator 4xe.


In addition to the in-yer-face hue, the Willys trim level is embossed into the hood of this thing instead of showing up as a set of vinyl stickers. One-off details like these are what make the EJS concept rigs so appealing. We’d be remiss not to mention the jumbo tires sticking up from the bottom of the frame, suggesting this Jeep will have all manner of suspension modifications – some of which may or may not eventually be available through the ever-growing Jeep accessories catalog. 


A shout-out to the so-called ‘Universal Jeep’ is seen in the background, a sure-fire reference to the term Willys applied to its quarter-ton CJ utility vehicles after the war. This is a term which showed up in advertisements throughout the 1950s and well into the ‘60s. Historians of the brand may argue the term may apply for any CJ produced between 1942 and 1986, at which point the Wrangler name entered the lexicon along with square headlights, the latter of which roiled the fan base into a frothing frenzy.


This year’s EJS takes place at the end of March, due to a twist in the Gregorian calendar which places Easter prior to April Fool’s for the first time in several years. 


[Image: Jeep]


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Matthew Guy
Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

More by Matthew Guy

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 2 comments
  • Redapple2 Redapple2 on Mar 08, 2024

    We NEVER said Embossed in the plant. It s stamped. 2) It looks like an X. Not S. So what is the heck is a Willy X. A porno?

    • Parkave231 Parkave231 on Mar 08, 2024

      "Is that a Dana 35 in your pocket, or are you happy to see me?"


  • Slavuta Why is everybody sweating? Like sedans? - go buy one. Better - 2. Let CRV/RAV rust on the dealer lot. I have 3 sedans on the driveway. My neighbor - 2. Neighbors on each of our other side - 8 SUVs.
  • Theflyersfan With sedans, especially, I wonder how many of those sales are to rental fleets. With the exception of the Civic and Accord, there are still rows of sedans mixed in with the RAV4s at every airport rental lot. I doubt the breakdown in sales is publicly published, so who knows... GM isn't out of the sedan business - Cadillac exists and I can't believe I'm typing this but they are actually decent - and I think they are making a huge mistake, especially if there's an extended oil price hike (cough...Iran...cough) and people want smaller and hybrids. But if one is only tied to the quarterly shareholder reports and not trends and the big picture, bad decisions like this get made.
  • Wjtinfwb Not proud of what Stellantis is rolling out?
  • Wjtinfwb Absolutely. But not incredibly high-tech, AWD, mega performance sedans with amazing styling and outrageous price tags. GM needs a new Impala and LeSabre. 6 passenger, comfortable, conservative, dead nuts reliable and inexpensive enough for a family guy making 70k a year or less to be able to afford. Ford should bring back the Fusion, modernized, maybe a bit bigger and give us that Hybrid option again. An updated Taurus, harkening back to the Gen 1 and updated version that easily hold 6, offer a huge trunk, elevated handling and ride and modest power that offers great fuel economy. Like the GM have a version that a working mom can afford. The last decade car makers have focused on building cars that American's want, but eliminated what they need. When a Ford Escape of Chevy Blazer can be optioned up to 50k, you've lost the plot.
  • Willie If both nations were actually free market economies I would be totally opposed. The US is closer to being one, but China does a lot to prop up the sectors they want to dominate allowing them to sell WAY below cost, functionally dumping their goods in our market to destroy competition. I have seen this in my area recently with shrimp farmed by Chinese comglomerates being sold super cheap to push local producers (who have to live at US prices and obey US laws) out of business.China also has VERY lax safety and environmental laws which reduce costs greatly. It isn't an equal playing field, they don't play fair.
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