Am I a snob?

[rang-a-stang]

Let me start off by saying, I have nothing against JKs, JKUs, XJs, TJs, LJs, JLs, WJs, CJs, etc. etc. etc. I like them, would drive them, consider them Jeeps however you want to define "Jeep". I am not too proud to Jeep wave first, even though my truck is almost always older and honestly, I will always wave back at the less "Jeep" jeeps out there like Renegade, Liberty, and Patriot.

On my way to work today (driving my Cherokee), I crossed paths with at least 5 different Jeeps (not counting Liberty's, Patriot's, Renegades, etc.) in the ~17 mile/25 minute drive. Not a single one, Jeep waved back. Inside my pretty narrow mind this thought crosses "You little brat. Don't you realize, my rig is just as Jeep as your ______?!?" (the blank is where I listed JK, XJ, etc. not a cuss word).

Then my thoughts start to digress quickly: "You have more money in your stupid tube fenders, and LEDs than you have in your stock open axles." or "Wow! That's a good lookin' $1500 bumper! It must be all worth that money because there isn't a scratch on it so obviously all that money must have paid for some AWESOME coatings that don't scratch when you off road!"

In all honesty, if I heard someone else say those words out loud, I would consider them snobby, snooty, or generally unpleasant. Then again, when you see a rig with ginormous tires and TONS of offroad goodies (like a nice winch, bright red high lift jack mounted in a VERY conspicuous place, extra gas tanks, LEDs all over the place, and the like) on a SPOTLESS (both on and under) rig, it seems pretty shallow to me.

Does that make me a snob? You guys have these thoughts too? I get more waves from guys in older Blazers, Broncos, and Land Cruisers than I get from the Wrangler/CJ guys...

[Kaiserjeeps]

Nope. Just keep waving and that will increase their chances of eventually waving back in the future to someone else. And all those well equipped and over built jeeps you see now are only as good as their drivers. Put them in the little sluice on the rubicon and see how they roll (SIC). How does that saying go? All the money in the world will not make up for lack of common sense.
And scratches and or dents speak for themselves. Just keep waving.
It's the right thing to do.

[babywag]

Nah, but I agree 95% of the new stuff I see like you described (all decked out), will never see anything but pavement.

There's a new last year(JK) where one of my daughter's goes to school. Anything/everything can add to one. Asked the guy how it wheels, and he's like what? wheels?

[SJTD]

I used to think the newer Jeeps, Wranglers and up, should greet me in my CJ first since I had a cooler vehicle. My user name on that big forum whose name escapes me since I rarely go there is CJ Snob.

I have come to the conclusion that that attitude is rather...snobbish so I now wave at them whether they acknowledge it or not.

Actually I signed up with that forum long after my attitude changed but I liked the name.

The original "real" Jeepers wave the others who just drive them because they like them don't and that's fine.

I do draw the line at H4's I mean JK's, Jeep SUV's are SUV's with the exception of SJ's, of course.

[johnsonic]

I got my 1st FSJ in 1999 and the Jeep wave was definitely a thing (coincidentally, a different '84 gold GW - which is the same kind I have now!).

Only time I get a wave now is when passing another GW, and that's more of a full-on freakout than a wave!

Maybe Jeep has gotten so mainstream / soccer mom in the last 20 years that the wave is dying out.

[silverfoote]

I am guilty of having purchased an FSJ (and researched a little beforehand), and only since getting on the forums did I discover that the "Jeep wave" is a thing.

[rang-a-stang]

Haha! I had heard of the Jeep wave before my FSJ but never had a Jeep so I never really "got it". I have a buddy that has had a few CJs and now a NT Cherokee and he says it started as a CJ to CJ thing and when the Wranglers came out, they were shunned (excluded from the Jeep wave). If you google "Jeep Wave" you'll see the "rules". I don't really care about the rules, to me a Jeep is a Jeep (including the reject Jeeps like Renegade and CheroFiats). The aircooled VW guys have a similar wave and some rules.

But I do think if you get waved to, you should ALWAYS wave back.

[xabn82]

In 1981 my Dad bought a 1977 CJ7. We live in Chattanooga so when we would drive around and my Dad would get and give the Jeep wave. At first I asked my Dad "Do you know that person?" He would respond "It's a Jeep think son." Back then the only things running around were CJ and FSJ. I've owned a 1986 CJ and would wave but I'm like most today, don't consider a Compass, Liberty or Renagade a Jeep. Just an SUV made by Jeep. I don't think a lot of people even realize that Jeep actually made a full size truck unless they get behind you and they see "JEEP" on the tailgate. I'm at a loss also when it comes to new Jeeps. I'd love to have a new Rubicon but couldn't see spending 50K on one and dragging it through some of theses Tennessee woods. I'd buy a YJ and rip it up for that.

[ZackN920]

Why even bother with the so called Jeep wave? Nobody seems to know about it or care anymore. Especially the damn yuppie types that get these modern jeeps. I ain't waving unless I know you or you wave first, and then I'm thinkin to myself, "Who the is that, and why the are they waving to me?" No one waves at me when I'm in the XJ or my dad's WJ, unless they know and recognize me. I know of a few people though(never met) that do (repeatedly) wave when I'm in the Wagon. I think they just like seeing it and appreciate it. I nod and wave back to them.

Oh and that's another thing. The damn people that get the dealership modified (built) jeep's that look like they can off-road anywhere, but don't. To me, they buy them as a statement to say "look at me, I have money, I'm better than you". That's good... To bad you probably can't drive a real jeep that isn't modded and doesn't have all those electronic goodies (and TRACTION CONTROL) to make you seem like a good offroad driver if you were to actually take it off road. They go to drive one that is all mechanical and would most likely manage to get it stuck fast. I also wonder if some of these types are just having there mid life crisis or even trying to compensate for some shortcoming... Or is it just for the "flash". Lot of wasted money for that, and unimpressive as well.




......sorry for the rant......

[ZackN920]

But I do think if you get waved to, you should ALWAYS wave back.

I do know some people that pay absolutly no attention to occupants in other car's while driving. SO, they dont even notice you waved at them. Not that big of deal to me.

[fulsizjeep]

I am kind of oblivious quite a bit when out and about around here. I hardly ever notice a friend out on the road. I do notice other FSJs and will wave but most other Jeeps are kind of over looked and they are everywhere. I get most my waves on the county road I live on here in rural SW Colorado. When I see them wave, I wave back. Most of them are neighbors and service people working the area including UPS and FedEx drivers. Waving is not just a Jeep thing.

[rang-a-stang]

I do know some people that pay absolutly no attention to occupants in other car's while driving. SO, they dont even notice you waved at them. Not that big of deal to me.

Ok, fair statement. I'll take that.

My wife says I am ridiculous at how much I look around at other cars when I drive. Always looking for cool rides, funny stickers, reading license plates, laughing at ghetto mods, etc.

[ShagWagon]

My Jeep is the coolest one I've ever seen and it's paid for.

Everyone else is just jealous.

[FSJunkie]

Keep in mind that most people driving a Jeep less than 20 years old are just driving it because it's a car that fits their needs. They don't have brand loyalty or loyalty to other owners of that brand. It is just a car to them like any other car of any other brand name.

Most people are not us.

Also depends on region. Drivers don't wave much at each other in the southwest where I grew up, but I noticed a lot of drivers in the Midwest and plains states waving at each other regardless of the vehicle they each drove.

[Curly5759]

Most people today have no idea what a FSJ is. I don't care if they wave or not. Yesterday a newer Cherokee (one of the little fiat rip-offs) waved at me. I thought, cool!, they recognized my FSJ Cherokee. Then I looked in the mirror, a TJ was behind me. I think they were waving at them!