But even then, the level of “uncivilized” of today’s wranglers vs. the ones 20+ years ago is a wide gulf.

Uh, so every stereotypical dealer?  In any waiting room of any service center, sales people will walk by, offer a bottle of water, chit chat, and see if there’s someone willing to turn their perfectly good car that is in for an oil change, tire rotation, cabin filter change, etc into a trade in on a new model.

Hard disagree here about the plate not being the reason you are pulled over.

My cats were the same way when I bought the anti-cat spray for Christmas trees.  It was like seasoning to them as they started eating and licking it even more,

As God as my witness, I thought drones could fly

Starred for the Mustang II comments. One of mine was built for the 1/8th mile and I loved smoking Fox bodies, 300 Zs, and Camaros off the line back in the 90s.

I had a Mustang that got <10 MPG at 65mph (first and last 100+ mile trip I took in that one).

We bought a nicely equipped Hybrid Corolla for 25k. The key was waiting for one to come in stock - they don’t seem to take orders, so you put down a refundable deposit on a future arrival (you’re able to see the color, options, etc, but can’t customize) and basically take it or leave it when it comes in.

They were the sweet spot the muscle cars of old paired with the station wagons with big engines.

Back when they first came out, I parked next to the guy who had the first 2006 Dodge Charger in our area. Coincidentally, it was Magnesium Pearl which was the same color as my Magnum.

At this point, rarity is driving the market more than anything. 20 years ago, cars of this vintage were a lot more plentiful but as the years have passed they are becoming scarce.

Ah, I see you’re a man of culture as well

The dealers being upset over the rising MSRP is tempered by the fact that they slap on any number of random parts on their Wranglers with a 100-200% mark-up. Lift kits, light bars, stripes and other decals, and over-sized tires on street wheels.

Is that a banana in your pocket? Yes, and an orange and a pocket comb and an extra set of keys and my sunglasses.

I saw one in Orange County a few years ago.  It looked sharp, though I had to look up what it was since I had never seen one before.

Two options

I saw the inverse of that vehicle in SW Missouri of all places. It was an old Volkswagon Microbus with Democrat bumper stickers. I got as far back as Mondale/Ferraro before I passed it.

Wrangler with the top off - if it’s a cold day, get lava jackets.

The Mustang II had some pretty big shoes to fill after the wild success of Ford’s first muscle car, but didn’t manage to match up on almost any level. Maybe it was the anticipation and excitement that killed this one, or maybe it really was just a bad car, we may never know.

Anyone else see the headline and panic that the new owners had turned Jalopnik into a Tesla mouthpiece?