The Jeep wave, you may have experienced it if you're have been or currently are a Jeep owner. Your driving down the road, going to go wheel at one of your favorite off road spots, and you meet another Jeep owner that is wildly waving back at you behind his or her windshield. The first time you experienced this you may have been wondering why the person was waving at you and did you happen to know them. The thing is, once you become a Jeep owner, you also become part of a community if you like it or not. Jeep owners are very passionate about his or her Jeep, and share this passion with other Jeep owners. Its as if you belong to a club, one where everyone looks out for one another. Jeep owners that are familiar with the "Jeep Wave", understand why they are being waved at, and understand that its a symbol from the other person meaning, "its nice to run into you and nice to share the road with another passionate Jeep owner, have a good day".
Back in 2003, I purchased my first ever Jeep Wrangler, a 1993 model. I was very unfamiliar with the Jeep world as this was my first one, and so I gradually started reading about them, learning all I could about the Wrangler, and CJ models, and will I guess I missed the part on the Jeep wave. I remember driving down the road one day, and I met an old CJ, and they had removed the doors but had left the hardtop on, and as we met, the driver waved out the side of his Jeep, and I thought to myself, "who the heck was that?", and I continued on. Will I met another Jeep, this time a Wrangler, and they waved as we met each other, and at this point I am just baffled. Will...like the saying goes, "third times charm", I finally understood what was going on, they where waving back because I was another Jeep owner. The one thing I did notice was, it seemed that the owners of older model Jeeps waved more than the folks driving the newer model Wranglers. Which gets me into my third paragraph.
This is strictly my opinions and my beliefs, I have no proof to back the following statements up. Today, as I follow the current Jeep enthusiasts forums, I always seem to find a statement about the all famous "Jeep Wave", and all seem to ask, "what happened to the Jeep Wave?". This is my opinion as to why I think Jeep owners today don't wave as much as they used to, and keep in mind, I am totally biased on what I am about to say. In 2007, Jeep redesigned the Wrangler, and started to offer a four door model. With the all new four door model, you are going to attract a whole new breed to the brand, folks that are unfamiliar with the brand, which I think is a really great thing. I hated to see the old time traditional Jeep body turn into a four door but I agree with it as will because it was a great idea to keep the Jeep brand alive. And to, you are also going to attract current owners to the all new four door model because the extra room is invaluable for hauling more gear. Also, you have a small percentage that look at a vehicle as just a means of transportation and nothing else, "get me to work and back".
Anyway, my point being, I believe the new Wrangler attracted more folks to the brand, ones that where unfamiliar with the Jeep lifestyle that older owners know so will. These newer owners may be just like I stated, looking for an SUV that could haul his or her family around, have off road capabilities for bad weather and remove the top in the summer for a little fun, and have no desire to understand the Jeep lifestyle, and I say that's fine, I am not downing that. Today, I see more and more Jeeps on the roads in my area, the southeast, than I used to ever see. And most that I meet, they hardly ever wave back, and like I stated, I am not downing that, its the owners choice as to whether he or she wants to wave or not. And just as I first noticed back in 2003, it seems that most of the owners of older model Jeeps seem to wave back but not as much since back when.
Wave or not to wave, I have no problem with it either way, waving back at another Jeep owner is strictly your choice. Maybe as time goes on, things begin to change and maybe that is just it, folks are steering clear of that good old mid twentieth century morals in favor of more individualism. What ever the case, I felt the need to express my views on the all famous "Jeep Wave". Anyway guys, thanks for reading and as always, Happy Jeeping.
Wave or not to wave, I have no problem with it either way, waving back at another Jeep owner is strictly your choice. Maybe as time goes on, things begin to change and maybe that is just it, folks are steering clear of that good old mid twentieth century morals in favor of more individualism. What ever the case, I felt the need to express my views on the all famous "Jeep Wave". Anyway guys, thanks for reading and as always, Happy Jeeping.
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