You might not know as much about the Jeep Gladiator as you think. So far, the year has not been good for the truck with a retractable roof. Sales are down 29% from 2022, the most significant drop in the midsize class. No one who makes a living with the Gladiator wants that, so the company that makes them and the dealers are working together to lower the price of some cars by up to $20,000. Cars Direct was the first to notice the big price drops, which they say are caused by both OEM and dealer discounts. From now until October 2, Jeep is offering a 10% discount on all Gladiators and a 15% discount on Gladiator Sports in California. Because of this, sellers should be in a great place to sell more units. These benefits from the manufacturer help West Covina CDJR lower the prices of its Gladiator fleet even more—prices for the 15 Jeep trucks for sale range from $52,000 to $53,000. Between $16,483 and $20,159 will be saved. That means a brand-new Gladiator with a three-piece hard top, an eight-speed automatic transmission, a maximum tow package, and other features can be bought for $32,346. I do, for sure. It will be enough. Is that right? In the second quarter of 2023, Jeep sold 13,751 Gladiators, 34% less than the year before. So, the Honda Ridgeline sold 14,512 more units than the rugged off-road car in the second quarter. This is a 36.8% gain. Neither comes close to the Toyota Tacoma, which sold 63,266 units in the second quarter. Even more impressive are the Taco’s year-to-date sales numbers, which include August sales. It’s hard to say why people don’t care about Gladiators. They are the only trucks in the class with easily removable doors and a convertible roof, and they are all crew cabs, which customers want. All of them also have four-wheel drive, which is what most people want. They don’t work as well as you’d think for a Wrangler car with a truck bed.
