Once we're done wrapping up the last magazine of the year, each Jp editor sits down and thumbs through all 10 issues to pick his 10 favorite Jeeps. This year, aside from the project vehicles owned by the staff members, the field was open to any Jeep that appeared anywhere in the pages of Jp.
After all the votes are in, the story monkey assigned to write this annual awards presentation (yours truly) automatically selects any Jeep that gets more than two votes. Thankfully, there are only three editors on staff (John Cappa, Christian Hazel, and Pete Trasborg), so a tie vote doesn't have to be decided by a cage-match knife fight. Good thing for the other staffers because I can carve like turkey is currency. After that, it's up to said monkey to pick however many rigs may be needed to fill in the blanks.
While there's really no true award other than bragging rights, you can be sure no money has changed hands (unfortunately) to sway the judging. These are really our favorites. This year, the staff actually agreed on eight. That's got to be some kind of record. So here for your approval or amusement are Jp's top-10 Jeeps of 2007.
With most of the staff enjoying a newfound appreciation for vintage stock wheeling after the great rockcrawling burnout of 2006, Jim Dresslar's '72 CJ-5 represents a high-water mark for both early CJ design and technology and for tasteful modifications that don't detract from the stock flavor.
Hazel: It's orange. That's nearly enough to put me into a tailspin. But the white steel wheels, the nicely upholstered stock seats, and the CJ-7-size door openings that I won't clock my knee on every time I get in and out of it keep me awake at night thinking about it.
Trasborg: OK, maybe I wouldn't want to drive one every day, but man, that's a nice intermediate CJ-5.
Without Jeep's team of maverick designers and engineers, we'd likely never have vehicles like the Rubicon or this bitchin' pickup/ute based off the Egyptian military JK chassis. All right, technically, we don't have the JT yet, but how much more do we have to beg? This vehicle really struck a chord with the Jeep populous, from its utility, off-road capability, and even the vintage beige hue.
Trasborg: I'm bringing the MJ back due to popular demand. People really like that truck.
Cappa (whose nearly every selection was a pickup truck): It's a truck. See a theme yet? Come on, Jeep, build it already.
Apparently, the boys like their MJs, because betweenCappa and Trasborg, they had nearly every one from 2007 on their lists. Ron's '88 MJ with an '01 XJ front clip appeared in the Jeep Shots section and wowed the gang with its clean lines, 611/42-inch lift, 33-inch Pro Comp MT tires, and updated interior featuring most of the '01 XJ's amenities-from power windows to airbags.
Cappa: This is simple, if Jeep actually built a pickup in '01, I would have one. By combining an older Comanche and a newer Cherokee, that's exactly what Ron Farrell built here. Funny thing is our Project TJ (Red) was almost an '01 Solar Yellow XJ-until Jeep decided to discontinue them.
Trasborg: If the geniuses at Jeep didn't kill the Comanche, we'd all be tripping over ourselves to get a '98-'01 MJ, instead of the '92.
To a collection of enthusiasts largely accustomed to the slow-speed world of rockcrawling or the visually stunted world of mud bogging, which is viewed from behind a cloud of goo, the acrobatic antics of these Scandanavian 4x4 nuts is pure adrenaline. Huge engines, lots of nitrous, and paddle tires on the front axle? How could you possibly ask for more?
Trasborg: When are we going to Norway, the Netherlands, or wherever these Jeeps are?
Hazel: It's Iceland, Pete, but you go look for them in the volcanic terrain of the Netherlands. We'll wait.
Cappa: Who wouldn't want a nitrous-breathing, 1,000hp, four-paddled flattie to rip through the mud, dunes, and hydroplane on lakes? And then make your buddies wet themselves and cry like little girls when you romp on the throttle within 20 feet of 'em. Not to mention you could sandblast the paint off an H2 in less than 10 seconds, and with a change of tires, you could go four-wheel-drifting to the local burger joint.