I worked on the KJ line from it's start in 2002 up until 2008. I was there working as the first pilots came down the line, and there the day the last KJ rolled off final.
Months before they launched, there were people in the plant working. I was one of them. There were a few mules (test cars) running around the factory. Bodyshop had one, and decided to hold a drawing to allow employees to take one home overnight. I won one of the first drawings. After filling out some paperwork (I didn't even read it) I asked to go home right away. I didn't even want to finish my shift. Working cut into my KJ driving time! They let me leave ASAP.
I spent the next 12 hours driving the snot out of that mule. I stopped at everyone's house I knew to show off the new KJ. Parents, in-laws, brother, friends, everyone wanted to see the new Jeep. Remember, most people hadn't seen the new Jeep yet. I was getting stares and thumbs up everywhere I went. Wherever I stopped I was surrounded with people asking questions. Gotta say I was diggin' my 24 hours of fame. The next day I had to give it back, along with a "debriefing". I don't' remember everything I said, but I do recall that all the women loved it. The guys not so much.
Whenever a new model comes out, everyone at the plant hates it. Jeep doesn't change their product line very often. The XJ had been our bread and butter for almost 20 years. Now, this little, pudgy upstart was going to replace it. The XJ created the SUV market. Now it was being replaced? That's crazy! In the end though, everyone loved the KJ. We'd gladly take it back and give Detroit (home of the grand cherokee/commander) this darn KK. We didn't like the fact that our Toledo product mimiced what's built in Detroit. Toledo is the home of the Jeep. Detroit copies us, we don't copy Detroit. Man I hate that KK front end!
Back on topic...On April 1st of '02, at the end of the line sat S1, the first KJ that was for sale. We were working Sunday, doing repairs. The line had stopped Friday leaving S1 as the very first car to roll off the line Monday morning. I'm sure there was to be a bunch of important people there for the launch, but I wouldn't get to see it. I worked nights and the festivities were a to be on day shift. At that time, there was just a handful of us working in the silence of the empty plant. S1 was white. I don't remember if it was a Sport or a Limited. I'm thinking a Sport.
The last KJ rolled off the line five years later. When it came off final line it was parked at the beginning of my line. Normally only cars that needed repair were parked there, but there wasn't anything wrong with this KJ. They wanted it there for pictures. It was a photo opp. Someone from the company came down and was snapping photos and letting us get our pictures taken with the last KJ. I had my picture taken with it, along with the team. They were emailed to me a week later, after the KJ was gone. Turns out the guy taking the pics had no idea how to run the camera. Every picture he took was a blurry mess!
After the pics, the KJ still sat there for a couple days. Turns out there was a problem with it, but it wasn't mechanical. The story I got was that someone in the beginning of trim asked the boss if they could sign the last KJ. I was told that the boss said "Ok" but it had to be someplace that it would never show. As the KJ moved down the line, more and more people heard that you were now SUPPOSE to sign the KJ! By the time it reached final, I was told that even bosses were signing it!
"Where? I don't see any signatures?" I told my boss. "Of course not. They were told to sign where you couldn't see it. Open the hood." I opened the hood and didn't see anything. "Grab a flashlight and look down by the frame rails." Underneath, tucked out of sight was a signature. "Climb underneath the car" the boss said. "Omg..." The underside of the KJ was covered. Peel back the hood pad, more signatures. Remove some of the interior trim and you'll find signatures. Under the headliner, signatures. "I'm not sure what they are going to do with it" the boss said. "Hell, sell it on Ebay! It would be sweet to have a Jeep that's marked as the very last one."
I never heard what the final decision was on the last KJ. We use to have a Jeep museum at the old factory, and I would have liked to have seen the last KJ wind up in something like that. But, who knows where it went.
So, if you own and white 2007 KJ, take a close look at the underside. You just might own the last KJ ever made. It's easy enough to tell!
