NEW 2008 LIBERTY

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Sat Mar 10, 2007 6:19 am

Here‘s a new look at the ‘08 Liberty.

http://www.allpar.com/trucks/jeep/liberty-2008.html

EOD-KJ · **Posted:** Sat Mar 10, 2007 7:27 am

yeahhhhh....no thanks!

i love the boxy look of the XJ cherokee....and i love the boxy look of the commander.

but i love the curves of the liberty....and i do not like the flat boxed rear end this model has

so far... MEH to the KK....and i highly doubt they will not offer a manual, but if they dont....super MEH to the KK

Mango~Ridge · **Posted:** Sat Mar 10, 2007 9:34 am

It's to bad the style of our KJ's is gone! :cry:

We already have a Commander and love it. It looks bigger than the current KJ, thus bigger on the trails. Thats one thing I love about my KJ, being able to see and judge the corners of the Jeep. With the commander, the corners of the vehicle are a bit harder to judge. Running the trails of local national forrests, I like hitting the tiny little trails that no one else ventures down.

sleeve84028 · **Posted:** Sat Mar 10, 2007 1:29 pm

I kind of thought that the return to the 'box' shape was a result of all the complianing that Jeep people did when the Liberty first came out back in 2001/2002. Even though the shape of the new one is different and less "unique" I still like the changes the Jeep & DCX have put into it. The larger cargo area, the bigger engine, the hill decent, etc... I bet when it comes out - it'll sell just as well as the current model

tommudd · **Posted:** Sat Mar 10, 2007 1:43 pm

Yes it will sell because people will buy ugly vehicles and the new one is ugly! period Plus a lot of people want the latest and and what they are told is the greatest. If they wanted a Cherokee look then they should of went for it, but they missed it and with all the extra garbage they are hanging on the new one it will be even more of a soccer mom vehicle. They screwed up again! IMHO :roll:

Oh well I have my current Liberty and not looking at buying NEW for a long time. I think its funny that when the Nitro came out they said men would be more drawn to it because of the looks and they would be the main drivers of them. Of the 10 or 12 I see in Toledo all are women!

desertkj · **Joined:** Mon Jan 30, 2006 8:24 pm **Posts:** 677

It's funny, but I kinda prefer the styling of the one coming out over the current KJ. It just looks mean to me.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Sun Mar 11, 2007 12:53 am

I’ve thought about it, came back and thought about it again, and now I’m back to give my final biased opinion. My perspective is from an off-road point of view. After much pondering, I will rank the 2008 Liberty based on the photos and written information in the link. I score the new 2008 Liberty an 8 on a scale from 1 - 10. 10 being the top score. The front end on our current Liberty’s I think is much more attractive. The traditional round headlights are distinctive yet purposeful. The rest of the 08 Liberty looks good. And who knows, maybe it has some great off road characteristics. I like our current Liberty size due to off-road capabilities. We sold our Tahoe because it was way too big for the trails. If you’ve driven a lot of trails, most of us appreciate the shorter vehicles. Not that the ‘08 Liberty sends off a RED FLAG as being too BIG, but the increased size is worth noting. Removing the back spare tire to the undercarriage is not the most convenient place for a flat when off-roading. The optional fabric retractable roof threw me for a loop. I wasn’t impressed with the design, nor do I have a purpose for such potential problematic fads. On the flip side, most Liberty owners are City Slickers who want the Jeep “Look” yet never intend to take the pretty thing off road. 4x4 is “cool” to have, but many proud owners may seldom use it. The larger cargo capacity is convenient for the Moms who run errands, get groceries, and haul the kids soccer gear in the backend. Removing that ugly spare tire will clean up the Liberty showing off more body. After all, the new and improved rear gate sure makes it easier to load groceries. The 3.7 is tried and true, but a larger V6 might be more appropriate. I gave the Liberty a higher score for it’s continual support for Diesel if indeed a diesel application is available for the North American Market. We owned an ‘05 CRD which I felt was ridiculously thought out including a poorly designed EGR, Air Intake, Transmission, and Torque Converter. This is why we traded the CRD for a Gasser. Anyway, these are my thoughts. None of my thoughts really encourage or discourage me as we plan to keep our 2007 Liberty for LIFE. Parts will be abundant for our Liberties which makes the future even more promising.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Sun Mar 11, 2007 1:14 am

tommudd wrote:

Yes it will sell because people will buy ugly vehicles and the new one is ugly! period Plus a lot of people want the latest and and what they are told is the greatest. If they wanted a Cherokee look then they should of went for it, but they missed it and with all the extra garbage they are hanging on the new one it will be even more of a soccer mom vehicle. They screwed up again! IMHO :roll:

Oh well I have my current Liberty and not looking at buying NEW for a long time. I think its funny that when the Nitro came out they said men would be more drawn to it because of the looks and they would be the main drivers of them. Of the 10 or 12 I see in Toledo all are women!

I must admit, I haven’t found anything manly about the NITRO. :roll:

Although, the amount of woman who are driving the Liberty’s are pretty high in ratio to men. :wink:

Don’t get me wrong, I love to see women off-roading. :wink:

It’s not a sex issue, it’s about hitting the trail.

This is what is so appealing about our Liberty’s. Some Liberty owners have the intentions for off-roading, some use them as daily drivers, and many of us plan on doing both. Heck, we have an entire section on street-rodding for the 4x2 models. At least the 4X4 Liberty is trail rated and has the potential for off-roading. The Nitro…………….well, I can’t say anything great about the NITRO. :oops:

But I hope it wasn’t geared toward men. :lol:

Spike6901 · **Posted:** Mon Mar 12, 2007 11:06 am

Yeah I have seen the Dodge Liberty.....uh....opps....I mean the Jeep Liberty pics for a while. The Jeep line is being assimilated....resistance is futile.

I wonder if they plan on putting the 'trail rated' badges on the Nirto.

Not that Dodge is bad but Jeep has always been its own thing, even if it all is Chrysler. With the patriot and the compass, there is defiantly a change brewing in the Jeep corporate office....smells like greed at the expense of base values and traditional principles.

It appears that you can trace it back to the 'trail rated' badges. Back in the day, it wasn't a Jeep unless it met a level of offroad prowess. The 'trail rated' badges just let them overcome that with clever marketing. Oh well, I suppose that coprorate planning makes the world go around these days and it a natural progression of human greed.

At least the Wrangler is still a worthy offroad machine, strait from the dealer's lots. Unfortunatly, the Jeep name no longer holds the same meaning as it did in years past.

DarbyWalters · **Posted:** Mon Mar 12, 2007 12:44 pm

The original 2002-2007 Liberty has been the top selling vehicle in the Jeep line. I think the new 2008+ Liberty will hold the same position. It is the right size (MidSize SUV) and price range for a large segment of the population. I think it would have been cool to have an XL 2006-2007 Liberty that added 4" to the cargo area with a 2" longer wheelbase. A 2006 CRD XL (with a 26gal fuel tank) would have been tempting. I still think the 2008 Liberty will be a hit.

...BUt of course we have the original

jcphoto20 · **Joined:** Sun Nov 19, 2006 1:36 am **Posts:** 507

why do they have to put another hood, like the renegade with less visibility? what are they thinking? i like being able to see coming over the top of a crest

valvestem · **Joined:** Thu Jul 07, 2005 7:01 pm **Posts:** 222

With all the fake covers and stuff, it's hard to say. I'd like to see it w/o the covers. But right now it looks like a Ford Explorer from the rear, and a Suzuki Samauri from the front. Ugh.

rlanda · **Posted:** Tue Mar 20, 2007 3:55 pm

In the headlights group, they are composed by two circles that intersect. Are the small ones the fog lights or (as in the Commander) the high beam lamps?

JPFreek1 · **Posted:** Thu Mar 29, 2007 3:51 pm

Is it just me or does the new KK look a lot like the Patriot?

ZooL · **Posted:** Wed Apr 04, 2007 8:37 pm

It seems to me so far that the only really interesting part is the fabric roof option

'Cause IMHO, the overall looks are a little disappointing...
It just tries too much to be a little bit of everything: a little" Commander" here, a little "XJ" there.
And in the end, all they get is a Commander-faced, Nitro-styled, odd-shaped hybrid with an XJ-boxy-back...
And this is supposed to be a good thing?

x.

tjkobs7926 · **Joined:** Fri Mar 16, 2007 9:03 pm **Posts:** 1

So, let me get this strait, the spare tire is underneath the vehicle, as in you have to get on your hands and knees to get it out? It's not underneath the floor in the cargo area, similar to that of the 1999-2004 Grand Cherokee WJ?

If it is under the vehicle, how in the world do you get it down out of there? I've seen this before on GM, FORD, and other DCx vehicles, and wondered how does the operator drop the tire and wheel?

That would be the only thing that could make me frustrated with the new design.

hyedipin · **Joined:** Thu May 11, 2006 10:20 am **Posts:** 1667

Generally there is a lever or a screw inside the cargo area, that you unscrew and it lowers the spare down on a steel cable. If they would make it electronic that would even be cooler, but I doubt that.

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Thu Apr 05, 2007 12:33 am

Probably the same way you get pickup truck tires out from underneath. The jack comes with a long rod and an add-on crank and you insert it from the back of the vehicle to the latch that lowers the tire by loosening a chain. Once the tire is down, you slip the metal piece through the rim and now you have to try and drag the tire from underneath.

Stupid placement! Put there because of the flip up rear door instead of the way the current KJ rear door opens.

paullgj · **Posted:** Thu Apr 05, 2007 11:53 pm

When I would get a new Chevy pickup, the first thing I'd do was to have the spare mounted in the bed. The underslung spare tire takes a beating, both onroad and off, and the mount can get pounded by rocks, making the spare impossible to unhitch. Well, 40 years of Chevy pickups ended a few weeks ago when I bougth a 6 spd 4x4 Liberty, and the rear mounted spare (plus standard shift) was one of the main reasons for going this route instead of Nissan or Toyota.

Glad I got the 2007 - don't like the spare location for the 2008. Also, final drive ratio is beter on the 2007 with 6 speed is 3.55:1. I noticed in the 2008 specs is higher (lower numerically), 3.21:1. Better crawl ratio on 2007 - 43.066:!, vs 2008 - 38.94:1.

Plusses for the 2008 - MP3 player input jack.

Jeep4me99 · **Posted:** Thu Apr 05, 2007 11:58 pm

Well when the aftermarket gets going for the 08 KK, maybe someone will develop a swinging rear mounted spare gate! Possibly rock lizard, All J, ect.????hmmmmmmmmm theres a free one for ya. mount it where/with the stock rear hitch bolts attach to the frame. Yes it will be a pain to open the spare gate then the lift gate, but do you want east acess to the spare without keeping it inside or on top? There can also be jerry can holders on each side of the spare.

NEW 2008 LIBERTY

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