In October 2022, Jeep brand ex-president Christian Meunier told Motor Trend Jeep wanted just the right name for the battery-electric Wagoneer S. The automaker had come up with a few but thought the public might be able to do better. The Name the New Wagoneer contest asked any who cared to visit a website, enter a few identifying details, enter an idea for a name that could be up to a whopping 50 characters. The only limitations we saw in the contest rules explained that entries had to be original, couldn’t have won a previous award or been previously published, and needed to be suitable for polite company. Anyone want to guess how often the vetters had to read, “Jeepy McJeepFace?” Anyway, here we are nearly two years later, and still reading about an imminent Wagoneer S. What gave? Motor Trend returned to the source to find out, Jeep’s new SVP of global marketing telling the mag a fair number of submissions asked Jeep to keep the temporary name.
The marketing honcho said there were names the automaker team liked, but they were trademarked. The marketing honcho didn’t mention an ugly horde of unprintable submissions, but we’re sure that horde showed up in the corporate inbox.
With no distinctly new winner, it’s arguable that Jeep didn’t need to give a grand prize. The winner’s haul was going to be immortality, a ski trip to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort for four, including airfare, lodging, lift tickets, rentals, guide or instruction, and a $1,000 gift card to the retail store, the package valued at $40,000. The automaker did so anyway, handing over the grand prize to the first person to suggest keeping the Wagoneer S name; so, that person got everything but the immortality.
The 600-horsepower battery-electric SUV full of spoilers, displays, shiny trim, pushbuttons for doors, and McIntosh audio is due for its reveal later this year.
