1986-1990 Jeep Wagoneer – No woodgrain, just two-tone!
(first posted 6/27/2018) On a recent sojourn to the city of Hayward, CA I spotted this well-preserved example of the 1986-1990 Jeep Wagoneer (XJ-series). According to Wikipedia, this is not the “Wagoneer Limited”, but just the plain-old “Wagoneer”, distinguished by having a rather outlandish 2-tone paint job instead of the even-more outlandish fake woodgrain finish on the “Limited”.
I always thought these were the XJ-series Jeeps for the non-conformist. Everyone appreciated the fine lines on the XJ-series Cherokee, largely from the AMC team of Richard Teague. But if you really wanted to stand out from the crowd, you had to get the Wagoneer – what other vehicle could match your plaid pants and oversized sunglasses when you have to leave the cozy confines of your cabin to venture into downtown Vail?
Well, of course, a Grand Wagoneer would do, but that wouldn’t also simultaneously reflect your “commitment to the new” reflected in the modern, space-age, unit-frame XJ-series chassis. Not to mention the joy experienced via the magic of the AMC 4.0-litre six. By getting the straight “Wagoneer” instead of the “Limited”, of course, you are expressing your own particular brand of frugality – no ostentation for you, no-siree-bob, just the 4X4 and the 4.0-litre.
1986-1990 Jeep Wagoneer – Zoom in and you see it has the 4.0 litre six but it is just a Wagoneer, not a Limited. 4×4 Badges too!
Of course, the interior is a nice, frugal cloth, but color-coordinated with the body, of course. The woodgrain inlays on the instrument panel add the last little extra bit of class, as well as the dealer-installed carpeted dash cover – protects the plastic! And just to show we’re sporty, a nice floor shift for the automatic transmission in the console between the bucket seats.
1986-1990 Jeep Wagoneer. Woodgrain instrument panel, Color-coordinated dash cover. Color-coordinated cloth bucket seats, with console and floor shift for the automatic. Sorry for the glare, it was a very sunny day.
Oh, and the flyscreen in front to keep the bugs off. Nasty bugs.
Front view of 1986-1990 Jeep Wagoneer. Note the stacked headlights and the vertically-split grill. And the flyscreen!
One must ask – how did it come to be that they stopped making these? And one year earlier than the woefully out-of-date Grand Wagoneer? What has happened to America?
But seriously – when was the last all-new Brougham SUV, not counting the Grand Wagoneer, which had been introduced in the 1970’s on a design from the 1960’s and hardly changed since? Perhaps one might nominate the Eddie Bauer-edition Ford Explorer. But I think nothing can top the XJ-series Wagoneer as the last all-new Brougham SUV.
As a final note – Dick Teague has an interesting catalog of hits and misses over the years – the hits including the XJ Cherokee, the original AMC Hornet, and further back the 1955-56 Packards, and the various mostly sharply-designed AMC products of the 1960’s. But he was also responsible for such questionable-at-best designs as the Pacer, the Matador Coupe (and simultaneously the ungainly long-nose Matador sedan), the Gremlin, and the XJ-series Wagoneer. What other designer had a record with such highs and lows, oftentimes simultaneously?
That’s an ’87 according to the CA smog check history site. Nice find even if I’ve always found the double headlight look on these to be jarring, likely due to the rarity of the configuration on this body style. Nice set of CA sunset plates too, I had those on my first car as well.
Give me a later Cherokee Limited, navy metallic with gold lace alloys. I think that the broughamification of the XJ doesn’t look nearly as correct as the monochromatic look, or even the Mercedes-inspired grey lowers. When trimming up a car to sell for more money, this is the turning point when we moved away from Mercury and toward Mercedes.
If I could afford to buy (and put gas in) a Grand Wagoneer I’d get one in a heartbeat. I prefer the little square Cherokees in “Cherokee” duds, not dressed up like a baby Waggy.
I had forgotten that a non-wood XJ Wagoneer existed. I don’t think that 2 tone paint job does it any favors. And the front end looks too much like a 66 Ambassador.
That’s called “heritage”. 🙂
Had not seen the Amby connection before but I certainly see it now that you mention it.
Beat me to the Ambassador kinship. It must be some sort of AMC thing with having a rearward cant for the top set of quad headlights when stacked. No one else did that; they either had a forward slant or completely vertical.
It wouldn’t be until the composite headlight switch when everyone went aerodynamic and laid back.
One thing that’s subtly jarring about that front is the grille’s corners are squared-off while the headlight recesses are radiused to match the not-quite-square headlights, just different enough to clash.
“When was the last all-new Brougham SUV, not counting the Grand Wagoneer, which had been introduced in the 1970’s on a design from the 1960’s and hardly changed since?”
It would have to be the ‘93 Grand Cherokee ZJ “Grand Wagoneer”!
As for this XJ, I always found the headlights and taillights different for the sake of being different, and not in a good way. Give me a regular XJ Cherokee any day.
My older brother had a 1987 Wagoneer in maroon. I don’t think he was very happy with it – he traded it within two years for a Mitsubishi Montero which he loved.
I drove an almost new, “Cherokee” (either “87or8”) home from a concert. My friend that drove us there got himself too messed up to drive home.
As I had not drank anything, I got to drive his “prized, new ride..lol
I recall , even after all this time, the vibration feel of the steering wheel.
Found it “curious”; had never driven a “Jeep” of any kind prior to that.
To this day, every time I see an XJ I think to myself, “Oh look, a 4WD Volvo 245!” Aside from the height, I find the proportions and the design very similar.
These are one place the stacked headlights work pretty well, I think, The grille carrying the bi-level theme seems to help the idea along. I kinda like those wheels too…a different take on the chrome with holes ‘nugget’ wheels.
Even a lifelong Jeep nut like me can learn something new. Ive only seen a couple XJ Wag’s with the tutone in place of the di-noc. I never knew it was a factory option vs someone else who hated the woodgrain and just did their own thing.
Tough, primitive little trucks. I’ve owned two of them (Cherokees). The one issue I had was the small front door opening cased me to get my feet tangled up on the rocker panel every time I tried to climb in.
Cherokees were made in a 2-door version as well which would help ingress compared to the small front doors on 4-door models. They sold in fewer numbers but I still see them around occasionally.
The 2 doors are few and far between around here, and most of the Cherokees I see are getting RUSTY in recent years…disappearing rocker panels mainly.
Aren’t the Navigator and Escalade “brougham SUV’s” almost by definition?
I don’t really consider them so, because their “style heritage” comes from (generally blacked-out) executive cars/, which is a more severe aesthetic distinct in my mind from the ostentatious-by-nature Brougham-era cars. The difference between the Oleg Cassini Matador Coupe and a blacked-out Lincoln Town Car “L”.
Interesting that the SJ Wagoneer (on a technicality only) is an example of a vehicle which outlived it’s successor XJ Wagoneer, as did the Volvo 240 recentlyfeatured!
Thanks for (re) posting this!
Believe it or not, they made these XJs in 2 door, 2WD, 4.0L with a 5 speed.
Worked at a Jeep store in 1993 when a local convent traded one of these in on a new Cherokee. It was black with woodgrain as well as a very filthy tan interior. It has over 100K on it.
One of the female salesperson bought it and cleaned it up. For the interior, she unzipped the leather interior, threw them in the washing machine, and they cleaned up to bright and new. AMC knew their customers and how to maintain their vehicles.
The recent Lincoln Black Label line feels like, if not Broughams, than the latest incarnation of the designer label Mark series. Some have fully color-keyed cordovan or blue interiors. All for out-there prices,