Anyone Else Feel Like the 392 Is the Last of a Dying Breed?

[OldVetteGuy]

Station378, I think your looking into your crystal ball and possibly seeing the not to distant future!

IMHO, Currently we are enjoying a brief pause in the automotive climate, so enjoy it and take advantage of it if you can. It won't last long and the dark side will return and when that happens say goodby to anything that has a V8 and probably consumer diesels as well. All we will be left with is electric crap that catches on fire, 4 cylinder sewing machine engines with big turbos that blow up with under 80k.

In all honesty I believe the fate of the 392 and high performance vehicles are directly in some part related to the political makeup of the country. When politicians (via epa and other restrictions) place roadblock against auto manufactures it negatively affects their bottom line. They then come up with and force the implementation of so-called fuel saving and environment devices that kill the reliability and longevity of vehicles and there you have it.

Think about it, engineered obsolesce, what is the weak point of the 392? MDS and cam/lifter oiling issues. On top of that these so called fuel saving boondoggles to really save any REAL fuel and just cause problems.
These are legacy engines with epa crap shoehorned into them, the original 392's version were bullet proof and lasted for decades. If it wasn't for MDS these engines will easily go 200k miles much like the GM counterpart LS engines. Again, governments fingers in the mix. I have been around long enough to tell you the same crap happened in the seventies and you saw what happened then.

Currently we are enjoying a brief pause so enjoy it and take advantage of it if you can. It won't last long and the dark side will return and when that happens say goodby to anything that has a V8 and probably consumer diesels as well.
All we will be left with is electric crap that catches on fire, 4 cylinder sewing machine engines with big turbos that blow up with under 80k and everything will be regulated to the 9th degree.

Finally, another attributing factor is that Gen Zr's could care less about large displacement performance vehicles, they don't wish to pay for performance, the fuel or wrench on them either. Automotive manufactures know this and will continue to cater to them as time goes on.

Cheers all! Enjoy this dying breed and keep the smile on your face every time you start it on romp on the throttle. All of us here on the 392 forum are so fortunate to be able to enjoy these beasts before they go the way of the dodo!

 

[Warped]

Station378, I think your looking into your crystal ball and possibly seeing the not to distant future!

IMHO, Currently we are enjoying a brief pause in the automotive climate, so enjoy it and take advantage of it if you can. It won't last long and the dark side will return and when that happens say goodby to anything that has a V8 and probably consumer diesels as well. All we will be left with is electric crap that catches on fire, 4 cylinder sewing machine engines with big turbos that blow up with under 80k.

In all honesty I believe the fate of the 392 and high performance vehicles are directly in some part related to the political makeup of the country. When politicians (via epa and other restrictions) place roadblock against auto manufactures it negatively affects their bottom line. They then come up with and force the implementation of so-called fuel saving and environment devices that kill the reliability and longevity of vehicles and there you have it.

Think about it, engineered obsolesce, what is the weak point of the 392? MDS and cam/lifter oiling issues. On top of that these so called fuel saving boondoggles to really save any REAL fuel and just cause problems.
These are legacy engines with epa crap shoehorned into them, the original 392's version were bullet proof and lasted for decades. If it wasn't for MDS these engines will easily go 200k miles much like the GM counterpart LS engines. Again, governments fingers in the mix. I have been around long enough to tell you the same crap happened in the seventies and you saw what happened then.

Currently we are enjoying a brief pause so enjoy it and take advantage of it if you can. It won't last long and the dark side will return and when that happens say goodby to anything that has a V8 and probably consumer diesels as well.
All we will be left with is electric crap that catches on fire, 4 cylinder sewing machine engines with big turbos that blow up with under 80k and everything will be regulated to the 9th degree.

Finally, another attributing factor is that Gen Zr's could care less about large displacement performance vehicles, they don't wish to pay for performance, the fuel or wrench on them either. Automotive manufactures know this and will continue to cater to them as time goes on.

Cheers all! Enjoy this dying breed and keep the smile on your face every time you start it on romp on the throttle. All of us here on the 392 forum are so fortunate to be able to enjoy these beasts before they go the way of the dodo!

Not just a US legislation problem. Around the globe, the climate change people are mandating fewer emissions and unrealistic fuel economy standards, while mandating safety features that add weight to a vehicle at the same time. Adding weight is counter productive to better economy and performance. Colin Chapman is weeping in his grave. You are correct that we need to embrace the brief respite that we have here in the US.

 

[station378]

Station378, I think your looking into your crystal ball and possibly seeing the not to distant future!

IMHO, Currently we are enjoying a brief pause in the automotive climate, so enjoy it and take advantage of it if you can. It won't last long and the dark side will return and when that happens say goodby to anything that has a V8 and probably consumer diesels as well. All we will be left with is electric crap that catches on fire, 4 cylinder sewing machine engines with big turbos that blow up with under 80k.

In all honesty I believe the fate of the 392 and high performance vehicles are directly in some part related to the political makeup of the country. When politicians (via epa and other restrictions) place roadblock against auto manufactures it negatively affects their bottom line. They then come up with and force the implementation of so-called fuel saving and environment devices that kill the reliability and longevity of vehicles and there you have it.

Think about it, engineered obsolesce, what is the weak point of the 392? MDS and cam/lifter oiling issues. On top of that these so called fuel saving boondoggles to really save any REAL fuel and just cause problems.
These are legacy engines with epa crap shoehorned into them, the original 392's version were bullet proof and lasted for decades. If it wasn't for MDS these engines will easily go 200k miles much like the GM counterpart LS engines. Again, governments fingers in the mix. I have been around long enough to tell you the same crap happened in the seventies and you saw what happened then.

Currently we are enjoying a brief pause so enjoy it and take advantage of it if you can. It won't last long and the dark side will return and when that happens say goodby to anything that has a V8 and probably consumer diesels as well.
All we will be left with is electric crap that catches on fire, 4 cylinder sewing machine engines with big turbos that blow up with under 80k and everything will be regulated to the 9th degree.

Finally, another attributing factor is that Gen Zr's could care less about large displacement performance vehicles, they don't wish to pay for performance, the fuel or wrench on them either. Automotive manufactures know this and will continue to cater to them as time goes on.

Cheers all! Enjoy this dying breed and keep the smile on your face every time you start it on romp on the throttle. All of us here on the 392 forum are so fortunate to be able to enjoy these beasts before they go the way of the dodo!

No doubt we’re in a strange transition period. Regulations push one way, demand pulls the other, and that’s why the 392 feels like the last of its kind. Whatever the future looks like, I’m just enjoying every cold start while we still have it.

 

[station378]

Not just a US legislation problem. Around the globe, the climate change people are mandating fewer emissions and unrealistic fuel economy standards, while mandating safety features that add weight to a vehicle at the same time. Adding weight is counter productive to better economy and performance. Colin Chapman is weeping in his grave. You are correct that we need to embrace the brief respite that we have here in the US.

Exactly. You can’t mandate extreme efficiency and simultaneously bolt on pounds of safety tech and expect physics to play along.
For now, we’ve got a rare breather in the U.S., and the 392 is the perfect machine to enjoy it with.

 

[stylerc]

Every time I take mine out, I get the same feeling this really might be the last real V8 Jeep we ever see. With everything moving toward hybrids and EVs, the 392 already feels like a dinosaur in the best possible way. The sound, the torque, the way it drives… nothing else in the lineup even comes close.
I’m keeping mine long-term. Values are strong now, sure, but I don’t think another Jeep is going to replace what the 392 gives you. It feels like one of those rigs we’ll look back on in 10–15 years and realize it was the end of an era.

 

[OldVetteGuy]

I know Bob Broderdorf the new CEO of Jeep has stated the 392 will live on for the future but the question is will the board of directors and those he answers to support that. I know you can order a new 26 MOAB now with the 392 and at a much better price the the left over 25 FE's but so far no Rubicon 392's or even the ability to order a 392 in the Gladiator yet.

I would love to know what's really going on at Jeep. Guess we will all have to just wait. My best guess in the 392 in the Moab will be a 1 year thing, there will not be a Rubicon 392 in any trim including a FE and they will drag their heal on the Gladiator 392. Plus I think another thing that might be holding up things for the Gladiator is cooling. Jeep won't be able to sell a Gladiator 392 with only 3500 lb towing capacity they will be laughed right out of the mid size truck market doing that. And figuring out how to shove better cooling into the Jeep's small front end is no easy feat, otherwise they would have done it years ago when the towing on the Wrangler was updated to 5k.
Needless, 2026 should be an interesting year for the 392, hold on, I think its going to be a wild ride.

 

[Warped]

I know Bob Broderdorf the new CEO of Jeep has stated the 392 will live on for the future but the question is will the board of directors and those he answers to support that. I know you can order a new 26 MOAB now with the 392 and at a much better price the the left over 25 FE's but so far no Rubicon 392's or even the ability to order a 392 in the Gladiator yet.

I would love to know what's really going on at Jeep. Guess we will all have to just wait. My best guess is the 392 in the Moab will be a 1 year thing, there will not be a Rubicon 392 in any trim including a FE and they will drag their heal on the Gladiator 392. Plus I think another thing that might be holding up things for the Gladiator is cooling. Jeep won't be able to sell a Gladiator 392 with only 3500 lb towing capacity they will be laughed right out of the mid size truck market doing that. And figuring out how to shove better cooling into the Jeep's small front end is no easy feat, otherwise they would have done it years ago with the towing on the Wrangler was updated to 5k.
Needless, 2026 should be an interesting year for the 392, hold on, I think its going to be a wild ride.

My guess is the next hemi will make it into the Grand Cherokee. You are most likely correct about the Gladiator getting the 392. Too bad. I keep toying of going the AMW route with a Gladiator, but hard to justify an additional Jeep.