July 21, 2019.
It was a gorgeous Sunday afternoon at Silver Lake Sand Dunes. Not a cloud in the sky. The sand was smooth from rain the night before. The Lake Michigan waters glistened in the distance as my dad, brother, and I raced around the off-road section of the dunes in my dad’s 2018 Firecracker Red Jeep Wrangler Sport S. Unlike Saturday, the dunes were fairly empty, giving us the freedom to open it up a little bit on some of the straightaways and take some turns a little sharper than we felt comfortable the day before.
After driving around for a few hours, changing drivers a few times along the way, my dad decided to drive down closer to the lake. While barriers prevented the Off-Road Vehicles (ORVs) from driving into the lake, there were some spots within the boundaries where water had made its way in, creating little craters ranging in depth. One tip everyone we talked to about driving on the dunes kept ringing in my ear: “DON’T GO THROUGH THE WATER”. My dad is usually a cautious person, but I don’t know what had taken over him because he was headed straight for the water. Thankfully, I was able to capture the moment on video.
We had the soft top down at the time, and water got EVERYWHERE! It was inside on the dash, the seats, the floor…EVERYWHERE! There was a rush of adrenaline when it happened, but once the rush died down, we noticed the car was steaming a bit, so we decided to take a break to let everything drain. While I was sitting there, I could not stop thinking about how awesome of a purchase my dad made when he bought the Wrangler in May. But that experience also made me ask, how did we get here?
The seeds for my dad’s purchase were planted about 6 or so years ago when Mr. Kulak (the dad of my sister’s friend) pulled into our driveway with his 2010 Jeep Wrangler with the top down and doors off. My dad and I were outside, and we got into a conversation about the car. Mr. Kulak was telling us about how he recently purchased the car and had loved every minute of his ownership. "Can we go for a ride?" I asked. Mr. Kulak let my dad drive while I chilled in the backseat. It was a driving experience my dad and I never experienced before. My dad instantly fell in love with the car. While he knew he couldn’t get one anytime soon, he always remembered his love for the car and how he wanted an opportunity to own one in the future. Mr. Kulak became a brand ambassador for Jeep that day even though no one knew it at the time, especially because if he had not given us a good first impression and experience with the car, I don’t know if my dad would have fallen in love with Wranglers.
"So, what about a Wrangler?"
In May 2019, we were short one car for the number of drivers in our family. Originally, we were looking for a 5-7 passenger vehicle to replace our ‘04 minivan once it kicked the bucket. Our last stop on our dealership tour was a Dodge and Jeep dealer to look at a Durango. My dad and I were walking around the lot, and he could not stop looking at the Wranglers. After we finished up with the Durango, I asked the salesman, “So, what about a Wrangler?” I saw the twinkle in my dad’s eye, and my dad and I test drove a brand new 2018 model that had been on the lot for a while. My dad fell in love with it, but he decided to take some time to think it over.
My dad went back and forth whether to go the practical route and get the Durango or some other 7 seat SUV or to go with the Wrangler. This story wouldn’t exist if he had gone with the 7 seat SUV, and therefore, he made the decision to buy the Wrangler. For him, the hedonic reasons for purchasing were very strong. The hedonic side focused on the experiential value the Wrangler provided over other SUVs. My dad felt free when driving the Wrangler. Between the salesman taking off the panels on the hardtop for the test drive and the potential for taking off the entire top and doors, the car provided much freedom that many other cars cannot offer. Also, when it came to freedom, the 4x4 capabilities of Wranglers allow them to go virtually anywhere as Wranglers can handle all terrains. It opened the door for new experiences for my dad to have with his family and friends (and dog), especially as we all get older.
My dad found experiential value in the customization experience. No two Wranglers are the same as there are so many modifications a person can do to personalize their Wrangler. My dad has not made many modifications to his Wrangler yet, but he is a big Marvel fan. For Father’s Day, we bought him a Captain America Shield tire cover. This gave my dad higher self-congruence between himself and the car because the car started to express another actual aspect of my dad on top of his Wrangler love. Finally, the Wrangler gave my dad “nothing I had ever had before”, something other cars could not boast.
His hierarchy of effects followed the experiential hierarchy of Affect, Behavior, Cognition (ABC). While there was though before purchasing the car, it was not the best car for our family’s needs. I knew once my dad test drove the Wrangler, he would end up buying it because the feeling he had toward the car and the experiential value it brought outweighed anything else. My dad says this purchase was an impulse purchase because much of the cognition of why he felt how he did about the car came after the purchase.
Much of his cognition formed from informal groups surrounding the Wrangler community. My dad found out about the Wrangler communities when his coworker who owned an older model found out about his purchase. She told him how she was a part of a Facebook group for Wrangler owners where they would recommend modifications, trails to climb, and other fun things to do with the car. My dad and I joined a group for Wrangler JL owners (the body style of 2018 and newer models). I enjoy going through the page and looking at what modifications and fun things people from all over the country do with their Wranglers. My dad and I have learned much about what we can do with his Wrangler from these informal groups, further reinforcing the purchasing decision in both of our minds.
This informal group and the community of Wrangler owners has become an aspirational group for me. I always look for good deals on Wranglers because I realize I’m going to be needing to purchase a car once I graduate and my sister gets her license. I identify very heavily with the Wrangler car, community, and lifestyle and aspire to not live my identification vicariously through my dad. While that day might not be soon because of my college student financial situation, it is something to keep in mind as I make career decisions in the future. Right now, I am more than happy to cruise the dunes with my dad like we did last summer while hopefully finding some trails in northern Michigan to explore this summer.
So how did we get to Silver Lake and almost drown our Wrangler? Summer 2018 I had gone to the sand dunes with my friends for the day to hike and explore. While there, we saw the ORV course. When we bought the Wrangler, I knew it was the first off road test we had to do. My dad asked on the Facebook page people’s experiences with the dunes, and everyone told him how great they were and how it wouldn’t be too hard of a test for first time off roaders.
We arrived Friday night and went out for the first time Saturday. While it was overcast and rain was forecasted, it was packed. There is a lot of space to drive around, but for us newbies, it seemed pretty congested. We spent most of Saturday getting the lay of the land while trying some of the smaller obstacles. We left early because it started pouring, but Saturday gave us confidence in our abilities and that Sunday would be a better day. Once we got onto the dunes Sunday and I could feel the warmth of the sun on my shoulders, I knew it was going to be a great day.
Word count: 1467
Value added pieces:
Multiple photos of my dad's Wrangler along with other customized Wranglers from our Facebook group
Video of my dad driving the Wrangler through the water and of him driving it on the dunes with "Live Like You Were Dying" playing in the background
Citation:
Babin, B. J. (2018). Cb 8: consumer behavior. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Links to the four pictures of other Wranglers:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=237435127300111&set=p.237435127300111&type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10222470024444488&set=pcb.2528302140820138&type=3&theater&ifg=1
https://www.facebook.com/roamoffroad/photos/a.1822481431377561/2289276371364729/?type=3&theater&ifg=1
https://www.facebook.com/LoneWranglerLifestyle/photos/a.109222837284475/138247701048655/?type=3&theater&ifg=1