Who Is AEV?

American Expedition Vehicles is a Montana based manufacturing company that designs and creates some of the most impressive aftermarket products for the Jeep lineup.  Since its humble beginnings a little over a decade ago AEV has become the premier supplier of heavy duty upgrades for various models of the Jeep lineup.   AEV first entered the market with the Brute design which took a standard Jeep TJ Wrangler and extended the frame to accommodate a truck bed.   Over the years AEV has set the standard for Jeep accessories and upgrades and has not only won FOUR DaimlerChrysler  design excellence awards BUT has also become a very close and respected partner with Jeep Design and Engineering which has allowed AEV to create OEM spec parts.  One final point before we jump into their product lineup is that the brains at AEV also created a way to integrate a 5.7L Hemi into your Jeep, so if your 07’-09’ Wrangler is a bit short on power then just drop a Hemi into it. 

What does AEV make?

Aside from the 5.7L Hemi kit, AEV became well known around the world when they released their famous Brute Kit which takes a Jeep TJ Wrangler (97’ to 06’) and extends the frame by 24” to accommodate a truck bed.  This Brute Kit makes your Jeep TJ a million times cooler than any old Jeep Comanche.  The Brute Kit impressed the executives at Jeep so much it almost went into production as an actual Jeep manufactured product.   Other popular products include AEV wheels, suspensions, body kits, bumpers, and a really slick looking heat reduction hood!  Currently there are two AEV products are garnering some major attention; the Brute double cab which uses a Jeep JK Wrangler (07’ to present) and adds the Brute treatment so what you have is an amazing off road vehicle that will carry more supplies than you would ever need while seating four! 

The Final AEV product setting the Jeep world on fire is a Jeep J8, for those of you not familiar with the J8 it is a Jeep that was designed for military purposes and is manufactured and built in Egypt/ Israel for the international market as it will not pass U.S. emissions tests.   The J8 is a true Jeep built on the back of Jeeps long history of making military vehicles designed to withstand 3 times the stress parameters that a civilian Jeep would be put through.  While the J8 cannot be sold in the U.S. due to its emissions AEV was able to cut a deal with Jeep to have over 100 of the J8’s complete except for the powertrain shipped to the U.S. where AEV will sell you one as well as your choice of engine option, the VM 2.8L Turbo diesel  or just skip ahead to the ridiculous 5.7L Hemi and have the ultimate Mil Spec Jeep with a HEMI.  We would choose the latter.  Now the catch is that AEV is unable to complete the vehicle for you so you would need to find a local mechanic who is capable of having the J8 and motor shipped to them and installed by a qualified mechanic.  Once the vehicle is completed you would also need to file for a component vehicle title and VIN but you would then own what has been dubbed the “the best jeep ever” and we would tend to agree.

Conclusion.

If you like the Jeep brand then without a doubt AEV is making the vehicles and parts to take your love for Jeep to the ultimate level.  I mean who else sells a jeep that  is designed for the battlefield and can be transported by helicopter? Nobody but AEV.

AEV Brute

AEV Brute Double Cab

AEV Brute Double Cab

AEV Jeep J8

AEV J8

The Beginning

The origins of the Coupe Utility trace their roots back to the 1930’s when an Australian farm wife asked Ford Australia’s lead designer Lew Bandt for a vehicle that would take her to church on Sunday and then take the pigs to the market on Monday.  Shortly after receiving her letter Bandt created what we now know as the Coupe Utility.  Although the coupe utility was created in Australia in the 1930’s we in the states didn’t get on board until 1957 when Ford released the Ranchero.  From 1957 to 1987 Americans  saw a lot of choices for a Coupe Utility with the Ford Ranchero, Chevrolet El Camino, Plymouth Scamp, VW Rabbit and the Subaru Brat but today’s options for a coupe utility in the U.S.A. are gone with the Subaru Baja being discontinued in 2006. 

The Death

While in America it may seem the coupe utility is dead around the globe there are many companies that still produce and sell a lot of them.  Without a doubt the most popular and bestselling coupe utility is the Holden Ute.  The Ute is short for sport utility and Australia they sell a lot of Utes.  For those of you that don’t know Holden is a subsidiary of General Motors and since 2000 they have continued the storied tradition of the coupe utility.  The Ute is so popular that Holden began exporting them to South Africa.  And we Americans came VERY close to having another coupe utility back in 2009 when Pontiac announced that they would begin offering the Pontiac G8 ST (Sport Truck) but as we all know Pontiac was killed off due to the financial crisis and subsequent restructuring of GM. 

The Rebirth?

Since the demise of the Pontiac brand the chances of a coupe utility in the USA have diminished greatly with only used cars available for those who want a coupe utility.  BUT recently there was a small glimmer of hope when a few chats on twitter between a Michael Knower and Joel Ewanick caught the attention of America’s Ute fans when Michael tweeted to Joel (who happens to be the Chief Marketing Officer of GM) “I want a new El Camino. Badly. Please!” to which Joel replied “well, we need you and 100,000 more of your best friends.”  This set off a chain of events that had fans of car/trucks around the U.S. tweeting and posting comments in a vain effort to sway GM to actually build a coupe utility.  A day later Ewanick tweeted that he “Wish it were that easy, we need to develop our fuel efficient vehicles first! Priorities!” so as quickly as it started the chances of a new El Camino were dashed away. 

Will we get another coupe utility?  Only time will tell, but there are certainly alot of Americans who will wait patiently until there chance to own a new one comes again. 

Would you buy a NEW El Camino?  Would you buy a Holden Ute?

Holden Ute Video

Holden Maloo

\

El Camino

1934 Ford Utility

BMW M3 Pickup

Ford Ranchero