You will be entertained with this episode of the Miracle Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram podcast. Host John Haggard talks to Brad Billingsley about the new and award-winning 2020 Jeep Gladiator. In this episode:

• Brad’s Foolproof Hunting Tips
• Jeep Gladiator Awards
• What Sets the 2020 Jeep Gladiator Apart From Its Competition
• The “Jeepers”, “Jeople”, and the Jeep Lifestyle
• The Jeep Owners Club in Tennessee
• Upcoming Events
• How to Reach Brad

Transcript

John Haggard 0:02
Welcome to the Miracle Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Podcast where in each episode, you’ll be able to learn the best ways to purchase, lease, service, maintain, accessorize, and sell your vehicle for the highest resale value possible when you’re ready to do that. We do also discuss vehicle model details, also the latest technology. The cool things that you would want to know that make driving a new vehicle, just a great experience compared to just a few years ago. I’m your host, John Haggard. As always, you can find show notes and a transcript along with the links to content that we talked about right on our website MiracleCDJ.com, and also on Apple Podcast, Google Play Podcast and on Spotify. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on any of those platforms and share we would really appreciate that. Alright, today’s episode we have the honor of bringing back Brandon Billingsley with us. Brad is from Miracle CDJR commercial and fleet sales department. Brad, excited to have you back.

Brad Billingsley 1:04
Absolutely. I’m glad to be back on.

John Haggard 1:06
When we talked late last year, I know that you do love to hunt, so assuming you got some hunting done in December?

Brad Billingsley 1:14
I definitely went out in the field quite a bit, but more on the guide role. I did not personally take any animals this year but I was on successful hunts, one with my cousin and another with a niece, another first time honors. So that was a bunch of fun.

John Haggard 1:32
Alright, so you are a trainer as well then?

Brad Billingsley 1:35
Yes, absolutely.

John Haggard 1:37
So if you were going to give a hunting tip to someone who’s always wanted to hunt, but has never really had a guide like you, would there be one or two things you would say “Hey, if you don’t get anything else, right and you want to hunt, you need to know this.”

Brad Billingsley 1:52
Yeah, play the wind right. Always keep the wind in your face.

John Haggard 1:56
Always keep the wind in your face. That’s interesting. So for a non-hunter, why is that?

Brad Billingsley 2:04
The human scent. So it’s tough to eliminate human scent and a lot of game animals will spook if they smell humans, keeping the wind in your face allows you not to spook animals as easily by them smelling you. Keep them upwind up here.

John Haggard 2:23
That makes total sense. That makes total sense. So today we’d like to talk about the Jeep Gladiator, the new 2020 Jeep Gladiator. A brand new vehicle for Jeep and believe it came out last year, is that right?

Brad Billingsley 2:36
It did. They took what they called the launch edition orders early spring, early summer, and then they started rolling in for inventory towards the fall, winter month of last year.

John Haggard 2:52
Okay, and I do see that the Gladiator has been making a lot of news recently. Several awards, like Four Wheeler awarded it Truck of the Year and something. Tell us a little bit about the awards and what people were excited about?

Brad Billingsley 3:06
Yeah, definitely. So Four Wheeler, in particular, did many, many hours, different tests, from zero to 60. But they focused a lot on the off-road capabilities of this Jeep Gladiator. And compared it to several other models. I don’t have a list of all of those in front of me but I know like the Silverado, the F150 even some full-size trucks of ours were even in the running for that. And the Jeep Gladiator did prevail. It did come out on top as well with the North American Truck of the Year award this year also. So both of those are really huge for the Jeep Gladiator.

John Haggard 3:51
Alright, so 2020 North American Truck of the Year. And these people are they call themselves as I understand it, they’re about 50 Expert jurors from print media, television, digital outlets, and radio across the United States and Canada. Right. So how did that come about? Any idea? It’s interesting that those people would say, “Hey, here’s the deal!”

Brad Billingsley 4:13
Yeah, it’s you know, they’ve reported coming out, especially within the last few years. All of these third party, these are individuals that are coming out and just doing peer reviews on particular vehicles, which is great, especially when we’re on the winning end of that. But yes, that’s another one that did many, many, many hours test drives in different roles, different anything from off-road to everyday driving, all of that is taking into account with these awards. So it’s a big thing that Jeep Gladiators came out on top, not just once but on two separate occasions.

John Haggard 4:57
Now would this be the biggest news for Jeep in, you know, the last three or four years, the Gladiator?

Brad Billingsley 5:03
Yeah, the Gladiator is created a lot of hype. It has been longly anticipated. They have waited for this for many years, they had to aftermarket kits that you could do for previous models but that was very pensive. So now coming from the factory-built this way, it is definitely still got quite a bit of hype behind it with these awards being put out that that this is icing on the cake for sure.

John Haggard 5:34
All right, so could you give us just an overview of exactly what the Gladiator is, and you know what other vehicles might be similar to it just for people who are not really sure?

Brad Billingsley 5:47
Yeah, absolutely. So, obviously, it’s got a lot of similarities to our Wrangler. And a lot of people are mistaken by calling it a Wrangler truck. It is actually a truck, it is on the ramp chassis or the ramp brain. And it does you know, aesthetically it does look a lot like the Wrangler, the doors come off, tops come off, windshield lays flat, gives you that open-air driving experience the Jeep is known for. But in addition to that, in the mid-size truck category, we’re best in class but thought tow capabilities with our max tow package. Of course, all the Gladiators rated, it’s hard to overlook, you know the removable doors removable top. That is something that definitely sets us apart from the others involved in these third party testings as well.

John Haggard 6:46
So you don’t find other brands, or do you, wear side doors come off tops come off.

Brad Billingsley 6:52
Not any longer, no. We own the market on that. Used to be you know, you had your older internationals scout that, you know, some can take their tops off. The Broncos used to incorporate that as well but again the Broncos not out any longer. But the Wrangler has always been that open-air driving experience. We have not gone anywhere. And it is still very much a Wrangler like the old wheel is used to be, windshields lay flat, doors will come off, tops come off, making sure to have a very fun driving experience.

John Haggard 7:33
Pretty cool, really. And do you find it when people come in and they see the Jeep Gladiator are they saying to you, “Well, you know, I’m looking at maybe something over here that Chevrolet’s got.” Or is it so different? I guess so distinct that there’s really I don’t want to say there’s no competition because there’s always competition to something but do people generally if they’re looking at a Gladiator is either that or nothing else?

Brad Billingsley 7:57
Yeah, it’s actually pretty much 50/50. It’s got a lot of attention for having the highest rating in the mid-size truck category. But at the same time, it is so different from other trucks in that category, the Tacoma, the Canyon, the Colorado, Rangers, all of those are just your typical you know midsize trucks. But with the Gladiator you can tow 7,600 pounds and have no roof and no doors on headed to you know, a camping trip or to the beach or wherever you may be. So that just again adds to the driving experience as well.

John Haggard 8:39
And if we talk about the Jeep brand, itself, the lifestyle, how could you – what about that lifestyle? What is it about the Jeep buyer, the Jeep owner that’s different from people who own trucks other you know, that aren’t that.

Brad Billingsley 8:55
Yeah, yeah, we actually call those people Jeepers or Jeople.

John Haggard 8:59
Jeepers, did you say Jeepers?

Brad Billingsley 9:00
Yeah, Jeepers or Jeople. Yeah, it is definitely a lifestyle you know you got the tradition of the Jeep Wave, anybody in a Wrangler waves to all other Wranglers you know. That’s a big tradition. I mean you’ve got you know, your seven-slot grill lifestyle, the circle lights with the seven-slot grill that Jeep is known for, you know. But Jeepers are a vast community. There’s the off-roaders, there’s the overlanders, and there’s the people that just like to ride on the beach with the doors off, tops off. These jeeps are it gotta fits for just about any type of lifestyle. So the Jeep lifestyle is definitely a real thing for sure.

John Haggard 9:47
Brad, we heard a few months ago that Apple Corporation removed the Jeep emoji from its emojis and the Jeep owners seem to be really happy about that. Jeep celebrated they put out the hashtag #ThisIsNotJeep. What was all that about?

Brad Billingsley 10:03
Yeah, yeah. So when you would type in Jeep on your iPhone or your Android and then emojis pop up in your predicted there, it would pop up with with a I think the best way to describe that would be like a minivan or something along the lines of a regular SUV which the Jeep, in most cases is the Wrangler, is not that at all, you know? If it was going to pop up with an emoji, Jeep owners want to see that seven-slot grill I was talking about and those circle headlights or even the square headlights, from a Jeep YJ owners for the older body styles there. But that that is kind of the Jeep thing. You know, they don’t want to… they want to save the Jeep brand or the seven-slot grill when you type in an emoji for Jeep. Or at least have it look more like a Jeep Wrangler, rather than a minivan.

John Haggard 11:02
I hear you, yes! Is there anything I didn’t ask you about the Jeep Gladiator that you would want people to know?

Brad Billingsley 11:11
Hey, you know, definitely just come in get your hands on one out there. Here’s the keys, we can do a test drive, you know? The Jeeps, anything from the Sport S with the max tow, or if you want something fully functional in an off-road setting, the Rubicon is a great fit. If you want something just that looks good and it’s comfortable going down the road then we have Overland. They are very popular and for good reason. You know, every month we’re selling multiple Gladiators every month. The hype has not died on those. People are loving and getting great feedback from Gladiator owners. And that would be my biggest thing. If you’re questioning or looking at that mid-size truck category or just looking for something new and fun in general, then definitely come see me and let’s talk about the Gladiator.

John Haggard 12:11
So what would you say as you look out to 2020? What are you most excited about Brad?

Brad Billingsley 12:17
I’m excited about the growth of Miracle Chrysler as a whole. We’ve got a lot of exciting things coming up before this year. I’m going to be posting some more Jeep events once the weather gets a little better. I’m going to host our second Mopar event. And we’re talking now about possibly hosting even a Miracle Chrysler trade show this year. So a lot of big things are happening incoming that I can’t wait for that. I’ve got to be patient. We got to make this – make everything fit just right. So definitely be on the lookout for those things. And like I said, we’ve had several of the Jeep events. We have a massive turnout for that with our Jeeps and Wrenches Jeep club that we sponsor as well as other Jeep clubs that kind of come on board with that as well let’s open that up and everybody, donors or not. So that is definitely something I’m going to hammer out and getting, getting a bunch of hype created about for this spring.

John Haggard 13:23
Now if somebody wants to connect with Jeep owners, maybe someone who does not yet own a Jeep, are there some websites, user groups, friend groups where people can go?

Brad Billingsley 13:36
Yeah! We sponsored a Jeep club called Jeeps and Wrenches and they are on Facebook. They have a Jeeps and Wrenches fan page, where anybody is welcome. I think they’ve got over 5,000 or 6,000 followers on that page, but some lifelong Jeepers as well as some newcomers. And it’s just a large community all through Tennessee, Middle Tennessee, Kentucky. Other states as well have Jeeps and Wrenches, but they are very happy with newcomers. They are happy to answer questions, there’s no judgment there. They just like seeing more and more people getting involved with the Jeep lifestyle. So I would highly recommend Jeeps and Wrenches.

John Haggard 14:25
And spell that out, if you will, for the folks just so they can get it.

Brad Billingsley 14:28
Yeah, it’s Jeep, J-E-E-P, and Wrenches, W-R-E-N-C-H-E-S. And that is on Facebook. They also have jeepsandwrenches.com, which is their official website. They do have memberships available which gives you some discount here at the dealership as well, as well as other third party companies but they are an absolute God’s standard of a Jeep club that we’ve had the pleasure of doing business with for many years now.

John Haggard 15:06
So Brad, if somebody wants to get ahold of you to find out more or, you know, come drive a Gladiator, whatever it might be, what’s the best way to get in touch with you?

Brad Billingsley 15:17
So I am very active on Facebook. I have a Facebook market page marketplace page of my own. That is brad@miraclescdj. Also, you can find me on Facebook Brad Billingsley. I’m on Instagram, it’s b_billingsley615. I basically live here at Miracle Chrysler. You can always just swing by and most of the time you can catch me. If I’m not here, they can definitely get you in touch with me without a problem.

John Haggard 15:52
Right, man. Great to talk to you again will be looking forward to the Mopar event and the trade show that you said it’s coming up a little bit later on this year. We’ll talk to you some more about that. Brad Billingsley, everybody. He’s the commercial and fleet sales at Miracle Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Gallatin. So, remember you can find show notes and a transcript along with links to content that we talked about right on our website. Here it is miraclecdj.com. We’re also on Apple Podcast, Google Play Podcast and on Spotify. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and leave us a review on any of those platforms and share. I’m your host John Haggard, and we will see you next time!