In recent years we've seen automakers follow suit, giving buyers an increasing variety of options to make our cars or trucks our own. We've come a long ways since Henry Ford said we could have a Model T in any color we wanted as long as it was black.
This past week the news spread all across the web regarding a new kind of personalization. The 2021 Jeep Gladiator now has a special edition just for Texans called the Gladiator Texas Trail. I first read about it at Car and Driver, but it wasn't long before the news was turning up at other automotive sites like Mopar Insiders and Autoblog.
In addition to decals that say Texas Trail, this Gladiator features black 17-inch wheels on 32-inch mud-terrain tires.
According to Car and Driver the Texas Trail isn't a Texan Jeep in name only. It has some additional features to reinforce it's connections to the Lone Star State. First, it incorporated the year 1836 into the badge, which is the year Texas became a state. Also, they provide you access to the Jeep Badge of Honor Program, designed specifically for off-roaders eager to get off the beaten path. Though the Badge of Honor app helps off-roaders find trails all over the country, 2021 Texas Trail Gladiator owners will find two new trails marked specifically for Texans.
As for engine options, you can choose the 285-hp 3.6-liter V-6 or the diesel 3.0-liter V6. Naturally we prefer the muscle-bound Ecodiesel. According to Car and Driver it's been built by VW Motori, an Italian subsidiary of Fiat Chrysler now in its third generation. Features include "a compacted-grpahite-iron block, aluminum cylinder heads, and a variable-geometry turbocharger that produces up to 31.9 pounds of boost."
In short, the whole package sounds fun. Texas, here I come.
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It's a good name for a Jeep. A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their lives and their legal and social standing by appearing in the arena. Most were despised as slaves, schooled under harsh conditions, socially marginalized, and segregated even in death.
ReplyDeleteIrrespective of their origin, gladiators offered spectators an example of Rome's martial ethics and, in fighting or dying well, they could inspire admiration and popular acclaim. They were celebrated in high and low art, and their value as entertainers was commemorated in precious and commonplace objects throughout the Roman world.
The origin of gladiatorial combat is open to debate. There is evidence of it in funeral rites during the Punic Wars of the 3rd century BC, and thereafter it rapidly became an essential feature of politics and social life in the Roman world. Its popularity led to its use in ever more lavish and costly games.
The gladiator games lasted for nearly a thousand years, reaching their peak between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century AD. The games finally declined during the early 5th century after the adoption of Christianity as state church of the Roman Empire in 380, although beast hunts continued into the 6th century.