Jeep Wrangler Halcyon In The Works? ACAR Investigation
Halcyon days may be coming.
FCA, which remains a legal entity under the Stellantis umbrella, has filed for a U.S. trademark on the Halcyon name.
It’s not one that’s been featured on any of its products before, and the filing is for “motor vehicles, namely, concept motor vehicles,” so it appears to be something new.
The word itself may offer a few clues as to what’s in store, as American Cars And Racing (ACAR, get it?) will explain.
THE 2024 JEEP WRANGLER GETS A LIFT FROM NEW AMERICAN EXPEDITION VEHICLES KITS
Halcyon was a mythical Greek goddess who’s mortal husband was killed in a storm while at sea.
She was so dismayed when she found his body on the shore that she threw herself into the sea to drown.
The other gods took pity, revived his spirit and turned both of them into birds who could live on the stormy coast together for eternity.
Unfortunately, her eggs kept being washed into the sea by the rough surf, but Zeus eventually deemed that the weather would be calm for the two weeks around the winter solstice when she laid her eggs, which begat the idea of halcyon days.
This suggests that a Jeep Wrangler is the most likely model to wear the name, for a couple of reasons.
First, pleasant weather calls for a topless vehicle. The Wrangler is the only one in the current Stellantis mainstream lineup in the U.S. and the open top version of the Maserati MC20 is already called the Cielo.
It’s possible there will be a drop-top version of the Fiat 500e offered in the coming years, and Halcyon is the Latinized version of the Greek name Alkyón, but we found another clue that it will be a Jeep far from Greece and closer to the United States.
Up in British Columbia, there’s a resort called Halcyon Hot Springs. It’s been there for over a century and was named after the myth to evoke peace and calm.
But not far from there is a body of water called Mable Lake, on the shores of which you will find the town of Kingfisher.
Why does that matter?
Well, that’s exactly the kind of bird Halcyon and her husband were turned into, by another name.
Great, so what does that have to do with Jeeps?
Well, there’s an off-road fire service road well-known to 4×4 drivers to the west of the lake that runs for 22 miles through the area and connects with an easier 20 mile section that goes down the other side.
It’s not exactly the Rubicon — another name steeped in Greco-Roman history — but it sure sounds like a nice drive, especially in a plug-in hybrid Wrangler 4xe.
FCA has been as quiet as Harpocrates on its plans for the name, but we’re fairly certain this was the reasoning behind it. (Kidding!)
FRIDAY FANTASY: THE 2005 JEEP GLADIATOR CONCEPT WAS ENTERTAINING
That said, we don’t think it’s such a far out idea — Farout being another name FCA recently trademarked for the final edition of the diesel-powered, Wrangler-based Gladiator pickup