base Comanche trim. 1988-1992 - Eliminator - The "sporty" Comanche trim. Phaseout and aborted name revival The decision to phase out the Jeep Comanche "came from a combination of two factors— low sales and Chrysler's attempts to make the Jeep brand fit into the Chrysler hierarchy of Plymouth, Dodge, and Chrysler models" with Jeep housing SUVs and Dodge making trucks. As sales dropped, the Comanche was planned for discontinuation. In 1990, the National Council of Jeep-Eagle dealers asked Chrysler to discontinue the Comanche, and allow them to sell a version of the Dodge Dakota pickup. The company decided to cease production of the Comanche on June 12, 1992, after only a few thousand more trucks rolled off the Toledo, Ohio, assembly line. A total of 190,446 Comanches were made during its production run. Following the discontinuation of the Comanche, the Dodge Ramcharger would be dropped outside of Mexico shortly afterwards as part of Chrysler's plans to have Dodge sell pickup trucks and Jeep sell SUVs. Despite that, Dodge would later re-enter the SUV field with the Dodge Durango in 1998 at the height of the initial SUV boom and at one point would offer three SUVs or crossovers (Durango, Journey and Nitro, the latter being a rebadged version of the Jeep Liberty (KK)) while Jeep didn't offer any pickup trucks. Dodge itself would stop offering pickup trucks in 2011 when the Ram Trucks brand was spun-off from Dodge, taking the Dodge Ram and Dakota with it. Jeep re-entered the pickup truck market in early 2019 with the Wrangler-based Jeep Gladiator. Jeep actually considered reviving the Comanche name alongside Gladiator and most commonly Scrambler, as well as simply using a new name, before deciding on Gladiator, feeling it fits that truck the best; sensitivity to the Native Americans (specifically the Comanche tribe) and much less brand recognition compared to Jeep's decades-long use of "Cherokee" for the Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee also likely played factors. The new Gladiator will serve as a 27-year later replacement for the Comanche. Production numbers (these numbers are per Calendar year, not Model year): 1985: 29,245 1986: 33,386 1987: 43,070 1988: 43,718 1989: 25,311 1990: 9,576 1991: 5,188 1992: 952 Notes References External links ComancheClub Site dedicated to Jeep MJs All-wheel-drive vehicles Comanche Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Pickup trucks 1990s cars Cars introduced in 1985 Motor vehicles manufactured in the United States Cars powered by longitudinal 4-cylinder engines