WITH the growth of the adventure tourism automotive dealers Kingston Industrial Garage (KIG) believes they can help further increase that interest through their JEEP brand.

“KIG thinks this is an untapped market as the local tour rental/transport market is dominated by boring four-door sedans,” Jeffrey Panton, managing director at KIG, told Auto.

Panton says the JEEP brand of products, especially the Wrangler, offers the best way to experience the Caribbean lifestyle and is ideally suited for the sector, a point he drove home when KIG hosted various tourism industry stakeholders at their Hope Road showroom in St Andrew recently.

The managaing director drew from his own observations when travelling to other islands. He referenced the MINI Moke, which is a popular rental vehicle in Barbados.

“It’s too small for our roads, but the JEEP Wrangler offers the same theory in a modern and safe package,” he said.

Panton went on to extol the advantages the Wrangler, an off-roading icon, indicating that it’s a popular choice in other smaller Caribbean islands, including the Cayman Islands, Aruba and Tortola.

“There is instant brand recognition from North American visitors,” he said.

Panton explained that, like the MINI, the doors and roof of the Wrangler could be removed for open-air driving and great on-road ability, with modern safety features such as traction control. The JEEP’s legendary off-road ability is a big plus for the adventurous tourist or tour excursion looking to explore the full terrain Jamaica has to offer. More importantly for the industry, it can be specified as needed and has good resale value.