The Class of 2024 has officially rolled into their position of being the senior class. With the 2023-2024 school year now in full swing, the hallways are bustling with fresh faces— in the parking lot, it’s a fresh batch of the senior’s cars.

Now the importance of this matter: the type of car they are driving. 

The student parking lots at 80 High School Lane in 2022-2023 were subpar at best— Say, 40% Jeep Wranglers, 10% Mazda CX5s, 6% Broncos, and 46% irrelevant sedans, vans, and mopeds.

This past spring on the other hand seemed to be a little different: Jeep Wranglers had been slowly on the rise and the parking lots were as saturated as ever by the hefty, towering, gleaming steel machines. Before you know it, the parking lot will reach nearly 100% capacity of Wranglers.

Despite the uniform lineup that is forming along the parking slants and in the lots, there is still lots of variety! Keep your eyes peeled as soft-top roofs switch to hard-tops as winter approaches. The convertible roofs will be missed during the late hours of the night when these Wranglers would normally roar down your quiet suburban street, blessing you all with blaring, moderately good rap music.

Additionally, there is an ample variety of colors for both the body and the roofs: white, light gray, dark gray, black, and to satisfy the palettes of those who are a little more daring, red or a solid bright cyan blue. Owning a Jeep Wrangler ensues another hobby, that is, customizing and souping it up as much as possible. Because who wants to admit they’re driving the same car as every other senior? There’s nothing more familiar than seeing a vehicle with unproportionally large wheels being driven by a pre-pubescent teen seated inside. 

So the real question is, why? Why are these cars so popular in the town of Darien? The answer is simple: At 2:20 PM, high schoolers are eager to whip out of their small town and head to the nearest off-roading site. It is only a matter of time when they’ve gone from the desk to the dirt road. With such rough terrain (like the Starbucks parking lot) to traverse, it is merely essential that everyone is best prepared for any situation.

The other matter is trend. There, I said it. Trending, hot, all the rage— that’s the Jeep. If the rectangular build, detachable doors, and aggressive grille doesn’t sell you, peer pressure will. Getting a Jeep Wrangler is a step towards getting inside of a very niche group in town, so what are you waiting for? Buckle up.

The Lost Stigma of the First Car