Starting the new year, The Forge’s very first 2025 Heap of the Week goes to John Goligoski, a Santa Barbara High School senior with a 1987 Jeep Grand Wagoneer. Considered one of the first luxury SUVs, it’s a staple in American automotive history. The Grand Wagoneer was popular among its many repeat buyers through the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. It was discontinued in 1991, but at the time it was the longest-running domestically produced vehicle of the same model, running for 29 years.

The car comes from Goligoski’s’s dad who originally got it from Texas a few years ago, and it was just kept in the family until I received my license. It got passed down to me.” A detail he loves about his car is the “wooden exterior and the wool interior.” The car “is a great beach car to drive around with friends,” and Goligoski’s favorite memory is, “taking all the boys to lunch…since it fits six people.”

The Wagoneer, sometimes called “The Wag” by Goligoski’s friends, doesn’t need any real changes besides “a little refurbish and cleanup, but it’s pretty nice.” Thinking about the future, he knows “it does break down a good amount of the time (so) it could be on its last leg soon, but I like it for now (and) I wouldn’t need much more.”

The car was originally built for “all terrain because it’s a 4×4, meaning you could take it off-roading, but now it’s pretty old and we keep it for the beach.” Being a “heap,” the fastest Goligoski likes to push it is “not much more than 65 (MPH). I’m a slower driver.” A scary moment was, “About two weeks ago before I took it into the shop my alternator blew on the freeway and it totally shut down, but I was lucky enough to just get off the freeway, making an intense moment.”

John recently just got The Wagoneer out of the shop and is currently driving it around again. This concludes this edition’s “Heap of the Week,” so keep an eye out for next edition’s!