It's not necessarily the YJs fault. Some of us are old enough to have been wrenching in the 80s, and we know that those square headlights are the visual representation of some of the most dismal years the American automotive industry has ever known. First, that was the time when American rigs were half standard half metric due to the industry gradually switching over. Then the US car industry was getting it's butt handed to it by the Japanese, and economic times were hard anyway so they were under intense pressure to build 'em cheaper and cheaper. It was the last gasp of the carburetor on production rigs, and endless vacuum-run widgets to get them to pass emissions. The yj missed the dreaded smog pump, but a lot of square headlight rigs had them. Remember the Chrysler K car? the Chevy Chevette? The fact that they were hard to kill just meant that the lousy driving experience and tacky styling went on and on. A lot of square headlight rigs also had the laughable 80 mph speedometer that was regulated in in '79 and out in '81, just long enough for Detroit to order a whole bunch of them that then got used into the mid 80s.
Don't expect the square headlights to be an endearing feature for some of us. There's no nostalgia in that era for those of us who remember it. I tolerate mine, but honestly would like it better with a CJ hood and grill, and anyone who doesn't like it can stuff it. I don't care what you think about my rig, and you shouldn't care what I think about yours. The whole point of a Wrangler is to please yourself nice to