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In the beggining God created the heavens and the earth... and it was good. In 1940, Karl Probst created the Jeep, and it rocked! This is the story of how the legendary Jeep came to be...and how it has come to be what it is today...
By 1939, the US military needed a new, universal, vehicle to replace the motorcycle and its other vehicles (such as the modified Ford model-T), so they invented 135 different car companies to compete for a contract to build a new vehicle for the military. The vehicle had to meet certain specs, such as a payload capacity of 600lbs, a wheelbase under 75 inches, a fold-down windshield, a gross vehicle weight under 1200lbs, and it must be four-wheel drive. Only three companies entered: Bantam, Willy-Overland, and Ford.
Bantam enlisted the help of Karl Probst, and in 1940 was the first to product a working prototype for the military, dubbed the Bantam Blitzbuggy and "Old Number One." Willy-Overland and Ford soon followed with their own prototypes, the Willy's Quad and the Ford Pygmy, which were basically knock-offs of the Bantam car. Willy's eventually won the contract because of their 60hp "Go-Devil" engine, but Ford was also given a contract to help keep up with the military's demand for the vehicles for use in WWII. Willy's later renamed their Jeep the MA and MB, while Ford called theirs GP and GPW. Many believe, as I do, that the Jeep won the war for the Allies.
As for 'Jeep,' no one really know for sure where it came from. Some people believe that it evolved from the Ford 'GP' designation, which many think stood for 'general purpose,' which is incorrect. The "G" was for Government and the "P" was the vehicle class (80" wheelbase, 4X4, 1/4 ton truck). Another possibility is that the name came from Popeye's magical sidekick named jeep, who could do almost anything.
In 1942, Ford built a limited number of amphibious Jeeps, known as Seep. This little vehicle was basically an MB with a boat tub on the botton (with cutouts for the wheels) and a PTO propeller. Seeps were not the most seaworthy things in the world, but one highly modified Seep, call "Half-Safe," did manage to cross the Atlantic in 1950 and then continue on to circumnavigate the globe.
The CJ series began back in 1945 with the CJ2A. The name CJ stands for "Civilian Jeep," a bit of trivia that is still argued over. Next came the CJ3A's, and the CJ3B's which weren't produced until 1968. These early Jeeps are commonly referred to as "Flatfendered" because their front fenders were flat across the front, even with the grill. Yes, there was such a thing as the CJ4, and in true Jeep form, there is only one, literally. There is only one 1951 CJ4 prototype in existence, it's the "missing link" between the flatfendered CJ2's and 3's to the round-fendered CJ5.
The CJ5 came about in 1954 as a civilian version of the military's M38A1 which came out in 1952. The CJ5 stayed in production for almost 30 years, longer than any other Jeep model, and was taken out of production in 1983. During the time of the CJ5 there was also a military and civilian CJ6 which had the 101 wheelbase and later a 104 wheelbase, but it had limited prediction and was later replaced by the CJ7.
The CJ7, one of the most popular of the Jeeps, started its 10 year run in 1976. Th CJ7 has a longer wheelbase than the CJ5 to accomidate an optional automatic transmission. Between 1981 and 1986 Jeep made a long-wheel based CJ-8 call the Scrambler, which was basically a pickup truck version of the CJ7. In 1987 the CJ7 was replaced with the square headlightd YJ, more commonly known as the Wrangler. Like its predecessor, the Wrangler was redesigned after 10 years. The new Wrangler (now called TJ) features the classic look and much loved round headlights, dual airbags, a redesigned "90's interior," and an all-new Quadra-Coil suspention instead of the leaf-springs. Interesting how mush TJ sounds like CJ...
In 1956, Jeep began making the 2WD Postal/Dispatch Jeep (DJ). The DJ3A was the first Postal Jeep and was a flat fender Jeep similar to the CJ3A, except it was two wheel drive. The DJ3A was produced from 1956 until 1965. In 1965 the DJ5, which is the postal Jeep most people are familiar with today, was introduced. Jeep also produced a long-wheelbase version from 1965 until 1968 call the DJ6. The DJ5 was made by Jeep into the early 70's and production was continued under AM General.
From 1948 to 1950 Willy's produced a 2-door "car" version of the Jeep, called the Willy's "VJ" Jeepster. These were really cool looking cars, but with only 72hp, 2WD, and not much publicity, they didn't sell.
In 1966, Jeep, now owned by Kaiser, debuted the Jeepster Commando to compete with the Bronco and Land Cruiser. The Jeep Commando was available in three models: a convertable, pickup truck, and as a wagon (like the Jeepster, this was really cool looking vehicle in my opinion). The (Kaiser) Jeepster Commando stayed in production until 1969. In 1970 AMC bought Jeep from Kaiser, and then in 1972 AMC shortened the name to just Commando and changed the grill design to look more like that of a Bronco, but it didn't catch on. The Jeep Commando was taken out of production in 1973.
In 1946 Willy's began making the Willy's Wagon and in 1947 came out with the Willy's Pickup. The wagon was available as a station wagon and also as a panel-side delivery truck. Both the wagon and the pickup truck were made aviailable until 1965.
Jeep debuted the FC-Series trucks in 1956. These trucks featured a cab-over engine design. The FC150 came out first and had a 78" bed and 81" wheelbase. The FC170 came out in 1956 and had a 108" bed and a 103" wheelbase. The FC170 was also available in a 1-ton dually model (FC170DWR) that had a 10' bed. Other bodies were available for the FC170DWR, such as dumptrucks and fire-engines. The FC trucks remained in production until 1964.
Ahh, the Cherokee. The "Cherokee" line began in 1962 when Jeep introduced the Wagoneer as a '63 model, but it could be argued that it really began in the late 1940's with the Willy's Jeep Wagon which was still in production at the time (an ad for the Willy's Wagon once called it a "utility vehicle" for the family). The Wagoneer was a full-size vehicle with the SJ designation. The Cherokee name would not come about until 1973/1974 when a sportier 2-door version of the Wagoneer was made and givin the name Cherokee Chief (a 4-door version of the Cherokee was available in 1977). By 1975 the Cherokee was offered in 3 body styles: 1) the Cherokee Chief Wide-Track which had a 3-inch wider axle and fender flares, 2) the Cherokee with normal size axles and no fender flares, and by 1976/1977 the Cherokee also came in a 4-door model. The Jeep Wagoneer/Cherokee line was the first vehicle of its kind to offer full-time 4WD and an automatic transmission. The full-size Wagoneer was in production until 1991. And a luxo version call the Grand Wagoneer was mad from 1984-1991.
In 1984 the current Cherokee (XJ series) was debuted to compete in the growing market for "compact" SUV's. This "new" Cherokee was quite a bit smaller than the senior Wagoneer/Cherokee and featured a unibody frame as opposed to the traditional body-on-frame style. Until atleast 1988 the Cherokee was the only compact SUV to offer a 4-door model (which incidentally is the reason my dad bought his '88 Chief, the Jeep that got me hooked). The XJ was originally offered with the choice of a 2.5L 4-cyl engine or a 2.8L V6 made by GM. The famous Jeep 4.0L I-6 engine would not make it into production until 1987. In 1991 Jeep came out with their "HO" (high-output) version of the 4.0L engine. Aside from minor trim changes, the XJ remained basically unchanged until 1995 when it got a driver's side airbag. In 1997 the Cherokee got a totally new dash with dual airbags, new door trim, a slightly rounder front fascia, and a new steel liftgate, along with a bunch of other minor improvements.
Pickup truck versions (for civilian and military use) of the full-size Wagoneer/Cherokee, called the Gladiator, J-10, and J-20, were produced from 1963 to 1987. From 1969 to 1969 Jeep produced the M715, a 1-1/4 ton militarized J-Series utility truck. While it was made for only three, it saw a lot of service in that time mostly overseas. A pickup version of the downsized Cherokee, called the Comanche (MJ) was also produced until 1992.
The Grand Cherokee (the ZJ series) was introduced in 1993 to replace the Wagoneer as a mid-sized luxury SUV (a luxury SUV that many companies would rush to imitate). The Grand Cherokee was the first Jeep to have the new Quadra-Coil suspension (now found on the TJ), the revised Quadra-Trac 4wd system, 4-wheel disc brakes, and an airbag. The ZJ also had 2 available V8's: the 318 5.2L and the rare 360 5.9L. The ZJ had its "big" redesign (and only redesign) in 1996 -- the most noticeable changes a new front fascia and new wheels.
In 1999 the Grand Cherokee saw a complete redesign from the ground up and was redesignated the "WJ". The WJ is bigger and more powerful than its predecessor, and has a 3-link rear suspension and improved steering geometry for better ride and handling. The WJ also features Jeep's new Quadra-Drive 4wd system with Vari-Lok axles and the new Quadra-Trac II system. The Jeep V8 also got redesigned and is now a 4.7L PowerTech putting out 235hp and 295 lb-ft of torque.
As for the company/manufacturer itself, it's changed hands three times (four now, depending on how you count). In 1953 Kaiser took over Willys-Overland to form Kaiser-Jeep (the name didn't change to Kaiser- Jeep until 1963), in 1970 American Motors Corporation (AMC) took over Kaiser-Jeep, and in 1987 Chrysler bought AMC. Chrysler has now merged with Mercedes to create the Daimler-Chrysler Corporation. "DC" still owns Jeep...
As one avid reader pointed out, it is AMC that was responsible for the CJ7, the Wrangler, the downsized Cherokee/Wagoneer, the incredible 4.0L straight-six engine, Quadra-Trac and Selec-Trac, the CJ8 Scrambler, most of the Grand Cherokee's design (it was being worked on as early as 1985), and the fact that Jeep still survives today, as under the faulty management of Kaiser, the company surely would have gone out of business in the early 70's. But, it was Jeep that later kept AMC in business in the late 70's and early 80's.
Now you too can amaze your friends and fellow Jeepers with your wealth of knowledge on Jeep History.
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