Jeep: A brief history of this great vehicle

With World War II on the horizon the US military needed a new all terrain vehicle that would allow combat units to operate off-road, in differing climates and soil conditions. In 1939 the Army invited 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 fewer than 75 inches, a fold-down windshield, a gross vehicle weight of fewer than 1200lbs, and it must be four-wheel drive. Only three companies responded Bantam, Willy-Overland, and Ford.

Bantam enlisted the help of Karl Probst, and in 1940 was the first to produce a working prototype for the military, He called it the Bantam Blitzbuggy and “Old Number One”. Willy’s-Overland and Ford followed with their own prototypes, the Willys Quad and the Ford Pygmy. These were basically copies of the Bantam car. Willys eventually won the contract because of their 60hp “Go-Devil” engine. Because of the large demand created by WWII Ford was given a contract. Willys later renamed their jeeps the MA and the MB, while Ford called theirs the GP and GPW.

As for the name ‘Jeep’, no one really knows for sure where it came from.  Some people believe that it evolved from the Ford ‘GP’ designation. If you say it fast it sounds like Jeep. But the “G” stood for Government and the “P” denoted a vehicle class (80″ wheelbase 4×4 ¼ ton truck).

In 1953 Kiser bought Willys out and named the company Willys Motors and in 1964 changed the name to Kaiser Jeep.

1945: The CJ2A series which stood for “Civilian Jeep. The CJ3A’s and CJ3B’s were further designs of the same body style manufactured until 1968. There is only one 1951 CJ-4 prototype in existence, it’s the “missing link” between the flat fender CJ-2′s and 3′ and the round-fender CJ-5.

1952 The military redesign the original Jeep and it was called M-38A1. In 1954 this model became available to the public as the CJ-5.  Production of the CJ-5 last the longest of any other model of Jeep. It was taken out of production in 1983 after 30 continuous years. During the time of the CJ-5 there was also a military and civilian CJ-6 which had a 101″ wheelbase and later a 104″ wheelbase.

1970 saw American Motors buying out Kaiser. They continued production until 1987 when Chrysler took over.

1976 began production of the Jeep CJ-7. It had a longer wheelbase than the CJ-5, which allowed the design to incorporate the first automatic transmission. Between 1981 and 1986 Jeep made a long-wheel based CJ-8 called the Scrambler. This model looked more like a pickup truck with a long bed.

1987 the YJ Wrangler series was introduced. The body style was more square then previous models. This design lasted for 10 years and many are still on the road today.

Chrysler introduced the Jeep TJ in 1997. This model added a Quadra-Coil suspension instead of leaf-springs, round headlights, and a redesigned interior. Chrysler also began bring out several models of the same vehicle, each an upgrade in appointments to the interior. The top of the line Rubicon came out in 2003 and included: rear disc brakes, a NV241J “Rock-Trac” transfer case with a 4:1 low range and the D44 axle. Diamond plate rocker guards were added for good looks. During this period quality control of the Jeep went up a 1000 percent. The body dimensions from one unit to the next were near perfect. This allowed hardtops and half door to be manufacture that would fit any model year after year in the series. It also saw many more aftermarket manufactures competing for the consumer demand. During this period the jeep took on more of a passenger vehicle mystic where prior the public considered it to be for off road use.

2004 Chrysler introduced the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited LY model. The LJ is based off the TJ platform, but features a 104″ wheelbase for a larger storage area in the back. The LJ model has a 4.0 Liter I6 engine with the D44 axle. This year also saw the development of a 4 SP automatic transmission. Fuel economy became important through these years and Chrysler improved the carburetion and ignition systems.

The 6-speed manual transmission was introduced in 2005 at the same time the Limited addition was introduced. Up to that point the Rubicon was the top of line model.

Other Models:

The post office needed a good reliable, heavy duty vehicle for mail delivery. From 1956 through 1965 a 2 wheel drive model DJ was built for this purpose. The DJ-3A was the first Postal Jeep. It had flat fenders similar to the CJ-3A, which was still 4 wheel drive. The DJ-5 began production in 1965 and was built by American motors for the government into the early 70’s. It is the vehicle we see most in mail delivery today. The DJ-6 was design and built from 1965 through 1968 and had increase capacity created with a longer wheel base.

1948 to 1950 The Jeepster model was produced by in a 2-door model VJ, which was more of a passenger car then what we consider a Jeep. This model had a 72hp motor.

From 1966 to 1969 Kaiser brought out the Jeepster Commando. There were 3 styles to the Commando: a pickup truck, a canvas topped convertible and a station wagon.  The Commando, dropping the Jeepster, was done in 1972 by American Motors. A year later they discontinued production.

In 1946 Willys began making the Willys Wagon and in 1947 came out with the Willys Pickup .The wagon was available as a station wagon and also as a panel-side delivery truck. Both the wagon and pickup truck were made until 1965.

1956 - 1964 the FC truck series was introduced. First denoted as the FC 150 this model was designed to be used as the platform for all manor of heavy duty trucks. It sported a 81 inch wheel base with a flat 78 inch area behind the over the engine cab we are familiar with in today’s trucks. Later models were used as plain pickups, panel delivery trucks, dump truck bed and even used on a limited scale for fire engines. The wheel base went up to 103 inches and the bed and suspension increased to as much as 120 inches which gave it a one ton capacity with a dually rear end.

In 1962 Kaiser engineered a 4 door model SJ they called the Wagoneer. The design competed with other full size passenger vehicles on the market. The Wagoneer was a 4-dr full-size vehicle with the SJ designation. This model later became the Cherokee in 1973 when American Motors came out with a 2 door version of the Wagoneer. They added the word Chief in 1977 with another 4 door model. The Wagoneer was built until 1991. It was the only vehicle of its kind to have 4 wheel drive and with an Automatic Transmission.

American Motors began building the XJ Cherokee SUV model in 1983. It was not a fully model like the original Cherokee. The XJ changed over to what has become to be called a “uni-frame” body and was the only 4-door compact SUV on the market until 1988. You could choose from two engines with the XJ Cherokee: a 2.5L 4-cyl engine or a 2.8L V6. Later in 1987 Jeep would develop its own 4.0 liter engine. This would become one of Jeeps most popular and reliable engines. The XJ model continued with little change until 1995. The XJ was copied into the Explorer by Ford and the blazer by GM. It set standards and the whole SUV craze in motion. Chrysler ended production in 2001.

The US government used the Cherokee XJ with a pickup bed from 1963 to 1987. It was denoted as a J-10 or J-20. Many of these and the World War II jeeps saw civilian service when they were auctioned off as military surplus.

In 1993 Chrysler started the Grand Cherokee ZJ line as a high end mid size SUV. It was used to develop the Quadra-Coil suspension which later found its way into today’s Jeep TJ. It also had 4 wheel disc brakes and 2 V8 engines to choose from: the 318 5.2L and the 360 5.9L. In 1996 the Grand Cherokee was upgraded to the ZJ model and later to the WJ with the 235 HP 4.7L Power Tech engine. The ZJ saw the development of the 4 wheel drive Quadra-Drive with easy shifting to 2 wheel drive through the Vari-Lok axles. The engine torque was also increase to 295 foot pounds. In 2005 the Grand Cherokee was totally redesigned into the WM model. It came with a Hemi 5.7 liter engine and later a 415 HP Hemi 6.1 liter engine.

Chrysler joined the Mercedes group and became DaimlerChrysler in 1998. In 2009 with the company going bankrupt the US government bailed them out. Many of the former Chrysler brands were discontinued but not the Jeep.