Jeep
The Jeep brand is a division of Chrysler Group LLC, a subsidiary of Italian multinational automaker Fiat. The former Chrysler Corporation acquired the Jeep brand and all other assets of American Motors in 1987. The company produces sport utility and off-road vehicles and has produced pickup trucks in the past.
Jeep was the first off-road vehicle. Willys-Overland Motors designed and built the first one in 1941 under a War Department contract awarded to Ford. During the war, Willys produced 363,000 while Ford produced 280,000 Jeeps under the license from Willys. The name probably started as shorthand for the government’s “general purpose” designation for the vehicle. After the war, Willys continued production of military models and began production of civilian models in 1945. The Jeep inspired the Land Rover, the second-oldest four-wheel-drive brand. There are many military and civilian variants of the brand in other nations.
The brand has had many owners since Willys, which registered a trademark for the brand name in 1950. Kaiser Motors acquired Willys in 1953 and became Kaiser-Jeep in 1963, a name change reflecting the brand’s corporate ascendancy with Kaiser. In 1970, having decided to leave the auto business, Kaiser sold out to American Motors Corporation. Then in 1987, Chrysler bought out American Motors Corporation. Chrysler and Daimler-Benz formed DaimlerChrysler in 1998, DaimlerChrysler broke up in 2007, Chrysler went bankrupt in 2009, and emerged from the bankruptcy as Chrysler Group LLC, now a Fiat subsidiary with a Jeep Division.
The CJ-2A, first of the postwar CJs (Civilian Jeeps), was in production until 1949 with an output of 214,202 units. More impressive was the CJ-5 production run from 1954 to 1983, when Jeep made 603,303 units. There were many CJ-5 special editions. The 1973 Renegade II had an eight-cylinder, 5000-cubic centimeter engine.
The only common complaint of early owners was of insufficient space. The CJ-6 changed this as essentially a stretched CJ-5 with the storage space of a small pickup. Demand was not as great as anticipated, but the model stayed in production from 1955 until the coming of the CJ-7 in 1976 and for export until 1981. As for the CJ-7, a compromise between the short CJ-5 and the long CJ-6, it was long enough for comfort and short enough for the trail. Jeep built 379,299 units in 10 years.
When CJ sales lagged in the mid-’80s, Jeep introduced the Wrangler. Lower and wider than the CJs, the Wrangler was not a genuine Jeep to many fans of the brand, but gradually it won acceptance by proving to be capable and adaptable. The Wrangler YJ had a total of 632,231 built in its 1986–1996 production run.
In 1983, the Cherokee (XJ series) was introduced to compete in the growing market for compact sport utility vehicles. Originally equipped with a four-cylinder, 2500-cubic centimeter or a six-cylinder, 2800-cubic centimeter General Motors engine, the XJ received the Jeep’s high-output version of its six-cylinder, 4000-cubic centimeter engine in 1991.
The Grand Cherokee (ZJ) arrived in 1993 as a mid-sized luxury sport utility vehicle, the first Jeep with the new Quadra-Coil suspension, the revised Quadra-Trac four-wheel drive and all-wheel disc brakes. The ZJ also had two eight-cylinder engines with 5200- and 5900-cubic cylinder capacities. The 1999 Grand Cherokee had a redesign and redesignation as the WJ, bigger and more powerful than its predecessor with a three-link rear suspension and better steering, and handling. The Jeep eight-cylinder engine got an enlargement to 4700 cubic centimeters with 235 horsepower.
Current Jeep models:
- Wrangler
- JK
- JK Unlimited (four-door version)
- Grand Cherokee five-passenger sport utility vehicle
- WK Laredo
- WK Limited
- WK Overland
- WK SRT-8
- WK2
- Compass MK, small crossover sport utility vehicle
- Patriot MK, small crossover sport utility vehicle
- Cherokee KL, midsize crossover sport utility vehicle
Visit the Jeep website: www.jeep.com
