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Jeep History and Information

Jeep is an automobile marquee (and registered trademark) of DaimlerChrysler. The marquee, like all other Chrysler subsidiaries, became part of DaimlerChrysler when Daimler-Benz merged with the Chrysler Corporation in 1998. Jeep, like Band-Aid and Xerox, is rapidly becoming a genericized trademark. Unlike Band-Aid and Xerox, however, jeep did not start out as a trademark. The term was first applied to a military vehicle, the Bantam BRC, Willys-Overland, Ford Motor Company for the United States Army during World War II. The term is also sometimes used to refer generically to what are now known as SUVs, whether the vehicle in question bears the Jeep nameplate or not. The army jeep was one of the vehicles that led to the SUV era of the 1980s.

A road that is only suitable for off-road vehicles is often called a jeep trail. The most famous is perhaps Black Bear Road (you don't have to be crazy to drive this road but it helps), made famous in the song of the same name by C.W. McCall, author of the 1976 hit Convoy (2 years later released as a movie).  C.W. McCall (aka, William Dale Fries) also wrote and sung a song called Four Wheel Drive, which details a high-speed cat and mouse chase involving his Jeep CJ-5 and a "smokey" through the mud and the crud and the corn fields.

Contents

History

The origin of the term jeep

There are many stories about where the name "jeep" came from. The following two reasons for the name "jeep", although they make interesting and memorable stories, aren't quite accurate.

  1. Probably the most popular notion has it that the vehicle bore the designation "GP" (for "General Purpose"), which was phonetically slurred into the word jeep. R. Lee Ermey, on his television series Mail Call, disputes this, saying that the vehicle was designed for specific duties, was never referred to as "General Purpose," and that the name may have been derived from Ford's nomenclature referring to the vehicle as GP (G for government-use, and P to designate its 80-inch-wheelbase). "General purpose" does appear in connection with the vehicle in the WW2 TM 9-803 manual, which describes the vehicle as "... a general purpose, personnel, or cargo carrier especially adaptable for reconnaissance or command, and designated as 1/4-ton 4x4 Truck", and the vehicle is also designated a "GP" in TM 9-2800, Standard Military Motor Vehicles, 1 September, 1943, but whether the average jeep-driving GI would have been familiar with either of these manuals is open to debate.
     
  2. Many, including Ermey, claim that the more likely origin is a reference to a character from the Thimble Theater (Popeye) comic strip known as Eugene the Jeep. Eugene the Jeep was a dog-like character who could walk through walls and ceilings, climb trees, fly, and just about go anywhere it wanted; it is thought that soldiers at the time were so impressed with the new vehicle's versatility that they informally named it after the character.

Eugene the Jeep is a small, yellow, magical animal. In the original Popeye cartoons, he didn't live with Popeye because Eugene is usually busy ruling Jeep Island. But because of his ability to foretell the future, the little animal always appeared when Popeye or Swee'pea needs his special talents.

The manuals quoted were published in 1943. The character of "Eugene the Jeep" was created in 1936. The first common use of the term "jeep" predates both of these by roughly 20 years. It was during World War I that soldiers used "jeep" as a slang word for new recruits as well as new, unproven vehicles. This is according to a history of the vehicle for an issue of the U.S. Army magazine, Quartermaster Review, which was written by Maj. E. P. Hogan. He went on to say that the slang word had these definitions as late as the start of World War II.

The term would eventually be used as slang to refer to an airplane, a tractor used for hauling heavy equipment, and an autogyro. When the first models of the jeep came to Camp Holabird for tests, the vehicle didn't have a name yet. Therefore the soldiers on the test project called it a jeep. Civilian engineers and test drivers who were at the camp during this time were not aware of the military slang term. They most likely were familiar with the character of Eugene the Jeep and therefore began to credit Eugene with the name. The vehicle had many other nicknames at this time such as Peep, Pygmy, and Blitz-Buggy although because of the Eugene association, Jeep stuck in people's minds better than any other term.

Words of the Fighting Forces by Clinton A. Sanders, a dictionary of military slang, published in 1942, in the library at The Pentagon gives the following definition:

Jeep: A four-wheel drive car of one-half to one-and-one-half ton capacity for reconnaissance or other army duty. A term applied to the bantam-cars, and occasionally to other motor vehicles (U.S.A.) in the Air Corps, the Link Trainer; in the armored forces, the 1/2 ton command car. Also referred to as 'any small plane, helicopter, or gadget.

The term went into widespread public use because of a syndicated news column written by Kathryn Hillyer who was working for the Washington Daily News. Hillyer had been assigned to cover a publicity stunt and Senate photo op where the jeep was presented to the public. The Army brought a jeep to the Capitol in order for it to climb the front steps of the building and show off the vehicle's power. When test driver Irving "Red" Housman was asked by a bystander "What is this thing?" he responded simply with "It's a jeep." Hillyer heard this and used the name in her column which was printed around the country.

 

In September 1940 a team headed by Karl Probst delivered to the U.S. Army a prototype for the World War II Jeep. This small four-wheel drive vehicle was produced by the American Bandam Car Co., located one block east. Here, Bantam manufactured 2,675 Jeeps. Although larger companies ultimately received the chief wartime orders, it was Bantam-in cooperation with the Army-that originally created the jeep.

 

Nellybelle the Jeep

Nellybelle the Jeep - Old WWII CJ-2A Jeep that was constantly conking out on Pat Brady, the bumbling cook and sidekick of Roy Rogers "King of the Cowboys" and Dale Evans "Queen of the West (& Cowgirls)" on the western adventure THE ROY ROGERS SHOW/NBC/1951-57. As Pat Brady drove around Mineral City, the setting of the series, he had the odd habit of talking sweetly to his Jeep as if his verbal compliments could convince Nellybelle to get up and go. Roy Rogers chose to include a Jeep into the program because he noticed that after WWII, the Jeeps were real popular, especially with children. Rogers himself owned a Jeep which he used for hunting, off road cruising and travel to and from his studio. Nellybelle's license number was 3P5-388.

Nelly belle was a 1946 Willys CJ-2A Jeep, which had some unusual bodywork. It was in fact owned by Roy, but was driven in the show by his comic sidekick, Pat Brady. The name apparently developed out of Pat riding an ornery mule in the earlier movies, and addressing it with phrases like "Whoa, Nelly!"  In most episodes of the show, Nellybelle's name is painted on her doors.  You can see Nellybelle II and many wonderful memories of Roy and Dale's life, at their museum in Branson, MO.

 

The origins of the vehicle: the first jeep

The first prototype was built for the Department of the Army by American Bantam, followed by two other competing prototypes produced by Ford and Willys-Overland. The American Bantam Car Company actually built and designed the vehicle that first met the Army's criteria, but the Army felt that the company was too small to supply the number needed and it allowed Willys and Ford to make second attempts on their designs after seeing Bantam's vehicle in action. Some people believe that Ford and Willys also had access to Bantam's technical paperwork. Quantities (1500) of each of the three models were then extensively field tested. During the bidding process for 16,000 "jeeps", Willys-Overland offered the lowest bid and won the initial contract. Willys thus designed what would become the standardized jeep, designating it a model MB military vehicle and building it at their plant in Toledo, Ohio.

Willys was a small company and the military was concerned about their ability to produce large quantities of the vehicle. They were also concerned about only having one manufacturing facility for producing the vehicle and being susceptible to sabotauge. Based on these two concerns the U.S. government allowed jeeps to be built by the Ford Motor Company, who designated the vehicle as model GPW (G indicated a governmental vehicle, P indicated the wheelbase, and W referred to the Willys design). Combined production by Willys and Ford under the direction of Charles E Sorensen, Vice-President of Ford during World War II, produced more than 600,000 vehicles.

The jeep was widely copied in countries other than the United States, such as in France by Hotchkiss and in the Netherlands by Nekaf. There were several different versions created such as a railway jeep and an amphibious jeep. As part of the war effort, Jeeps were supplied to the Soviet Red Army during World War II.

In the United States military, the jeep has been supplanted by a number of vehicles (e.g., Ford's M151, nicknamed the Mutt) of which the latest is the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle ("Humvee")

The Jeep Marquee

A division of DaimlerChrysler, the most recent successor company to Willys, now holds trademark status on the word "Jeep" and the distinctive 7 slot front grille design. The original 9 slot grill associated with all WW2 jeeps was designed by Ford for their GPW, and because it weighed less than the original "Slat Grill" of Willys, (an arrangement of flat bars) was incorporated into the "Standardized jeep" design.

The marquee has gone through many owners, starting in 1941 with Willys, which produced the first Civilian Jeep (CJ). Willys was sold to Kaiser in 1953, which became Kaiser-Jeep in 1963. American Motors bought the company in 1970. The Chrysler Corporation bought out AMC in 1987, shortly after the Jeep CJ was replaced with the AMC-designed Jeep Wrangler or YJ. Finally, Chrysler merged with Daimler-Benz in 1998 to form DaimlerChrysler.

Jeep vehicles are also produced in Beijing, China, by Beijing Jeep Corporation, Ltd., a joint venture between Beijing Automobile Industry Corporation, DaimlerChrysler and DaimlerChrysler China Invest Corporation, established on January 15, 1984.

Jeep vehicles have "model designations" in addition to their common names. Nearly every civilian Jeep has a '-J' designation, though not all are as well-known as the classic CJ.

Kaiser bought Willys in 1953, AMC bought Kaiser in 1970, and Chrysler bought AMC in 1987. Then Chrysler merged with Daimler in 1998. The Germans who lost the war to the Jeep eventually owned it!

 

Historical Jeep Models

Current models

The Jeep brand currently produces these models:

  • TJD - The Unlimited Wrangler, with a 10" longer wheelbase and 15" longer overall (includes Unlimited Rubicon models).
  • JK - The latest version of the Wrangler, released as a 2007 model.
  • JKL - The long wheelbase, 4-door version of the 2007 Wrangler JK.
  • Jeep Grand Cherokee - large family-oriented SUV.
    • WK - The newest Grand Cherokee, 2006-present ("WK" is the designator for the new Grand Cherokee, it is one of the few non-J-designated Jeeps).
  • Jeep Liberty - KJ - A small SUV (called Cherokee outside North America).
  • Jeep Commander - XK - Newest model in the Jeep line, it is a seven passenger SUV.
  • Jeep Compass (2007) - A small crossover SUV based on the Dodge Caliber architecture.
  • Jeep Patriot (2007) - A small SUV based on the Dodge Caliber architecture.

Future models

Jeep Experimental, Prototype Models and Jeep Concept Vehicles photo gallery

Jeep® is a registered trademark of DaimlerChrysler Corporation. 
Offroaders.com is not associated with DaimlerChrysler Corporation.

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GNU Free Documentation License.
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The Jeep Timeline

Jeep road car timeline, 1945 to Present  -  Jeep, A subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler

Vehicle
Type
1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Traditional CJ-2A
1947-1949
CJ-3A
1949-1953
CJ-3B
1953-1968
            CJ-7
1976-1986
Wrangler YJ
1987-1996
  Wrangler TJ
1997-present
     
                                                                        CJ-8                                   LJ      
                    CJ-5 - 1955-1983                                             Wrangler JK
                    CJ-6 - (stretched CJ-5) - 1955-1981                                                   JK Unlimited
                    Jeep DJ Postal / Dispatch Jeep / Surrey Gala Package                                                  
                                                                        CJ-10                                                
Mid SUV       VJ
Jeepster
                              C101 C104                                                       Liberty KJ
Large SUV                                     Wagoneer / Cherokee SJ Grand Wagoneer   Gr. Cherokee ZJ Gr. Cherokee WJ Gr. Cherokee WK
                                                                              Cherokee XJ         Commander
Pickup                                     Gladiator Honcho
SJ
Comanche
MJ
                                 
                                    J-Series Pickups                                            
Truck                       Forward Control
FC-150, FC-170
                                                                                       
                                  FJ-3, FJ-3A Fleetvan                                                                    
Crossover                                                                                                                             Compass
                                                                                                                            Patriot
Other                           JEEP Concept Vehicles - Experimental, Prototype Concepts