Jeep History Summary
The small, sturdy, versatile Jeep had the ruggedness of a truck and the maneuverability of an automobile. It carried four passengers or one-quarter ton of cargo over difficult terrain at speeds up to 65 mph. The origin of its name is unclear. In 1953 the Kaiser-Frazer Company acquired the Willys-Over-land Company and produced the larger, wider CJ-5 Willys Jeep Station Wagon, a functional four-wheel drive utility vehicle. This civilian jeep, based on the Army M38A1 jeep used in the Korean war, became a milestone in postwar American automotive history, was manufactured for 30 years in 30 countries, and sold in 150 nations. By 1963 the new Jeep Wagoneer marked the end of the classic Willys Wagon which ceased production in 1965. In 1970 the American Motors Corporation took over the Kaiser-Jeep Corporation, thus gaining the Wagoneer's expanding baby boomer market. Throughout the 1970s more comfortable models derived from the jeep were seen on highways around the world as Plymouth, Toyota, and Isuzu introduced similar off-road vehicles (ORV). In the 1980s, when fuel conservation was no longer the concern it had been in the 1970s, larger, heavier, more expensive SUV models became popular with suburban motorists.
Jeep History
Bantam's first hand-built prototype was complete and running by September 21, 1940, meeting the 49-day deadline. The Army put this prototype through torturous testing, taking the Bantam Jeep vehicle over 3,400 miles, all but about 250 of which were unpaved. In 1950, Willys obtained a United States Trademark Registration for the Jeep trademark. Since then, ownership of the Jeep trademark, which is also registered internationally, has passed from Willys-Overland to Kaiser to American Motors Corporation, and most recently, to Chrysler Corporation. The first civilian Jeep vehicle, the CJ-2A, was produced in 1945. Advertisements proclaimed it to be "A Powerhouse on Wheels," again selling it as a work vehicle for farmers and construction workers.
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Army Air Corps, the prototype YB17 bomber was nicknamed "Jeep" because of its sterling performance. The YB 17 was the predecessor to the heralded Boeing B17 "Flying Fortress" bomber of World War II. This name eventually fell into disfavour because Eugene the Jeep was a little critter and the YB 17 was big by comparison. Gen. Gregory, the Army Air Corps' first helicopter pilot, said the Jeep name was used for another, smaller, aircraft, with the official of Popeye's publisher. Had this experimental autogyro, a predecessor to the helicopter, gone into production, it would have officially worn the name "Jeep". The MM Model UTX was a real piece of hardware. Basically a converted farm tractor, the MM Jeep featured fourwheel drive and a 425cid, 70hp (at 1,275 rpm) sixcylinder gasoline engine. It could pull a 5ton 155mm howitzer at 28 mph, with occasional spurts up to 40 mph, and had a fording depth of over three feet. The MM Jeep prototypes came in open and closedcab models.
Historic Civilian Jeeps
The Marski Collection of Jeep vehicles and memorabilia was established to chronicle the history of Jeep civilian vehicles from 1945 through the present. The breadth of the Collection is unparalleled in the world as it includes examples of most Jeep civilian models built to date. The Collection is divided among very good to excellent original vehicles and restored models. The Collection's vehicles have graced the pages of four wheel drive magazines and various Jeep books, including "Jeep", "Jeep Buyers Guide" and "Jeep Color History". They have also been featured in automotive history specials on the History Channel, A&E and BBC television networks. It was the last Phaeton-style vehicle manufactured and was never offered in a four wheel drive version. Production ended in 1950. Unsold 1950 models were titled as 1951's. Only 19,132 units were produced over the Jeepster's short life. Engine offerings included 4 cylinder L and F-heads and a 6 cylinder L-head. The Jeepster is the only Jeep vehicle ever certified as a "Milestone" collectible car.
Military Jeep History: Bantam to MB
Bantam's involvement with the jeep dates back to 1932. The Infantry Board of the Quartermaster Corp. (QMC) at Fort Benning, GA were looking into the use of small, lightweight automobiles for military purposes. They purchased an Austin roadster in November for this purpose. They wanted to purchase more, but an internal squabble over who should be procuring automobiles and the lack of funding made this impossible. Nothing much came from this purchase.
History of Jeep and the Jeep Liberty
Cherokee was a groundbreaking vehicle that never was duplicated by any other manufacturer. Like the accidental success of the minivan, the Cherokee was kind of an accident too. In the late '70s, after the oil scares, all the North American auto companies embarked on redesigns to downsize their products. SUV's were not a significant segment of the market, and their downsized versions were slow in coming. Essentially there was the Ford Bronco, Chevy and GMC Suburban and Blazer, Dodge Ramcharger, and the Jeep SJ Cherokee and Wagoneer. These vehicles were all adaptations of a truck and with the exception of the Suburban and Jeeps, had few parts that were unique to the SUV. GM and Ford downsized their pickup trucks and soon followed with the SUV versions which followed the same pattern; adaptations of the compact trucks, thus smaller 2-door versions of their larger 2-door SUVs. Chrysler didn't even bother, and bought vehicles from Mitsubishi to fill this market. Enter the automotive press. With Chrysler backing Jeep, Cherokees and later Grand Cherokees outsold all the competition. The press ignored this and always criticized the Jeep for its "dated" suspension design, while concurrently praising it for its superior ride, performance and handling. They praised Chrysler engineers for being geniuses, because they made the retro design work so well. They never connected that the "dated" design might have been responsible for the superior performance. Then Toyota introduced the RAV4. The automotive press raved and praised it. Toyota's line of SUVs before the RAV4 had consisted of truck adaptations and a clone of an old Jeep (the Land Cruiser). With all the praise heaped upon the RAV4, all the auto manufacturers around the world rushed to clone it.
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Adapted from a spartan military design, Jeep defined the standard for civilian off-road performance in the 1950s. Today, as an integral member of the DaimlerChrysler family, Jeep is a major player in the high-end sport utility market. With special attention to the development of the off-road and SUV markets, this color history profiles Jeep's remarkable evolution from its years as the stout cornerstone of American Motors through its incorporation into Chrysler. More detailed than the book "Jeep" by Jim Allen. Get a little deeper into the "Jeepmania". Also recommended for new Jeep enthusiasts and people considering buying a vintage Jeep for hobby or restoration. This is absolutely one of his and the markets best book. Magnificent photography-the places the photos were shot at accented the Jeeps ruggedness. Steve's writing skills are superb. A must buy for Jeep lovers and auto lovers alike!
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There is a manual that details the correct position for mounting a Decontaminator (also know as a Decontamiator Device) and bracket depending on what branch of service the jeep was attached to, and what other equipment existed on the jeep.
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