Roots of the Famous Jeep Brand
The Jeep brand is well-known for many reasons and some of the most popular include the brand’s rugged and unique style, but there is a lot more to Jeep than what meets the eye. Our favorite part about the Jeep brand is its history and its impact on the automotive industry.
The Jeep brand originated in the early ‘40s and the first Jeep vehicle was built by Willys-Overland and it was called the Willys MB Jeep. This Jeep was produced in 1941 and it was built specifically for military use during World War II. It was this original model that gave roots to the Wrangler today. The Willys MB Jeep is typically shown with no roof or doors, but some models did have a thin roof. The Willys MB also came standard with a 4×4 drivetrain, a slotted vertical grill and round headlights — sound familiar? That 4×4 drivetrain made the Willys MB Jeep the first mass produced 4×4 vehicle.
After the war in 1945, Willys-Overland began making Willys CJ models. CJ was the perfect name for these vehicles as it stood for “civilian Jeep.” It was in the pursuit to make the CJ model that led to the birth of the seven-slot grille, which is the same grille used on every Jeep model. Willys MB models had a nine-slot vertical grille, which was actually a design borrowed from Ford, so to be able to get the grille trademarked, Willys-Overland made the grille a seven-slot grille. Five years after the first production of the Willys CJ, Willys-Overland was able to trademark the name “Jeep” and make it their own.
After Willys-Overland was bought out by Kaiser Motors in 1953, the Jeep brand bounced around a few different manufacturing companies and different variations of the CJ model until being acquired by the Chrysler Corporation in 1987. The Chrysler Corporation merged with Daimler-Benz in 1998 and then in 2014, Chrysler merged with Fiat to become FCA US LLC, which is the company Jeep operates under today.
Since the beginning of Jeep all kinds of different models have been made. Some of the more popular models including the Wrangler (of course), Cherokee, and Grand Cherokee. Now, in 2017 there are eight different Jeep models to choose from including SUV and CUV options. The vehicle list now includes: Wrangler, Wrangler Unlimited, Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, Grand Cherokee SRT, Renegade, Compass, and Patriot models.
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Photo source: Chrysler Ad Planner/Pinterest
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