1941-1986 Jeep CJ
Jeep is an automobile marquee (and registered trademark) of Chrysler Corporation Division. The term derives from, and is often associated with, an automobile, originally a military vehicle built for the United States Army during World War II, and later produced in a line of consumer models.
A road that is only suitable for off-road vehicles is often called a jeep trail. Two of the most famous are the Rubicon Jeep Trail in Northern California, and Black Bear Pass between Silverton, Ouray and Telluride, Colorado.
The origin of the name "Jeep" is somewhat of a mystery. Popular notion has it that the vehicle designation "GP" (for "General Purpose") was phonetically slurred in pronunciation, eventually becoming "Jeep." R. However, many claim that the more likely origin is a reference to a character from the Popeye comic strip known as Eugene the Jeep. The character could walk through walls and ceilings, climb trees, fly, and just about go anywhere it wanted, and 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.
The first prototype was built for the Department of the Army by American Bantam, followed by two other prototypes produced by Ford and Willys-Overland. Quantities of each of the three models were then extensively field tested with the Willys prototype being chosen for its greater durability and engine power. The model MB military Jeep was first built in quantity by Willys-Overland Motor Company in Toledo, Ohio. Due to their inability to produce the vast number of vehicles required, the U.S. government also allowed jeeps to be built by Ford Motor Company and designated GPW. Combined production by Willys and Ford during World War II was more than 600,000.
Jeep 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. Chrysler bought AMC in 1987, shortly after the Jeep CJ was replaced with the AMC designed Jeep Wrangler.
Jeep vehicles have "model designations" in addition to their common names. Nearly every civilian Jeep has a 'blank J' designation, though not all are as well-known as the classic Jeep CJ.
Historical Jeep CJ Models:
- Jeep CJ (CJ-2A, -3A, -3B, -4, -5, -6, -7, -8) - All similar to the original Willys' body style. Unlike the other J designators, CJ actually stands for something, "Civilian Jeep."
- 1941-1945 CJ-2
- 1945-1949 CJ-2A
- 1949-1953 CJ-3A
- 1953-1968 CJ-3B
- 1955-1983 CJ-5
- 1955-1981 CJ-6 – a stretched version of the Jeep CJ-5
- 1976-1986 CJ-7
- 1981-1985 CJ-8 Scrambler- a stretched version of the Jeep CJ-7
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