History
The classic Jeep off-road vehicle has been often imitated through the years; though, the Jeep brand remains strong. Originally created as an off-road vehicle for the United States Army and allied forces fighting in World War Two, the first models of the Jeep were created by Willys-Overland and Ford Motor Company in 1941. After the war, Willys-Overland Motors continued to produce new models, using the Jeep brand.
They released the first civilian Jeep at the end of the war, in 1945. This Jeep was called the Jeep CJ, meaning civilian jeep. The early model CJ was a variation of the Jeep produced for the war effort. Willys-Overland added a canvas top, tailgate, and a drawbar to the Willys-Overland MB. The Jeep CJ would remain in production with the owners of the Jeep trademark until being replaced by the Jeep Wrangler in 1986. While the Jeep brand stopped producing the CJ in 1986, the model is still being licensed for manufacturing around the world.
Willys-Overland was finally granted the right to the Jeep trademark, before being sold to Kaiser Motors in 1953. Kaiser Motors changed their name to Kaiser-Jeep in 1963 and had difficulty promoting the Jeep brand. In 1970, a failing Jeep brand was sold to American Motors Corporation.
Currently, Jeep is marketed as a brand of vehicles as part of the Chrysler Group, which is now a subsidiary of Fiat; though, the Jeep brand is licensed to a variety of manufacturers all over the world. The earliest foreign built Jeep vehicles were produced in Australia, starting in the early 1940s. Production was handled by Willys Motors Australia and continued until the 1980s.
In Japan, the Jeep brand was first licensed by Mitsubishi in 1953 and the Japanese automaker would keep Jeep vehicles in production until 1999. While the Jeep was in production, Mitsubishi created a subdivision called Mitsubishi Jeep to handle manufacturing. Due to the licensing terms, Mitsubishi Jeep could only sell their Jeep vehicles domestically; though, a major part of their production was focused on supplying the Japanese military.
Major Events
American Motors Company (AMC) owned the Jeep brand before selling it to Chrysler. In 1984, while still owned by AMC, a joint venture was created between AMC and Beijing Motors, named the Beijing Jeep Corporation. The Beijing Jeep Corporation would produce Jeep vehicles for sale in China and other parts of Asia, starting with the Jeep Cherokee. Due to various changes in ownership, the Beijing Jeep Corporation would eventually become Beijing Benz.
In 1986, Jeep launched one of their most successful brands – the Jeep Wrangler. Early Jeep vehicles were basic variations of the Jeep CJ (Civilian Jeep) and would sell well throughout the post-war world; however, by the 1970s sales of the Jeep CJ were declining. That is when Jeep began designing the Jeep Wrangler YJ model. Over the years, the Jeep Wrangler has been revised several times, with each release being given a new model name to correspond with its generation. The Jeep Wrangler TJ was released in 1997, the LJ in 2003, and the JK in 2007.
Going Forward
It is going to be tough to step up production over the revamped models that were introduced in 2013, including new versions of the Cherokee, Cherokee Diesel, SRT, Compass, and the Patriot. The new designs have been popular, and to top it all off this year, the 2014 Wrangler has been introduced to give Jeep lovers everywhere a new model to test drive. Jeep is also working to create a better world and has endorsed many national and international programs to help the world be a better place. 2014 also marks a great year of special vehicles coming in the Limited Edition including:
• Compass Altitude
• Wrangler Polar
• Wrangler Willy’s Wheeler
• Wrangler Freedom
• Wrangler Rubicon
• Wrangler Dragon
• Patriot FreedomCheck out the
Jeep website to get a sneak peek at these amazing models!
