All you need to know about the Jeep
Born: 1943
Nationality: American
The vehicle that became the iconic Jeep (from the US Army acronym "GP" for "General Purpose" vehicle) was actually developed from a prototype developed by the Bantam Car Company to a specification from the US army. Willys Overland, the only other tenderer from 130 car makers invited to apply, was awarded the contract to build the vehicle, because Bantam was in shaky financial circumstances.
In order to meet the wartime need, Willys Overland agreed that Ford could be provided with its final designs, and between them the two companies supplied more than 700,000 'Jeep' vehicles during the second World War.
In 1945, Willys produced the first civilian version, the CJ-2A, aimed at agriculture and construction customers. Additional items to the original military vehicle included a tailgate, side-mounted spare, and an external fuel cap.
A year later Willys-Overland produced the world's first all-steel station wagon, the Overlander (the accompanying picture is a 1948 model, pictured last week in Knysna, South Africa). It was 2WD and had seven-passenger capacity. Production of this Willys wagon continued in various models until 1965. Three years after introduction, it was provided with the 4WD capacity that had made the original military Jeep so effective in the war.
Meantime, Willys had produced its first pick-up truck with 4WD, styled like the Overlander wagon with the trademark Jeep vertical slotted grille. This truck continued in production until the early 1960s, being replaced by the Jeep Gladiator trucks.
In 1953, the original CJ Jeep was updated, with a taller body and bonnet height to accommodate a larger format four-cylinder engine. It continued in production, with many modifications to body and powertrain, until 1968 and more than 155,000 were made. It eventually became the Wrangler model that runs to the present day, its latest incarnation being the Wrangler Rubicon with the latest in technological advancements added to the already rugged and capable "go anywhere" vehicle.
In 1962, the Jeep Wagoneer was introduced, with a straight-six engine that would continue in Jeep successor vehicles that eventually became iconic as the Cherokee, only yielding to more modern powerplants in the late 1990s. The Super Wagoneer with a V8 engine and Turbo Hydra-Matic automatic transmission would eventually become the Grand Cherokee. The current version of the Grand Cherokee was introduced in 1999.
The XJ Cherokee and Wagoneer Sport Wagons introduced in 1962 started the whole leisure SUV trend in the US, one which eventually crossed the Atlantic. In 1997, the two millionth Cherokee was rolled out at the US Toledo plant. Jeep is now part of the DaimlerChrysler group.
Best Car: For siring a genre, and maybe winning a war, the second World War GP vehicle.
Worst Car: The previous generation Cherokee, only because it went on too far beyond its sell-by date.
Weirdest Car: The Treo concept unveiled at the recent Tokyo Motor Show (but it looks like fun).
Brian Byrne