In June 1940, the U.S. military informed automakers that it was looking for a “light reconnaissance vehicle” to replace its motorcycles and Ford-T changes.
The Army invited 135 manufacturers to make an offer that production and set up a long list of features for the vehicle, including the following:
– 272 kg load capacity,
– Wheelbase 1905 mm less than,
– Height (without windscreen) less than 914 mm,
– Engine running smoothly from 5-80 km / h,
– Body rectangular
– Transfer box with two speeds and four-wheel drive
– Folding Windshield,
– Three bucket seats
– Fog lights hidden and long-range
– Gross vehicle weight less than 590 kg
Automakers Willys Overland and American Bantam were the only two companies answering the call.
Ford Motor Company but soon entered the scene and the competition began among the three companies to determine which benefit from the lucrative government contract.
Each company worked out in record time prototypes for testing.
The Bantam’s chief engineer drew up plans with a team of company executives, who built his car field in 49 days.
Willys-Overland Vice President of Engineering Delmar G. Roos developed the Willys Quad.
Ford developed its Model GP (General Purpose, Purpose), known as the Pygmy and powered by a tractor engine Ford / Ferguson adapted.
Each company delivered its prototype to the Army in the summer of 1940 and received approval to build 70 copies.
The Army took possession of these vehicles in November 1940 at Camp Holabird, Maryland, United States.
Each of the three designs exceeded the standard of 590 kg, but the Army soon realized that limit was far too low and raised it for deliveries of vehicles that followed.
The army crossed the second round of contracts in March 1941.
Bantam was to produce 1,500 Model 40 BRC vehicles, Ford would build 1,500 modified and improved GP Pygmy and Willys would produce 1,500 Quads.
Tests and more extensive evaluations prompted the army to choose the Willys vehicle as the standard.
Subsequently, most of the Bantam and Ford GP produced were sent to Great Britain and Russia within the framework of a program of lend-lease.
In Britain, the Ford vehicle was known as the Blitz Buggy.
Willys MA / MB
With modifications and improvements, the Willys Quad became the MA, and the MB.
But in the army and in the world he came to prominence as the Jeep.
Some claim that the name comes from a mispronunciation of the letters “GP” abbreviation military “General Purpose” (Versatile).
Others say the vehicle was named for a popular character “Eugene the Jeep” in the Popeye cartoon.
Whatever the origin, the name entered into the American vocabulary and even served as a time of generic name for all off-road vehicles, while the Jeep itself became an icon of the war.
The Willys MA was equipped with a gearshift on the steering column, low cuts on the sidewalls of the body, two circular groups of instruments on the dashboard and a hand brake on the left.
Willys strove to reduce the weight to meet the new specification of 980 kg of the army.
Deleted items for the MA to reach that goal were reinstalled on the next generation of MB, leading to a final weight of approximately just 181 kg above specifications.
Willys-Overland built 368,000 more vehicles, and Ford, under license, some 277,000 to produce the U.S. Army.
The solid and reliable vehicle olive green canvas stretched remains famous for his contribution to victory in World War.
Willys dropped the name “Jeep” after the war and planned to turn the vehicle into a utility all-terrain for agriculture, Universal Civilian Jeep.
According to one of the slogans of Willys at the time, “The sun never sets on the great Jeep” … and the company made sure that the world recognized Willys as the creator of the vehicle.
Jeep CJ-2A and CJ-3A
The first public Jeep, the CJ-2A, was produced in 1945.
Willys advertisements or promoted as a work vehicle for farmers and construction workers.
It was equipped with a tailgate, a spare wheel attached to the side, larger headlights, an external fuel cap and many more items that its military predecessors did not have.
The Jeep CJ-2A was produced for four years, and 1948 saw the launch of the CJ-3A.
It was very similar to the previous model but featured a windshield in one piece while retaining the four-cylinder engine L original.
Jeep CJ-3B
The Jeep CJ was updated in 1953 to become the CJ-3B.
Grille and hood were higher than in the previous military version to accommodate the new Hurricane engine with four cylinders.
Production of the CJ-3B continued until 1968 and he manufactured a total of 155,494 in the United States.
In 1953, Willys-Overland was sold to Henry J. Kaiser for $ 60 million.
The company Kaiser began a program of research and development of large scale that would broaden the Jeep product range.
Jeep CJ-5 and CJ-6
Two years later, in 1955, Kaiser introduced the Jeep CJ-5, based on the M-38A1 of the Korean War with its rounded front wings.
It was slightly larger than the CJ-3B as a wheelbase and overall length increased.
Improvements to the engine, axles, transmission and seating comfort made the CJ-5 an ideal vehicle that responded to the growing public interest for all-terrain.
Jeep CJ-5 featured softer lines, including body contours more rounded.
A long wheelbase model was introduced and took the name of CJ-6. It was almost identical to the CJ-5, if it is a longer wheelbase.
Jeep also launched a variant with cab range CJ 1956.
All Jeep vehicles is the Jeep CJ-5 had the longest production phase, from 1954 to 1984.
During the 16 years during which it was owned by Kaiser, factories were established in 30 countries and marketed the Jeep was in more than 150 countries.
Jeep Wagoneer
In 1962, Jeep introduced the first automatic transmission to a four-wheel drive vehicle, the Jeep Wagoneer, the precursor of the Jeep Cherokee.
The 1962 Jeep Wagoneer was also the first four-wheel drive with independent front suspension.
In 1965, a new V-6 engine Dauntless (Intrepid) was launched as an option on the CJ-5 wheelbase of 205.7 cm and the wheelbase CJ-6 256.5 cm.
The 155 horsepower engine almost doubled the power of standard four-cylinder engine.
It was the first time a Jeep CJ could be equipped with a V-6.
In 1970, Kaiser Jeep was purchased by American Motors Corporation (AMC).
The four-wheel drive vehicles were more popular than ever in 1978, the total production of the Jeep reached 600 vehicles per day, more than three times the production from the beginning of the decade.
All Jeep CJ were equipped with V-8 engines 4982 cm3 5899 cm3 or manufactured by AMC.
AMC equipped the CJ-5 and CJ-6 with heavier axles, bigger brakes and a wider track.
Jeep was also a forerunner in 1973 with its Quadra-Trac, the first automatic four-wheel drive at all times.
The Quadra-Trac was available truck and Jeep Jeep wagon, as the CJ-7.
Jeep CJ-7 and CJ-8
In 1976, CMA launched the Jeep CJ-7, the first major change in 20 years in the design of the Jeep. The CJ-7 had a slightly longer wheelbase than the CJ-5 (237.5 cm against 212.1 cm) to clear a space for the version with automatic transmission.
For the first time, the CJ-7 offered molded plastic top and steel doors optional.
The CJ-7 and CJ-5 were made until 1983, when demand for the CJ-7 left no other choice AMC to discontinue the CJ-5 after 30 years of production.
Jeep Scrambler, introduced in 1981, was similar to the CJ-7, but with a longer wheelbase, known worldwide as the CJ-8.
AMC-Jeep was bought by Renault in 1982.
Jeep Wrangler YJ Type
In 1983, the growing market for compact vehicles with four wheel drive utilities still looking for the virtues of the Jeep CJ series, but consumers also sought further “material comfort” to own cars.
AMC-Jeep-Renault responds to this demand by discontinuing the CJ series and introducing the 1987 Jeep Wrangler Renegade and YJ type, as well as the Cherokee.
While sharing with the Jeep Wrangler CJ-7 Profile familiar bodywork open, it has little in common parts with its famous predecessor.
From a mechanical standpoint, the Wrangler has more in common with the Cherokee than the CJ-7.
The Wrangler YJ had square headlights, which was a first for this type of Jeep.
YJ model was made more than 630,000 copies.
On 5 August 1987, about a year after the introduction of the Jeep Wrangler, American Motors Corporation, Renault was sold to Chrysler Corporation, the Jeep brand by now part of the department Chrysler Jeep / Eagle.
Jeep Wrangler TJ Type
To mark its purchase, Chrysler has changed on the front of the YJ Wrangler, the rectangular headlights were replaced with round headlamps, Jeep Wrangler TJ Type recovered so many of the old CJ-7.
His look “retro” was quite deliberate, but the mechanical point of view it was also very different.
Almost 80% of the vehicle parts were newly designed.
TJ had the suspension to four anchor points, similar to the new Jeep Grand Cherokee and it showed a different interior with driver and passenger airbags.
Jeep Wrangler TJ, however, had retained many characteristics emblematic of the Jeep, such as round headlights, the fold-down windshield (opened in 1940) and removable doors, and a range of condoms or retractable hardtops.
In 2003 appeared the best-equipped Jeep ever yet commercialized, the Wrangler Rubicon.
This vehicle was equipped with front and rear suspension guy Dana 44 locking system with push-button release, a transfer case gear ratio 4:1 low range of special large diameter tires and many other options that were not available on any other series of Jeep before.
Jeep Wrangler JK Type
In 2007, the legend continues…
Faithful to the original recipe ingredients, the new Jeep Wrangler JK adds a new chassis, a new exterior and interior design, new engine, safety features and comfort for more performance, refinement, interior space and comfort, driving pleasure in the open air, power, energy saving and security features.
Three models on the international market (Sport, Sahara and Rubicon Jeep Wrangler for … for Sport and Sahara Wrangler Unlimited), the new Jeep Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited are simple, robust and refined.
They offer the best off-road performance in their class and offer a unique experience to conduct discovery outdoors.
Solid axles, removable doors, exposed hinges, fold-down windshield and innovative retractable roof convertible, all Jeep Wrangler range remain faithful to the core values of the brand that made its reputation: freedom, adventure, mastery and authenticity.
Jeep Wrangler Unlimited JK Type
Design with four-door open-air resolutely, the new Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Jeep carries the universe in new dimensions.
With a spacious interior that can accommodate five adult passengers (a first for Wrangler) and the biggest box available on a Wrangler, the unlimited combine’s power and simplicity offroad use everyday.
For the first time on a consumer model, a diesel engine is proposed for the Jeep Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited.
Since Willys has obtained registration of the first U.S. trademark for the name of Jeep in 1950, ownership of the Jeep brand, now deposited in the world increased from Kaiser Willys-Overland and American Motors Corporation and to then Chrysler Corporation, before becoming independent again.
Jeep four-wheel drive are produced and sold at a rate of more than 600,000 vehicles per year.
Chrysler Group manufactures Jeep United States, Austria, China, Egypt and Venezuela.
Test of a legendary car, the Jeep Wrangler YJ
Descendant of the legendary Willys, Wrangler YJ embodies the art of living in the U.S…
His timeless online and off-road abilities make this 4×4 vehicle endearing.
The Wrangler name in 1983 when Renault bought American Motors Jeep owner.
This model (YJ type) has the particularity to possess optical square, which will be replaced in 1996 by the round headlights version (type SS).
This copy has the particularity of having a solid roof: “Hard-Top”, a soft top “Soft Top” and a “Bikini top”.
The technical mastery of the roof opening is not complex if you take a few minutes to look at the manual … and the operation then proceeds rapidly thereafter.
Unlike a Citroën C3 Pluriel who does not know what to do with its arches, the Wrangler can accommodate its removable rear window into the trunk…!
Look what my ancestors!
Sham is assured and even Porsche drivers cab cannot help but run a little look jealous.
It must be said that the edge of the Wrangler, it dominates the circulation wind in your hair.
Only 3.88 m long, the Jeep Wrangler still offers roominess surprisingly, many convertibles that might envy; the space is simply generous rear.
This is the ideal mount for small cruiser on the road or on the beach or trudge off-road.
This Wrangler is powered by the indestructible 2L5 4-cylinder 13 hp fiscal well known.
Its performance is not exceeded and also his inimitable sound, this block has a nice flexibility.
The steering is not too pronounced, it is quite easy to handle.
Driving behavior proves safe, in fact, self behaves like a normal drive time and the passage in 4-wheel drive (which may occur up to 80 km / h), is only recommended when weather is really unpredictable and of course, for all practical field…
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