Jeep has had a long and interesting lift, starting life as a handful of prototypes built by three different manufacturers, the Jeep has evolved over the years into one of the most popular and versatile vehicles ever made. They’ve been used in combat and for desert racing, for rock crawling or daily driving, and have gone on to describe more than just a vehicle, but a way of life.
Military Beginnings
The American Army was looking for a new vehicle to bring into the front lines, and that vehicle was designed by American Bantam in Butler, Pennsylvania. The Army thought that Bantam was too small to the number of vehicles that it was looking for, so they contracted Ford and Willys-Overland to build the new fleet.
Changes in Ownership
The Jeep name 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 (AMC) purchased Kaiser’s money-losing Jeep operations in 1970. Chrysler bought out AMC in 1987, shortly after the Jeep CJ was replaced with the AMC-designed Jeep Wrangler or YJ. Chrysler merged with Daimler-Benz in 1998 to form DaimlerChrysler. DaimlerChrysler eventually sold most of their interest in Chrysler to a private equity company in 2007. Chrysler and the Jeep division now operate under the name Chrysler Holding LLC.
Jeep Models
Originally all civilian Jeeps had a xJ designation, but Chrysler has since gone to an xK designation.
CJ2 & CJ3
The CJ series began back in 1945 with the CJ2A. Next came the CJ3A’s, and the CJ3B’s which were produced until 1968. These early Jeeps are commonly referred to as “flatfenders” or “flatties” because their front fenders were flat across the front, even with the grill. These Jeeps were a hit among returning soldiers who saw what they could do on the battlefield and wanted one of their own.
CJ5
The CJ-5 came about in 1954 as a civilian version of the military’s M-38A1. The CJ-5 stayed in production for almost 30 years, longer than any other Jeep model, and was taken out of production in 1983. During the time of the CJ-5 there was also a military and civilian CJ-6 which had a 101″ wheelbase and later a 104″ wheelbase, but it had a limited predication and was later replaced by the CJ-7.
CJ7
The CJ-7, one of the most popular of the Jeeps, started its 10 year run in 1976. The CJ-7 has a longer wheelbase than the CJ-5 to accommodate an optional automatic transmission. Between 1981 and 1986 Jeep made a long-wheel based CJ-8 called the Scrambler, which was basically a pick-up truck version of the CJ-7.
YJ
In 1987 the CJ-7 was replaced with the square headlighted YJ, more commonly known as the Wrangler. Like its predecessor, the Wrangler was redesigned after 10 years. The newly updated Wrangler YJ included wider leaf springs for a better ride, and later years transitioned from a carburetor to fuel injection, making the Wrangler more reliable, and able to operate and steeper inclines.
TJ
The new Wrangler (now called the TJ) features the classic and much loved round headlights, dual airbags, a redesigned “90’s interior”, and an all-new Quadra-Coil suspension instead of leaf-springs. Interesting how much TJ sounds like CJ… The TJ got some minor upgrades and redesigns in 2003, including the much-anticipated Rubicon edition which features D44 axles front and rear with manual air lockers, a NV241J “RockTrac” transfercase with a 4:1 low range, rear disc brakes, and diamond plate rocker guards. Another addition to the TJ line was a new 4-sp automatic transmission to replace the previous 3-sp model.
LJ
In 2004, Jeep introduced the Wrangler Unlimited with a 10 inch (~25.4 cm) longer wheelbase; it is also known by its unofficial designation of LJ. In 2005, Jeep released the Rubicon Unlimited, which has the wheelbase of the Unlimited and the off-road features of the Rubicon as well as many other comfort and convenience options not offered on other Wranglers.
The Wrangler Unlimited is in its final year of production to be replaced by the 2007 4-door JK Wrangler
JK
The 2007 model year brought the complete redesign of the Jeep Wrangler, in both two and four-door models. The TJ platform was replaced by a new JK platform. This next-generation Wrangler was significantly larger than the existing model, with a 2 in (50.8 mm) longer wheelbase and 3.4 in (86.4 mm) wider track, though the two door model is actually 2.5 in shorter in the overall length than the TJ.