Jeep® Legends
The Birth and Evolution of an Iconic Brand
Birth of an Icon – The Early Days
For 75 years, the Jeep® brand has been synonymous with freedom, adventure, authenticity, and passion. The brand’s unwavering commitment to strength and meaningful engineering has forged an extraordinary bond between the vehicles and their owners. Core values are embodied in every Jeep vehicle’s DNA, and Jeep vehicle owners have long known that “Go Anywhere. Do Anything.®” is a way of life, not just a slogan. The Jeep badge stands for more than a brand; it is a badge of honor.
1940 Willys Quad: The First Jeep® 4×4
In June 1940, with World War II on the horizon, the U.S. Army solicited bids from 135 automakers for a 1/4 ton “light reconnaissance vehicle” tailored to Army specifications. Only three companies responded — Bantam, Willys, and Ford — but within a year, they collectively produced the template for the vehicle known worldwide as the “jeep.” Willys-Overland delivered the prototype “Quad” to the U.S. Army on Armistice Day (Veteran’s Day), November 1940. The design was completed in a remarkable 75 days. Only two prototypes were made.
1941 Willys MA: The Lend-Lease Jeep® 4×4
The Willys MA featured a gearshift on the steering column, low side body cutouts, two circular instrument clusters on the dashboard, and a hand brake on the left side. Willys struggled to reduce the weight to the new Army specification of 2,160 lbs. Improvements over the Quad included a handbrake, single-piece wheels, rounded door cutouts, two circular-mounted instrument clusters, and a steering-column mounted gear shift. After arduous testing, Willys-Overland was awarded the contract in July 1941 for the production of 16,000 revised MB models at a unit price of $738.74. Most of the MA’s were sent to the United States Allies in Russia and England under the Lend-Lease program. Today, the MA is the rarest of all pre-production Willys, with only about thirty models known to exist.
1941-1945 Willys MB: Forged in Battle
The Willys MB, its spirit forged by the fire of combat, seared its way into the hearts of warriors fighting for freedom. The tough, simple Jeep® 4×4 became the GI’s best friend – second only to his rifle. The MB started a revolution in the use of small military motor vehicles in the U.S. Army. The all-purpose MB was versatile, capable of being fitted with machine guns, modified for long-range patrol, snow plowing, cable laying, saw milling, and many other roles. MBs could be loaded into transport aircraft for rapid deployment and were small enough to fit into gliders used in the D-day invasion of Europe. The New York Museum of Modern Art includes a military Jeep 4×4 in its display of eight automobiles, regarding it as “one of the very few genuine expressions of machine art.”
1945-1949 Jeep CJ-2A: The First Civilian Jeep® (CJ)
The legendary Willys MB was converted into a CJ with the aim of putting farm workhorses out to pasture. The rugged and versatile CJ-2A was marketed by Willys-Overland as “The All-Around Farm Work-Horse.” It could do the job of two heavy draft horses, operating at a speed of four miles per hour, 10 hours a day, without overheating the engine. The CJ-2A “Universal” was to serve agriculture and industry in a thousand different ways. Sales were brisk despite the glut of MBs on the war surplus market. The CJ-2A had several improvements, including better shock absorbers, springs, more comfortable seats, a revised transmission, and transfer case gear ratios.
1949-1953 Jeep CJ-3A: The Father of Recreation Vehicles
Introduced in late 1948, the CJ-3A featured refinements over the CJ-2A, including a one-piece windshield with bottom vent and dual bottom-mounted wipers, a more robust transmission, and a beefier Spicer 44-2 rear axle. The CJ-3A could be easily differentiated from the CJ-2A by its one-piece windshield. A farm version was offered from 1951-1953, featuring options like a hydraulic lift, engine governor, drawbar, driveshaft guards, and heavy-duty springs. The Jeep Tractor, a stripped-down version of the CJ-3A, featured a hydraulic 3-point lift and drawbar.
1955-1983 Jeep® CJ-5: Civilian Jeep for the Masses
On October 11, 1954, Kaiser announced the arrival of the CJ-5, featuring softer styling lines and rounded body contours based on the 1952 Korean War M-38A1. The CJ-5 was stronger, more comfortable, more versatile, and more off-road capable than its predecessors. It featured an increased wheelbase and overall length, improvements in engines, axles, transmissions, and seating comfort. In 1965, a new “Dauntless” V6 engine was introduced, producing 155 hp and 225 lb-ft of torque. From 1973, all Jeep CJs came equipped with AMC-built 304- or 360-cubic-inch V-8 engines. The CJ-5 had the longest production run of any Jeep vehicle, with special editions including the “luxury” Tuxedo Park, the Camper, the “462,” Renegade I and II, Golden Eagle, and Super Jeep. The CJ-5 was popular in fire departments and was used to help put out brush fires.