The Jeep
“Jeep, there’s only one,” is the catch phrase used by the company for many years. But is there really only one. Since the first Jeep in 1940, there have been over 40 models of . Four companies have held name. From the first Jeep, to the origin of name, the models, and the companies and manufacturers, the vehicle has maintained its legendary status for nearly 60 years.
By 1939 the US military needed a new, universal vehicle to replace the motorcycle and its other vehicles (such as the modified Ford Model-T), so they invited 135 different car companies to compete for a contract to build a new vehicle for the military. The vehicle had to meet certain specs, such as a payload capacity of ...
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of the Bantam car. Willys eventually won the contract because of their 60hp "Go-Devil" engine, but Ford was also given a contract to help keep up with the military's demand for the vehicles for use in WWII. Willys later renamed their jeeps the MA and the MB, while Ford called theirs the GP and GPW. Many believe, as I do, that won the war for the Allies.
As for the name 'Jeep', no one really knows for sure where it came from. Some people believe that it evolved from the Ford 'GP' designation, which many think stood for 'general purpose', which is incorrect. The "G" was for Government and the "P" was the vehicle class (80" wheelbase 4x4 ¼ ton truck). Another possibility is that the name came from Popeye's magical sidekick named jeep, who could do almost anything.
In 1942 Ford built a limited number of amphibious Jeeps, known as the Seep. This little vehicle was basically a MB with a boat tub on the bottom (with cut-outs for the wheels) and a PTO propeller. Seeps were not the ...
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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. 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 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...
In 1956 Jeep began making the 2WD Postal/Dispatch Jeep (DJ). The DJ-3A was the first Postal Jeep and was a ...
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The Jeep. (2008, January 19). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Jeep/77706
"The Jeep." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 19 Jan. 2008. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Jeep/77706>
"The Jeep." Essayworld.com. January 19, 2008. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Jeep/77706.
"The Jeep." Essayworld.com. January 19, 2008. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Jeep/77706.
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