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Gary & Louise Lee
Gary & Louise Lee have been in business together for over 30 years. They operate Advantage Customs at 6400 N Broadway, one of the leading auto and truck accessories businesses in the Midwest. They are most knowledgeable in all areas including Truck Tops and lids, pickup bed covers, tonneau covers and just about every accessory item manufactured for your car or truck. They custom build "flatbeds" for pickups for farm and ranch uses. Gary and Louise are also heavily involved in "tractor pulls" all around the area, and have won a number of events. You can reach them at (316) 744-0454 , or email them at garanwisey@aol.co |
Cars, Trucks, Vans & Automotive
2003-07-01 16:09:00
History of the Jeep
ANSWER: To finish our answer to last months’ question, we will pick up where we left off...the history of the Jeep after World War II. Willys-Overland was not one of the automotive giants in the prewar era, and had retooled most of their production facilities to jeeps. After the war, production of passenger cars continued, but the company couldn't ignore the potential civilian market for jeeps. They filed for a trademark registration of "Jeep" and began production. The most direct product transition was the CJ (Civilian Jeep) line. This product was little changed from those that had "won the war". The first CJ-2A was produced in 1945. The line has continued from the CJ2 through the CJ3, CJ5, CJ6, CJ7, and CJ8. (They did make a CJ4 but it was only a prototype that never went into production.) The CJ5 and CJ7 are the most common, with the CJ7 being a little longer than the CJ5. The CJ6 and CJ8 were longer wheelbase than the CJ7, but they weren't as popular, and consequently there were fewer of them manufactured. There was also a CJ10, but it wasn't sold in the US. The postal Jeeps are designated as DJ for Dispatcher Jeep. They are 2WD and most are right hand controls. The Wrangler (YJ & TJ) are direct descendants of the CJ line, so I guess you can say that the original Jeep line is still going. But since 1963 Jeeps have been manufactured by Kaiser, AMC, and Chrysler. So I'm getting sidetracked from the Willys story. The Willys Back in those post-war years, Willys-Overland tried to broaden their market by returning to the car and truck business, in addition to the CJ's. Their products were nothing like the smooth, graceful pre-war products. Instead they capitalized on the tough, utilitarian image of the Jeep with three new vehicles: the Willys Jeep Wagon in 1946, the Willys Jeep Truck in 1947, and the Willys Jeepster in 1948. These were called the 'Jeep' Utility Vehicles and all retained clear influences of the military Jeep, but the forms were intermediate between the normal rounded forms of the autos of the period and the boxy Jeep. The wagon was similar to the panel trucks or delivery wagons of the day, but with those unmistakable flat fenders (and later 4WD). The truck was similar in size and functionality of a GMC, Ford or Dodge truck of the day, but once again with the Jeep look and available in 4WD. The Jeepster was a convertible about halfway between a military Jeep and a sports car. This two-wheel drive vehicle was only made from 1948 to 1950, but was resurrected by AMC in the '60's as the Jeepster Commando. Some people point out that the Jeepster was technically a phaeton, not a convertible. A phaeton was a type of two-door touring car without a solid top. To the common man, phaeton doesn't mean much. The wagon and pickup truck were available in both 2WD and 4WD with a 4-cylinder or 6-cylinder engine. Kaiser bought Willys-Overland in 1953 and dropped "Overland" from the name. In 1956, Willys introduced snub-nosed forward control models. Production of Willys wagons and trucks continued under the name of the Willys Motor Company until 1963, when the name was changed to the Kaiser-Jeep Corporation. Production of the Willys wagons and trucks continued for two more years until 1965. Willys had production facilities in Brazil, Argentina, Israel, and India, and Japan. Some of these continued making vehicles that were essentially the same as the Utility vehicles for several more years. But eventually Kaiser sold these. Thus ended the production of those interesting vehicles we call Willys. If the folks at Willys had known that driving in the dirt was a sport, they would have called them Sport Utility Vehicles, but they didn't, so they were dubbed simply Utility Vehicles. It is up to those of us who came later to make a sport of driving them. The Willys Utility Wagon is clearly the grand daddy of all modern SUV's. It was a 4WD wagon with enough space inside to load up and go most anywhere. What's in a Name The original pronunciation of "Willys" was with a short "i" sound for the 'y"; so it was pronounced "Will-iss". But it seems to have been transmuted by the same flexibility of language that could produce "Jeep" out of "GP". I've heard that the workers in the Willys factories were the first people to mispronounce the name. Like most everyone I have ever talked with, they pronounced it with a long "e" sound for the "y". The official DMV title for my truck lists the make as a "Willy". (They only have space for five characters on the title.) From that, people guess that one vehicle must be a Willy, pronounced "Willie", which is as good a nickname for William as is Bill. So "Willys" would be pronounced "Will- eez" and obviously be more than one "Willy". Everyone seems to get more and more confused over time. Even my insurance agent asked me if there was an "e" before the "y". I guess I add to the confusion. I often say "Will-eez" as a nickname for those unique trucks and wagons produced from 1946 until 1965. Kaiser bought Willys (1953), AMC bought Kaiser (1970), and Chrysler bought AMC (1987). Then Chrysler merged with Daimler in 1998. The Germans who lost the war to the Jeep now own it! Since the company is no more, who is to tell me I'm saying its name wrong - the Germans?
