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May 16, 2019
The Jeep brand carries a special mystique. Rugged, individual, quirky and fun, these off-road pioneers began to transform our relationship with cars decades before “SUV” was ever named. The origin of Jeep is unique, because these vehicles were born out of necessity. Jeep history began with a light-weight military vehicle, and evolved into a leading off-road vehicle.
Jeep history is also the story of the first SUV. In 1945, a civilian Jeep, better known as the CJ, emerged from the Willys factory in Toledo, OH.
Because Jeeps appeared around the globe during WWII, they became strongly associated with Americans. The vehicle itself – sturdy, functional, and bare-bones – introduced an American ethos of rugged individualism into automobile styling.
In 1953, Willys merged with the Kaiser Motor Company who decided – based on their most popular vehicle – to rename itself “Kaiser-Jeep” in 1963. The American Motor Company (AMC) purchased Kaiser-Jeep in 1970.
Jeep was fated to continue under AMC, who placed Jeeps with their subsidiary, American Motors (AM) General. Then in 1979, the French company Renault began heavily investing in AM General, resulting in production of the first Jeep Cherokee. In 1985, the Cherokee went global and reached 200,000 sales. It is considered by many to be the first of its kind: a unibody, sport utility vehicle (SUV).
The Cherokee made Jeep history and carried the company into the modern auto manufacturing era. Jeep became the first successful owner of what has become arguably the most popular style of vehicle ever – the SUV – in the US.
Coveting the Jeep brand, "big three” US automaker, Chrysler, finally got its hands on the Jeep brand. Chrysler acquired AMC in 1987, shortly after the first Wrangler had hit the streets. The had more resources, money, and capacity to sink into perfecting early SUVs.
Jeep history includes more variety than most consumers are aware of, but its most popular vehicles are still the Wrangler and Cherokee.