CAR COLLECTION: Jeep

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For other uses, see Jeep (disambiguation).

Jeep

Type	Division of Chrysler
Industry	Automobile
Founded	1941
Headquarters	Toledo, Ohio, USA
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Michael Manley (CEO of Jeep division) Sergio Marchionne (CEO of Chrysler Group LLC)
Products	Sport Utility vehicles
Parent	Chrysler Group LLC
Website	jeep.com

Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler. The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it is the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle (SUV) brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second oldest 4-wheel-drive brand. The original Jeep vehicle that first appeared as the prototype Bantam BRC became the primary light 4-wheel-drive vehicle of the United States Army and Alliesduring World War II, as well as the postwar period. Many Jeep variants serving similar military and civilian roles have since been created in other nations.

Trade name

The original trademark brand-name application was filed in February 1943 by Willys-Overland. It is also used as a generic term with a lowercase (jeep) for vehicles inspired by the Jeep that are suitable for use on rough terrain.

As the only company that continually produced Jeep vehicles after the war, in June 1950 Willys-Overland was granted the privilege of owning the name "Jeep" as a registered trademark.

The origins of the vehicle: the first jeeps

When it became obvious that the United States was eventually going to become involved in the war raging in Europe, the U.S. Army contacted 135 companies asking for working prototypes of a four-wheel-drive reconnaissance car. Only two companies responded to the request, The American Bantam Car Company and Willys-Overland. The Army had set what seemed like an impossible deadline of 49 days to supply a working prototype. Willys asked for more time but were refused. The bankrupt American Bantam Car Company had no engineering staff left on the payroll and brought in Karl Probst, a talented freelance designer from Detroit. After turning down an initial request from Bantam, Probst accepted the job after being asked again by the Army, and initially working without salary, went to work July 17, 1940.

Probst completely laid out plans for the Bantam prototype in two days, and the next day estimated the total cost of the vehicle. On July 22, Bantam's bid was submitted, complete with blueprints. Much of the vehicle had to be assembled from existing off-the-shelf automotive parts, and the custom four-wheel drivetrain components were supplied by Spicer. The hand-built prototype was completed in Butler, Pennsylvania, and driven to Camp Holabird, Maryland, for testing by the Army on 21 September 1940. The vehicle met the Army's criteria, but its engine did not meet the Army's torque requirements.

The Army felt that the Bantam company was too small to supply the number of vehicles it needed, so it supplied the Bantam design to Willys and Ford who were encouraged to make their own changes and modifications. The resulting Ford "Pygmy" and Willys "Quad" prototypes looked very similar to the Bantam BRC (Bantam Reconnaissance Car) prototype and Spicer supplied very similar four-wheel drivetrain components to all three manufacturers.