Jeep, The American Force

Jeep is a brand of off-road cars that was created in 1941, by the Willys-Overland company. It is currently a division of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, a subsidiary of the Fiat Group. The creation of this company is due to the Second World War since it was necessary to produce an SUV for use by the military forces.

History

By 1940 the United States Army required a car with the necessary characteristics to contribute to the war. They would ask the manufacturers for different offers for the manufacture of a small 4-wheeler, which has the capacity and the performance for the difficult tasks in the war zones.

Among the demands of the army, the car had to have a weight not exceeding 1,310 pounds, four-wheel drive, the ground clearance had to be a minimum of 138 mm, have the capacity to carry 605 pounds and a good capacity in the engine that would prevent it from overheating when the car was running at low speeds.

The prototype of this vehicle was required to be ready in 49 days. The only companies that managed to cover all the characteristics were the American Bantam Car Company and Willys-Overland.

By American Bantam, engineer Karl Porbst was assigned, he immediately began to work on the design and completed the plans in just two days, when he delivered it to the army it had been indicated that he met all the requirements of this, but not This was the case since the car was exceeding the weight limit.

On September 21, 1940, the first prototype was delivered by the American Bantam company under the indicated period of 49 days. Which was subjected to different tests, where it was concluded that it met all the requirements of the United States Army.

The Willys-Overland designs were rejected, their owner not satisfied with it, made a comment where he mentioned that it was impossible for any car that strong to weigh less than 1,300 pounds. It was then suggested that the company create its prototype for testing.

The company, in conjunction with Ford, was allowed to inspect the Bantam prototype, resulting in its models being very similar to American Bantam’s.

Jeep presentation and production

Although Bantam already had its prototype, it had many technical and monetary limitations, so the army decided to deliver the American Bantam prototype plans to Willys-Overland and Ford so that they could make their own cars.

Willys-Overland presented the ‘Willys Quad’ and the Ford the ‘Pygmy’. Both were based on the American Bantam designs, but each included different modifications to the original design; the Quad exceeded the weight due to the powerful engine it carried, despite this it was the only prototype that met all the demands of the army.

With the prototypes ready , the United States Army ordered 1,500 units from each of the companies for field testing.

When the Willys-Overland team started the task, too, they studied and detailed each part of the car to find a way to make it much lighter. At the end of the Quad it only exceeded 7 ounces of the weight limit.

Vehicles were delivered in June 1941. The army made the decision that all cars should follow the same design line, the chosen one was the Willys Quad design including some modifications, which featured pickpockets from Ford and American Bantam.

Only for the following month Willys-Overland managed to secure a contract to manufacture 16,000 cars and due to the high need, the army directed the company to share its designs with Ford to increase production.

Willys-Overland in conjunction with Ford built 600,000 Jeeps during WWII. The first customers of what we know today as Jeep were the Allied forces in an attempt to attribute peace to these tragic events.

Post war

At the end of the war, the company was considering making Jeeps for use in agricultural work. In 1945 the first universal Jeep was born, which was called ‘Agrijeep’ and from it distant varieties were created under the initials CJ which mean Civilian Jeep.

The first model launched was the CJ-2A, a civilian version of the Willys M38, it was modified with ostentatious attachments for agricultural tasks that included: a cargo hatch, an external gas tank, an improved gearbox and an anchor in the field. rear part for assembling agricultural tools.

Produced from 1945 to 1949, it is the first model to carry the well-known 7-aperture front ‘relic’ that is an icon of the brand today.

Current Jeep Models

As we already know, Jeep is a manufacturer of off-road cars, so its catalog has only been made up of cars from the SUV range. In its current vehicles, it has the popular Jeep Wrangler and its version Unlimited, Renegade, Cherokee and Grand Cherokee, Patriot and Compass.

All models offer power, endurance and power for the most challenging trails. And according to their designs, many maintain that imposing appearance and others combine it with an elegant touch.

The American all-rounder

While there are other brands that offer off-road models, Jeep has been one of the most iconic in history. Their cars were not only left for war use, but they evolved to become what they are today; quite a wise decision on Willys-Overland’s part.

Jeep models today continue to do their name justice. Not only is it a flagship brand for its history, its cars are synonymous with adventure. Their models will take you anywhere regardless of the type of road.