The modern Jeep is known as an off-road vehicle that can brave the toughest environments, but is also considered roadworthy or street legal. The modern Jeep brand has undergone many changes in design and ownership over the years, but has retained its reputation as one of the most recognizable and influential vehicles in the world. The love for them has only grown over the years, with many owners coming together to form clubs to share their love of the vehicle.
It’s a testament to the staying power of the Jeep that it has successfully crossed military and civilian lines and appealed to both markets. With the growing interest in off-road vehicles, the many incarnations of the Jeep traverse both desert and frozen tundra and continue to dominate the 4×4 world.
After the War: Marketing of the Jeep Industry
After World War II, Willys-Overland saw an opportunity to trademark the Jeep and redesign it to appeal to a broader market.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) opposed this move because the company had not originally come up with the “Jeep” name; however, they chose not to pursue this claim, allowing Willys-Overland to take possession of the brand.
Willys-Overland produced the first civilian Jeep, or CJ, in 1945 and trademarked the Jeep brand in 1950. However, Willys-Overland struggled in terms of production and sales, allowing Kaiser Motors to take over three years after they started. to be granted the registered trademark of the Jeep brand. Kaiser Motors also underwent a repackaging and became the Kaiser-Jeep company in 1963.
It wasn’t until Kaiser-Jeep was acquired by American Motor Company or AMC that the Jeep brand really took off. The Jeep brand complemented AMC’s passenger car business, and AMC tapped into Jeep’s international and government expertise. French automaker Renault began investing in AMC, but eventually ran into financial trouble.
The American Motor Company was bought by the Chrysler Corporation, which eventually merged with Daimler-Benz to form DaimlerChrylser. During this time, the original Jeep CJ-17 was replaced by the Jeep Wrangler. The current majority owner of the Jeep brand is a private equity firm that has placed the Chrysler and Jeep divisions under the global arm of Chrysler Group LLC.
jeeps all over the world
Many variations of the Jeep have been built under special license around the world. The Jeep Cherokee (XJ), for example, was manufactured by the Beijing Jeep Company, Ltd. in association with the Beijing Automobile Industry Corporation.
General Motor’s Jeep vs. Hummer
Willys-Overland’s first design for the Jeep featured a slat grille made up of an array of flat bars. This was restyled by Ford into a 9-slot grille that was lighter and better suited to WWII jeeps.
The commercial Jeep now uses a 7-slot grille design that is also used by General Motors Hummer. The Hummer was first developed by a division of the American Motor Company that was acquired by General Motors. The Chrysler Jeep division claimed exclusive rights to the 7-slot grille as they are now the sole owners of the Jeep trademark. The courts ultimately decided to allow the Hummer brand to use the 7-slot grille and the company compromised by putting the name “Hummer” in front of the grille.
The last Hummer was made in 2009. Jeeps, on the other hand, are still going strong.
Jeep Enthusiasts and Off Road Clubs
There is a fanaticism with Jeeps that runs deeper than that of most other vehicles. Many Jeep owners have chosen to share their love with other owners by joining local clubs dedicated to them. These clubs often meet for weekend trips; driving their Jeeps off-road for shared adventures and helping each other out with custom mods. Many groups have chosen to indicate their membership with exclusive Jeep club t-shirts or decals with personalized images of their own vehicles.
What may surprise some Americans is that some of the biggest Jeep fans in the world come not from the United States, but from South America. The rugged Columbia country is the perfect terrain for these rugged 4x4s. In this region, Jeeps are more than a hobby, they are a way of life. The washed-out dirt roads of coffee country are impassable for standard cars. They are true workhorses, transporting supplies to remote areas and providing reliable transportation for people living in small towns.