- The history of autobrand Jeep is a rich one filled with models from over 80 years ago including the first military vehicles.
- Evolution of Jeep since the beginning, splitting up models via decade.
- The future of Jeep is bright with fully electric Jeeps and you can find them for sale at Lawton Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram.
Jeep: a small, sturdy motor vehicle with four-wheel drive, especially one used by the military. The first definition of Jeep has been long surpassed by its capabilities of just serving as a military vehicle. For 80 years now, Jeep has been an SUV, truck, and even a combination of the two. It has been through war, hardships, and even a pandemic–but they are still going strong. Let’s take a look at the evolution of Jeep to see just how far they’ve come:
The First Jeeps
Willys Quad (top photo) is the very first Jeep that was made back in 1940 to serve as a U.S. military vehicle. The military solicited 135 automakers for a military specific vehicle and only 3 decided to take the challenge in creating a vehicle with the difficult parameters. Those automakers were Bantam, Willys, and Ford. They collectively produced the vehicle that we know today as the Jeep. Now it is still a mystery of who/how they came up with the name Jeep, but there have been several theories out there. But we’ll let your imagination take on that question.
Jeeps Of The 1940’s
1940-1946 the names of the Jeep models seemed to focus around the name “Willy”; Willys Ma (black & white photo above), Willys MB, Willys Overland Truck, and a personal favorite, Willys Wagon (above photo). After the war, Jeep made its way into farmlands, becoming the number 1 vehicle for farmers–who woulda thought?! The Jeep has been named the “work vehicle” because it never fails to get the job done.
The photo above is of a Jeep and its first interior updates. Aside from more cushiony seats, this particular model includes a single windshield wiper on the drivers side so even though you might be soaking wet, your windshield will be clear. All jokes aside, the early years of Jeep made some really impressive models, some that other automakers are still striving to replicate. Take the 1948 Jeepster for example (photo below). This is the very first Jeep convertible that gives vibes of youthful, sporty, and a little bit of Cruella DeVille.
Jeeps Of The 1950’s
Jumping to the 1950s, Jeep was bought by Henry J. Kaiser, who officially named the company “Willys Motor inc.”. During the 1950s Willys Motor inc. was named the world’s largest 4-wheel drive automaker. With Jeep growing in popularity, it was time for the company to start meeting regular civilian needs, like a vehicle with more space. Thus the Jeep CJ-6 was born (photo above). The 1950s were a crazy time for Jeep, exploring all of the possibilities of a vehicle, including this 1957 Jeep FC-150 (photo below) that looks like it came right out of Bob the Builder:
Jeeps Of The 1960’s & 1970’s
Going right along in the 1960s, we start to see more of the Jeep classics, such as this blast from the past, 1963 Jeep Wagoneer, aka the American dream car.
This very first luxury 4×4 SUV was every parent’s dream back in the day. This style of vehicle was number 1 in the U.S. for 28 years with only minor mechanical updates. That’s one of the longest same-vehicle production models in the history of U.S. vehicles! Sneaking a peek into the 1970s, Jeep’s models of the truck were starting to take off thanks to this special edition J4800 Camper (photo below). Going along with the idea of a work truck, Jeep made several models of Jeep that include the Honcho, aka J-10 or J-20 (photo below camper) that were small 4 wheel drive pickup trucks. With the Honcho, which means boss, they worked with other brands like Levi, who did the denim interior of this truck.
The last 1970s Jeep vehicle we’ll take a peek at is the Jeep Golden Eagle Package (photo above) which features the first Jeep sunroof. Aside from including the luxury aspect of a mesh top with a sunroof, this Golden Eagle Jeep also had a clock.
The Jeeps Of Today
Jeeps Of The 1980’s & 1990’s
Jumping right into the 1980s, this iconic compact SUV is a rare sight in the 21st century, BUT we must admit that it’s pretty impressive when you see this oldie driving around town with ease. Now that’s what we call aging with beauty. During the 1980’s, we see some big changes in the evolution of Jeep. The first design of this Jeep Cherokee XJ (below top) was made out of clay and took $250 million to actually create. It makes sense how it’s still around in 2022. Taking notes from the $250 million creation, the Jeep designers in the 1990s didn’t hesitate to draw inspiration from this authentic design, creating the 1993 Jeep Grand Wagoneer (below middle) as well as the 1997 Jeep Wrangler (below bottom) that was popular well into the early 2000s.
Jeeps Of The 2000’s
Looking more closely at the last decade, Jeep’s design has grown more modern but also sticking to their roots with the ideas of a military vehicle working towards freedom, and justice. The names of the models go along with the overall theme and goal of Jeep: Jeep Liberty-2022 (below top), Jeep Wrangler Unlimited-2004 (below middle), and the Jeep Patriot-2007 (MK) (below right), just to name a few.
Jeeps Of The 2010’s
The 2010s are when Jeep impacted customers to the point where their global sales increased immensely and by 2016 they had sold 1.41 millions units. All models that helped this brand really pick up the pace are still widely sold and bought. A few examples being, the Jeep Renegade-2015 (below top), the Jeep Compass-2017 (below middle), and the most updated version of the Jeep Wrangler-2019 (below right). Jeep has been making big moves since the very beginning. We are happy to announce that Jeep now has two windshield wipers instead of just one, with an extremely impressive and luxurious interior. Regardless of if it’s 1940 or 2022, Jeep has always kept the same goal when releasing new models of their vehicles: Go Anywhere, Do Anything with Jeep. To learn more about the evolution of Jeep, we encourage you to visit the Jeep website.
Looking Ahead At The Jeeps Of Tomorrow
The evolution of Jeep continues into the 22nd century with the “futuristic” changes for tomorrow. Jeep has already done it yet again with releasing teaser photos of an all electric Jeep set to release in 2023. It’s only the third month of 2022 and we already can’t wait for this year to be over. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been hardly any information released about this All Electric Jeep, except for the teaser photos, but the photos alone have us saying, oh me, oh my, I want that Jeep. After looking at some of Jeep’s very first models, we can definitely see where they drew their inspiration from.
Shop At Lawton Chrysler Jeep Dodge RAM For Your Next Jeep
Looking back at the evolution of Jeep, it is clear that Jeep has become a kind of staple in America symbolizing freedom, adventure, hope, and more. Although we don’t know a lot about the new all electric Jeep that’s being released in 2023, we know that it will be worthwhile, and we guarantee that it will be in stock here at Lawton Chrysler Jeep Dodge RAM when it’s released. For now, feel free to explore our other vehicles and deals we have currently. We can be reached by phone, email, or in person. Our staff will do anything they can to help you find a Jeep that fits your needs, and who knows, we might have your dream car-–anything could happen!
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