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Jeep 1941 - 2001

The Original 4x4 Sport Utility vehicle is now 60 years old. Here we chart the meteoric rise from a military drawing board to one of the best selling off-road vehicles of all time.

1960-1970 THE SPORT UTILITY:

The 1960s was probably the most significant decade for Jeep, because that's when the true civilian sport utility market was born.

The Kaiser influence on the Jeep lineup began in 1955 with a desire to broaden the utilitarian market. In the fall of 1962, that desire resulted in the introduction of the completely new "J" line of Jeep Wagoneer station wagons and a full line of Jeep Gladiator pickup trucks. These vehicles were redesigned in every respect from the 14-year-old Willys station wagons and pickups introduced shortly after WWII.


1962 Kaiser Jeep Gladiator 4WD Pick-Up

The "J" vehicles included 2WD and 4WD models of the new Jeep Wagoneer station wagon, described in advertisements as "All New and All Jeep." These vehicles marked the beginning of the sport utility market and the first Jeep exclusives in that segment. They were the first from-the-ground-up civilian sport utilities. All previous vehicles had military design roots.

The 110-inch wheelbase Wagoneer, offered in both 2-door and 4-door models, was the first station wagon to provide automatic transmission and complete passenger car styling, comfort and convenience with four-wheel-drive capabilities. The combination of 4WD and automatic transmission was an automotive industry first.

In addition, the powerplant for Wagoneer, the Jeep Tornado-OHC, represented the only American-made automotive engine providing the advantages of overhead cam design.

The other half of the J series consisted of the full line of new 4WD Gladiator pickup trucks and a panel delivery truck. Offered in the 120-inch J-200 Series and the 126-inch J-300 Series, the 1/2 ton Gladiator line featured optional advanced-design independent front suspension -- another Jeep exclusive in 4WD -- as well as exclusive automatic transmission.

Six months following the launch of the Jeep J Series, the Willys name became Jeep history. In a March 1963 announcement by Kaiser Industries vice president SA. Girard, Willys Motors, Inc. officially became known as Kaiser Jeep Corporation "to properly identify the Toledo company as one of the growing Kaiser family of industries" and "to more closely associate the company with its famous Jeep trademark as applied to its entire line of products throughout the world?'

The name change did not slow the growth of the Jeep vehicle lineup. In the fall of 1965, a new "Dauntless" V-6 engine was introduced as an option on both the 81-inch wheelbase CJS and 101-inch wheelbase CJ6 versions of the Jeep Universal. The 155 hp engine almost doubled the horsepower of the standard Hurricane 4-cylinder engine. It was the first time a Jeep Universal could be equipped with a V-6, but only the beginning of V-6 engines that would power the quintessential Jeep vehicle in the decades to follow.

While the Jeep Universal engine became Dauntless in late 1965, the Jeep Wagoneer and Gladiator lines received a power boost from a new optional Vigilante V-8, that provided 327 cubic inches and 250 horsepower of "zesty zip" to meet every highway and off-highway driving situation. Both the Vigilante engine and the standard 145 horsepower "Hi-Torque" six-cylinder engines were available with the new Turbo Hydra-Matic automatic transmission.

The 4WD models featured a new dual-range transfer case and "ease-of-control" shift mechanism. Although these vehicles did not provide the "shift-on-the-fly" technology of today's Jeep vehicles, they did boast 4WD capability with the action of "one simple lever located within easy reach and actuated with a flick of the wrist." Gone was the cumbersome, space-consuming maze of controls formerly associated with 4WD.

rees, like this one In December of 1965, Jeep dealers began taking shipment of a vehicle that in concept form had created excitement at nine U.S. auto shows that year. The Super Wagoneer, said Kaiser Jeep, "constituted a unique and dramatic approach to the station wagon market.. designed for the prestige buyer who is rapidly becoming aware of the safety and other advantages of four-wheel drive. While being the ultimate in


1966 Super wagoneer

detailed elegance, the new vehicle still had all the traditional 'Jeep' versatility and ability to go on or off the road?'

Those words are 25 years old, but they apply to today's Jeep vehicles as they did then.

In late 1965, the J-200 and J-300 Gladiators became known as the J-2000 and J-3000 respectively.

In the fall of 1966, the Jeepster line, introduced in 1948 and built through 1950, was redesigned and renamed Jeepster Commando. The Jeepster Commandos included station wagon, convertible, pickup truck and roadster models and were the first small 4WD vehicles available with automatic transmission -- the Turbo Hydra-Matic -- introduced one year earlier on the Jeep J-Series. All Jeepster Commando models were powered by the 4-cylinder Hurricane engine with the Dauntless V-6 available as an option.

As Jeep exited the 1960s, an equipment change was initiated on J-Series models. The optional 320-cubic-inch Vigilante V-8 engine was replaced by the 350-cubic-inch Dauntless V-8 engine in both the Wagoneer and Gladiator models.

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