This year marks the 80th anniversary of the utilitarian Jeep brand. We compared three examples of iconic off-road breeds
80 years have spanned several life cycles in the car, so it's no surprise that the Willys MB (which we now consider the first jeep) and the latest Wrangler have little in common when it comes to mechanics. They are different machines from different eras, made by different companies for very different purposes.
However, there is an undeniable link between the two. Both aim to provide a common guiding spirit: freedom. It's a very American kind of freedom, best paired with fireworks, cheerleaders, and "America!" United States! And cheese suffocates the free fries side.
Over the past 18 months or so, we've all gained a new understanding of freedom and been able to go wherever we want to go. I reflect from behind mb's thin steering wheel. It was the first jeep, and since then, the nickname has been just a nickname, not a brand with the capital letter "J." It's a vehicle designed for going anywhere, and by modern standards its minimalism is astounding: the dashboard is stripped to its essentials, there's no roof or seat belt, and the gaunt fabric straps just hint at side protection without offering anything.
Still, once you've mastered the vagaries of starting (heel brakes, toe on the accelerator, stretch the ignition button under the dashboard) and have been thoroughly trained in gear wrestling with long-range rods, it's easy to see why the MB is a groundbreaking military vehicle — and why it was so quickly adopted by civilians.
It is a streamlined, original free form of driving. MB is very easy and fun to drive at high speeds, can happily accept elements, and still feels as solid and indestructible as it was 80 years ago. You feel like it can still handle the most rugged off-road tracks with little effort.
Millions of buyers of descendants of this car enjoy this feeling of freedom to drive anytime, anywhere, and why jeeps are home to the wilderness of the American West, through the rocky Rupee Hole Trail or the gravel-covered, tanned trail moab.
Then I turned a corner quickly, and I was greeted not by the desert sand on my face, but by a cold Cambridgeshire wind and a face full of wet, rotten leaves. Our freedom may be returning, but the restrictions and complexity of travel mean celebrating jeeps' 80th birthday in the UK rather than Utah.
Still, the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, is a fitting venue, as the creation of the MB in 1940 was rooted in a genuine struggle for freedom. In July of the same year, as World War II escalated, officials recognized the need for a new light reconnaissance vehicle to replace its aging modified Ford Model T fleet. The War Department drew up a list of requirements and invited 135 manufacturers to tender for production. The two responded.
The bids came from the U.S. Bantam Motor Company and Ohio-based Willys-Overland. Bantam was the most responsive, testing prototypes 49 days after receiving a bid. But because there were doubts about Bantam's ability to meet production runs, the War Department invited WillysOverland and Ford to bid for contracts and let them use Bantam designs to speed up the process. The Army then triple-tested the three designs, and their integrity could match Autocar's peers.
The Willys-Overland Quad is the most powerful, thanks to its 60-horsepower Go Devil four-cylinder engine, the Bantam is the most fuel-efficient, while the Ford Pygmy is better constructed and has excellent design details. The Army continued to revise the specifications —for example, the initial maximum vehicle weight of 1300 pounds was considered too low — and eventually awarded the first construction contract to Willis-Overland. Ford was later awarded a contract to help meet production demand. As a result of its efforts, Bantam was awarded a contract to build the trailer.
The resulting reconnaissance vehicle was an immediate success and was a rare design example of the commission's actual work. It's fast and flexible, but it's big enough to handle any terrain. It can tow weapons, be equipped with machine guns or be used as a battlefield ambulance. Nicknamed the Jeep for reasons that could not be agreed upon in the history books, it was forced to act across Europe and the Pacific as the United States entered the war.
Willys-Overland will produce more than 368,000 MB and Ford will be licensed to produce 277,000. As the war ended, the owners of Willys-Overland began to plan a civilian future for jeeps — though they were defeated by thousands of enterprising people around the world who reused jeeps left behind by U.S. troops in countless ways.
In 1945, the Jeep CJ-2A arrived, essentially a modified MB with a trunk lid, spare tires, larger headlights, and other modifications. The company tried to trademark the Jeep nickname in 1943, but was rejected after opposition from Bantam and others. Regardless, Willis used it in advertising and controversially acquired the trademark in 1950.
With the Jeep's continued military production contract, WillysOverland redoubled its efforts on the success of the off-road vehicle and never resumed car production. Instead, it expanded the lineup of Jeeps with more models, including wagoneer SUVs and gladiator pickup trucks.
Despite the popularity of jeeps, Willys-Overland got into trouble and was acquired by Kaiser in 1950. Renamed Kaiser-Jeep in 1963, the company was also in trouble, and in turn, it was acquired by the American Automobile Company (AMC) in 1969.
Under AMC's leadership, the brand introduced some of the most advanced machines, including the 1976 CJ-7, the biggest design change to the core Jeep in more than 20 years. The longer wheelbase provides more space and allows for the installation of an automatic transmission, with plastic roofs and steel doors available as options.
While the basic layout and styling elements of mb remain, any real traces of military use are long gone. There's a lot more exercise than practical here. It's all in the American style of the 1970s, from the slender curved fonts used on oversized dials to the tan leather seats, while the narrower, rounder hood maintains the shape of the MB but is closer to imitation. If the influencers of 1976 were one thing, then photos of them posing in CJ-7 would clog Instagram.
Driving it has a carefree pleasure. Thanks to the off-road tires, the steering was soft and lacked a bit of a feel, and it rocked and bounced along the path of the IWM Duxford. It was very compliant on our Tarmac test route, but it was clear that this was a machine that was better suited for use on rough terrain.
However, while designed specifically for the wild, jeeps are increasingly being used on the road. In 1986, AMC responded and took the bold step of retiring the CJ line and replacing it with the Wrangler. The name change marks a major shift in philosophy: the new machine is still a compact, powerful off-road vehicle, but there is a firm shift to increase the comfort and functionality of passenger cars. The first Wrangler adopted the basic design of the CJ-7, but the mechanics were almost entirely new.
Shortly after the Wrangler was launched, the Jeep had a new owner. Despite the success of its off-road brand, AMC has struggled for a long time and was acquired by Chrysler in 1987.
Sure enough, Jeep's popularity grew, and Wrangler was complemented by a growing number of road-focused products, helping Chrysler grow significantly. In 1998, the company merged with Daimler, but it was a disastrous adventure that lasted less than a decade. Two years later, Chrysler went bankrupt during the 2009 financial crisis.
Fiat saved it, and its owner, Sergio Marchionne, recognized the potential of the Jeep brand. He reinvigorated the lineup and centered on the Wranglers and remains at the heart of the brand's omnipotence and omnipotence. Jeep became a cash cow for Fiat Chrysler's empire, and sometimes it supported almost all other brands.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles recently merged with the PSA Group to form Stellantis. The new auto giant's name may be largely meaningless, but it has signaled its intention to continue to capitalize on the Jeep brand's rich and very American heritage.
This brings us to the Wrangler 80th Anniversary Edition, which ends eight years of circle with plenty of custom styling elements that date back to the original MB. That is, from the interior of the Wrangler, sitting in a comfortable seat, drawing inspiration from the elements through reassuringly thick aluminum doors and roofs, warm air blowing out of the heater and playing music has little in common with MB. Even if you squint your eyes really hard.
But once you move, there will be something. Not direct: The latest Wranglers are ahead of mb and CJ-7 in terms of ride, suspension, sophistication and comfort. But the same sense of freedom is there: believing you're in a vehicle that can take you almost anywhere you want. No wonder the concept has been going on for 80 years – and there will be no doubt more.
Jeep Derivatives: The Best and the Worst
1946 Willis Jeep Station wagon: The first all-steel station wagon designed purely as a passenger car to offer rear wheel or four-wheel drive, the latter arguably the first true "sport utility vehicle".
1962 Jeep Gladiator: The body-frame truck shares its basic architecture with the Wagoneer and is equipped with rear wheels or four-wheel drive. It was sold in the same basic form (albeit with different names and styles) for 26 years. Based on the revival of the Wrangler, it went on sale in the United States in 2019.
2010 Jeep Commander: This midsize SUV was launched in 2005 with the Grand Cherokee platform. It had few distinctive features and was quickly phased out by Sergio Marchionne after the Fiat-Chrysler merger. He described it as "unfit for human consumption".
2014 Jeep Rebel: The Traitor was the first Jeep based on a Fiat platform and the first built-in exclusively outside the United States. It has styling cues that the company is familiar with, but no ability to see it everywhere. An indifferent product offered in crowded small SUV levels.