Jeeps can drive anywhere and they stay running longer than any other automobile or truck. That’s been the reputation since World War II through to 2017 and the plan is to keep it true long into the future. Today, many Jeeps from even the earliest years can still be found on the road. Why’s that? Jeeps were once the sparsest of all mass produced vehicles. The earliest models were designed to be simple, rugged, and easily repaired. A result of the need for the US Army to have reliable light transportation vehicles for WWII, the Jeep went into fast production in 1941. During WWII, Jeep’s original manufacturer, Willys MB, made 640,000 Jeeps between 1941 and 1945. Back in the states after the war, many veterans purchased Jeeps because they were cheap transportation. A number of those veterans have proudly kept their Jeeps running, passing them along to family members who keep them running today.
The bare bones functionality appeals to the American sense of utility. It’s simple. It works – no need for anything fancy. Plus, it has the reputation as the vehicle everyone’s grandparent drove during their military service. Jeeps allow us to dream of going anywhere, the ultimate off-road vehicle. It’s big enough to fit some stuff in. It’s big enough to sleep in. The Jeep is the vehicle that can take us anywhere, and for as long as we want to be there. It’s the American car of long flat roads of the Midwest. In fact, the company headquarters is located in Toledo, OH, the very outskirts of the American Midwest. Bloomington Jeep owners and owners in Denver represent the utilitarian owners and their every day need of the Jeep, to maneuver whether a road sits in front of the Jeep or not. Those Bloomington Jeep owners in the Midwest know how to look good in a Jeep in any circumstance. Maybe it’s because no bottom limit exists for the appearance of a Jeep. They are all cool, no matter how dirty or battered. A battered Porsche just looks sad.
Last year saw the 75th anniversary of the Jeep brand. The Chicago Tribune said of the Jeep, “wars have been fought with Jeep and they’ve been fought over Jeep.” The jeep or a similar vehicle has carried soldiers of many armies across the landscapes of many wars. Yet, the ownership of the brand and its engineering has been the subject of a number of aggressive corporate buyout schemes. Taking ownership of the Jeep brand was a major motivator for Fiat when they rescued Jeep’s previous owner, Chrysler, to form Fiat Chrysler during the 2008 financial crisis. Before that, back in 1987, Chrysler bought out AMC (American Motors Corporation) with the stated objective of acquiring Jeeps assets. AMC themselves bought the Jeep assets from its previous owner, Kaiser, in 1970.