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Sep 27, 2011
Perhaps no vehicle in the world has been as sworn at and sworn by as the Jeep. It’s a vehicle that has transported American soldiers into battle, taken nurses on humanitarian missions into the deepest jungle and transported families to picnics in the park. It’s a vehicle that has out-lived four of the companies with which it has been associated. And it continues to survive, nearly sixty years after it was originated.
In 1939, with war clouds gathering ominously, over Europe, the U.S. Army sent out the call for a new military vehicle to replace the mish-mash of motorcycles, motorcycles with sidecars, and modified passenger cars that it was then using. To get the vehicle it wanted, the Army brass sent out a list of specifications for the new vehicle that included dual range four-wheel drive, load capacity of 600 pounds, minimum of three-passenger seating, and a gross vehicle weight of less than 1,200 pounds.
With these specifications, the Army expected a sizable number of auto manufacturers to compete for the contract to build the new vehicles, but only three – American Bantam, Ford and Willys-Overland – seriously participated. American Bantam, the remnants of Sir Herbert Austin’s failed attempt to duplicate the success of his Austin 7 in the United States, went after the business aggressively. It submitted blueprints to the Army in less than a week after the call went out, aided by the fact that their American Bantam civilian models were nearly the same diminutive size as the vehicle the Army specified.
With Willys-Overland and Ford somewhat slow in responding, the first contract for the as-yet-unnamed vehicle went to American Bantam. Unfortunately for the fortunes of that star-crossed company, however, the vehicles that it produced came up woefully short when tested by the Quartermaster Corps.
Not willing to trust American Bantam to fix the problems, the Army issued a new call for prototypes, and Willys-Overland and Ford both responded with vehicles to compete with the modified American Bantam. The Quartermaster Corps conducted another series of tests, and this time the Willys model was deemed best; Ford’s prototype finished second; and American Bantam’s pulled up the rear.
By July 1941, with the war in Europe nearing the two-year mark, but with the United States still at peace, the Army let out an order for several thousand of what it called “Truck, quarter ton, four by four, command reconnaissance.” That, of course, was much too long and too clumsy for the G.I’s to say, so soon they were calling it the Jeep.
The Willys-Overland Military Model MB was a relatively simple machine, which meant it was perfect for the stresses of combat, where more sophisticated, high-strung machinery almost certainly would have failed. With a 80-inch wheelbase and front and rear tracks only 48 inches wide, the first Jeep was very maneuverable, though cursed with a choppy ride on pavement. Just 134-inches long, it was nearly 20 inches shorter than today’s Jeep Wrangler, its civilian descendant.
The suspension was about as sophisticated as the engine, which means not sophisticated at all. Both front and rear axles were simple if very hardy beams suspended by equally hardy leaf springs. Drum brakes at all four corners supplied reasonable stopping power.
Jeeps were beloved for what they could do, but also for how they looked. The angled fenders, stamped steel grille, fold-down windshield, and lack of doors lent a refreshing, utilitarian air to the vehicle. No pretension in a Jeep, just raw functionality.
Even before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Army realized it had a great vehicle on its hands and contracted with Ford Motor Company to supply additional vehicles using the Willy-Overland design. Virtually all parts were interchangeable between the Willys- and Ford-built Jeeps, though the Ford used a u-shaped front cross member while the Willys used a tubular brace.
In combat in World War II, the Jeep proved tough as nails, a true hero of the war effort. Willys-Overland took out a trademark on the term “Jeep,” much to the consternation of American Bantam, which figured it deserved some of the gravy after getting the concept off the ground. As it turned out, the Jeep became a well-accepted non-military vehicle, purchased by hundreds of thousands of ranchers, farmers, utility companies, and just plain civilians. It also spurred the “off-road” driving craze that remains with us to this day.
What do not remain with us to this day are American Bantam, Willys-Overland, Kaiser, and American Motors, the companies most involved with the Jeep concept over the years. Chrysler’s purchase of American Motors [from Renault] in 1987 netted it the Jeep brand, and that brand has been one of the most successful in the automotive world over the last ten years – a tribute to the original vehicle, the go-anywhere, do-anything Jeep. Hardly go for nothing, as it turns out.
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