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Jeep

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Jeep
Jeep dealership in Rockville, Maryland (2004)
Product type
OwnerStellantis
Produced byStellantis North America
CountryU.S.
Introduced
  • 1943; 82 years ago (1943) (trademark application)[1]
  • 1945; 80 years ago (1945) (first Jeep-branded product launched)
Related brandsWillys MB
MarketsWorldwide[note 1]
Previous owners
Websitewww.jeep.com Edit this at Wikidata

Jeep is a brand of American automobiles that is a division of FCA US LLC (formerly Chrysler Group, LLC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.[2][3] The former Chrysler Corporation acquired the Jeep brand, along with the remaining assets of its owner American Motors, in 1987. Jeep's current product range consists solely of sport utility vehicles and off-road vehicles, but has also included pickup trucks in the past. 1941

The original Jeep was the prototype Bantam BRC. Willys MB Jeeps went into production in 1941 specifically for the military. Arguably that makes them the oldest four-wheel drive mass-production vehicles now known as SUVs.[4] The Jeep became the primary light 4-wheel-drive vehicle of the United States Army and the Allies during World War II. It remained so in the postwar period. The term became common worldwide in the wake of the war. Doug Stewart notes:

The spartan, cramped, and unstintingly functional jeep became the ubiquitous World War II four-wheeled personification of Yankee ingenuity and cocky, can-do determination."[5]

The first civilian models were produced in 1945.[6] It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover.[7][8] Many Jeep variants serving similar military and civilian roles have since been designed in other nations. In 2007 Jeep began manufacturing crossover SUVs with its Compass and Patriot models. This led to the 2013 Jeep Cherokee midsize crossover.

Current models

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Body style Model Current generation Vehicle description
Image Name(s) Introduction
(cal. year)
Model code Introduction
(cal. year)
Main markets
Body-on-frame
SUV
Grand Wagoneer 2021 WS 2021 North America Full-size SUV (Wagoneer), full-size luxury SUV (Grand Wagoneer). Long-wheelbase version is known as the Wagoneer L and Grand Wagoneer L.
Wagoneer
Wrangler 1986 JL 2017 Global Compact SUV (2-door), mid-size SUV (Unlimited and 4-door). PHEV version available as the Wrangler 4xe.
Wrangler Unlimited
Crossover
SUV
Avenger 2022 JJ 2023 (JJ) Europe, etc. Subcompact SUV. Mild hybrid and BEV are available.
Compass 2007
  • MP
  • M1
  • M4
  • M6
2018 (MP) Global Compact crossover SUV smaller than the Cherokee. PHEV version is available.
Commander/
Meridian
2021
  • H1
  • H6
2021 (H1/H6) Latin America, India Mid-size crossover SUV based on the Compass produced in Brazil and India. Named the Meridian in India.
Grand Cherokee 1992 WL 2021 North America, etc. Mid-size crossover SUV. Long-wheelbase version is known as the Grand Cherokee L. PHEV version is available for the short-wheelbase model.
Grand Cherokee L
Renegade 2014
  • BU
  • B1
  • BQ
2014 Global
Wagoneer S 2024 2024 North America, etc. BEV crossover SUV based on STLA Large platform.
Pickup
truck
Gladiator 2019 JT 2019 Global Mid-size pickup truck based on the Jeep Wrangler (JL).
  1. Except Cuba, Syria, Iran, North Korea, and Sudan.

References

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  1. Cite error: The named reference Statham was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
  2. "Chrysler 8-K/A SEC filing" (PDF). secdatabase.com. December 3, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  3. "Chrysler Group LLC". InsideView company data. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2015. Chrysler Group LLC operates as a subsidiary of Fiat North America LLC
  4. Russell, Philip (2013). 100 Military Inventions that Changed the World. Little, Brown Book Group. ISBN 9781472106704. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  5. Stewart, Doug (1992). "Hail to the jeep! Could we have won without it?". Smithsonian. 23 (8): 60-69.
  6. Swan, Tony (January 1991). "Jeep Thrills". Popular Mechanics. 168 (1): 106–107.
  7. Gunn, Richard (2006). Trucks & Off-Road Vehicles. Motorbooks. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-7603-2569-8. Retrieved July 31, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  8. Robson, Graham (1981). The Rover Story. Stephens. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-85059-543-7. The first Land-Rover owed a lot to the Jeep. Designer Gordon Bashford, who laid out the basic concept, makes no secret of that. It was also his job to go off to an ex-WD surplus vehicle dump in the Cotswolds, buy a couple of roadworthy Jeeps...

Other websites

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Media related to Jeep at Wikimedia Commons