Jeeps Then And Now: A Staple For Used Car Dealerships

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You’d be hard pressed to walk into any used car dealership and not see a Jeep or two on the lot. Jeeps have been the choice vehicle of soldiers and adventurers for more than half a century. The 1946 “Willy’s Utility Vehicle” transformed into today's Cherokee and Grand Cherokee, both of which can be found at any Jeep dealer. The original Jeep was the product, as most inventions are, of necessity, and was hand-built in just seven weeks. In 1940 the need for a functional all terrain vehicle waxed urgent as the Axis powers began to score victories in Europe and Northern Africa. The U.S. Army reached out to American automobile manufacturers pleading for a running prototype for the Jeepwith a forty-nine day deadline.

Karl Probst, a Detroit engineer accepted the challenge without remuneration, and went to work July 17, 1940. In literally a couple of days, he had completely laid out plans for the Bantam prototype, the precursor of the Jeep. On July 22, Bantam's bid was submitted, and even claimed that the vehicle met the weight limit of 1,300 lbs. Bantam's hand-built prototype was operational by September ...
... 21, of that year(having met the forty-nine day deadline). The Army took the Bantam Jeep on a 3,400 mile test drive, most of it unpaved. The testers concluded that the vehicle met all the military requirements for service, and thus the Jeep was born.

During World War II, Willy’s and Ford filled more than 700,000 orders, (being the chosen Jeep dealers of the time) with Willy’s Overland supplying more than 330,000 units. (Willy’s had been awarded the Army’s contract due to their overwhelming improvements on Bantam’s design, and thus became the Jeep dealer of choice).

So where did the name Jeep come from? So far, that’s still up for debate. Even Jeep dealers and used car dealerships have their own favorite myths. It’s long been the subject of many musings by outdoorsmen and survival enthusiasts. Some old soldiersclaim the name Jeep came from the slurring of the acronym G.P. for General Purpose vehicle (most Jeep dealers and used car dealerships stick by this one). Another possibility, popular with Jeep dealers in the Midwest, is that the name was used as early as 1934 for a truck equipped with equipment for drilling oil wells. Still others claim the vehicle was called a "Jeep," in reference to the character "Eugene the Jeep" a small, impish, inter-dimensional creature that seemed to be able to solve anything in the 1936 Popeye comic strip by E.C. Edgar. In all honesty, no one really knows the origin of the Jeep name, but the Jeep brand of vehicles has become one of the most recognized brands in the world, and Jeep dealers and used car dealerships thank them. There’s an entire subculture now surrounding Jeeps. A whole faction of people are dedicated to trail running, “mudding,” “bajahing,” or whatever whipping over rough terrain and getting that exhilarating rush is called where you live. Since its advent, there have been several Jeep dealers, both Ford and AMC (the makers of the entirely too awesome Gremlin) have offered Jeeps to the public before Chrysler. These powerhouses… these little engines that could, can be found at nearly every used car dealership in America today.



Kris Leeds is a freelance writer for Planet Dodge Jeep Chrysler, a leading Jeeps dealers, and all things Jeep. If you haven’t felt the joy of taking the top off a Jeep, and dropping the windshield, you are seriously missing out. For more information on used car dealerships Florida, check out our website.