Jeep is a truly American brand. Its journey began in 1940. The Second World War was gaining momentum and the US military was looking for a lightweight vehicle that could traverse all terrains in any season. The army contacted 135 companies for this purpose.
The American Bantam Car Company came out with a prototype which was later modified by Willys. Willys developed a four-wheeler military vehicle named ‘Quad’ which fought the American Wars alongside the soldiers. Almost 300,000 Willys Quads were in military use and it was not available for the civilians until 1945.
Kaiser Motors bought Willys in 1953. It was then named Kaiser-Jeep and the company came out with more civilian models like Wagoner which lived by the slogan ‘go anywhere, do anything’.
Jeep was bought by Chrysler in 1987. The 1990s saw an explosion of interest in SUVs, and Jeep took advantage of the public’s enthusiasm by introducing premium models like Grand Cherokee. The company is now owned by is Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA).
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