Collector Car Corner / Cars We Remember; Jeep history explained, Wranglers are not ‘out of business’

By Greg Zyla —

Q: Hi Greg and I hope you use my letter. I’m a big Jeep fan and I hope one day to own a Jeep Wrangler when I am old enough to drive. I saw on YouTube that the Jeep Wrangler is going out of business along with some of the higher priced Wagoneers.

I would be upset if Jeep went out of business. Could you check on this and give me some history on the Jeep Wrangler? Who was the first to build them during World War II? Thanks, Ronald Z., 15 years old from Rhode Island.

A: Ronald, thanks much for your letter. I have good news for you. Neither Wrangler nor Wagoneer are going out of business anytime soon. As a matter of fact, Stellantis announced that both the Wrangler and Wagoneer models are both receiving nice upgrades starting in 2025 and by 2027, an all-electric Wagoneer is in the plans.

I have seen all the “Jeep is going out of business” posts on YouTube, so I can understand your concern.

Although Stellantis has temporarily halted production of both Wrangler and Grand Wagoneer, it’s not because Jeep is going out of business. Car and truck dealers must pay interest fees every month for all the cars they have on their lots in what is called their “floor plan.”

Floor plan cars are owned by the bank, and currently, there are too many brand-new cars sitting on dealer lots that have not been sold. Some cars are sitting for three months or more, which is not an advantageous position for dealers across America. When times are good, the average sell time for a new vehicle is about 2-months. After that, unsold inventory is causing trouble for dealers who have extended floor plans. Any vehicle that sits 100 days or more in an unsold category is crippling the business.

Unfortunately, there are too many cars and trucks sitting right now for nearly 150 days. That’s why Stellantis has halted production of the Wrangler and Grand Wagoneer models so dealers can “catch up” on their inventory woes.

As for the Jeep history, the units used during World War II were shipped in a wooden crate with easy assembly instructions. They could be shipped anywhere in the world, and the vehicle to this day is one of the most popular vehicles ever invented.

In a quick synopsis, the first military Jeep contract went to American Bantam, shown in the photos attached in action in 1941 military promotional photo. However, the company was too small to keep up with demand during the World War II years, delivering only 2,600 units before Willys-Overland took over and filled the Army’s need for 16,000 Jeeps. Ford also got involved and tried to steal the contract from Willys, but failed.

As for how Jeep ended up at Stellantis, back in 1953, Henry Kaiser, the noted shipbuilder, car manufacturer, and founder of the first-ever managed health care plan called Kaiser Permanente (still in existence) bought Jeep from Willys-Overland. Then in 1969, AMC bought the Jeep brand from Willys and became the nucleus of its manufacturing business. Following AMC’s demise in 1986, Chrysler bought the brand for $1.1 billion. In 2014, Chrysler joined forces with Fiat and today Jeep continues its strong selling position under Stellantis (formerly Fiat-Chrysler) ownership.

However, when Willys-Overland owned the Jeeps, things became very confusing when it came to figuring out the original Jeep ownership.

Therefore, I turned to Jeep expert Dave Eilers, the owner of the eWillys.com website, to assist in letting my readers understand how the Jeeps evolved and delve into the legend of Jeep. Dave sheds light on a subject he admits is challenging to decipher, so here’s Dave’s letter. Dave had read a previous column I wrote on the history of the Jeep, and added these important notations concerning Jeep history to help explain the history of Willys / Ford / Bantam (Jeep). Dave acknowledged that things can become overly complex and confusing. Please refer to the information on the photos for more information on Jeep’s history.

Dave stated:

1. The first Jeep sold by Willys-Overland in 1945 to the public was the Willys CJ-2A. Early CJ-2A production units used some leftover parts from the military versions, making VEC CJ-2As highly collectible among civilian collectors.

2. The Willys Quad was the first prototype Willys-Overland developed in 1940 (the second prototype was the Willys MA).

3. The Willys Quad was not an exact “copy” of the Bantam BRC, although there were similarities, as you mentioned, since Willys got to review the Bantam plans before shipping the Quad.

4. Ford indeed played a role in Jeep history. Ford’s first prototype was the Ford Pygmy. The second prototype was the Ford Budd. Ford’s third prototype was the Ford GP (which does not stand for general purpose but for G=Government and P=80-inch wheelbase). The WWII production Jeep was the Ford GPW (the W standing for Willys design).

5. As you mentioned, and to explain further about Willys being able to use the name Jeep, Willys and Ford battled over the name Jeep. Willys didn’t acquire the rights to use the name Jeep until the 1950s, explaining why the hoods and windshields of the CJ-2As and the CJ-3As were marked with Willys. Some rare CJ-2s are stamped with “JEEP” (http://www.willys-overland.com/index.htm).

6. While the original Bantam BRC is considered the first Jeep, the Jeep photo in your article is a Bantam BRC-40, which was the third prototype (see the three different Bantams on my website).

7. Despite having the worst of the three designs, Ford initially won the Army Quartermaster contract. However, there was enough pushback that the contract was transferred to Willys-Overland and Ford assigned a second-source status.

A: Dave, thank you for your updates, as the history of the Jeep brand is certainly interesting. Your help is much appreciated! I recommend that my readers visit Dave’s website for more information.

Also, thank you for your letter, Ronald, and I hope that one day you will get a Jeep Wrangler when you obtain your driver’s license. 

(Greg Zyla is a syndicated auto columnist who welcomes reader questions or responses on auto nostalgia, collector cars, and old-time motorsports at 303 Roosevelt St., Sayre, Pa. 18840 or at greg@gregzyla.com)