If there are two vehicles associated with hunting and fishing in Mississippi, they are the Jeep and the Bronco. They have carried us, and our gear, as well as our bounty, from many places where we dare not venture on foot. In this article, we will feature the famous Jeep, from its humble beginnings to an American icon.
There are many stories about where the word “jeep” came from and how it was coined. Although some are very interesting and quite memorable, the most popular notion is that the vehicle bore the designation “GP,” which stood for “General Purpose.” This was phonetically slurred into the word jeep. This, too, has been disputed, saying that in fact the initials stood for Government Pygmy.
Early in 1941, Willys‑Overland demonstrated the vehicle’s ability by having it driven up the U.S. Capitol’s steps. In the driver’s seat was Willys’ test driver, Irving “Red” Haussman, who had recently heard soldiers at Fort Holabird referring to it as “jeep.” Willys‑Overland was later awarded sole privilege of owning the name, “Jeep,” as a registered trademark.
With such success in the military, Willys realized that the Jeep vehicle could be marketed to civilians and started placing advertisements in U.S. newspapers during and just after World War II introducing “the Jeep in civvies.” This led to the first mass‑market Jeep vehicle, the CJ‑2A (1945‑1949), with “CJ” standing for Civilian Jeep.
In 1953, the year of the CJ‑3B (1953‑1968) debut, Willys‑Overland was sold to the Henry J. Kaiser Industries for $60 million. Kaiser Industries initially named its Jeep line “Willys Motors” and started an extensive research and development program that would see the Jeep product range greatly extended.
In 1965, a new V‑6 engine was introduced as an option for the CJ‑5 that nearly doubled the horsepower of the standard four‑cylinder engine. There were many editions of the CJ‑5, including the 1964‑67 “luxury” Tuxedo Park, the 1969 Camper, the 1969 “462” model, the 1970 Renegade, the 1971 Renegade II, the 1972‑83 Renegade, the 1972 Super Jeep, and the 1977‑83 Golden Eagle. It is surmised that the CJ‑5 has logged more trail miles than any other Jeep vehicle.
Kaiser Jeep was eventually purchased by American Motors Corporation (AMC) in 1970. AMC decided to separate civilian and military production to focus on the budding sports utility vehicle market. One of their first orders of business was to update the existing CJ‑5 and CJ‑6. By 1978, total Jeep production reached 600 vehicles per day. AMC paraded their new Jeep vehicles with taglines such as: “With the guts to come on stronger than ever” and “If a new Jeep vehicle can't take you there, maybe you ought to think twice about going.”
On August 5, 1987, a little over a year after the introduction of the Wrangler, AMC was sold to Chrysler and the Jeep brand became a part of the Jeep/Eagle Division of Chrysler Corporation. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles oversees the Jeep brand today and there is still a high demand for these popular vehicles.
James L. Cummins is executive director of Wildlife Mississippi, a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore, and enhance fish, wildlife, and plant resources throughout Mississippi. Their website is www.wildlifemiss.org.
