Jeep is set to launch the Wrangler and the Grand Cherokee models soon
and it has got almost everyone talking about it.
These cars are some of
the finest SUVs in the world and the love for SUVs in India is no
secret and hence, these cars are set to become a trend soon.
People
are aware of the cars made by the company, but when it comes to the
company itself, there are a few interesting things that you should know
about.
1. The original Jeep was designed in just two days
World War II was on the horizon and the American government felt the need to replace the ageing Model T with a small, lightweight, four-wheel drive car. Karl Probst got to the task and designed the first Jeep for a truck company called Bantam in 1940 and finished the design within two days. 5 days after completion, the entire proposal including the cost estimates was handed over to the government.
2. The front design was actually done by Ford
The signature front-end design of the Jeeps that have been used on cars since decades was actually designed by Ford, who’s pilot model – GP 1 “Pygmy” was the first to sport the design. The first generation of the grille had 13 slots, the second generation had 9 and then in 1945, the iconic seven-slot design was adopted.
3. Jeep’s name was probably based on a cartoon
‘GP’ is believed to be an abbreviation for ‘General Purpose’. At the same time, popular cartoon ‘Popeye’ had a character called ‘Eugene the Jeep’ who had the ability to do anything and go anywhere. It is believed that people started calling GP as Jeep given its similar capabilities.
4. The big question – how to pronounce “Willys”
Over the years, there have been arguments over what is the correct pronunciation of Jeep’s popular car Willys on whether it is “Willies” or “Willis”. In 1952, the Toledo Blade newspaper conducted a research on this issue and came to the conclusion that it is pronounced as “Willis”.
5. Jeep made a sports car concept
Jeep is known worldwide, since decades, as the maker of some of the finest SUVs, but the automaker also made a combination of a sports car and SUV in 1969 called XJ-002 “Bolide”. It was modern in every sense as it came with a V6, automatic transmission and a fibreglass body. Unfortunately, it was made during the AMC takeover of the company and never became a production model.
1. The original Jeep was designed in just two days
World War II was on the horizon and the American government felt the need to replace the ageing Model T with a small, lightweight, four-wheel drive car. Karl Probst got to the task and designed the first Jeep for a truck company called Bantam in 1940 and finished the design within two days. 5 days after completion, the entire proposal including the cost estimates was handed over to the government.
2. The front design was actually done by Ford
The signature front-end design of the Jeeps that have been used on cars since decades was actually designed by Ford, who’s pilot model – GP 1 “Pygmy” was the first to sport the design. The first generation of the grille had 13 slots, the second generation had 9 and then in 1945, the iconic seven-slot design was adopted.
3. Jeep’s name was probably based on a cartoon
‘GP’ is believed to be an abbreviation for ‘General Purpose’. At the same time, popular cartoon ‘Popeye’ had a character called ‘Eugene the Jeep’ who had the ability to do anything and go anywhere. It is believed that people started calling GP as Jeep given its similar capabilities.
4. The big question – how to pronounce “Willys”
Over the years, there have been arguments over what is the correct pronunciation of Jeep’s popular car Willys on whether it is “Willies” or “Willis”. In 1952, the Toledo Blade newspaper conducted a research on this issue and came to the conclusion that it is pronounced as “Willis”.
5. Jeep made a sports car concept
Jeep is known worldwide, since decades, as the maker of some of the finest SUVs, but the automaker also made a combination of a sports car and SUV in 1969 called XJ-002 “Bolide”. It was modern in every sense as it came with a V6, automatic transmission and a fibreglass body. Unfortunately, it was made during the AMC takeover of the company and never became a production model.
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