Jeep

Eight Decades from Willys to Wrangler

Patrick R. Foster

• Publisher: Motorbooks
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9780760366561
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Automotive Transportation & Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

The definitive, fully illustrated celebration of an auto manufacturer that paved its own way by going off-road is now updated to celebrate Jeep's 80th anniversary. Few American vehicles, or vehicles made anywhere else in the world for that matter, are as universally iconic as the Jeep. From olive drab WWII military relics to the beloved Wrangler with its rear-mounted spare tire, open-air design, and telltale roll cage, the Jeep is a true classic. In Jeep: Eight Decades from Willys to Wrangler, automotive writer Patrick R. Foster chronicles Jeep vehicle design and production from the beginning of World War II to present. Beginning with the Jeep as a crucial component of the American war fleet, Foster expertly recounts the corporate shifts, financial struggles and successes, close calls, and, above all, the enduring machines that have carried Jeep from the early 1940s to its triumphant role as a modern-day embodiment of American perseverance. More than 200 color and black-and-white historical photos and period advertisements complement his expertly written narrative of Jeep's entire history, now updated to include five years of new model editions and prototypes, its return to the pickup market, and recent stunning marketplace successes. The resulting book reminds us that sometimes the road less traveled was just waiting for the right truck.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• CONTENTS
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• INTRODUCTION: Forged in War. Tales of wartime Jeep adventures, where the trusty Jeep saved lives and won the day
• CHAPTER ONE: A Legend Is Born, 1940–1941. The history of Willys-Overland and Bantam Motors and their roles in developing the wartime Jeep
• CHAPTER TWO: The Willys-Overland and Willys Motors Years, 1946–1963. Peacetime and military Jeeps produced by Willys-Overland and its successor, Willys Motors
• CHAPTER THREE: Mr. Kaiser’s Jeep, 1964–1969. In 1963, Kaiser Industries changed the name of the company to Kaiser-Jeep Corporation, tried to grow the corporation in America, and laid the groundwork for Jeep’s amazing popularity overseas
• CHAPTER FOUR: American Motors Takes the Wheel, 1970–1987. Jeep ownership transfers to AMC and Jeep’s U.S. business grows nearly 700 percent
• CHAPTER FIVE: Chrysler in Command, 1988–1998. The Iacocca years and how his Chrysler Corporation built a whole new Jeep organization, one that could take the company to the next level
• CHAPTER SIX: The DaimlerChrysler Fiasco, 1999–2007. The Daimler-Chrysler merger and how the German company caused Jeep to lose its way
• CHAPTER SEVEN: The Road to the Top, 2008–2020. Jeep’s comeback was temporarily derailed by Chrysler’s bankruptcy, but the division has since been able to pull itself out of the basement and on to record-breaking years
• INDEX