Well folks, here it is – the very first Jeep® brand model produced for civilians. Introduced in 1945, the CJ-2A was produced for just four years, yet revolutionized utilitarian transport. Just five years earlier, the US Army sent out a request for some new vehicles to replace their aging motorcycles and modified Model-T cars. Willy’s-Overland (that’d be us, in case you didn’t know) answered the call, as did both Ford and Bantam. All three manufacturers whipped up their designs (based on the specs the Army provided) at lightning speed and sent examples of each over for testing. In the end, it was decided ours was the way to go, and the Willy’s Quad became the go-to military vehicle, eventually earning the “Jeep” nickname (it’s still debatable how exactly the term came about, but the general consensus is that it came from “GP” or General Purpose) that has since become our brand name.

By the end of the war, the CJ-2A shown here was ready for civilian purchase. It offered a number of features that the previous military vehicle didn’t, including a tailgate, a side-mounted spare tire, larger headlights and an external fuel cap. It also marked the first use of many Jeep brand parts that would be seen in future models, like the 134-cubic-inch four-cylinder engine, the T-90A transmission, Spicer transfer case and full-floating Dana axles. It was a landmark vehicle.

As we’ve mentioned, this is our 70th anniversary, and we’ll be celebrating it all year long, particularly here on the blog, where we’ll continue to be digging up great stuff about the Jeep brand and our history.