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Key people Michael Manley (CEO of Jeep division) (CEO of FCA US LLC) Products Owner Website Jeep is a brand of American automobiles that is a of (formerly Chrysler Group, LLC), a wholly owned subsidiary of. The former Chrysler Corporation acquired the Jeep brand, along with the remaining assets of its owner, in 1987. The division is headquartered in. Jeep's current product range consists solely of and, but has also included in the past.

The original Jeep was the prototype. Jeeps went into production in 1941 specifically for the military, arguably making them the oldest four-wheel drive mass-production vehicles now known as. The Jeep became the primary light 4-wheel-drive vehicle of the and the during, as well as the postwar period. The term became common worldwide in the wake of the war. Doug Stewart notes: The spartan, cramped, and unstintingly functional jeep became the ubiquitous World War II four-wheeled personification of and cocky, can-do determination. The first civilian models were produced in 1945.

It inspired a number of other, such as the. Many Jeep variants serving similar military and civilian roles have since been designed in other nations. Jeep with Bantam Reconnaissance Car When it became clear that the United States would be involved in the war in Europe, the U.S.

Army contacted 135 companies to create working prototypes of a four-wheel-drive reconnaissance car. Only two companies responded: Car Company and. The Army set a seemingly impossible deadline of 49 days to supply a working prototype. Willys asked for more time, but was refused. The bankrupt American Bantam Car Company had no engineering staff left on the payroll and solicited, a talented freelance designer from Detroit.

After turning down Bantam's initial request, Probst responded to an Army request and began work on July 17, 1940, initially without salary. Probst laid out full plans for the Bantam prototype, known as the BRC or Bantam Reconnaissance Car, in just two days, working up a cost estimate the next day. Bantam's bid was submitted, complete with blueprints, on July 22. While much of the vehicle could be assembled from off-the-shelf automotive parts, custom four-wheel drivetrain components were to be supplied. The hand-built prototype was completed in, and driven to,, for Army testing September 21.

The vehicle met all the Army's criteria except engine. World War II had already begun in Asia, with Japan expanding in China, Manchuria and Southeast Asia. The Imperial Japanese Army used a small four-wheel-drive car for reconnaissance and troop movements, having introduced the in 1936. Willys MA and Ford GP The Army thought that the Bantam company was too small to supply the required number of vehicles, so it supplied the Bantam design to Willys and, and encouraged them to modify the design. The resulting and Willys 'Quad' prototypes looked very similar to the Bantam BRC prototype, and Spicer supplied very similar four-wheel drivetrain components to all three manufacturers.