We're hard at work finally, putting the new site look up, and making sure all the content is fresh and newly updated. Please bear with us over the next week or two if you find something missing or a broken link or two. We are working hard to get caught up so if something doesn't work right today, please check back tomorrow!
If you're looking around for a few of the sections we had before, I'm sorry to say that some of them are just plain gone. I decided it was time to narrow the focus of the site a bit to make sure we can really do a good job of covering the things we kept around. We were getting a little thin before, trying to offer something for everyone. We've got a new sitemap here though, so you can see all the sections.
Those of us who are fanatics about our Jeeps have been known to argue that four wheeling really only got started as a hobby when people starting getting their hands on Willy's Jeeps. Today, the Jeep brand is still considered to be the one true "hard core" off road vehicle, and other than a few missteps along the way, the Jeep lineage is full of rigs that rolled off the showroom floor fully prepared to head off road.
If you want to truly appreciate the heritage of the Jeep brand, you really have to start way back with the original Military Willys MA model that was first built clear back in 1941. This 60 horsepower little guy was about as spartan as they come, and only 1,500 of these made their way to the Miliary that year. The models progressed through the late 40's and early 50'd with lot's of changes, but the next major change that we care about was in 1953 when Kaiser Industries purchased Willys. The following year, 1954 saw the introduction of the first civilian Jeep, the CJ-5. The CJ-5 production line spanned thirty years, and in the 16 years the Kaiser owned the line, it was manufactured in 30 foreign countries and Jeep vehicles were sold in over 150 countries worldwide.
Kaiser was bought by American Motors Corporation in 1970, bringing about some exciting changes. The AMC 304 V8 was installed in CJ's, some of the components such as axles and brakes were beefed up, and then in 1976, AMC introduced the CJ-7, a bit longer than the CJ-5 and now long enough to accomodate an Automatic transmission. Fiberglass hardtops and steel doors were optional, as was air conditioning and the automatic transmission coupled with the full-time Quadra-Trac 4WD. In just 10 years of production, 379,299 of these were built, making it the most successful CJ model in history.
Many say that things went south for the first time in 1987 when the CJ line was retired and the Wrangler (YJ) model was brought into production. Most hardcore Jeep people think that the mistakes on this model started with the rectangular headlights, and the saying was born in the jeep community "Real Jeeps have round headlights".
In 1987, AMC was sold to Chrysler and the Jeep brand becamse a part of the Jeep/Eagle Division of Chrylser Corporation. They kept sending YJ's out the door until 1997 when the model got replaced (finally) by a model that restored the "purists" faith in the Jeep line. The TJ Wrangler started out with a return to round headlights, but beyond that, Chrylser really seemed to get a grip on what people wanted in a Jeep. Instead of the Leaf Spring suspension that had been around since the beginning, TJ models road atop the new Quadra-Coil(TM) Suspension, a huge improvement in both on and off road ride and capabilities.
The TJ model also was quickly embraced by the bolt-on crowd, and a wealth of modifications added to the already impressive off-road capabilities of this model. Times were once again good for the Jeep line.
Jeep Owners Groups & Clubs
If you love your Jeep, and you love hanging out with others who share your love for these tough rigs, jump on over to our Jeep Clubs and Groups page where you can certainly find a group near your hometown or favorite place to go four wheeling.