John North Willys bought the Overland Automotive Division of Standard Wheel Company in 1908 and in 1912 named it the Willys-Overland Motor Company. Willys-Overland made both automobiles and trucks. Some of the coolest street rods are based on pre WW2 Willys. If you've never seen a Willys-Overland car, check out the Willys-Overland-Knight Registry. The company was reorganized in 1936 after a depression bankruptcy to Willys-Overland Motors, Inc.

The Birth of the Jeep

As the war in Europe spread in the late '30s, the US Military wanted a new light-weight, four-wheel-drive, general-purpose vehicle. One story has it that "GP" was the abbreviation for "general purpose", but was pronounced "jeep", hence the name. They solicited designs in 1940 and while Willys and Ford both submitted entries, the government selected a vehicle design by the Bantam Car Company. Bantam made over two thousand vehicles, but couldn't supply the volume needed, and the military wanted multiple suppliers. Willys got a contract to build Jeeps in late 1940. Ford was also awarded a contract in late 1940. Many parts were interchangeable between the Willys and Ford Jeeps. Willys-Overland made about 360,000 Jeeps for the military between 1941 and 1945. They proved to be rugged and dependable in the war, and by the time the soldiers came home, Jeeps were well known and loved for their durability and unstoppability.

After the War

Willys-Overland was not one of the automotive giants in the prewar era, and had completely retooled their production facilities to Jeeps. After the war, the best market opportunities were judged to be to continue making Jeeps, not only for the military (whose demand was much reduced) but to sell them to the civilian market as well. The most direct product transition was the CJ (Civilian Jeep) line. This product was little changed from those that had "won the war". The first CJ-2A was produced in 1945. The line has continued from the CJ2 through the CJ3, CJ5, CJ6, CJ7, and CJ8. (They did make a CJ4 but it was only a prototype that never went into production.) The CJ5 and CJ7 are the most common, with the CJ7 being a little longer than the CJ5. The CJ6 and CJ8 were longer wheel base than the CJ7, but they weren't as popular, and consequently there were fewer of them manufactured. I think there was a CJ10, but it wasn't sold in the US. Model Years Quantity CJ-2A 1945 - 1949 214k CJ-3A 1946 - 1953 132k CJ-3B 1952 - 1968 155k CJ-5 1954 - 1983 611k CJ-6 1955 - 1981 50k CJ-7 1976 - 1986 379k CJ-8 1981 - 1986 28

Thanks to Tom Wanamaker, Jeff Hanselman, Joe Schaefer The Wrangler (YJ) is a direct descendent of the CJ line, so I guess you can say that the original Jeep line is still going. But since 1963 Jeeps have been manufactured by Kaiser, AMC, and Chrysler. So I'm getting side-tracked from the Willys story.

The Willys

Back in those post-war years, Willys-Overland tried to broaden their market by returning to the car and truck business, in addition to the CJ's. Their products were nothing like the smooth, graceful pre-war products. Instead they capitalized on the tough, utilitarian image of the Jeep with three new vehicles: the Willys Jeep Wagon in 1946, the Willys Jeep Truck in 1947, and the Willys Jeepster in 1948. These were called the 'Jeep' Utility Vehicles and all retained clear influences of the military Jeep, but the forms were intermediate between the normal rounded forms of the autos of the period and the boxy Jeep. The wagon was similar to the panel trucks or delivery wagons of the day, but with those unmistakable flat fenders (and later 4WD). The truck was similar in size and functionality of a GMC, Ford or Dodge truck of the day, but once again with the Jeep look and available in 4WD. The Jeepster was a convertible about half-way between a military Jeep and a sports car. This two wheel drive vehicle was only made from 1948 to 1950, but was resurrected by AMC in the '60's as the Jeepster Commando. The wagon and pickup truck were available in both 2WD and 4WD with a 4-cylinder or 6-cylinder engine. Kaiser bought Willys-Overland in 1953 and dropped "Overland" from the name. In the 1956, Willys introduced snub-nosed forward control models. Production of Willys wagons and trucks continued under the name of the Willys Motor Company until 1963, when the name was changed to the Kaiser-Jeep Corporation. Production of the Willys wagons and trucks continued for two more years until 1965. Thus ended the production of those interesting vehicles we call Willys. Model Years Quantity Wagons 1946 - 1965 over 300k Trucks 1947 - 1965 over 200k Jeepster 1948 - 1950 19k Thanks to Tom Wanamaker

What's in a Name

The original pronunciation of "Willys" was with a short "i" sound for the 'y"; so it sounded the same as "Willis". But it seems to have been transmuted by the same flexibility of language that produced "Jeep" out of "GP". Most everyone I have every talked with pronounces it with a long "e" sound for the "y". Being pronounced "will' eez", it might well be taken as the plural for Willy (which is as good a nickname for William as Bill). The official DMV title for my truck lists the make as a "Willy". I guest that it is because it is only one vehicle and "Willys" would obviously be more than one. No one ever claimed that the folks at the Department of Motor Vehicles were very bright. Even my insurance agent asked me if there was an "e" before the "y". Anyway, I use the term Willys (pronounced will' eez) as a nickname for those unique trucks and wagons produced from 1946 until 1965. Later, AMC bought Kaiser (1970) and Chrysler bought AMC (1987).

Company History

1908 John North Willys buys the Overland Automotive Division of Standard Wheel Company and in 1912 renames it Willys-Overland Motor Company.

1936 Coming out of bankruptcy following the Great Depression, the company is reorganized as Willys-Overland Motors, Inc.

1940 Working from a Bantam Car Company design, Willys contracts to build military Jeeps for the war and produces about 360,000 vehicles by 1945.

1945 Willys-Overland begins producing the Civilian Jeep (CJ) line, with the introduction of the CJ2A model.

1946 Production begins on the Willys Jeep Wagon. Over 300,000 are manufactured between 1946 and 1965. CJ3A is introduced, and more than 132,000 are made before the production ends in 1953.

1947 Production begins on the Willys Jeep Truck. From 1947 to 1965, more than 200,000 are manufactured.

1948 Production begins on the Willys Jeepster. Only 19,000 vehicles are manufactured from 1948 to 1950.

1952 Willys CJ3B Jeeps go into production. By 1968, over 155,000 are sold.

1953 Kaiser buys Willys-Overland and changes name to Willys Motor Company.

1954 CJ5 debuts at the start of its three-decade run.

1963 Company changes name to Kaiser-Jeep Corporation.

1965 Kaiser-Jeep discontinues production of Willys wagons and trucks, retiring the Willys name with the line.

1970 American Motors Corporation takes over Kaiser-Jeep.

1975 CJ5 model is updated for the 1970s.

1975 Willys-Overland resurrected as a wholesale/retail parts business.

1976 Offering an optional automatic transmission, the CJ7 starts its 10-year run.

1983 By the time the last CJ5 rolls off the line in 1983, more than 610,000 of the vehicles have hit the highways in the U.S. and around the world.

1984 The XJ series Cherokee is introduced to compete in the growing compact SUV market.

1987 American Motors is purchased by Chrysler Corporation.

1993 Chrysler introduces the ZJ series Grand Cherokee to replace the discontinued Wagoneer.

1997 Redesigned TJ series Wrangler is introduced.

1998 Daimler-Benz merges with Chrysler Corporation to form DaimlerChrysler, fifth largest auto maker in the world.

1999 The Grand Cherokee is redesigned.