While Willys has been credited with the world’s first SUV with its lineup beginning in the late 1940’s, it almost won the title of the world’s first mini-van. While many people are familiar with the FC-150 and FC-170 lineup of the late 1950’s, this unique “commuter” was constructed as a prototype by Reutter in Stutgart,West Germany. Reutter was a coachwork business and played a hand in the... (read more)
The government of Argentina approached several United States automakers in 1951 to determine the feasibility of building cars in Argentina. Deemed as too small a market, no one was interested. Kaiser stepped forward and in January of 1955, Industrias Kaiser Argentina was established as a joint venture between Kaiser Jeep, the Argentine government and several private investors. Kaiser Automotores was a wholly owned subsidary and was used by Kaiser to... (read more)
The civilian Willys Jeep is here
Born for War…Ready for Peace… To millions of people all over the world “Jeep” means WILLYS
This was a marketing slogan used by Willys in conjunction with a full color ad in Post magazine of 1944. The end of the war was near and Willys-Overland was positioning itself for the upcoming civilian era of the Jeep. While advertising extensively throughout the war years, they carefully aligned the... (read more)
There was never a lot of marketing information released by Willys-Overland concerning the CJ3A. They were more concerned with the passenger wagon and trucks at this point. It was bascially an upgrade to the CJ2A and was treated as such. There were several farm promotions although the war had been over for nearly 4 years and real farm machinery was back in production.
This version featured a one piece windshield for visibility. A stronger frame,... (read more)
New! Our Willys Jeep custom made posters are now viewable on YouTube. You can see them in this video. It is suggested that you view the high resolution version in large screen mode. Additional... (read more)
The pickup truck…an American icon. Since the beginning of auto production, an automobile with cargo capacity was always sought after by the public.
Hauling large items had long been the domain of larger, heavier trucks which were designed for on pavement operation. Various manufacturers had produced smaller vehicles with a pickup or stake bed, but they were usually not the 4wd variety and lacked the ruggedness that the Willys Truck... (read more)

This picture puzzle of a “super jeep” featured a 8 wheel vehicle with a GPW front and a rear configuration of 4 driving wheels.
Henry Ford had a saying that you could have his cars in any color you chose…. as long as it was black. Willy’s echoed that sentiment with its introduction of the passenger station wagon. It was initially offered in one color combination of red and white. Eventually through the production years, the paint scheme went to a “woody” look and solid colors with accent trim. The solid steel body was offered with seating for seven on comfortable... (read more)
While this line may be more recognizable from the song “Winter Wonderland” it nevertheless led off a 1960 advertising folder promoting the Forward Control FC-150, utility wagon, pickup truck and CJ-5. By this time, the FC-150 was several years old and had migrated from a smaller CJ-5 48″ frame to its very own 57″ platform.
The brochure went on to read” The Jeep FC-150 truck is truly at home off the road as well as... (read more)

Sign In
Register
Help



