Willys MB The Willys MB U . S . Army Jeep ( formally the Truck , 1 / 4 ton , 4x4 ) and the Ford GPW were manufactured from 1941 to 1945 . These small four - wheel drive utility vehicles are considered the iconic World War II Jeep , and inspired many similar light utility vehicle s . Over the years , the World War II Jeep later evolved into the " CJ " civilian Jeep . Its counterpart in the German army was the Volkswagen Kübelwagen , first prototyped in 1938 , also based on a small automobile , but which used an air - cooled engine and was not four - wheel drive . History . Even though the world had seen widespread mechanisation of the military during World War I , and the United States Army had already used four - wheel drive trucks in it , supplied by the Four Wheel Drive Auto Co . ( FWD ) , by the time World War II was dawning , the United States Department of War were still seeking a light , cross - country reconnaissance vehicle . As tensions were heightening around the world in the late 1930s , the U . S . Army asked American automobile manufacturers to tender suggestions to replace its existing , aging light motor vehicles , mostly motorcycles and sidecar s but also some Ford Model T s . This resulted in several prototypes being presented to army officials , such as five Marmon - Herrington 4x4 Fords in 1937 , and three Austin roadsters by American Bantam in 1938 ( Fowler , 1993 ) . However , the U . S . Army ' s requirements were not formalized until July 11 , 1940 , when 135 U . S . automotive manufacturers were approached to submit a design conforming to the army ' s specifications for a vehicle the World War II technical manual TM 9 - 803 described as " . . . a general purpose , personnel , or cargo carrier especially adaptable for reconnaissance or command , and designated as 1 / 4 - ton 4x4 Truck . " By now the war was under way in Europe , so the Army ' s need was urgent and demanding . Bids were to be received by July 22 , a span of just eleven days . Manufacturers were given 49 days to submit their first prototype and 75 days for completion of 70 test vehicles . The Army ' s Ordnance Technical Committee specifications were equally demanding : the vehicle would be four - wheel drive , have a crew of three on a wheelbase of no more than 75 ( later 80 ) inches and tracks no more than 47 inches , feature a fold - down windshield , 660 lb payload and be powered by an engine capable of 85 ft · lb ( 115 N · m ) of torque . The most daunting demand , however , was an empty weight of no more than 1 , 300 lb ( 590 kg ) . Only two companies entered : American Bantam Car Company and Willys - Overland Motors . Though Willys - Overland was the low bidder , Bantam received the bid , being the only company committing to deliver a pilot model in 49 days and production examples in 75 . Under the leadership of designer Karl Probst , Bantam built their first prototype , dubbed the " Blitz Buggy " ( and in retrospect " Old Number One " ) , and delivered it to the Army vehicle test center at Camp Holabird , Maryland on September 23 , 1940 . This presented Army officials with the first of what eventually evolved into the World War II U . S . Army Jeeps : the " Willys MB " and " Ford GPW " . Since Bantam did not have the production capacity or fiscal stability to deliver on the scale needed by the War Department , the other two bidders , Ford and Willys , were encouraged to complete their own pilot models for testing . The contract for the new reconnaissance car was to be determined by trials . As testing of the Bantam prototype took place from September 27 to October 16 , Ford and Willys technical representatives present at Holabird were given ample opportunity to study the vehicle ' s performance . Moreover , in order to expedite production , the War Department forwarded the Bantam blueprints to Ford and Willys , claiming the government owned the design . Bantam did not dispute this move due to its precarious financial situation . By November 1940 , Ford and Willys each submitted prototypes to compete with the Bantam in the Army ' s trials . The pilot models , the Willys " Quad " and the Ford " Pygmy " , turned out very similar to each other and were joined in testing by Bantam ' s entry , now evolved into a Mark II called the " BRC 60 " . By then the U . S . and its armed forces were already under such pressure that all three cars were declared acceptable and orders for 1 , 500 units " per " company were given for field testing . At this time it was acknowledged the original weight limit ( which Bantam had ignored ) was unrealistic , and it was raised to 2 , 160 pounds ( 980 kg ) . For these respective pre - production runs , each vehicle received revisions and a new name . Bantam ' s became the BRC 40 , and the company ceased motor vehicle production after the last one was built in December 1941 . After reducing the vehicle ' s weight by 240 pounds , Willys ' changed the designation to " MA " for " Military " model " A " . The Fords went into production as " GP " , with " G " for a " Government " type contract and " P " commonly used by Ford to designate any passenger car with a wheelbase of 80 inches . By July 1941 , the War Department desired to standardize and decided to select a single manufacturer to supply them with the next order for another 16 , 000 vehicles . Willys won the contract mostly due to its more powerful engine ( the " Go Devil " ) which soldiers raved about , and its lower cost and silhouette . The design features the Bantam and Ford entries had which were an improvement over Willys ' were then incorporated into the Willys car , moving it from an " A " designation to " B " , thus the " MB " nomenclature . Most notable was a flat wide hood , adapted from Ford GP . By October 1941 , it became apparent Willys - Overland could not keep up with production demand and Ford was contracted to produce them as well . The Ford car was then designated GPW , with the " W " referring to the " Willys " licensed design . During World War II , Willys produced 363 , 000 Jeeps and Ford some 280 , 000 . Approximately 51 , 000 were exported to the U . S . S . R . under the Lend - Lease program . A further 13 , 000 ( roughly ) amphibian jeeps were built by Ford under the name GPA ( nicknamed ' Seep ' for Sea Jeep ) . Inspired by the larger DUKW , the vehicle was produced too quickly and proved to be too heavy , too unwieldy , and of insufficient freeboard . In spite of participating successfully in the Sicily landings ( July 1943 ) most GPAs were routed to the U . S . S . R . under the Lend - Lease program . The Soviets were sufficiently pleased with its ability to cross rivers to develop their own version of it after the war , the GAZ - 46 . Origin of the term " jeep " . One account of the origin of the term " jeep " begins when the prototypes were being proven at military bases . The term " jeep " was used by Army mechanics for any untried or untested vehicles . Although most likely due to a bastardization of the acronym " GP " , used to designate the vehicle , another likely factor in the popularization of the jeep name came from the fact that the vehicle made quite an impression on soldiers at the time , so much so that they informally named it after Eugene the Jeep , a character in the Popeye comic strip and cartoons created by E . C . Segar as early as mid - March 1936 . Eugene the Jeep was Popeye ' s " jungle pet " and was " small , able to move between dimensions and could solve seemingly impossible problems . " In early 1941 , Willys - Overland staged a press event in Washington , D . C . , having the car demonstrate its prowess by driving up the Capitol steps . Irving " Red " Hausmann , a test driver on the Willys development team who had accompanied the car for its testing at Camp Holabird , had heard soldiers there referring to it as a jeep . He was enlisted to go to the event and give a demonstration ride to a group of dignitaries , including Katherine Hillyer , a reporter for the " Washington Daily News " . When asked by the reporter , Hausmann too called it a Jeep . Hillyer ' s article appeared in the newspaper on February 20 , 1941 , with a photo showing a jeep going up the Capitol steps and a caption including the term ' jeep ' . This is believed to be the most likely cause of the term being fixed in public awareness . Even though Hausmann did not create or invent the word Jeep , he very well could be the one most responsible for its first news media usage . Grille . Willys made its first 25 , 000 MB Jeeps with a welded flat iron " slat " radiator grille . It was Ford who first designed and implemented the now familiar and distinctive stamped , slotted steel grille into its cars , which was lighter , used fewer resources , and was less costly to produce . Along with many other design features innovated by Ford , this was adopted by Willys and implemented into the standard World War II Jeep by April 1942 . Today , Jeep makers proudly retain the automobile ' s historical connection to the visage of its predecessors by using a trademarked grille featuring a standard number of vertical openings or ' slots ' . However , in order to be able to get theirs trademarked , Willys gave their post - war jeeps seven slots instead of Ford ' s nine - slot design . Through a series of corporate take - overs and mergers , AM General Corporation ended up with the rights to use the seven - slot grille as well , which they in turn extended to Chrysler when it acquired American Motors Corporation , then manufacturer of Jeep , in 1987 . Postwar . After the war Ford unsuccessfully sued Willys for the rights to the term " Jeep " , leaving Willys with full rights to the name . From 1945 onwards , Willys took its four - wheel drive vehicle to the public with its CJ ( " Civilian Jeep " ) versions , making these the first mass - produced 4x4 civilian vehicles . In 1948 , US Federal Trade Commission agreed with American Bantam , that the idea of creating the Jeep was originated and developed by the American Bantam in collaboration with some US Army officers . The commission forbade Willys from claiming directly or by implication , that it created or designed the Jeep , and allowed it only to claim , that it contributed to the development of the vehicle . However , American Bantam went bankrupt by 1950 , and Willys was granted the " Jeep " trademark in 1950 . The first CJs were essentially the same as the MB , except for such alterations as vacuum - powered windshield wipers , a tailgate ( and therefore a side - mounted spare tire ) , and civilian lighting . Also , the civilian jeeps had amenities like naugahyde seats , chrome trim , and were available in a variety of colors . Mechanically , a heftier T - 90 transmission replaced the Willys MB ' s T84 in order to appeal to the originally considered rural buyers demographic . Willys - Overland and its successors , Willys Motors and Kaiser Jeep supplied the U . S . military as well as many allied nations with military jeeps through the late 1960s . In 1950 , the first postwar military jeep , the M38 ( or MC ) , was launched , based on the 1949 CJ - 3A . In 1953 , it was quickly followed by the M38A1 ( or MD ) , featuring an all - new " round - fendered " body in order to clear the also new , taller , Willys Hurricane engine . This jeep was later developed into the CJ - 5 launched in 1955 . Similarly , its ambulance version , the M170 ( or MDA ) , featuring a 20 - inch wheelbase stretch , was later turned into the civilian CJ - 6 . Before the CJ - 5 , Willys offered the public a cheaper alternative with the taller F - head engine in the form of the CJ - 3B , a CJ - 3A body with a taller hood . This was quickly turned into the M606 jeep ( mostly used for export , through 1968 ) by equipping it with the available heavy - duty options such as larger tires and springs , and by adding black - out lighting , olive drab paint , and a trailer hitch . After 1968 , M606A2 and - A3 versions of the CJ - 5 were created in a similar way for friendly foreign governments . Licenses to produce CJ - 3Bs were issued to manufacturers in many different countries , and some , such as the Mahindra corporation in India , continue to produce them in some form or another to this day . The French army , for instance , produced its Willys MB by buying the Willys license to enable the manufacture of their Hotchkiss M201 . The World War II Jeep inspired many imitations . Creations from competing manufacturers such as Land Rover , Toyota , Nissan , Mitsubishi , Suzuki , and a few others all owe their beginnings in the 4x4 world to the inspiration of the Willys Jeep . The compact military jeep continued to be used in the Korean and Vietnam Wars . In Korea , it was mostly deployed in the form of the MB , as well as the M38 and M38A1 ( introduced in 1952 and 1953 ) , its direct descendants . In Vietnam , the most used jeep was the then newly designed Ford M151 MUTT , which featured such state - of - the - art technologies as a unibody construction and all around independent suspension with coil - springs . Apart from the mainstream of - by today ' s standards - relatively small jeeps , an even smaller vehicle was developed for the US Marines , suitable for airlifting and manhandling , the M422 ' Mighty Mite ' . Eventually , the U . S . military decided on a fundamentally different concept , choosing a much larger vehicle that not only took over the role of the jeep , but also replaced all other light military wheeled vehicles : the HMMWV ( " Humvee " ) . In 1991 , the Willys - Overland Jeep MB was designated an International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers . Postwar conversions . Filipino Jeepney . When American troops began to leave the Philippines at the end of World War II , hundreds of surplus jeeps were sold or given to local Filipinos . The Filipinos stripped down the jeeps to accommodate several passengers , added metal roofs for shade , and decorated the vehicles with vibrant colors and bright chrome hood ornament s . The Jeepney rapidly emerged as a popular and creative way to reestablish inexpensive public transportation , which had been virtually destroyed during World War II . Recognizing the widespread use of these vehicles , the Philippine government began to place restrictions on their use . Drivers now must have specialized licenses , regular routes , and reasonably fixed fares . Argentinian Autoar . Starting in 1950 , a Jeep - engined utility vehicle was produced by Autoar in Argentina . Starting from 1951 , a new sedan was introduced using the same 2199 cc Jeep engine and manual transmission . It was fitted with overdrive to compensate for the Jeep ’ s low axle ratio . In 1952 , a new overhead valve 3 - litre six - cylinder was announced , but was probably never built . At that time , Piero Dusio returned to Italy . In the 1950s , production was sporadic , and models built included a station wagon with a Jeep - type 1901 cc engine . Commemorative edition . In 2004 and 2005 Chrysler produced approximately 1 , 000 Willys Special Edition Jeep Wranglers . References . http : / / ww2db . com / vehicle _ spec . php ? q = 243 World War II Database