I’m a Jeep owner, a Jeep historian and a Jeep enthusiast. I’ve published more than a dozen Jeep articles. I’ve attended dozens of Jeep Jamborees and Camp Jeep events. I’ve driven a Jeep down the Rubicon Trail from start to finish, twice. So it pains me to write about the Jeep Jinx. But the facts are inarguable: virtually every company that’s owned the Jeep brand has fallen on hard times.
The original Jeep prototype was designed and built by a small company called American Bantam. The vehicle’s tendency to be both a curse and a blessing was assured from the start; the U.S. military liked it so much it they shoved Bantam aside. They commissioned competitors Willys-Overland and Ford to more or less copy the design.
In terms of perfecting the vehicle (including better torque), Willys-Overland did most of the heavy lifting. Not surprisingly, the feds gave Ford the nod for organizing mass production. Working together, the two automakers built some 600,000 examples.
After World War II, Ford got out of the Jeep-building business. Willys Motors produced the first civilian Jeep, the CJ-2A, on July 17, 1945. After a slow start (1824 units), sales of the farm-friendly vehicle took off. Willys manufactured the Jeep CJ-2A until 1949, racking up 214,202 sales.
The automaker replaced it with the CJ-3A. But agricultural sales dried up, as farmers turned to tractors. It was not the first time—nor the last–that Jeep found a market pulled out from under its feet, putting its corporate owners in financial jeopardy.
By 1953, Willys-Overland was struggling for survival. The ailing Kaiser-Frazer Corporation decided to buy Willys-Overland, ditch its own car business and produce Jeeps. The reconstituted Willys Motors, Incorporated was born.
In 1963, Willys became Kaiser-Jeep. Looking for new civilian markets, the company introduced the Wagoneer, the precursor to the modern SUV. While the recreational vehicle marketplace experienced sustained growth throughout the sixties, Kaiser-Jeep continued to lose money.
In 1970, American Motors (AMC)—who had its own bout with bankruptcy in 1967—purchased Kaiser’s Jeep operations. In spite of two oil crunches in the seventies, Jeep experienced rapid growth under AMC’s management. The market for dual-purpose vehicles expanded dramatically.
Unfortunately, AMC’s car-making operations were not competitive. Renault partnered with the troubled automaker, then seized control. As the eighties progressed, Renault fell on hard times. Sales of Renault-engineered small cars failed in the US market. The state-owned company also faced political difficulties in its home market.
Renault soon sold its stake in AMC to Chrysler, whose charismatic CEO Lee Iacocca coveted the Jeep brand. In 1987, AMC “merged” with Chrysler. In reality, Jeep was absorbed by Chrysler. This was no bad thing. Chrysler experienced one of the most-sustained growth periods in its history. The rising tide lifted all Jeeps.
This growth period was highly profitable for Chrysler, and Jeep. In 1992, Chrysler debuted the hugely successful Grand Cherokee, an AMC design. The American automaker’s success made it an attractive acquisition target for Daimler, who saw expansion as a way to avoid an unfriendly takeover. At the same time, Chrysler’s executives considered it an opportune time to “cash in their chips.”
And thus the now notorious “merger of equals” with Germany’s Daimler-Benz in 1998, forming DaimlerChrysler. DaimlerChrysler eventually sold most of its interest in Chrysler to Cerberus in 2007—even as Jeep produced some of the least worthy vehicles to ever wear the famous badge.
Two years later, Cerberus lost the rest of its stake as Chrysler descended into C11. With the fed’s help, Italy’s Fiat is pickng-up the pieces. To recap . . .
– Willys – Defunct, sold Jeep to Kaiser in 1953
– Kaiser-Jeep – Defunct, sold Jeep to American Motors in 1970
– American Motors – Defunct, absorbed by Chrysler in 1987
– Renault – Sold AMC to Chrysler in 1987
– DaimlerChrysler – Divested its Chrysler stake in 2007
– Cerberus – Bailed on Chrysler in run-up to Chrysler’s Chapter 11
– Chrysler – Sold to Fiat
Jeep is one of the world’s best-known brands. It was one of the pioneers of the sport utility category. Over the years, especially under Chrysler’s stewardship, Jeep sold millions of vehicles. The Wrangler is a worldwide icon. Until recently, the Grand Cherokee was a best-selling SUV, that sold 300,000 units annually.
But it core strength—go-anywhere capability—has always been its weakness. In other words, whether serving the military, farm owners, off-road enthusiasts or Soccer Moms, Jeep is a niche brand. As recent history has shown (e.g., Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, Saab, HUMMER, Volvo, etc.), large companies and niche brands make terrible bedfellows. Big companies seek volume above all; a tendency that tends to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
In fact, you could say that Jeep’s owners have been a jinx on Jeep. With Fiat eyeing Jeep as a way to help it grow to the size it thinks it needs to survive, one gets the distinct impression that bad things are about to happen. Again. Will Fiat be the company that ultimately breaks the Jeep Jinx?
[Read more of Rich Truedell’s work at automotivetraveler.com]
Nice review of the Jeep history.
As a Wrangler (TJ) owner, believe me I am taking care of it so that it lasts me for the rest of my life. But hopefully someone will buy and save the Jeep brand and especially the Wrangler (and cleanup it’s models) incase I need another one due to rolling mine. I’d also like one of those 2011 Grand Cherokees.
Save the Jeep!
Rather than call the Jeep a jinx, I think they’re the “ace up the sleeve” for each succeding buyer. When the parent company tanks, there’s still Jeep in the fold to make it more palatable for another buyer.
I call it the Jeep Lucky Charm.
Nice write up – or actually, depressing write-up, but very interesting. I’m wondering about the replacement parts market, if the auto suppliers begin tanking.
What do you think about the prospects for availability of parts in the years to come, Rich?
(Own a Cherokee Jeep, 1998 model).
Great article!
Out of curiosity, were those ads for surplus military Jeeps for $25 you’d see in newspapers and such true? I always heard the catch was you had to assemble it yourself.
One could paraphrase this article by merely saying Jeep has been untouched by GM, Ford or Volkswagen. The only consistently stable automakers since The War. Well, until recently.
What’s to fear? Panda Cross (Scout?), Wrangler, Wagoneer, Massif (Gladiator?) … you don’t really need anything else, unless you wanted a Dakota-based Honcho or something.
Out of curiosity, were those ads for surplus military Jeeps for $25 you’d see in newspapers and such true?
No.
Army surplus Jeeps (of the variety picture here) have not been available in any form, at any price, for a long time. I think the last batch of traditional-looking surplus Jeeps were actually sold by the Canadian army.
One thing I don’t know is what happened to the American Bantam company. Didn’t they make lots of money from licensing the design?
Thanks everyone for the comments. As someone who predicted the marriage of Chrysler and Fiat way back in November (http://automotivetraveler.com/jump/884) when everyone was talking a GM-Chrysler merger that would have resulted in a shut down of Chrysler, I had a vested interest in seeing yesterday’s Supreme Court decision go the way it did. I think that it was the best possible outcome for Chrysler’s employees, those that have survived the Daimler and Cerberus cuts over the last decade. The Chrysler that Fiat is taking over is radically different than the one Daimler-Benz acquired in 1998. It is in fact a shell of its former self.
With that being said, emerging as it is shed of debt, it is a lean, mean, fighting machine. Its core strengths, Jeep, Dodge Ram, minivans, and its upcoming 300C/Charger/Challenger platforms are intact. We should see its non-existent presence in the A- and B-segments about to be fixed with an influx of class-competitive designs coming in from Fiat (and Alfa Romeo with the MiTo) and the uncompetitive C- and D-segment vehicles (Caliber, Compass, Avenger, Sebring) replaced with Fiat platforms manufactured here in the US, as soon as 18-24 months from now.
I’m optimistic. After all, can Fiat possibly do any more damage than Daimler did? I think that you will see Chrysler return to an operating profit far quicker than GM will. They need to stay focused and if/when this horrific market recovers and credit again becomes available, they will be well-positioned to succeed. I’m sure others here don’t share my opinion and expect that this post will elicit some interesting responses.
To respond to Stein’s question, I don’t think replacement parts will be an issue. After all, I can still get parts for my sixties Ramblers at my local Auto Zone or NAPA parts counter. And remember what the letters J-E-E-P stand for; Just Everyone Else’s Parts.
As a post script, in trading on European exchanges, Fiat’s stock is up 6% today in the wake of yesterday’s Supreme Court decision. It would seem that others share my optimism.
Here’s a link to a pretty good page on the Jeeps in Cosomline myth…. Interesting reading.
http://wwiijeepparts.com/Archives/WW2JeepsInCrates.html
Nick R, I’m kind of one of the auto historians around here (and a member of the Automotive Historical Society) so, to respond to your question about American Bantam, they were given the booby prize of a contract to produce GP (Jeep) trailers for the US military during WWII, then folded up after the war.
I have also noted over the years about what I called the Jeep Curse, but I like “Jeep Jinx” better.
Not forgetting that Mitsubishi manufacture WWII style Jeeps for the Japanese military to this day, and um, let’s just say Mitsubishi Motors hasn’t been doing as well as it could…
Huh. Here was me thinking we liked the Japanese… and they were our allies! Ha.
My uncle did purchase a military surplus engine to run a sawmill once. It was new old stock, still in a huge wood crate. The engine was for a huge military truck, and was the longest flathead inline six I’d ever seen; it was longer than the old Buick inline eight that my uncle had been using the the sawmill.
Rich, you might be able to get some parts for your AMC at Napa, etc., but I have it on excellent authority from a customer that he was there when it happened.
When what happened, you ask? When Chrysler bought AMC, and lied about everything. They lied about keeping the Kenosha plant operating (it was closed and except for one engine plant, pulled down). They took tens of thousands of spare parts and literally took them on a barge and dropped them into Lake Michigan. (This was 1987, but I’m more than certain that they were breaking environmental laws even then). “AMC parts? We don’t want any stinkin’ AMC parts!”
They took tens of thousands of spare parts and literally took them on a barge and dropped them into Lake Michigan.
Are you kidding? Where? Must make for a funky looking artificial reef. I’d like to check it out.
Actually, I think you might be able to find an old jeep with some research and backhoe. I vaguely recall being told that when the Americans closed some military base waaay up north, they figured it was too expensive to fly out most of the equipment they had been asked to. So, they dug very large pits, put the used equipment in, and covered them up. Could just be a story though. Happy digging.
the Wagoneer, the precursor to the modern SUV
I would date it to the 1946 Willys Wagon; if four-wheel drive is a requirement for an “SUV” then date it to the 1949 Willys Wagon.
“In other words, whether serving the military, farm owners, off-road enthusiasts or Soccer Moms, Jeep is a niche brand.”
Well at least someone else besides me gets it. all this talk about “Chrysler is worthless, they only thing of any value is Jeep”, and yet the Dodge brand outsells them and always has. Dodge is the 6th best selling brand in the US. Dodge outsells the combined totals of Buick, Cadillac, Hummer, Pontiac, Saab and Saturn. But no, Jeep is the only thing worth saving.
A question for the historians here.In the old Popeye cartoons there was a little character called jeep.The little guy could walk through walls pick up rocks,basically go anywhere.
I always have wondered what came first the vehicle or the cartoon?
Eugene – The Jeep
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awPfD2pfV28
As a marketing guy first, and a Jeep guy after that, I’d have to take exception with your comments on a “niche” product/brand.
When you identify a niche and focus on it, only then can you dominate that market over the long haul. (Anybody can luck into a one-hit-wonder, but if you wanna own a category, you have to focus.)
Much of TTAC focuses (there’s that word again) on the need for automakers to take a brand, concentrate on a single market/feature/category, and do it well. Of all the brands out there, Jeep has historically focused on one thing – go anywhere, do anything vehicles. Mostly. Where they get in trouble is when they launch a vehicle (um…say the Compass) that doesn’t jive with the Jeep’s brand identity.
Of course, you can focus on a market that is too small, or one that evaporates when tastes change, or other market factors evolve (a fact that left most companies that focused on lucrative SUV and truck sales hurting when gasoline hit $4/gallon).
Jeep is not an albatross – quite the contrary – they’ve been bought, repeatedly, by companies that learn little to nothing from Jeep. Want proof? Try this little marketing exercise: in, say, four words or less, come up with something that accurately describes an entire brand.
Jeep = go anywhere
Chrysler = um…
Dodge = trucks, suvs, sports cars, um…
Not that easy, is it? It gets worse when you try to focus a brand like Chevrolet or Ford. Even the venerable Cadillac and Lincoln brands can’t really be focused, since they make luxury sedans, trucks AND SUVs.
Jeep is a quintessential American brand. They do one thing better than anybody (the Wrangler). If I were Fiat, I’d let Jeep be Jeep, fire the idiots that developed the Compass and Patriot, and turn the Wrangler into the K-car for the next decade, building a light-duty pickup, the current two- and four-door configurations, and adding a Diesel, while they try and perfect a fuel cell. Screw electric and hybrid – you can’t bloody well run an electric car in three or four feet of water…which is where you’ll find a Wrangler on a good day.
Stein X Leikanger: I’m wondering about the replacement parts market, if the auto suppliers begin tanking. What do you think about the prospects for availability of parts in the years to come, Rich?
More so than any of the current near-death brands, Jeep owners are in the best position should the manufacturer give up the ghost. Since buying my ’05, I have been well schooled by other Jeep owners in the fact that the aftermarket Jeep parts are far superior to most of the original Mopar components. I’ve only swapped out a few parts so far but the improvements are dramatic.
Thanks Stein That cartoon was old when I was young.
@William
Yes, I’ve had the same experience. Particularly when it came to the suspension. But I’m also wondering about the repercussions of the culling taking place amongst aftermarket parts manufacturers. We’ve been enjoying excellent quality parts so far – good thing we have unbreakable cars!
After all, can Fiat possibly do any more damage than Daimler did?
See IVECO… yes they can. I’m not sure if they actually will.
Fiat Group (to which Fiat Auto belongs) has a LOT of experience in mergers… courtesy of its commercial division IVECO.
I have mixed feelings about this one. I’m sure they will handle the merger well. I’m not sure about how they will influence Chrysler culture.
I just really, REALLY hope Chrysler doesn’t get Argentinian, Brazilian or both managing.
PS: I worked for the local IVECO branch.
I just hope Fiat doesn’t do something stupid like put IFS in the Wrangler.
I have a Patriot and it’s been just fine for the past few years, but that whole platform should die a quick death. The Patriot was a great idea coming out but shoddy interior quality and the CVT just killed its reputation. It did OK sales wise for the first year or so, and Chrysler moved quickly to upgrade the interior but I think the word of mouth damage was already done.
Jeep lineup should be GC, Wrangler (2 and 4 door) and Liberty.
I also agree with the author’s follow-up post; Chrysler has a much better shot at future success than GM, solely because I think Marichonne is a far better business man than anyone they have going over at GM. He already has a reputation for clearing out the old and dead wood of an organization, and that can make all the difference.
I think Marichonne is a far better business man than anyone they have going over at GM.
Add to him Mr. Luca Cordero di Montezemolo…
A few points:
American Bantam was not “shoved aside”. Bantam was a tiny car maker, and it was clear from the start that they couldn’t produce anywhere near the numbers required by the military. The gov bought the Bantam design outright from Bantam. The Army then awarded the contract to produce the new 4X4 (it was not yet known as the Jeep) to Willys, which also received rights to the design. Once the war started, Willys could not keep up with demand for the Jeep, so Ford received a contract to produce Jeeps under license. After the war, Ford wanted to continue production of the Jeep for the civilian market, claiming that they had as much right to the Jeep name as did Willys. Willys filed suit and Ford lost any rights to the Jeep name or design. Had it gone the other way, today you might be looking at Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Jeep.
They took tens of thousands of spare parts and literally took them on a barge and dropped them into Lake Michigan. (This was 1987, but I’m more than certain that they were breaking environmental laws even then). “AMC parts? We don’t want any stinkin’ AMC parts!”.
Chrysler attorneys probably made them do this for liability reasons. Today those parts would have gone to a recycler.
“Jeep is perhaps the most focused major American brand..”
I have to disagree. They’ve been horribly bastardized the last few years.
Commander: Grand Cherokee caught up in the retro-craze.
Compass: That ain’t no stinkin Jeep!
Patriot: Liberty overlap
2011 Grand Cherokee: Sucking the soccar moms out of their Land Rover.
Thank God they haven’t screwed up the Wrangler.
“Try this little marketing exercise: in, say, four words or less, come up with something that accurately describes an entire brand.
Jeep = go anywhere
Chrysler = um…
Dodge = trucks, suvs, sports cars, um…”
I can do this (I need more than 4 words) simply by focusing on what they used to be (in other words get back to your roots):
Jeep = go anywhere, do anything
Chrysler = near luxury, passion for engineering
Dodge = bold in your face design & performance
I hope that some of you go over to automotivetraveler.com (AT.com) and view the original post that was the basis for this one. This is my first effort at making a contribution on TTAC, and it is for me a bit different being the one “edited,” in this case working with Robert. Usually it is me working with my stable of contributors trying to add some polish to their work. TTAC is a bit edgier that AT.com. No, make that a lot edgier but that’s a good thing as this feature certainly benefited from Robert’s suggestions, especially to have it conform to the different format here.
With all that being said, I do hope that some of you do come over to AT.com and leave comments there as well.
Actually, while American Bantam didn’t strictly get “pushed aside”, in reality they did. Here’s the story as I recall reading it (and having it confirmed by reading several similar stories from different sources). (I’m the resident member of the Society of Automotive Historians around here).
The story actually went down like this; American Bantam’s product was an Americanized version of the British Austin 7 micro-car with tiny 4 cylinder engine, which was not large enough for the military contract proposed vehicle. The Bantam engine was less the 1/2 the desired power.
American Austin had gone bust early in the Great Depression and was reconstituted as American Bantam (a Bantam is a small, tough, sturdy and fiesty chicken – remember this was a different world then). No British connections any more, just tools, dies, machinery and a factory.
For the military prototype vehicle, Bantam procured a Hercules 4 cylinder industrial engine, and designed, engineered and fabricated a GP (general purpose 1/4 ton reconnisance 4 passenger all wheel drive vehicle) to Army specifications.
Bantam were apparently the ONLY company to get their proposal to the Army ON TIME.
The Army loved it.
Willys-Overland brought their prototype to the Army late, as did Ford. The Ford had a 4 cylinder engine and non-synchromesh crashbox both based upon the earlier Model A engine, which was its weakest point (and which was still in production as a tractor engine).
The Willys-Overland four cylinder engine (used in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s passenger cars) was the best engine out of the three.
Finally, after more prototypes were ordered and much more testing was done, the Willys proposal did beat the other two, with the Bantam being for all intents and purposes just about as good, the Ford – not so much.
The Army decided to standardize the design to make war-time parts procurement in the field easier (rather than ordering vehicles by both Bantam and Willys). They chose the Willys-Overland Jeep for several reasons, one of which being that Bantam’s Butler Pennsylvania plant did not have enough floor space or foundry. So Bantam were given the booby prize, a contract for Jeep trailers, which kept the plant occupied and sort of respected and honored Bantam’s efforts.
Ford’s design was scuttled, but later on when the Army declared that the Willys plant in Toledo was working flat-out and could not build Jeeps in high enough numbers, the Army simply contracted out the Willys-Overland Jeep design to Ford which built “GP’s” under an unpaid license at the demands of a war-time Government decree. Even so, this would have been highly illegal in non-wartime America, given that Jeep had patents on their design.
Jeep had no call to complain; they could not produce any more than they were, and it was at the behest of the Army that the vehicle was designed in the first place.
The big difference between a Willys-Overland Jeep from WWII and a Ford GP from WWII is apparently the front axle and I believe one front frame member, but I don’t know what that difference is in the axle.
After the war, Willys-Overland (Jeep) did obtain the rights to the vehicle and trademark. They essentially had destroyed the tools & dies for the Americar (passenger car line) so had nothing else to fall back upon when peace came about. The government could not put a faithful contractor out of business by not allowing them to produce their patents and designs after the war, if a use could be found for the vehicles in the free marketplace and never objected.
Checker Motors of Kalamazoo, Michigan (taxicab manufacturers) were in a similar plight (destroyed their tools & dies for scrap metal to go towards the war effort), and took about 2 years to develop and tool up a brand-new vehicle introduced at about the same time that Studebaker claimed they were introducing the first all-new post-war car. Needless to say, since no taxicabs had been built new since early 1942, by 1947 the New York, Chicago and other taxi fleets were pretty decrepid. When you put 100,000 miles a year on a car and it’s 5 years old…. you get the idea.
“Normal” passenger cars would scarcely last 100,000 miles “back in this day” by the way.
Checkers routinely ran 250,000 to 500,000 miles.
I am optimistic for the Fiat takeover just because of Marchionne taking over the CEO spot at Chrysler. Marchionne will be the first actual leader Chrysler has had since Iacocca.
based on the history above, I would say that Jeep is the “eye of the idol” that brings misfortune to whoever possesses it. Is there a way to short Fiat?
I was talking to the guy at the parts counter of my local Chrysler dealer the other day. He said that they’re having a hard time getting replacement parts for vehicles that are only 6 years old.
I was talking to the guy at the parts counter of my local Chrysler dealer the other day. He said that they’re having a hard time getting replacement parts for vehicles that are only 6 years old.
Jeep lineup should be GC, Wrangler (2 and 4 door) and Liberty.
Now that we have a four door Wrangler why do we need the Liberty? …. Or the Grand Cherokee? for that matter…Not to mention the rest of the lineup. Now that the Liberty has been ‘plumped’ to such Grand proportions, they are all pretty much the same. The Wrangler is just the most versatile of the bunch. I think they should just offer the Wrangler in various trim levels. I know some people have to have leather seats and what-not. Drop the name ‘Wrangler’ too. Just call it the ‘Jeep’…. I have owned four Wranglers and I have only ever referred to them as ‘the Jeep’. How’s that for trimmin’ some fat?
Other points regarding Bantam: If you’re running US422 going through Butler, PA (western side of town), there’s a state historical marker at the site of the original Bantam factory. The old building disappeared long ago, replaced by the usual suburban strip mall.
And to say Bantam was screwed was putting it mildly. The original prototypes for the GP vehicle in 1940 were made by Bantam, Willys-Overland and Ford. Bantam’s was by far the best of the three, so of course the government gives the final contract to the other two.
Doesn’t that government/automobile attitude seem a bit familiar?
Oh yeah, the justification was that they didn’t feel Bantam could ramp up production fast enough.
At the end of the war Willys-Overland (who made most of the Jeeps) had to sue to get the rights to the name. Bantam wasn’t fighting it, but Ford was.
Terrific recap on one of America’s enduring car brands. I am convinced Jeep jinxes or hexes its owners or vice versa.
The problem lies with Jeep’s owners. Jeep as a brand remains a cash cow. It throws off a lot of money and its owners invest little in return beyond what is required to maintain sales.
Unfortunately for Jeep, its owners usually plow that money into lousy cars that no one wants. Without Jeep, the owners would have been out of business long ago.
I am willing to wager that Fiat wants/will follow the same well-worn path described here.
FWIW Mahindra in India made CJ3ish Jeeps up until at least the early 90s and still makes some very Willy looking pickups for sale in Asia. Hotchkiss also made license built Jeeps for the French army that turn up in the collector market and there are several Filipino companies making replica body parts.
Isn’t FIAT run by Brazilians? They seem to be doing good.
windswords- Chrysler at one time was luxury luxury, not just near luxury.
I think the Chrysler name should just be eliminated
The Patriot/Compass don’t belong in Jeep because they’re Plymouths.
Jeep seems to extend the life of these companies instead of killing them.
Grimm- because you really can’t safely and comfortably drive a Wrangler on the road.
Unless you just think the GC should be a Dodge
Actually, I do remember seeing ‘Jeep-in-a-box’ kits for sale in the J.C. Whitney catalog, circa 1985. Never had much of an impulse to order one, but it would have made a hell of a project for Metal Shop class.
# BlueBrat :
June 10th, 2009 at 8:35 am
Great article!
Out of curiosity, were those ads for surplus military Jeeps for $25 you’d see in newspapers and such true? I always heard the catch was you had to assemble it yourself.
Great article. I am on my 6th Jeep. The first was a 60 something Willys Overland do Brasil powered by an I 6 F head engine. It was the same 6 the last Willys passenger car had when they went TU circa 1955. It was made in Sao Paulo Brazil. Fantastic vehicle. The rest were AMC and Chryco Wagoneers I still have an 88 Grand wagoneer. It is a real dinosaur.
I think the story about Chryco dumping AMC parts is BS. The Grand Wags went out of production in ’91. The 91s had the exact same driveline as the 80 and up AMC Wags. 360 AMC V8, AMC cased 727 tourque-flite, Dana 44 frontend and ether an AMC20 rear or a Dana 44 rear.
The Jeep name has suffered under recent years at Chrysler, most notably due to the introduction of the Patriot and the Compass (even though the Commander wasn’t a sales success, I love the look, they should have called it the Grand Wagoneer though and offered it with wood side panels).
The lineup should be –
Liberty – Unibody design, FWD based, but with a true 4WD option, relatively fuel efficient, but still capable offroad, small to medium sized.
Wrangler – 2 and 4 door and pickup (Scrambler) (can’t ignore how well those 4 door Wranglers sell, even though everything about the idea of a 4 door Wrangler is just so wrong in my mind…) body on frame, RWD and 4WD, live front and rear axles, the ultimate rock crawling machine. A 2 door Wrangler with a short pickup bed would be the ultimate utility vehicle.
Grand Cherokee – Unibody, RWD and 4WD, ultimate luxury onroad, almost as capable as a Wrangler offroad.
Most importantly though, the Wrangler needs a serious engine overhaul. The current V6 is awful, and the 4 cylinder is pretty bad too. The old 4.0 HO straight 6 was an excellent engine, smooth, torquey, and nearly indestructible. Put in a better V6 or engineer a new straight six (or take one out of the Fiat lineup, doesn’t Fiat own a performance brand or two with V12s they could chop in half?), and most importantly – put in a diesel!
Given how popular the short run of Jeep diesels were when they were first introduced to the US, I can’t see why they haven’t done it again. The Wrangler begs for a diesel, and I am sure Fiat has one in their stable they could use (and I believe the previous Jeep diesels were from VM Motori, which, as an Italian firm has to have some relationship with Fiat).
Hotchkiss of France (Of machine gun fame, and founded by an American) also produced Jeeps, and is now defunct, have been absorbed/merged by other firms.
On the other hand, Mahindra and Mihindra of India also produced Jeeps under license, and as far as I know is still making Jeep like vehicles (sans license I believe) and doing fairly well.
Edit –
Slow_Joe_Crow : You beat me to it while I was typing.
I checked out the “$25 Jeep” rumors in the 70s. It was semi-true. More like $100 on up, but only in lots of 500 or more, if I remember correctly. And no guarantees that they ran or were even complete.