Now & Then

The 1945 CJ-2A lives on in the 2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

- Alisa Priddle

Seventy years is a long time. Few vehicles can date their lineage back that far. Fewer still can trace back anything more than a few signature design cues. Then there’s Jeep and the iconic Wrangler, which can draw a direct line in the sand of Omaha Beach back to World War II military vehicles and the civilian SUVs they inspired.

Pulling a 1945 Willys-Overland CJ-2A from FCA’s heritage collection and lining it up against a 2019 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon is a humbling experience for the homage the current JL pays to its past.

As MotorTrend celebrates its 70th anniversary, we take you on a bit of a walkaround of two Jeeps, both built in Toledo but 73 years apart. We hope you’re as pleasantly surprised by this tale of morphing as we are.

Quick history recap: The original jeeps were designed for military use only. “Jeep” was a nickname then, derived either from slurring the GP reference to its “General Purpose” vehicle moniker or from Eugene the Jeep, the mystical creature from the Popeye cartoon strip. Government specs called for a 1,200- pound, three-passenger vehicle with an 80-inch wheelbase that a burly sergeant could drag out of the mud. It had to have 45 horsepower, and the windshield had to fold flat so it could fit in a shipping crate sideways, with room for the four tires.

The specs were derived by government officials, not auto engineers, for a vehicle to replace motorcycles and army mules, explains Brandt Rosenbusch, FCA’s Historical Services manager. Of 135 companies approached, Willys and Bantam responded. In the end, neither met the unrealistic weight requirements, and Willys ended up making a version of the Bantam concept, having the wherewithal for high-volume production and a 60-hp Go Devil four-cylinder engine.