The Willys Jeep (later Kaiser Jeep or AMC Jeep) is the civilian version of the Willys military Jeep of World War II.
The first Willys CJ prototype (the CJ-2) was introduced in 1944, and the same basic vehicle remained in production through seven variants and three corporate parents through 1986 when production of the Jeep model was officially ended.
The CJ-7 and CJ-8, were replaced in 1987 by a similar looking model, the Jeep Wrangler.
Also available was a two-wheel-drive variant, the DJ, made by AMC's AM General Division for the USPS which features a steel hard top and right hand drive.
By 1944, the Allies were confident the war would be won. This allowed Willys to consider designing a Jeep for the post-war civilian market. Documentation is scarce, but it seems that a Willys-Overland CJ-1 (for "Civilian Jeep-1") was running by May of that year. The CJ-1 was apparently an MB that had been modified by adding a tailgate, drawbar, and a civilian-style canvas top. None of the CJ-1s built have survived, and it is not known (at this writing) how many were built.
This pressing uncertainty,
Unstable: our chemistry.
Mere mortals, our fate we see.
Resisting, kicking, screaming
Consuming, on time we feed.
‘Till nothing remains to bleed.
But we’re still alive, alive…
We’re willing, we’re able but
We’ve broken our halos.
‘Til darkness entombs us,
Will no one exhume us?
‘Cause we’re still alive, alive, alive.
And all that we’ve saved for
And all that we’ve prayed for is