Though 647,000 units were made for the war, the huge number of post war surplus vehicles was popular among macho young men

During the World War II almost all the warring nations tried to develop light combat vehicles for reconnaissance and to quickly move troops over rough ground to areas of conflict. The Germans, French, Russians and Japanese all made many prototypes including a bizarre French vehicle made by Citroen with two small engines at the front and rear that could be used individually or together. Surprisingly it saw combat service right up to the Vietnam and Algerian conflicts till 60’s. The most successful by far was however, the American Willy’s Jeep first made in 1941 that served in almost every theatre of war. Though 647,000 units were made for the war, the huge number of post war surplus vehicles was very useful on farms and popular among macho young men who wanted a rugged low cost car. This popularity was to later breed the craze for sophisticated SUV’s.

The name Jeep is believed to have been a compression of the letters GP that had stood for General Purpose. Although 135 companies had been invited to make it only Ford and a small company called Willy’s submitted prototypes. As Willy’s was small and hungry, they were the first to meet the tight deadline with their BRC or Bantam Reconnaissance Car. It was light and cheap having no doors and windows, a flat folding windscreen and a canvas roof.

Though tough the Jeep was small and narrow with a length of 3.36 metres and weighing 1,100 Kg and had a three-speed gearbox with a lever to engage all four rugged wheels and was powered by a basic 4-cylinder petrol engine. A short 200 cm wheelbase made it very maneuverable but though the high clearance was good on bad terrain, it was not much stable at speed that was restricted to about 100 kmph. All these made it tough, reliable, easy to repair and cheap to make. Fuel consumption and pollution were not big issues in wartime. The Jeep was soon on the frontline of all allied combat and used not only for reconnaissance but for generals and other officers who wanted to quickly get close to the action. Its immediate popularity generated many variants mounted with machine guns and even cannon as well as for use as a field ambulance or as an ultra light truck to move ammunition, food, medicines and supplies to frontline troops.

After the war the Jeep was acquired turn by turn by Kaiser Motors, American Motor Corporation (AMC), Chrysler Corporation and Daimler Benz. Mahindra & Mahindra got the license to make it in India in 1960. It was also made under license in 22 countries by companies like Renault, Toyota, Mitsubishi and Kia. Its nimble and sporty profile also spawned copies by almost every auto company.

Britain’s Land Rover had been launched in 1948 as a bigger and much more comfortable all purpose vehicle and as the auto industry grew, many car companies tried to fuse the off-road capabilities of a Jeep with those of a luxury car and BMW claimed to have offered the first Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) when they launched their X5 in 1999. Today there is a dizzy range of SUVs from all the car companies including the sporty Porsche Cayenne and the most

expensive SUV of them all — the 429 hp Bentley Bentagya. With fusion being the name of the game, SUVs were followed by `crossover’ cars with the comforts of a sedan and the looks of a SUV. The DNA of the humble Jeep had indeed come a long way.

(The author is the region’s most celebrated automobile columnist)