Classic Willys Jeeps Down in Moab

For our last post of the week, we extend today’s eye candy theme to lovers of jeeps, off-roaders and classic automobiles. I spotted these two shiny classics while I was in Moab for the Easter Jeep Safari last week and new that I’d have to post them here at Crave. Today was the perfect day.

The open-top model is a ’45 Willys Jeep. Willy-Overland produced this vehicle for the U.S. military WWII effort from 1941 to 1945 and then introduced it to the consumer market as the Willys CJ-2A in 1945.

The second vehicle is the 1949 Willys Jeep Wagon. According to Willys-Overland’s website, the Wagon became the world’s first SUV  that year when the company added a 72 hp six-cylinder engine and four-wheel drive. It’s considered the forerunner of today’s Jeep Cherokee and Commander.

Willys-Overland was purchased by Kaiser in 1953. In 1965, Kaiser retired the Willys name, and vehicles put out were henceforth called Jeep (a registered trademark of Willys-Overland since 1950). AMC purchased the brand in 1970 and Chrysler purchased AMC in 1987, bringing models like the Wrangler and Cherokee and the Jeep name  to the Chrysler Corporation.