1976 Jeep Of Canada Lineup Brochure

The year was 1974. The jeep in its civilian form had been trucking along for nearly 30 years. The original wagon was gone, but there was the Wagoneer, the first full sized SUV that gave birth to all of the modern SUVs on the road today. Jeep had the CJ, of course, as well as the J-trucks, but there was something missing from its lineup, something mid-sized with an appeal to a family that wanted and needed something smaller than a Wagoneer. It was the jeep that Jeep nicknamed “the Jeep and a half,” the Cherokee that debuted that year. It was poised to place Jeep in a better position to go up against the likes of the International Scout, the GMC Jimmy and Ford’s Bronco. Families were looking something a bit less spartan than the CJ, larger than a pickup, but not as large as the Wagoneer and that package came in the Cherokee, SJ.

The Cherokee became the jeep for young families and as well had the benefit of automatically placing the Wagoneer into a new category, that of the luxury and prestige vehicle. The Cherokee was offered as a two door model that was similar to the Wagoneer’s four doors and for the first time a jeep was offered with front power disc brakes and Saginaw power steering as well as an open knuckle Dana 44 that, especially helped the Wagoneer to reduce its turning radius. The Cherokee was no slouch in its class. While its older big brother came with the 360 or 401 V-8 standard, the Cherokee had the solid 258 inline six.

The Cherokee came in a base and an ‘S’ trim model as well as a Cherokee Chief trim level. Forty years ago is a long time, but the Cherokee had a lasting impact that can be felt until just recently. The first incarnation of the Cherokee, the SJ continued on until 1983 and its second remodel, the XJ soldiered on until 2001. In honor of the Cherokee’s 40th anniversary enjoy this full 1976 model lineup brochure from Jeep of Canada that was sourced from the auto enthusiasts website, a “web magazine/blog” Lov2xlr8.  The Cherokee of course isn’t the only thing to enjoy in it! Come back next week for lots more of the best of the jeep since 1940!