1978 Jeep Lineup Brochure

Like the brochure says, “We can take you to Jeep Country!” 1978 was a good year for jeep, still moving along strong with the jeep making that steady progression towards becoming less of a work vehicle and more of a family and fun vehicle. And it was a success. On June 27 of 1978, the 150,000th jeep assembled rolled off the Toledo factory floor, a CJ-7 Renegade that went to the governor of Ohio, James Rhodes. It was a boom time, plans were made to expand production at the Toledo plant and AMC announced plans as well to convert its Brampton, Ontario plant to produce CJs. There were just under 2,000 dealers in the US and Canada that sold over 162,000 units. That’s alot of jeeps by any standard!

And the jeep itself as well as its purpose was evolving. Little things that we take for granted were now made standard like front disc brakes and passenger side mirrors. It may seem like a lifetime ago when these models and special editions like the Renegade package and the Golden Eagle were introduced but in some ways these jeeps seem like a modern advertising push. This brochure is a gem of details from the auto enthusiasts website, a “web magazine/blog” Lov2xlr8. Check the whole brochure out here.

Check out everything that this brochure contains from tire and engine choices to specs and colors and trims, not to mention the Levi’s fabric choices for the Golden Eagle package. Enjoy it and enjoy your weekend and take a moment to think of the fallen service members who have given everything for you on this Memorial Day.

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!

From Jets To Jeeps

Its another beautiful Sunday in early spring (at least it still feels early....) and I find myself in the same quandry that I do when composing an update every Sunday- what to bring out? Well, I have a ton of stuff. More than enough to supply me with stuff to write about and pack the website with for a few years I’m sure. But what to present to you guys today? I was planning on more from Lov2xlr8 today, but I’ve a few big catalogues up next and I’d like to do a bit more research when I present them and I frankly don’t have the time this morning. So it was onto two more ideas that I had as backups and then I realized that they weren’t as short as I thought they would be. I had found so much more that they deserved a better writeup than I can do this morning. 

So today we have this Fram ad which I have always loved. Its not much but I hope that you like it. I love the jet taking off with the jeep in the foreground as a great contrast from big to small. Its another classic of ad design when a jeep was simply a small go-anywhere and do-anything runabout. And this certainly wasn’t the first time a jeep was used in advertising. Check out more here.

Next week I’ll be out of town for the weekend so I won’t be able to present anything, but I wish everyone a great day. Get out there and enjoy it and come back in two weeks for more of the best of the jeep since 1940!

Sunday, April 27, 2014- ‘Jeep’ The 2-Car Cars Ad Campaign

The concept of the jeep as a dual purpose vehicle was an idea and a selling point to Willys-Overland right from the very beginning of the first CJ. But it wasn’t an idea that truly took off for the company until the 1960’s when Americans started using these rough little brutes in a big way for not only work, but play. Meanwhile the ad men at work selling the jeep realized this dual nature as well starting right back at the old station wagon ‘Two City’ ad campaign of the late 1940’s and early 50’s when they emphasized the appeal of the jeep worldwide showing the wagon at home from Montreal to Miami, from Johannesburg to Jacksonville. I liked those ads and then more ads with the message of dualities in the jeep appeared in what I presented last week with the ‘Twice The Fun, Twice The Safety’ ads. These came along just two to three years before these ads today of 1969. I think that they cleverly pointed out that one jeep in your household would fulfill two purposes for the burgeoning American market that wanted something practical and something fun to use with the growing free time that the middle class had. Another thing that I love about these particular ads is that they list in their margins the magazines that would be running them. Check them all out here.

These ads were once again found at the wonderful auto enthusiasts website, a “web magazine/blog” Lov2xlr8. I’ve been cleaning up the site for the last few weeks. Its a big chore! Please let me know if you find any broken links or something that could use a refresher or fixing. I’m now about 3/4 of the way through the work that I’m completing after the big loss of data back last fall. I’ve been happy with the way things are shaping up. What do you think? Shoot me an email about anything you’d like atthisoldjeepdotcom@gmail.com. 

I’ve also been wanting to promote the idea of showcasing a reader’s builds and/or stories. I’ve always been fascinated with how other people got into their love affair with the jeep and what they drive and work on and why. I’d love to have you on these pages with your jeeps. Like to chat for a bit? Email at the address above and you could be gracing the pages of This-Old-Jeep.com. Come back next week for lots more of the best of the jeep since 1940!

Get Twice The Fun And Twice The Safety In These Ads

Hello again everyone! First off, Happy Easter and/or Passover time to you! We’re going to have just a quick update today as its a holiday and today is going to be super busy for me. Not only is it going to finally be a beautiful Sunday weather wise, but I have a bunch of things to do around the house today. My two sons got their first two wheel bicycles so I have some bikes to assemble and training wheels to put on, then I have to change the oil in my wife’s jeep and get some spring cleaning done all before dinner tonight. Going to be a fun, but a long day!

So today we have some quick ads for the Gladiator and the Wagoneer, which I’ve nicknamed the Twice The Fun, Twice The Safety ads for the message. It got across to the American audience that these new 1960’s models were not only could a four wheel drive vehicle be safe, but fun too, an increasingly important sales theme at this time of the early SUV era. These ads were all collected at the auto enthusiasts website, a “web magazine/blog” Lov2xlr8. Unfortunately, the resolution of them were all pretty low, so they aren’t the best of scans, but you’ll get the idea of these classic ad designs and their beauty. Check them all out here.

Come back next week for more of the best of the jeep since 1940 and have a great week!

1965 Gladiator Pickup Brochure

Today we’re getting another look at brochures that I’ve found via the auto enthusiasts website, a “web magazine/blog” Lov2xlr8. There are literally years and years worth of vintage brochures and ads here. Today, we’re going to continue to plow through them with a short, but sweet look at the 1965 Jeep Gladiator pickup.

The Gladiator was a refreshing look at Willys long in the tooth, but still in production pickup truck. The Gladiator was a successful attempt by Kaiser to freshen up their offerings. Introduced in 1963 alongside the revolutionary Wagoneer, arguably the grandfather of modern SUVs, it was a tough and good looking pickup.  It was powered by the same offering as the Wagoneer, the also brand new 230 OHC Tornado. By 1965 it was offered with an optional V-8, the Vigilante 327 that gave it a horsepower bump and a big jump in torque.

The Glad was available as the J-200, a 120 inch wheelbase one ton pickup in a standard pickup and bed combo (the ‘Townside’) and many variations such as a step side ‘Thriftside,’ a stripped down chassis only, stakeside and flatbed options. It was also offered as the J-300, a 126 inch wheelbase with the possibility of a dually rear.

Any way you ordered it was and continues to be a great looking truck. I had the distinct honor of test driving a ’69 a few years back with the Dauntless V-8 350 and it was a beast! This brochure is a beaut as well and one that was sent out to a German speaking audience. And in case you were wondering... the tagline “Gladiator ist Ansehnlich und Ausdauernd!” translates to “good looking and rugged!” Yep!

Come back next week when I plan on continuing the look into the Lov2xlr8 brochures. In the meanwhile if you like the look of these trucks check out my latest t-shirt designs now for sale in our online store.

Sunday, April 6, 2014- Website Finds- Jalopy Journal And The H.A.M.B.

I’m glad to finally be back with a regular Sunday update! Sorry about last week, but thanks for understanding. I don’t usually get sick too easily or often, but my wife, two sons and I were laid low last week with this bug that was going around. We’re all on the mend now. I give my thanks to Robitussin and antibiotics.

Today I wanted to cover another website find. I think that it has gone around the usual channels a few times of the random and previously undiscovered vintage jeep photos that can be found at the Jalopy Journal. The Jalopy Journal is a website dedicated to “spreading the gospel of traditional hot rods and customs to hoodlums worldwide.” I love it. I’ve always had a soft spot for hot rods and old builds and ironically enough their forum which is called the H.A.M.B. (short for the Hokey Ass Message Board!) has been a source for oft overlooked jeep photos. A good example is the thumb at the top, a random CJ spotted on an Atlanta street corner.

The source of these finds has been one thread in particular which among online forums has lived an epic life- the “Vintage Shots From Days Gone By” thread that began back in December of 2009, nearly five years ago now compiling an astounding number of  submitted and found photos, including alot of jeep shots. I’ve been combing through this thread for months now and its always interesting, shots from the turn of the century to the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s and up. You just don’t know what you’re going to find next. And at some 4,500 pages as of this morning, well, it’ll take you awhile to get through! Check out what I’ve found thus far in the Website Finds album here and some of my favorites below. I’m not sure what I’ll be up to next week, but come on back for more of the best of the jeep since 1940!