"Just Jeepin'" (macintux)
07/12/2018 at 10:40 • Filed to: Jeep Experience, Jeep, Wrangler
5
21|
"Just Jeepin'" (macintux)
07/12/2018 at 10:40 • Filed to: Jeep Experience, Jeep, Wrangler | 5
| 21 |
As best as I can tell from the Czech page where I found the image, this is a Ford GP, built for testing and export to allies before the U.S. military finalized what became the Willys MB/Ford GPW, later to be nicknamed the Jeep.
In
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I laid out some of the reasons I believe the Jeep Wrangler has held such a prominent location in the U.S. psyche. This installment is about a more personal motivation.
I started researching Jeeps for their utility and versatility. I wanted something I could drive into the wilds in the snow to take photographs. I wanted something I could more easily clean: my dog at the time left hair everywhere. (You should have seen the black Civic I traded in when I bought my Jeep; the seats were practically white with her hair.) And I definitely wanted a convertible.
But when I decided it was time to buy one, another thought was firmly lodged in my brain. I won’t claim it was the reason I bought my Wrangler, but a commitment I made to myself when I did.
To me, a Jeep is, at its core, a community service vehicle.
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The original Jeep was born in wartime. For anyone unfamiliar with the Bantam story, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .
(Trivia note: reportedly the grille you see at the top of this article was later simplified by Henry Ford himself so it would be easier to stamp out in the factory. The 9-slot grille, then, is a distinctly Ford creation, later remade into a 7-slot grille for civilian use with the—I assume intentional—result that it could be trademarked by Willys.)
The Jeep was born for war but not as an offensive weapon. It was not a tank, designed to crush everything in its path. It wasn’t an armored personnel carrier. It was a reconnaissance vehicle, a communications tool, a response to the Blitzkrieg , but not ultimately a machine designed to kill opposing troops.
After the war it continued to be a utilitarian service vehicle. The first Willys consumer Jeeps were positioned as agricultural jack-of-all-trade tools[*], complete with a power take-off to plow fields, dig trenches, or whatever else a farmer might need. The U.S. Postal Service famously used the right-hand drive !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for many years, and the Wrangler Unlimited is still in use today in some rural areas.
U.S. Postal Jeep
(* More trivia: the first consumer Jeep prototypes, the CJ-2, were called AgriJeep in acknowledgement of their intended market. I’m grateful I didn’t have to shout “Nice AgriJeep!” to the guy I passed a few days ago on the north side of Indy.)
Green Arrow responding to a report of giant ants in Bornego.
Even Green Arrow found the CJ useful, as revealed by !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in the first season of Super Friends , when he was summoned to rescue the shrunken heroes.
And while I don’t fancy myself to be as useful in a crisis as Green Arrow has proven himself to be, I did picture myself able to help people stuck in the snow (not entirely uncommon in these parts), or alongside the road for any other reason.
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And so when I bought it, I promised myself I’d make myself and my Jeep useful to the community around me. I took some emergency medical classes,
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(although for various stupid reasons I’m no longer a member), and have done a credible if imperfect job of providing roadside assistance on an irregular basis.
My only attempt at snow recovery so far wasn’t successful, but a 2 ton vehicle was never likely to be able to snatch a Ford Explorer which had buried itself in the snow and mud.
I have however been able to tow stranded vehicles (including a 1960 Buick owned by a local automotive celebrity !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and 5 different Batmobiles), put my Jeep in a body shop pulling a woman out of a ditch (long story replete with stupidity), helped people evacuate from a flood zone and provided overnight security, and have given stranded motorists a ride to and from gas stations on several occasions (an upscale restaurateur in St. Louis still owes me dinner—don’t think I’ve forgotten, Ben).
Among my best memories: twice in two weeks I gave a ride to people who were walking, after midnight, many miles through a remarkably un-pedestrian-friendly city out of desperation (including a high school boy kicked out of his house by his drunk abusive father, sigh).
I definitely don’t recommend it to everyone: women in particular, sadly, would be ill-advised to pick up random hitchhikers... but I’ve been able to help some people in genuine need, and I’m grateful I’ve been in the right place at the right time on multiple occasions.
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While I don’t recommend you pick up random strangers, I do ask you emulate me in one particular.
I take daily advantage of the fact that a lunatic in a bright yellow naked Jeep is hard to ignore. (Ok, you don’t have to emulate me to that level of specificity, although a yellow Jeep can make anyone’s life better.)
How, you may ask? By alerting people to broken brake lights! Please, speak up when you see this, because clearly not enough drivers do.
Now that I pay close attention, roughly twice a month I see someone with no brake lights at all, and every day there are at least a half dozen cars with one or more missing lights.
See? It’s not so hard to make a difference in your community. Just, y’know, don’t get shot by someone who thinks you’re being accusatory about it. Smile as you let them know they’re endangering themselves and everyone around them.
Posing for a beauty shot outside Brooksburg, Indiana, which I can guarantee you’ve never heard of.
And do think about getting yourself a yellow Jeep. It might just change your life.
random001
> Just Jeepin'
07/12/2018 at 10:49 |
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Fine, I’ll get a yellow Jeep. Jeez
, so much community pressure!
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random001
> Just Jeepin'
07/12/2018 at 10:53 |
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I keep vacillating
between Used JK and new JL. That
~$10k could buy a lot of parts, but the JL is so nice...
CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
> Just Jeepin'
07/12/2018 at 10:57 |
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Speaking of Ford made Jeeps. I had one next to me at the vintage truck show. I had to listen all day long to plebs telling their wives that the owner must not know that Ford and Jeep are different companies.
Extremely frustrating to say the least.
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Just Jeepin'
> random001
07/12/2018 at 11:00 |
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I think you’ll regret not going with the JL. Being able to drop the windshield in just a few minutes is great, ignoring all the other improvements.
If you go used, consider an LJ.
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Just Jeepin'
> CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
07/12/2018 at 11:03 |
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When I bought my Jeep, I was better-educated than many Jeep buyers, but there’s always so much to learn about a brand with that much history. I can’t blame them too much; 75 years is a long, long time.
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random001
> Just Jeepin'
07/12/2018 at 11:03 |
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And the easier soft t
op with the really easily stolen rear windows...
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Just Jeepin'
> random001
07/12/2018 at 11:05 |
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I try to go all summer without any top at all, making that less of a concern, but it helps being a single guy.
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random001
> Just Jeepin'
07/12/2018 at 11:16 |
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I’ve been told to avoid the power soft top, but it just seems to make so much sense.
Problem is, without having a Jeep, I don’t know how I can use it, you know? Just get one of those soft tops to keep most of the water out? Maybe, and leave it open. Or close the car up during the day, and if it rains
, but otherwise open? Hard top in the winter, or soft top only? So many options, so little knowledge....
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Just Jeepin'
> random001
07/12/2018 at 11:20 |
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Ah, well, you’ll just have to wait for my post on that very subject!
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random001
> Just Jeepin'
07/12/2018 at 11:28 |
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Don’t make me wait too long!
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Just Jeepin'
> CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
07/12/2018 at 13:26 |
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(Incidentally, I don’t think I could have kept myself from standing there “well actually”ing everyone, so I commend you on your restraint.)
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CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
> Just Jeepin'
07/12/2018 at 13:39 |
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I admit, I “well actually’d” one guy. But I don’t have the time or energy to do that all day long. I already hated myself for sitting in a lawn chair next to my truck at a car show.
I don’t want to fully commit to the “ weird old man at a car show” character, I’m still far too young.
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Just Jeepin'
> CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
07/12/2018 at 13:56 |
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Perhaps surprisingly I’ve been to very few car shows, and I still have yet to get comfortable with that dynamic.
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CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
> Just Jeepin'
07/12/2018 at 14:01 |
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I honestly don’t really care for car shows. I don’t attend many. I went to this one because I am involved with the Vintage Truck Museum where it was held.
It was the first time I showed something too. Normally, I am a spectator and leave after about an hour out of boredom.
gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee
> Just Jeepin'
07/12/2018 at 14:20 |
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I get all kinds of blank stares when I start talking to normals about Kaiser and even AMC.
But not long ago there was this:
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Just Jeepin'
> gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee
07/12/2018 at 14:25 |
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A Comanche plays a minor role in my eventual Jeep Wave post. I must admit I’ve never been overly fond of them, preferring the Gladiators or ideally an M715, but it’s unfortunate there are so few of them left standing (rolling?).
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gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee
> Just Jeepin'
07/12/2018 at 20:48 |
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The MJ is to the XJ what the J-trucks are to the full-size J eeps. Like the XJ it doesn’t have the same panache as a Wagoneer, no, but the XJ is still iconic in its own way, and the MJ carries all that, plus the utility of a truck. It also was the heaviest hitter in its market segment, outperforming many half-tons with 2200 lb payload and 5000lb tow capacities, and big hp numbers for the late ‘80's. Unfortunately Chrysler didn’t like building them because they competed with the Dakota, and couldn’t turn as high a profit margin as the XJ while taking up spots along the same assembly line. So it remains a pretty small blip in the public memory. Also as a truck it’s a lot less noticeable, because all the average person sees is an old small truck. But I kinda like the anonymity.
I may also have a strong bias.
AdamG8GXP
> Just Jeepin'
11/29/2018 at 13:34 |
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Yup, hard to keep track of
all the bankruptcies
, different corporatio
ns (this is new Chrysler, or is it Fiat, it was even German)
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AdamG8GXP
> random001
11/29/2018 at 13:35 |
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Nobody stole my soft top parts or stuff from 14 Wrangler Unlimited when it was parked with soft top on
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Just Jeepin'
> gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee
11/29/2018 at 13:37 |
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I just wrapped up a series of posts on Jeep Trucks over the years. Unfortunately by the time I got to the Comanche I was exhausted from lack of sleep and didn’t do enough research to find more interesting talking points, but please feel free to chime in.
https://oppositelock.kinja.com/jeep-trucks-an-incomplete-history-the-amc-chrysler-ye-1830685755
Federally
> random001
01/25/2020 at 21:04 |
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I was in the same position you were in a while back, and I picked up a ‘14 JK. I have no regrets.
JLs are nice but I can’t bring myself to spend more then $25k on a vehicle.
I don't want my little bit of Jeep freedom to be a financial burden.