The Civilian Jeep
The 1948 Jeep Jeepster. (Photos courtesy Stellantis PR archives)
The Willys-Overland Jeepster was a clever business plan and an early example of a crossover SUV with carlike features.
Introduced in April 1948 and produced through 1950, the Jeepster was conceived as a sporty two-door, convertible sports car for veterans of World War II, according to its page in Wikipedia.
The basic Jeepster (“VJ” internally) included numerous deluxe features and a high level of standard equipment. Among its carlike extras were whitewall tires, hubcaps with chrome trim rings, sun visors, deluxe steering wheel, wind wings, locking glovebox, cigar lighter, and continental tire with fabric cover.
Slab-Sided Design
Willys-Overland lacked the machinery to form deep-drawn fenders or complicated shapes, according to the Wiki report, so the vehicle line had to use a simple and slab-sided design.
“Industrial designer Brooks Stevens styled a line of postwar vehicles for Willys using a common platform that included the Jeep pickup and station wagon, as well as a sporty two-door open car that he envisioned as a sports car for veterans of World War II.
“After World War II, Jeep trademark owner, Willys (originally pronounced WILL-is), began producing and marketing the “CJ” (for Civilian Jeep) to farmers, foresters, and others with similar utilitarian needs. It also began producing the Jeep wagon, panel utility and pickup in 1946 and the Jeep truck in 1947.
The majority of the Jeepster’s hardware carried over from the Willys station wagon, including the entire drivetrain, front end, rear suspension, steering and four-wheel drum brakes. Its flat-topped rear fenders were taken from the Jeep truck line.
The drivetrain was Willys’ World War II-proven, 63-horsepower, 2.2-liter inline-4 “Go Devil” engine. The three-speed manual transmission had standard overdrive.
The Jeepster was only offered with rear-wheel drive, which limited its appeal with other Jeep customers. With plastic side curtains, its $1,765 price was about the same as a Ford Super DeLuxe Club convertible. But the Ford had roll-down windows, fancier styling and a V-8 engine.
Jeepster Not Popular
Limited by sparse advertising and an insufficient dealer network, the Jeepster did not catch on with the intended market segment. Still, a total of almost 20,000 were manufactured through 1950, with some leftover models sold in the 1951 model year.
The Jeepster name was revived in 1966 on a new model, the C-101 Jeepster Commando. American Motors Corp., Willys-Overland’s successor, removed Jeepster from the name for 1972, and production ended after 1973.
The 1967 Jeepster Commando.
