Jeep takes up arms for 75th anniversary

JEEP is going back to its World War II roots with range-wide special editions to celebrate the brand’s 75th anniversary this year.

Pitched at global markets and due to be launched in the United States in the first quarter of this year, the global Jeep 75th Anniversary range is a lock for Australia, although exact timing and pricing is yet to be confirmed.

Best bet from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Australia is the second quarter of 2016, at least for some models.

The interest generated by the special editions will be sorely welcome at the local branch of FCA where managers are digesting last year’s 19.7 per cent slump in Jeep sales against a background of booming SUV sales by other brands.

Earlier this week, FCA chopped Renegade prices by up to $2500 just three months after the local launch.

Jeep was born in about March 1941 when the United States military placed its first order for the Willys MA – the rugged, utilitarian all-wheel-drive vehicle that thousands of American GIs would affectionately dub Jeep.

The origins of the Jeep nickname are disputed, with many pundits arguing that it came from the “general purpose” (GP) designation for the vehicle, and others suggesting it was named after a character from Popeye cartoons.

Whatever the origins, Jeep became part of American lore, and 75 years later, the brand’s designers have drawn inspiration from the original military livery for diamond anniversary specials for Wranger, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Cherokee, Renegade, Compass and Patriot.

Jeep has come up with a military style green paint job for each of the models, in three hues depending on the model – Sarge Green (Wrangler, Wrangler Unlimited), Recon Green (Grand Cherokee, Cherokee, Patriot and Compass) and Jungle Green (Renegade).

The green paint is offset by satin bronze wheels and other features, including special badges.

If green is not your style, a variety of other body colours will be available.

Each anniversary edition will come with a range of extras, depending on the model. The Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited get the longest list, with items ranging from heated leather-trimmed seats to Dana heavy-duty axles.

So far, we only have the list of American variants, and that is likely to vary somewhat on the Australian versions as items such as SiriusXM satellite radio are unavailable here.