Wheel Icons: Jeep | Brampton, Mississauga
Wheel Icons: Jeep | Brampton, Mississauga
Posted on September 19, 2017
Oh, you never forget your first Jeep. Or your second, for that matter. She lingers in your heart forever, maybe because Jeeps have such a rich and storied history, from wartime utility origins to surf culture to movies, offroad adventures and pop music lyrics. And even if life forces you to accept another vehicle for some reason—why!?—you know you still wave to Jeep drivers, or give that knowing little nod of Jeep-appreciation in parking lots in and around Brampton and Mississauga. Here at the Team dealership, we love making Jeep lovers happy.
The Jeep began as a military vehicle in 1941. The brand has morphed and expanded mightily over time, and she’s also had her share of company owners: Willys-Overland was the originator, followed by Kaiser Motors, then American Motors, which was bought out by Renault and then by Chrysler. There followed a series of mergers: Daimler, Cerberus (a firm with investment ties to Dan Quayle), the US and Canadian governments, and now, of course, by Fiat. Saying that the free-spirited Jeep brand has an owner is kind of saying like a cat has an owner, right?
If you’ve ever wondered where to find other Jeepaholics, look no further than the Jeepers Jamboree, an event that launched in 1952 in Georgetown, California. And if you sometimes ask yourself how we ever lived without SUVs and where they came from, the Jeep Wagoneer was the first sport utility available to civilian folk. It replaced the Willys station wagon, offering drivers greater versatility with automatic transmissions and power brakes. The notoriously sexy-but-practical Cherokee came onto the market in 1974. Jeep even offered a pickup, the Jeep J-10, between 1974-1983, and we hear we can look forward to seeing another such truck in the future. The Wrangler stands tall as a fan favourite, capable of navigating the craziest conditions on and off road. Plus, who doesn’t love being able to remove their own car doors? My son-in-law still isn’t over having to sell his when he had kids.
Iconic in every way, Jeeps have appeared in numerous TV shows (Charlie’s Angels, Dukes of Hazzard, Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, among others) and movies including Jurassic Park (who can forget the Wrangler YJ with the square headlights?), The Goonies, and Furious 7. Jeeps have also inspired many songs through the years, including (but definitely not limited to) Krista Marie's Jeep Jeep, Sugar Magnolia by The Grateful Dead, and the eternally catchy Jeepster by Marc Bolan. Rapper R. Kelly may have a Jeep obsession, but we’ll leave it to you to Google those lyrics.
Whether you covet a genuine classic or you’re excited by the possibility of a 2018 Grand Wagoneer throwback model, we’re with you: when you love a Jeep, it’s eternal.
Share your Jeep love stories past and present with us at Team Chrysler.