By N2H

Recent Articles


Subscribe to RSS feed

The Evolution Of The Jeep Cherokee

June 14th, 2008 by shenron

Sport utility vehicles have been around for a long time and they serve a number of different purposes. Some people drive an SUV because they need the stability and performance available during bad weather, others drive an SUV because of the added passenger and cargo room available, others utilize an SUV because their driving habits include going off road, and finally there are those that drive an SUV because of the status of having a more expensive car. One of the more popular sport utility vehicles for a number of years has been the Jeep Cherokee. It was one of the first successful SUVs and it made its name performing well in off road situations. The Jeep Cherokee has gone through a number of changes over the years and remains popular with outdoors enthusiasts as well as Jeep afficionados.

The Jeep Cherokee SJ series started production in 1974 and was manufactured by the Jeep brand of the American Motors Corporation (AMC) until 1983. The Cherokee was originally marketed as a more sporty version of the Jeep Wagoneer that had been manufactured since 1963. In fact, the early Jeep Cherokees shared a large number of features and parts with the older Jeep Wagoneer. One of the large attractions to the early Jeep Cherokees was the fact that if someone were to own one that had been assembled with the 6.6 liter V-8 engine, it was far faster than any other similar four wheel drive vehicle in the marketplace, it had no problem reaching highway speeds greater than 100mph. The SJ series of Jeep Cherokee was developed originally as a two door vehicle and a four door version was not added to the line until 1977.

Jeep Cherokee - 1992

The Jeep Cherokee SJ series ended production in 1983, and the XJ series started production the following year. The Cherokee XJ was popular and stayed in production from 1984 through the 2001 model year. The XJ was a more compact version of the original Jeep Cherokee SJ and many attribute it as the first of the modern SUVs based on it being used by many people in place of normal passenger cars. The Jeep Cherokee XJ was immitated by other automobile manufacturers and soon after its introduction the market was suddenly flooded with a great number of SUV options for buyers to consider purchasing. The Cherokee XJ was available thorugh its entire run in both two and four door versions.

The plan that Jeep, then under the ownership of Chrysler, had was to phase out the Jeep Cherokee XJ and phase in the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Due to its popularity though, it was decided to go ahead with the introduction of the Jeep Grand Cherokee even though they would continue production of the Cherokee XJ at the same time. The Jeep Grand Cherokee began production in 1993, it had been intended to hit the market in the late 1980’s but was moved to a non-priority project when Chrysler decided to focus on redesigning and marketing their mini vans. The Grand Cherokee was immensely popular upon its initial release and has remained so throughout its production run. In the first year of production, 1993, Jeep also made a luxury version of the Grand Cherokee that was sold as the Jeep Grand Wagoneer. In 1999, the Grand Cherokee was extensively redesigned including having the structure of it stiffened greatly using Porsche Engineering. The redesign of the Grand Cherokee in 2004 included many modern options like rear seat DVD players and an optional 5.7liter Hemi V-8. Only minor changes have been made to the Grand Cherokee since those last design changes.

Jeep Cherokee SRT8

The Jeep Cherokee KJ series was introduced in 2002, in North America the model was known as the Jeep Liberty and was seen as a replacement for the popular Jeep Cherokee XJ. The Jeep Liberty was available in either two wheel drive and four wheel drive versions, and with a great number of options and modern styling. The Liberty carries the spirit of the Cherokee which inspired it forward into the 21st century.

The Jeep Cherokee revolutionized the old sport utility vehicle market, and then it provided the impetus for the modern sport utility vehicle market too. The model won over many fans based both on its comfort and functionality in the city as well as its high level of performance when off road and putting its four wheel drive status to the test. The Jeep Liberty takes the torch from the Jeep Cherokee and appears to be well on its way to establishing itself as a worthy successor.

Related Posts:

Posted in General, Jeep | | 0 Comments

Jeep Forward Control

September 14th, 2007 by shenron

The Jeep Forward Control was originally a truck produced from 1956 to 1965. In ‘57 the Forward Control Jeep was developed and produced from 1957 to 1965. These (FC) Jeeps could be used for military, civilian, and corporal purposes depending on governmental status. There are many variations of the Forward Control Jeeps, such as the FC-150, FC-170, and the FC-170 DRW. The FC-150 had been presented in ‘56 accompanied with an 81 inch wheelbase and a 78 inch bed. Nearly identical to the CJ-5 (based on a military Jeep during the Korean War) except fitted with a pickup bed and a flat-faced cab bestriding atop of the engine, the FC-150 supported a four-cylinder F-head Hurricane engine which pumped out 72 HP and about 114lb-ft of torque. To help with stability the FC-150 shifted from a Dana 25 front-end to a closed-knuckle Dana 44.

Jeep Forward Control
The FC-170 was built from an extended Willys utility-wagon frame. It was around 77 inches longer, over 180 inches wider, and approximately 79.41 inches taller then the FC-150 counterpart. The pay-load-to-weight ratio on the 170 maxed out about 3,500 pounds, in which made the 170 unequaled. The ‘59 FC-170 was equipped with a heavy-duty model with a huskier rear to succumb to the growth of the Forward Control Jeeps. To transport the load that it could maintain, the FC-170 had the 226-ci High Torque Super Hurricane six-cylinder for 190 lb-ft of torque at 1,400 rpm. The frequent transmission was the floor-shift, synchromesh three-speed Borg-Warner T-90A. The 170 sported a Dana 44 up front axle and a 53 rear axle to help withstand the constant pressure of more than a few tons of a worker man’s constant demand of effort. The Forward Control Jeep’s were a great asset during the ’50s toward manual labor, vehicles for war, and any other activity that would be made undemanding with the Jeep Forward Control Truck, and the Forward Control Jeeps of the ’50s.

Related Posts:

Posted in Jeep | | 0 Comments

Jeep Honcho

July 7th, 2007 by shenron

The Jeep Honcho was the successor to the Jeep Gladiator and entered service in 1971, until it was succeeded by the Jeep Comanche.  The Jeep Honcho was a two door styled front engine mounted vehicle that had rear wheel or four wheel drive available to it and many different engines as did its predecessor.  Classed as a full sized pickup truck it served as the flagship for Jeep in their truck line, and was heavily based on the same chassis as the Jeep Wagoneer.  Available engine and transmission options were the three speed or four speed manual along with the three speed automatic; with engines it was varied between the AMC line of six and V8 engines, the Buick Dauntless, the AMC 360 or 401 and a small Tornado six stroke engine.  The Jeep honcho proved to be a popular truck for rallies and offloading events as when it is combined with a powerful engine it as something nearly unmatched.

The Jeep Honcho performed well and lasted from 1971 until 1987, a full sixteen years as Jeep’s main truck.  They are reliable and dependable, and currently are still in use in many motor events.  Highly sought after, very dependable, and easily worked on, the Honcho was able to boast that it did not use fuel injection systems during its entire run while many other vehicles had begun to do so.   If you ever have the chance to snatch one of these up to restore it I recommend that you do, it is almost a collectible now with so few seen anymore, mostly because as soon as the Comanche came out, the Honcho was dusted.

Related Posts:

Posted in Jeep | | 0 Comments

Jeep Gladiator

July 7th, 2007 by shenron

An old classic, the Jeep Gladiator was introduced in 1962 with a sleek design of the time and a unique grill that gave it a look more suited to be on a high priced car.  Jeep Gladiators had a make up of a front mounted engine that provided rear wheel and all wheel power, along with independent front suspension with optional dual rear wheels.   The Jeep Gladiator was also used by the military and served until 1971 when it was replaced by its direct descendant, the Jeep Honcho.  It would seem this old classic was destined to never be revived after nearly forty years in moth balls.  The performance of the Jeep Gladiator was very close - if not the same as - the Jeep Wagoneer.  It had its choice of engines between the AMC V8 and the Buick Dauntless V8, along with some V6 engines.   The Buick Dauntless 350 was a magnificent engine that gave the Gladiator a powerful stroked engine (having the longest stroke of all the GM engines) which in turn lent itself to having much more torque and an impressive 195 horses.  The AMC 401 was able to produce much more power, having a peak at 330 horses before the new restrictions in the mid 70s, and afterwards around 255 (but easily modified to reach 330 again).

Just when you thought the saga was over - jeep cam out with a concept vehicle in 2004 called the Jeep Gladiator, and it was indeed a truck and based on the original of the same namesake.   This gladiator has a nice 2.8 liter engine that is a turbo diesel with four strokes at a comfortable (but not as impressive) 163 horsepower with about 300 pounds of torque per foot.  It has a much larger transmission with six speeds in manual and is the same kind of front engine rear wheel drive or four wheel drive as its ancestor.  It has a 1,500 capacity payload and it also looks pretty darn sleek.  However this will not enter production as far as I know, but points to what jeep may be releasing in the future.

Related Posts:

Posted in Jeep | | 0 Comments

Jeep Comanche

July 7th, 2007 by shenron

The Jeep Comanche was a pickup truck that was manufactured by jeep from 1986 until 1992, and it was considered a compact pickup truck, with a design that had a two door two person front cab and a front engine with rear wheel drive or four wheel drive.  It use the jeep MJ platform and came with four different engines over its life span ranging from the 2.1 Renault turbo diesel four stroke to the 4 Liter AMX V6 engine - it had a total of six different transmission to choose from, ranging from three speed to four speed automatics, and a five speed manual.   What made the Jeep Comanche a unique vehicle and truck was its style as a uni-body vehicle, where the entire truck came in one piece rather than other traditional methods of slapping a bed into the truck.  The Comanche was the first to do this, having a cheaper manufacturing cost from it and in addition to reducing costs this way they based the entire vehicle design on their already popular Jeep Cherokee.  It came in both a short and long frame design.

The engine power this vehicle could hold would run from the 4.0 L AMCE in line six that gave it a hundred and seventy three horses, which was sixty more than the first V6 they had originally with the first production model.   When Dodge’s parent corporation Chrysler bought out the parent of Jeep the Comanche became a relic, with the phase out imminent.  They would receive only minor changes until the final year in 1992 when it was completely discontinued.  It remains a very good truck and by today’s standards an extremely reliable one that is still used and looked for by car and truck owners.  It could be said the Comanche was a truck that should have not been discontinued.

Related Posts:

Posted in Jeep | | 0 Comments

Categories

Archives