I have heard the same thing about the more modern "jeep", the M151 series, like what I drove in Germany and my Dad drove in Vietnam. Mine was made by Ford Motor Company in 1970 according to the data plate. I wish I could have bought her from the division property book officer when we turned them in in 1987 for Humvees. Yeah the Humvee looked badass but we still liked the Jeep.
A young man reading one of the magazines like Boy’s Life or Popular
Science in the 40s or 50s might have come across an exciting
advertisement. ‘Army Surplus Jeeps. Only $50’.
All you had to do was send away $20 (about $200 the US in today’s
money), and you’d be given a good deal on a Jeep or another piece of
army surplus equipment. I saw the same thing or a variation of the same scam involving the M151 series vehicles.
Sounds too good to be true? That’s because it wasn’t. It was a scam.
The scammers weren’t buying Jeeps for people. Rather they were sending
pamphlets with information on how to bid at government auctions. And the
same information was available from the U.S. Government for free! And
even then, very few complete Jeeps were available for sale. Most Jeeps
were scrapped, leaving only spare parts for sale.
But who would want a Jeep anyway? They carried a 1/4 ton, they were a
four-wheel drive vehicle. Nevertheless, it was advertised as a great
boon to civilians. With the end of the war in sight, Popular Science
began encouraging the market for surplus Jeeps by running a contest in
March 1945.
The magazine encouraged readers to offer their ideas on the theme
‘how I’ll use surplus goods’. It was suggested that the Jeep could be a
tractor, a power generator, a truck, a pick–up. Everyone had to have a
Jeep! And they have become very popular with civilians, both for work
and recreational use, right up to the present time.
But it wasn’t army Jeeps that answered the demand, but rather Jeeps
designed for civilian use. The first CJ, or Civilian Jeep, was produced
in 1941 and was called the CJ2A. And Jeeps like the Wrangler and
Cherokee are popular as family vehicles nowadays.
Of course, the Jeep wasn’t built for civilians. It had an important
military purpose. The military needed a tough vehicle that could carry
heavy loads, pull heavy objects and move quickly over rough ground.
648,000 Ford GPW’s and Willys MB’s were built during World War II – 15
percent of military vehicles produced were Jeeps. The Jeep was used by
every branch of the U.S military, with an average of 145 assigned to
each infantry regiment.
But to return to these old advertisements – they promised that they
would send you in a Jeep boxed up in a crate. How did they get that to
work? Well, it didn’t. Again, it was a scam to try and get the reader’s
money. It is true that the Army did crate complete Jeeps for shipment to
U.S. forces and countries like Britain and the Soviet Union. However,
it was a costly and time-consuming exercise which was done only when
necessary.
It is doubtful if any crated Jeeps remained in the United States to
be sold to civilians after the war. Dealers and organizations have
offered substantial amounts of money for anyone who can produce a Jeep
in a crate. So far, no money has changed hands.
So if you do want a Jeep, you’d be better off going to your local car dealer.
And people pay LARGE $$$ for 'real' WWII Jeeps today... Then spend another 15-20000 kitting them out!
ReplyDeleteHey Old NFO;
DeleteYep they do especially for one that isn't "molested" or cut up.
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ReplyDeleteNot street legal... The Mahindra Roxor Is A Tiny Offroad Jeep That You Can Totally Buy In America
ReplyDelete