Jeeps by the Year

Seen a Jeep driving down the road and your unsure of what type of Jeep it was? Study the guide below for a little help.

1941-1945: Know as Jeep MB "Standardized" Jeep, built for the Army

1945-1949: CJ2A The 1st "Civilian Jeep" , flat fenders, split windshield with top mounted wipers

1946-1965: Willys Wagon 103.5" wheelbase, first "SUV", could be had in 2wd or 4wd

1948-1953: CJ-3A one piece windshield with wipers on the bottom, 80" wheelbase

1947-1965: Willys Pickup available in 2 and 4 wheel drive, full-size pick-up

1948-1951: Jeepster /VJ 2wd sport roadster

1953-1964: CJ-3B "High-Hood" mostly the same as CJ-3A but the new "Hurricane" F-head engine required the high hood to fit.

1957-1964: Forward Control / FC cab mounted over engine and front axle. FC-150 was built on CJ-5 chassis, FC-170 was built on station wagon chassis

1961-1973: Commando / C101 built on a CJ-6 chassis, convertible, roadster, pickup, and station wagon could be had.

1962-1991: Cherokee / Wagoner / SJ 110" wheelbase, leaf spring suspension front and rear, luxurious full size Jeep

1963-1987: J-Series Trucks full-size pick-up, know as "Gladiators", "J-10, J-20"

1955-1969: CJ-5 one piece windshield and top mounted wipers, round fenders, tailgate and 81" wheelbase 

1970-1983: CJ-5 wipers mounted on the bottom of windshield, round fenders, no tailgate and 83" wheelbase

1955-1969: CJ-6 one piece windshield and top mounted wipers, 101" wheelbase

1970-1976: CJ-6 wipers mounted on the bottom of windshield, 104" wheelbase 

1976-1986: CJ-7 "U" shaped door openings, 93.5" wheelbase, first CJ to have automatic transmission, hardtop, and doors as factory options

1984-2001: Cherokee / XJ First uni-body Jeep. Front coil and rear leaf spring suspension. 100" wheelbase, most say it is the most capable Jeep ever made.

1981-1986: CJ-8 103.5" wheelbase, in 5 years less than 28,000 were built

1986-1992: Comanche / MJ pick-up version of the XJ

1987-1995: YJ Square headlights, lower and wider than CJ's before it. Tailgate opens to the side.

1993-1998: Grand Cherokee / ZJ coil springs front and rear. Luxury version of the XJ

1997-2006: TJ round headlights are back and leaf springs are gone in favor of coil springs. New dash layout and dual airbags.

1999-2004: Grand Cherokee / WJ updated version of the ZJ

2001-present: Liberty / KJ Independent front suspension, need I say more?

2005-present: Grand Cherokee / WK longer and wider than the WJ with an independent front suspension.

2007-       : JK all new Wrangler

This information is as correct as I have been able to find. Information and pictures have been used from various web sites. I have tried to use pictures of stock or close to stock Jeeps to give a better idea of what the vehicles look like. This list is also not complete and only shows the most popular of the Jeep models.