[3] The design was a direct evolution from the war jeep, but the most obvious change was adding a tailgate, and relocating the spare wheel to the side.

Also, besides adding basic civilian amenities and options and legally-compliant lighting, the CJ required a sturdier drivetrain than the war jeep, because the targeted rural buyers would work the vehicles hard and expect years of durability, instead of mere weeks as during WWII.

From then on, all CJ Jeeps consistently had a separate body and frame, rigid live axles with leaf springs both front and rear, a tapering nose design with flared fenders, and a fold-flat windshield, and could be driven without doors.

Also, with few exceptions, they had part-time four-wheel drive systems, with the choice of high and low gearing, and open bodies with removable hard or soft tops.

A few stand-out changes during 42 model years were the introductions of round-fendered vs. flat-fendered bodies (1955 CJ-5), straight-6 and V8-engines, automatic gearboxes, and different 4-wheel drive systems.

After remaining in production through a range of model numbers, and several corporate parents, the Jeep CJ line was officially ended after 1986.

Documentation is scarce, but in early 1944, Willys seemed to have found time to start drawing up plans, and one or two prototypes dubbed CJ(-1), for "Civilian Jeep", were running by May of that year.

The first CJs had apparently been created by quick modification of the regular military MB, adding a tailgate, lower gearing, a drawbar, and a civilian-style canvas top.

[8] They had tailgates, power take-offs, engine governors ($28.65),[10] column-shift T90 manual transmissions, 5.38 gears, 2.43:1 low-range transfer cases, and driver's-side tool indentations.

Rear wheelwells were redesigned so that seats could be enlarged, improved, and moved rearward, and new, more weathertight top designs were tried.

[17] Many of the early CJ-2As were produced using remaining stock of the military jeep components such as engine blocks, and in a few cases, modified frames.

Zamboni resurfacers would be constructed using original chassis designs starting in 1964, eliminating the need to source Jeep parts.

[32] Until 1968, about 196,000 CJ-3Bs were produced, of which 155,494 were assembled in the U.S.[33][34] The CJ-3B was turned into the M606 military jeep (mostly used for export, through 1968) by equipping it with commercially available heavy-duty options, such as larger tires and springs, and by adding black-out lighting, olive drab paint, and a trailer hitch.

Shipments of the M606 militarized version of the Jeep CJ-3B, exported for military aid under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program, accounted for a substantial percentage of the limited CJ-3B production in the 1960s.

[33] The CJ-3B design was also licensed to a number of international manufacturers, which produced a civilian and military variants long after 1968, including Mitsubishi of Japan and Mahindra of India.

[23] Mitsubishi continued knock-down production of vehicles derived from the CJ-3B design until August 1998, when tighter emissions and safety standards finally made the Jeep obsolete.

[41] In 1955 a slightly longer wheelbase J10 which could seat six was added, and in 1956 the J11 appeared, a two-door "delivery wagon" with a full metal body.

[51] Kaiser Jeep was sold to American Motors Corporation (AMC) in 1970, and the Buick engine was retired after the 1971 model year.

[52] AMC began marketing the Jeep less as a universal utility vehicle, and more as a sporty one, notably increasing its performance and features.

The base Willys 4-cylinder was replaced by AMC's Torque Command straight-6 engines, giving the entry-level CJ-5 the power of the previously optional Buick V6.

Power disc brakes and the "Golden Eagle" package (which included a tachometer and clock) were new options,[13] as well as air conditioning.

The demise of the AMC CJ5 model has been attributed to a December 1980 60 Minutes segment where the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) staged a demonstration to illustrate that the CJ5 was apt to roll over "in routine road circumstances at relatively low speeds."

After having closed their market to imported cars in 1954, assembly of the "Willys Jeep Universal" (as it was known in Brazil) from CKD kits began in 1957.

[43] By 1958, production relied on locally sourced components, with the vehicles equipped with a 90 hp (67 kW) 2.6 liter I6 engine (also used by Willys do Brasil for passenger cars).

[75] In 1980, the engine was modified to run on Neat ethanol fuel (E100); this option lasted until 1983, when Ford ended the production of the CJ-5 in Brazil.

The Jeep CJ-7 featured a wheelbase 10 inches longer than that of the CJ-5, with its curved side entry cutouts partially squared up to accommodate hinged doors.

To help improve vehicle handling and stability, the rear section of the chassis stepped out to allow the springs and shock absorbers to be mounted closer to the outside of the body.

Distinguished by their different body decals, the Laredo model featured highback leather bucket seats, a tilting steering wheel, and a chrome package that included the bumpers, front grill cover, and side mirrors.

It featured a 103.5 in (2,629 mm) wheelbase[76] and a removable half cab, creating a small pick-up style box instead of using a separate pickup bed.

[81] A full-length steel hardtop Scrambler was made for the Alaskan Postal Service, using right-hand drive and automatic transmissions.