[5] Also at this time the financial health of AMC was poor and the automaker was in need of cash as it was preparing a new line of midsize sedans (the Eagle Premier) scheduled to be produced at a factory being built in Canada (Brampton Assembly), but the best thing the company had going for it was its popular line of Jeeps and introducing a compact Jeep pickup truck in the fall of 1985 was expected to help.

[6] The Jeep Comanche was introduced in mid-August 1985, at a lavish event staged at the ballroom of the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino (currently Bally's Las Vegas) for AMC's over 1,500 North American dealers.

[7] The new trucks were unveiled by Jose Dedeurwaerder, an engineer and international business executive with 23 years of experience with Renault, who had just been appointed as AMC's new president.

[10] American Motors' Jeep designers based the Comanche MJ body, styling, engineering, and powertrain on the XJ Cherokee, which had been introduced for the 1984 model year.

[3] The Comanche had a somewhat more conventional body-on-frame design behind the cab and a removable cargo box, but retained the unibody construction of the Cherokee in the front half of the vehicle.

For the rear suspension, the truck used leaf springs that are considerably longer than the Cherokee's, which give Comanches good load-carrying capacity without creating a hard ride.

The package included heavier-duty leaf springs and wheels, larger tires, and upgraded the rear axle to a Dana 44, which increased the stock payload (cargo) capacity from 1,400 to 2,205 pounds (635 to 1,000 kg), well above that of any other mid-size truck.

The inaugural 1986 model year Comanches could be equipped with one of three engines: AMC's 2.5 L four-cylinder as standard, with General Motors' 2.8 L V6 or Renault's 2.1 L I4 turbo diesel available as options.

The V6 was the same engine used in the competing Chevrolet S-10, and equipped with a two-barrel Rochester carburetor instead of the four-cylinder's electronic throttle-body fuel injection system the optional six-cylinder was slightly less powerful than the standard four.

In the truck's second year on the market the V6 was replaced by AMC's new fuel-injected 4.0 L straight-six that developed 173 hp (129 kW; 175 PS) and 220 lb⋅ft (298 N⋅m): 50% more power and 47% more torque than the previous V6.

As a result of the power improvements the Aisin-Warner automatic transmission's output shaft was changed from 21 splines to 23, and the "Power-Comfort" switch was deleted.

In 1990, the National Council of Jeep-Eagle dealers asked Chrysler to discontinue the Comanche, and allow them to sell a version of the Dodge Dakota pickup.

[18] The company decided to cease production of the Comanche on June 12, 1992, after only a few thousand more trucks rolled off the Toledo, Ohio, assembly line.