Jeep is an all-purpose vehicle that is capable of traversing rough terrain. The first jeep prototype was designed by the Department of Army for purposes of carrying personnel and supplies.
Later on, Ford and Willys-Overland produced two more jeep prototypes. In the end, Ford and Willy's-Overland manufactured the first mass production of jeeps.
The origin of the word jeep is not clear, however people believe that the word came from phonetically slurred pronunciation of "GP" or vehicle for general purpose.
Some people also think that the name for this multi purpose vehicle came from a character in Thimble Theater comic strip Popeye, the character is known as Eugene the Jeep. Eugene the Jeep is a character that could walk through walls and ceilings, climb trees, fly and just go anywhere it wanted.
Early Americans believe that soldiers were so impressed with the versatility of the jeep that they named their prototype from the comic character.
After the production of the first jeep prototype and the second set of jeep prototypes from Ford and Willys-Overland, Willys-Overland Motor Company was designated to produce the first mass production of jeeps in Toledo, Ohio.
However, because of the huge quantity requirement of the United States Government, Ford Motor Company complimented Willys-Overland to help complete the requirements.
In combination, the production of Willys-Overland and Ford reached about 600,000 units of this high mobility multipurpose-wheeled vehicle, which some call hum-vee.
The jeep is widely copied by other countries such as in France and The Netherlands. The french version of the jeep is designed by Hotchkiss and in The Netherlands, Nekaf is the manufacturer of their jeep.
Other versions of the jeep are the railway jeep and the amphibious jeep, which are more useful than any other vehicle of its size.
