CJ, YJ, TJ, JK: What Does it All Mean?
Most Jeep owners know the general history behind the name and brand. First created as an off-road-capable tool for the military during WWII, the General Purpose (GP) vehicle helped win the war. Soldiers began to shorten the GP name into just Jeep. After the war, a civilian version of the Jeep was born, and that is how we got the “CJ” naming scheme. Since the CJ, we have had the YJ, TJ, and now the JK. So if CJ is short for Civilian Jeep, then what do the rest of the generational codes mean?
Sadly, they don’t mean much of anything. The YJ, TJ, and JK are all just random letters assigned to the generational models. It’s a very common practice in the automotive world. Mazda Miatas are known generationally as NA, NB, NC and ND; BMWs have the E# and F# generational code scheme; and Nissan’s old 240SX models are named S13, S14, and so on.
That said, it certainly hasn’t stopped people from trying to create meanings. Here on JK-Forum, I have seen “Trendy Jeep” for TJ, “Yuppie Jeep” for YJ, and more than a few others. My favorite I have seen so far for JK is “Just Krawling”. So, with that in mind, I want to revive this old thread. Now hop in and give me your best answers for what the various model codes of Jeep actually mean.
Chime in with your thoughts on the forum. >>
