What do the initials stand for: JK, TJ, YJ, CJ?
11-02-2007, 05:22 AM
#21
So, not being a rocket scientist, just a brain surgeon (and only occasionally), why didn't they make any sense with the letters. If 6 tells how many doors, why does 4 also tell how many doors (but only for the X)? If I were doing it, digits 1-3 and 5-6 would stay the same, but 4 would be X=X, S=Sahara, R=Rubicon. Instead of what they did. But that's just me.
11-02-2007, 12:00 PM
#24
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An article in Automotive Consumer Guide, quoting the brand manager:
When these dedicated owners gather to discuss their rides, the talk is not so much about Wranglers, but about CJs, TJs, and, soon JKs. Those are the corporate engineering codes identifying the various generations of Jeep's small, two-door, open-top 4x4s--the quintessential Jeeps. The World War II versions were the Model MJ, for Military Jeep, and were built by Willys-Overland Motors and Ford Motor Company. After the war, Willys continued production based on the MJ. It called these the CJ, for Civilian Jeep.
Gaining a numeral suffix with each design update, the CJ series sustained through ownership under Kaiser, from 1953, and then American Motors Corporation, starting in 1970. Heavily modified examples of AMC's CJ-5, CJ6, and CJ-7 models can be found today on Jeep trails everywhere.
In 1987, AMC replaced the CJ series with the Wrangler. Identified by its square headlamps, it was more street-friendly than the CJs and designed to appeal to a wider audience. But it was less-adept for off-road use. Hard-core Jeepers said its code name, YJ, stood for "Yuppie Jeep."
Chrysler Corporation bought AMC that same year, and took the lessons learned from the YJ to create the next-generation Wrangler, code named TJ. Introduced for 1997, it revived the classic round headlamps and was an advance both in on-road drivability and off-road prowess. No mocking nicknames for this one.
Officially, YJ and TJ were simply internal engineering codes; they were not abbreviations or initials. When it came time for the next-generation Wrangler that would become the 2007 model, Chrysler's engineering-series code said it should be the TK.
But there was a problem.
"There wasn't a 'J' in it," Kevin Metz, Wrangler brand manager said. The Jeep crew tossed around various alternatives, and came up with JK. "It actually was very arbitrary," Metz said. Beyond the letter J linking it to "Jeep," JK doesn't officially have a meaning, Metz said. "If nothing else," he said, "I guess I like to think it stands for 'Jeep King.'"
Jeep King works for me.
When these dedicated owners gather to discuss their rides, the talk is not so much about Wranglers, but about CJs, TJs, and, soon JKs. Those are the corporate engineering codes identifying the various generations of Jeep's small, two-door, open-top 4x4s--the quintessential Jeeps. The World War II versions were the Model MJ, for Military Jeep, and were built by Willys-Overland Motors and Ford Motor Company. After the war, Willys continued production based on the MJ. It called these the CJ, for Civilian Jeep.
Gaining a numeral suffix with each design update, the CJ series sustained through ownership under Kaiser, from 1953, and then American Motors Corporation, starting in 1970. Heavily modified examples of AMC's CJ-5, CJ6, and CJ-7 models can be found today on Jeep trails everywhere.
In 1987, AMC replaced the CJ series with the Wrangler. Identified by its square headlamps, it was more street-friendly than the CJs and designed to appeal to a wider audience. But it was less-adept for off-road use. Hard-core Jeepers said its code name, YJ, stood for "Yuppie Jeep."
Chrysler Corporation bought AMC that same year, and took the lessons learned from the YJ to create the next-generation Wrangler, code named TJ. Introduced for 1997, it revived the classic round headlamps and was an advance both in on-road drivability and off-road prowess. No mocking nicknames for this one.
Officially, YJ and TJ were simply internal engineering codes; they were not abbreviations or initials. When it came time for the next-generation Wrangler that would become the 2007 model, Chrysler's engineering-series code said it should be the TK.
But there was a problem.
"There wasn't a 'J' in it," Kevin Metz, Wrangler brand manager said. The Jeep crew tossed around various alternatives, and came up with JK. "It actually was very arbitrary," Metz said. Beyond the letter J linking it to "Jeep," JK doesn't officially have a meaning, Metz said. "If nothing else," he said, "I guess I like to think it stands for 'Jeep King.'"
Jeep King works for me.
11-02-2007, 03:11 PM
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04-25-2008, 06:18 AM
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04-25-2008, 11:50 AM
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The World War II versions were the Model MJ, for Military Jeep, and were built by Willys-Overland Motors and Ford Motor Company
