About the Willys Jeepster:
Developed in 1948 by Willys Overland and with the help of designer Brooks Stevens, the Jeepster was designed to be a sporty and stylish sedan for a newly expanding passenger-car market. Sharing parts with the Willys Station Wagon and Pickup Truck, the Jeepster was charming and sporty. It was a good cruiser with excellent gas mileage and deluxe fittings and interior. In 1948 the Jeepster was powered by the “Go Devil” 62 HP engine, with a 3 speed manual transmission and optional overdrive. The following year in 1949 it had the option of the six-cylinder Lightning L-148 engine, and in 1950, the F-134 Hurricane and L-161 Lightning was offered. The vehicle was rear wheel drive and was never offered in four wheel drive.
The top was laminated fabric which was hand operated and unfolded fairly easily. To provide all weather protection, plastic side curtains could be slid into sockets.
As you can see in these photos, there is a chrome side step used to vault over the door into the car. This was part of the styling used to attract younger buyers. There were many chrome features including a T shaped bar on the grill, front bumper guard and hubcaps with bright trim rings.
The original price-tag for the Jeepster was $1765 which included many deluxe details not available standard in many vehicle. Although the Jeepster had many excellent features and styling, it did not reach sales expectations due to a lackluster marketing department and was phased out in 1950, with leftover models sold as 1951s. In 1966 the design was revived as the Jeep Commando.
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