The History of the SUV in Baja California
By: Slade Ogletree
A few months ago we ran a story: SUV’s, The Car for Baja.
It inspired our contributing author, Slade Ogletree to do a little research
on the history of the genre.
 A
variety of vehicles are used today by Baja travelers. From Harley’s
to RV’s today’s Baja’s Highway 1 presents few significant obstacles.
This was not the case just a mere 30 years ago. Before the completion
of the Transpeninsular Hwy in the late 70’s the trip from Tijuana to
Cabo San Lucas involved traversing dirt roads, fording arroyos and sometimes
moving rocks and filling washouts to make your own way.
In the 1950’s things were even more difficult for overland
adventurers desiring to explore Baja. Extra gas, a shovel, a couple
of stout planks, a come-along and several weeks of time were required
to transverse Baja. The Willys Jeep was perfectly suited to the task.
Rugged, maneuverable and relatively light weight many early Baja drivers
were enamored with the Jeep. So without further ado, here is the history
of the vehicle that started it all.
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The Jeep Wagon is clearly the predecessor of today’s
SUV. The Jeepster was the first attempt to “urbanize” the line
by having a more stylish, rounded body design, and integral convertible
top while keeping the trademark flat fenders and unique grille design.
 During
the 1950’s and 60’s the Willys-Jeep Line and “Utility Vehicles” by other
manufacturers enjoyed reasonable success in rural markets, but failed
to break into mainstream acceptance. This was due largely to poor
highway performance. The suspensions were too stiff for a smooth
ride, and the gear ratios were to low to provide suitable top end performance.
Safety was another issue. Their short wheelbase, narrow stance,
and high ground clearance made them top heavy and there was a real danger
of rollover, even at lower speeds.
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Before WW II cars were very utilitarian for most of the population.
While high powered sporty roadsters and big luxury cars were available,
most folks were content to have a means of transportation suited to
their lifestyle. Farmers had pick-ups, families had sedans, and
delivery vehicles were suited to the particular industries.
 In
1940, with the war in Europe spreading, the Army saw a need for a lightweight,
all terrain command/reconnaissance vehicles. Three manufacturers
responded; Bantam, Ford, and Willys-Overland. While all three
manufacturers ended up building prototype lines of over 1000 vehicles
each, Willys ended up with the contract due to its superior power plant,
the “Go-Devil” flathead 4 cylinder engine. Awarded the contract
in late 1940, Willys produced 360,000 of their GPW (Government Pigmy
Willys) vehicles by the wars end in 1945.
As a note here, the most commonly believed story is
that a lowly GI mistook the “GP” designation of these 4 wheel drive
and seemingly indestructible marvels to mean “general purpose” and hence
the name “jeep” evolved. Whatever its origin, the term “jeep”
has left an indelible legacy in automotive history.
At the conclusion of the war returning soldiers were
so enamored with this little classic that they wanted one of their own.
There is even a story about an army mechanic who dis-assembled a jeep
and sent it home in boxes, part by part to re-assemble upon his return
home. In 1945 Willys began its civilian line of jeeps with the
now famous CJ series (civilian jeep). In 1946 saw the advent of
the “Willys Jeep Wagon”. In 1947 came the “Willys Jeep Truck”,
and in 1948 came the “Jeepster.” At the time “off road driving”
was more of a necessity than a sport so all of these vehicles came under
the broad heading of “Utility Vehicles”.
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By the 1970’s manufacturers began to see a budding interest in market
and began responding. Maybe the “back to nature movement” helped
spur this along. Ground clearances were lowered bit by bit, suspensions
softened, larger engines were employed and creature comforts were added.
With the introduction of vehicles such as the Ford Bronco, the GMC Jimmy,
and the Chevy Blazer and the SUV revolution was on.
The 1973 oil crisis saw a huge increase in imported
vehicles. Datsun and Toyota both had small utility pick-up trucks
in their lines and these had a huge appeal as they had the ability to
haul loads, but with substantially lower fuel costs.
Ford and Chevy responded to this with the Courier
and LUV models. Toyota responded in 1978 with a 4-wheel drive
small pick-up, and later with the 4-Runner. Meanwhile Subaru had
their station wagon with a transverse mounted engine and front wheel
drive with optional 4-wheel drive. AMC, who bought the “Jeep”
from Willys in 1973, introduced their Eagle as an American made 4-wheel
drive car. Ford and Chevy had scaled down their models and introduced
the Bronco II and Blazer II.
From this point on it has been all out war between car
manufacturers to get a piece of the SUV market. What was once
an overlooked sub-market, became a sub culture, and then grew into what
is now a substantial percentage of the new car industry. It all
began in 1941 with 1500 of those 60 HP, 2450 pound GPW’s.
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