A History of Jeep Trucks
The Gladiator isn't Jeep's first pickup truck...
The 2020 Gladiator is the latest in a long line of Jeep trucks
The 2020 Jeep Gladiator will serve as Jeep’s entryway into the highly competitive pickup truck segment. However, it won’t be Jeep’s first foray into the pickup truck scene.
In fact, Jeep has introduced a number of classic pickup truck models throughout the years.
The Wait Is Almost Over: Long-awaited Jeep pickup to arrive next year
Jeep Pickup: 1947-1965
The first Jeep pickup coincided with early attempts to diversify the Jeep brand beyond the CJ model. Automotive manufacturer Willys Overland designed the truck with a 118-inch wheelbase and many of the same features found on the CJ-2A model.
Jeep FC-150/170 Pickup: 1957-1965
The next Jeep truck developed would be a Forward-Control series model. Said trucks either came with an 81-inch wheelbase or a wheelbase of 103.5 inches. Besides a few new features here and there, these FC-150 and FC-170 trucks saw few alterations during their lifetimes.
Jeep Gladiator/J-Series Pickup: 1963-1987
The new Jeep Gladiator was not the first truck to bear the name. Between 1963 and 1972, Jeep’s full-size pickup model carried the Gladiator moniker. For the remainder of its run, the truck bore the J-Series title.
Jeep CJ-8 Scrambler: 1981-1985
Before the Gladiator name was revealed for the new Jeep pickup, many believed the model would carry the Scrambler name. During the original Scrambler’s very limited run, only 30,000 models were produced, making them collector’s items today.
Jeep Comanche (MJ): 1986-1992
The Jeep brand’s most recent pickup model was the Jeep Comanche. Said pickup adopted some of Jeep’s most advanced tech at the time, such as Selec-Trac and Command-Track four-wheel drive.
Jeep Gladiator: 2019-
After an absence spanning more than two decades, Jeep finally returns to the pickup truck segment with the 2020 Jeep Gladiator model. Based on the Jeep Wrangler, this new Jeep Gladiator includes a 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engine under the hood and more than 80 available safety and security features.
A Jeep Sneak Peak: A glimpse at the Jeep Pickup
Jeep enthusiasts won’t have to wait much longer to satisfy their pickup truck fix. The 2020 Jeep Gladiator will reportedly arrive in dealership showrooms during the second quarter of 2019.
Zachary Berry currently resides in the Dayton, Ohio area. However, he enjoys traveling from place to place, as he was born in Oklahoma City and has also lived in Albuquerque and Orlando (such is the life of a military brat). Zachary graduated from Ohio University with a major in Strategic Communication, which is fancy talk for advertising and public relations. Beginning his career at The News Wheel as a lowly intern, he was able to climb his way to the top, eventually claiming his place within the last cubicle on the left. Other jobs that Zachary has held include driving around a safari truck at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. When he’s not putting his nose to the grindstone, Zachary enjoys watching and critiquing movies and television. See more articles by Zachary.