Jeep CJ-5
With its robust four-wheel-drive system and solid axles, the Jeep CJ-5 excels in off-road capabilities, becoming a popular choice among off-road enthusiasts and military applications alike due to its durability and reliability in challenging conditions.
24 notes
·
View notes
Jeep XLI CJ-5
"Tentatively dated 1964, these photos show a prototype developed by Kaiser Jeep to be exported as knock-down kits to emerging markets, under the title of the eXport Low Investment (XLI) programme.
The design was for a simplified body that could be easily made locally without a large-scale investment in industrial facilities, which would then be assembled on to a chassis and drivetrain exported from the US.
The version shown here was based on the CJ‑5, although designs were also drawn up for the longer wheelbase CJ-6, a format that was often more popular outside America. Some parts are recognisably CJ in origin – the headlights, hood latches, seats, rear-view mirror, tailgate chains and tail-lights – while others were borrowed from the Gladiator pick-up: the instrument cluster and, most obviously, the front grille.
The latter seems a curiously ornate touch for such a back-to-basics design, although it’s likely it would have been exported with the chassis and was perhaps chosen for its simplicity as a single bolt-on part.
The XLI even had something the CJ-5 didn’t – metal doors – while a steel canopy hard-top was created that included sliding side windows and a lower back panel.
In overseas markets, Jeeps often fell foul of local regulations that required the headlights to be placed further apart, and it seems that may have been foremost in the designer’s minds. They did manage to retain the folding windscreen, although the frame’s design and hinge were much simplified.
The XLI CJ may not have had many friends inside Jeep, however. Internally, employees called it ‘The Flintstone Mobile’ after the popular TV cartoon series. And with neither of the CJ-based XLI models making it into production, it seems few friends were found elsewhere, either. Land Rover, Toyota and others were already well established by the 1960s in developing markets such as Africa and the Middle East, and it’s possible that making headway against the incumbents may have proved too great a task for the squared-off CJ.
In the end, Kaiser had more success with a pared-back XLI version of the Gladiator assembled in Tuzla, near Istanbul, and used mainly by the Turkish military."
source
49 notes
·
View notes