The year 1941 holds a special place in automotive history. That was when the first editions of the Willys MA arrived on the scene, paving the way for the Willys MB, used by the U.S. armed forces during World War II. Those are the direct ancestors of the modern Jeep, which is something you can tell from even a cursory glance at their design. Automakers, as a rule, tend to observe anniversaries in their own distinct way, and Jeep is no different.
Thus far, the automaker has rolled out (pun very much intended) 85th anniversary special editions of several models, including the Wrangler. It’s happening alongside a larger initiative called “Twelve 4 Twelve,” which features 12 new editions of the Wrangler connected to the 12 months of the year. And this week, Jeep revealed several more anniversary editions.
Given the models already reported, this week’s announcement brings the total number of revealed 85th anniversary editions to six. Jeep shared designed for the Cherokee, Compass, Grand Cherokee and Grand Wagoneer models, vehicles made with Agave Blue badges and a distinctive wheel design. The seat tags and interior design also use a custom color scheme to distinguish these editions from their standard counterparts.
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It’s not just the price tag that kept the sacrificial Big Mouth Billy Bass out of primetime“We’ve listened to our customers for 85 years, and that feedback has guided Jeep since the 1941 Willys, the vehicle that set the standard for every Jeep that came after it,” said Jeep CEO Bob Broderdorf in a statement.
One detail that was missing from Jeep’s latest announcement: whether these new anniversary editions will come with customized ducks like some of the other anniversary editions. It’s one of the more esoteric pieces of car culture, and it’s something a lot of Jeep drivers have embraced.
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