The Winter 2022/23 cover of the Dispatcher Magazine shows the September 1946 introduction of the new hydraulic implement lift at Charles Sorensen’s CESOR Farms. That issue includes Barry’s article “How Henry Ford Saved the Jeep.” The cover photo was taken from a Willys-Overland dealer publication.
Pictured above is an AI-enhanced version of the article appearing in the August 21, 1946, Toledo Blade newspaper. We mark these two events as the true beginning of the Farm Jeep era, when the addition of the implement lift made the Jeep a true, competitive tractor.
You can read the book “The Farm Jeep: Swords to Plowshares” to learn more about why we believe the events of 80 years ago were so important to the Jeep brand.
“Legends Aren’t Born, They’re Made.”
This 2019 Jeep marketing campaign slogan embodies a theme that has stretched across eight decades. “Jeeps are made, not built” is another phrase. The idea is that each vehicle is a platform for making a machine that meets the owner’s needs.
Over the next few months, we will be exploring what happened when the “Universal Jeep” left the factory. We will be featuring Jeep stories about how companies and individuals made the Jeep their own. Stay tuned.
FJ