Willys (Willys-Overland) Willys-Overland Jeepster History

Another Brooks Stevens design, the Jeepster (factory code 'VJ') was launched in April 1948 as a sporty, fun-focused open car aimed at returning WWII veterans and young couples. It shared the 104-inch-wheelbase platform with the Willys Jeep Station Wagon and pickup.

With its stainless-steel T-bar grille, manual folding top, and side curtains in place of roll-up windows, the Jeepster was effectively the last true phaeton offered by a major American manufacturer. Only 19,132 were built; production effectively ended in 1950, with leftovers retitled as 1951 models. The name later returned on the 1966 Jeepster Commando under Kaiser Jeep.