Back to World War II, the US military invited bids to produce an all-terrain vehicle that can be used on the battlefield. In order to cope with the harsh off-road conditions, this model must have a powerful four-wheel drive system and must be solid and reliable. Therefore, Willis MB and Ford GPW came into being.
This video simply points out the differences between Ford GPW's Willis MB and Jeep models.
194 1 was first produced by Willis. In the same year, 1 1 Ford joined the production sequence and named it Ford GPW.
50 seconds, nameplate.
Willis and Ford GPW will be placed on the cover of the glove box, and the vehicle information will be displayed in this position, but it may have been modified because of the preference of collection over time.
1 min 54 seconds, front air intake grille.
At first, the air intake of Willis was dense, and later, after Ford's improvement, the vertical grille was used less, which made the manufacturing cost lower.
Two minutes and 34 seconds? The left rear panel of the car body.
In the early days, both Willis and Ford GPW printed their names on the left rear of the car body;
2 minutes and 55 seconds? Front longitudinal beam
Ford GPW adopts u-shaped design;
3 minutes 2 1 sec? Ford GPW has a hole in the front bumper.
3 minutes 4 1 sec? Cover and lock slot of toolbox
Willis and Ford GPW have tool boxes on both sides of the rear wheel, while the latter is designed with a covered cover.
Four minutes and 34 seconds? Ford's F seal?
Many parts of Ford GPW are printed with F subtitles?
The official name of this model is Command? Reconnaissance is actually produced by Willis and Ford Motor Company. Ford GPW was also the first vehicle to deploy American troops. All these military vehicles were collectively called "jeeps" by American soldiers at that time. In the process of producing GPW, Ford constantly improved its own design, such as vertical 9-hole grille, to optimize ventilation and facilitate mass production.
▲ Ford GP was used for trial production and testing in the early days, and GPW is the name of the model for later mass production.
It can be said that this military vehicle is also the originator of SUV models, especially hard-core SUVs. After World War II, Willis continued to provide MB and its subsequent improved MC and MD models to the US military as military vehicles. Ford was commissioned by the military in 195 1 to redesign MC and MD and develop Jeep. M 15 1 military vehicle, AMC mass production. The last jeep? M 15 1 was not replaced by Hummer until 1999.
▲ Because Willis registered the vertical 7-hole grille as a trademark when registering the Jeep trademark, the M 15 1 designed by Ford adopted the horizontal grille design.
On the civilian side, due to the lack of infrastructure and inconvenient access in the United States, consumers have a demand for multi-functional off-road vehicles. So Willis applied for Jeep as a trademark and launched the MB civilian version of Jeep? CJ .
At the same time, civilian or military vehicles inspired by military jeeps have blossomed all over the world, including the earliest Land Rover, Toyota Land Patrol, Nissan Toure and other famous off-road vehicles in the future, all inspired by jeep military vehicles at that time. The jeep military vehicle of that year was also recognized as the most influential model in history. Therefore, Ford and Willis are the founders of the earliest SUV, which is well-founded.
▲ Group photo of six generations of explorers in 30 years.
Jeep makes people remember the image of hard-core SUV, while Ford integrates many genetic codes of military vehicle GPW into brand-new vehicle development, creating another civilian SUV. This has to be mentioned, one of the "national SUVs" with the highest cumulative sales in the United States, the explorer. Thirty years ago, its birth gave SUV a new meaning, and even sold well all over the world, with a cumulative sales of more than 8 million vehicles.
"Military to civilian"? The wild horse, the predecessor of the explorer, was born.
1948 after the war, the reconstruction and economic recovery of the United States ushered in a golden age. When baby boomers grow up, consumers prefer cars with interesting personalities. 1964 A year after the launch of Mustang, Ford introduced Bronco with its own mature pickup chassis to meet the needs of an off-road vehicle that can be used daily. This also marks that the professional off-road vehicle, which is mainly military, has begun to transform into a sport utility vehicle.
▲ Ford Bronco has three body forms, all of which are double-door designs.
Bronco was the first to use "Sport? Practical "has become one of the earliest SUV models on the market. Its design is simple and direct, everything serves the function, and it is extremely hard core. The non-loaded body chassis from pickup truck also brings it strong off-road capability. At the same time, Bronco also has spacious space, road comfort and a variety of power options, which makes it stand out quickly.
During the 30 years from 1966 to 1996 * *, the sales volume of Bronco exceeded1200,000 vehicles. Now a first-generation mustang with good appearance can easily sell for 50,000 dollars, and a slightly special version can exceed 6,543,800 dollars. This shows the position of this car in the hearts of Americans.
The explorer took the baton. Wild horse? Open the road to SUV transformation
In the United States in the 1980s, technological changes brought about rapid economic development, and people's lifestyles began to become more and more diversified. More and more family consumers need a multifunctional family car that is more inclined to drive on the road and can provide spacious space and comfortable configuration. Of course, Americans who advocate freedom by nature also require this car to take a person away from the city highway on weekends while meeting daily needs. Crossing the changeable road conditions and getting close to nature-Ford gave his own answer in 1990, a four-door large SUV based on the non-loaded rear-drive platform, and was called "Explorer".
▲ 199 1 First Generation Ford Explorer
Ford Explorer not only has larger and more comfortable interior space than cars and ample cargo space comparable to pickup trucks, but also has luxury car-like interiors and comfortable configurations, such as leather seats and JBL brand HIFI audio system supporting CD, which was unimaginable in the hard-core SUV market dominated by tools and toys at that time. More importantly, it also retains the core genes of Ford pickup truck and Mustang-rich and diverse power selection and strong passing performance.
Explorers got a hot market response when they were young. 199 1 year, explorers ranked third in the sales list of multi-purpose vehicles, reaching 249,640 vehicles, and also became the sales champion of American SUV models. Explorers transformed the SUV into one of the most popular models in the United States, and officially announced that the SUV has completed the transformation from a functional off-road vehicle to an economical and comfortable multi-functional family car. It is worth mentioning that it was in the 10 year since the explorer came out in the 1990s that the sales of American SUVs surpassed cars for the first time.
The explorer's "first time"
The reason why Ford Explorer became a "phenomenal" product is to bring better technology to more consumers. To put it bluntly, it is equipped with a large number of safe, comfortable and driving configurations.
For example, explorers took the lead in equipping SUVs with four-wheel disc brakes and four-wheel anti-lock braking systems, dual-zone airbags, advanced occupant restraint modules, dual induction probes for end collisions, and five-stage front passenger induction systems. Seven safety configurations, such as active load-limiting seat belt tightener, have been popularized to more models.
▲ The second-generation Ford Explorer who took the lead in carrying dual-zone airbags in its class.
Explorers also applied the intelligent multi-disc clutch central differential controlled by software program to the four-wheel drive system for the first time to replace the mechanical gear central differential. This intelligent four-wheel drive system named ControlTrac can be said to be the prototype of modern intelligent four-wheel drive system, which reduces the difficulty of off-road and helps drivers get out of trouble.
At the same time, Explorer is the first SUV with three rows and seven seats in its class to cope with the increasing number of family members. This can be said to be the most important selling point in the demand for SUV models at present.
▲ The third generation Ford Explorer is the first 3-row 7-seat SUV of its class.
Nowadays, the sixth generation explorers return to the original longitudinal rear drive structure to meet the growing demand of consumers for highway driving performance. Different from the previous four generations of explorers, the sixth generation of explorers adopted a load-bearing body, which not only reduced the center of gravity, but also greatly improved the handling and ride comfort. With the increasing demand of consumers for fuel economy, the new fourth-generation EcoBoost? 2.3-liter engine, matched with 10-speed automatic transmission, can change the impression that American SUV costs oil.
▲2020 North American version of Ford Explorer
Explorers have spared no effort in the technical field, from a series of safety configurations such as the first standard ABS brake anti-lock system to the CoPilot360 Zhixing driver assistance system that can realize L2 automatic driving. Of course, this also brings consumers a better experience. As an old SUV model, it has always been at the forefront of technology.
Write it at the end
Many friends will call it "jeep" when they see an SUV, but in fact, this concept is not so broad. It is just one of the hard-core SUVs, and besides Willis, which we are familiar with, there is actually a secret that most people don't know. Although Jeep and Ford used to be military suppliers, the latter two have their own understanding of SUV. The former flaunts pure off-road, while the latter turns to more diversified and popular road features. But in terms of SUV models, the North American market is really like a hotbed, which breeds SUV products and culture.
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