Kaiser Jeep was the result of the merger between Kaiser Industries, an independent Automobile manufacturing company based in Willow Run, Michigan and Toledo, Ohio based Willys-Overland Company.
Founded by John North Willys , Willys-Overland had survived World War II by producing the Ford designed Jeep vehicle for the armed forces, and Jeep was considered the crown jewel of Willys-Overland.
While Joseph Frazier had left Kaiser Frazier by 1950, Frazier had been the one-time president Willys-Overland. Going it alone, Henry J. Kaiser pursued the merger between Kaiser Industries and Willys-Overland was arranged in 1953; Kaiser hoped that the combined companies could provide a broad range of products that could compete with the Big 3 Automakers , Studebaker and Nash-Kelvinator Corporation.
Following the collapse of the Kaiser and Willys makes in 1955, Kaiser Industries phased out its U.S. passenger car business and shipped the dies to Brazil where the firm continued to build cars until the 1960s.
Kaiser Jeep sold several lines in the United States including its Jeep C (Civilian) Series, Jeep based all steel station wagon and innovative Jeepster model that was reintroduced in the late 1960s. In 1962, Kaiser Jeep introduced the Jeep Wagoneer, which replaced the 1940s style station wagon. Designed by industrial designer Brooks Stevens, the Wagoneer would remain in production into the 1990s, and is credited with being the first true American Sport Utility Truck (SUV)
Kaiser Industries sold its Jeep holdings to American Motors Corporation in 1970.
