Jeep History: Jeep started as the classic Ford-built Army vehicle popularized by World War II movies. The first civilian Jeep was the 1941 Willys CJ. Kaiser purchased Willys in 1953 and named it Kaiser-Jeep in 1963, then sold it to American Motors in 1970, who sold to Chrysler in 1987, who merged with Daimler-Benz in 1998. The Chrysler and Jeep names are now owned by the Chrysler Group, LL