Jeep Wrangler

The Wrangler (also known as the YJ, TJ, and JK, as explained below) is an off-road vehicle produced by American automaker Chrysler under its Jeep marque. It is a successor to the famous World War II 'Jeep' vehicle by way of the Willys Universal Jeep (CJ) in the 1950s, later produced by Kaiser-Jeep and AMC. The Wrangler debuted in 1987, was updated in 1997 and again in 2007, and is still popular today.

From 1987 until 1992 the Wrangler/YJ was built in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Today the Wrangler is produced at Jeep's Toledo North Assembly plant in Toledo, Ohio. When Wrangler production ended at Toledo South Assembly Plant in mid 2006, the plant was slowly torn down. As of early 2008, only the stack saying "Overland" is left.

The Wrangler name was not used in Canada, as it was a trim level of Chevrolet pickup in that market. Instead, 1987 to 1995 models were sold as YJ, and 1997 to 2006 models were sold as TJ. The model designations of YJ and TJ are used throughout the world in the Jeep enthusiast community to differentiate which model is being spoken of instead of using the more ambiguous term "Wrangler".

YJ (1987-1995)

The Jeep YJ, sold as the Wrangler, replaced the much-loved but slower-selling Jeep CJ in 1987 and was built in Brampton, Ontario, Canada until the plant closed on April 23, 1992. It was a new design with a wider wheelbase, slightly less ground clearance, a galvanized body and more comfort. The YJ also had a leaf spring suspension similar to that of the CJ, however, the springs were wider, and the YJs sported trackbars and swaybars for added handling. YJs are easily identifiable by their rectangular headlights, which were a source of controversy when introduced. Despite the new grill, the body is very similar to the CJ's, and it is interchangeable with some minor modifications. Many CJ owners with a rusted body replace them with a newer YJ body, they are almost cosmetically identical and the lines from the nose match up perfectly. 632,231 YJs were built through model year 1995, though YJs were still produced into mid '96 bringing the total production number to 685,071 units.