A closer look
General Purpose was originally the military designation for the light reconnaissance vehicles used during World War II, which soldiers quickly abbreviated to GP and then Jeep; Ford and Willys churned out hundreds of thousands of these rugged, four-wheel-drive machines to help the Allied forces navigate the muddy, bomb-cratered landscapes of Europe; they were incredibly simple to fix, could be assembled in minutes, and were so versatile they were sometimes used to power field hospitals or even run on train tracks; naturally, this glorious symbol of utilitarian military triumph has slowly evolved into a wildly overpriced grocery-getter for suburban dads who desperately want to look like they go off-roading
