The Jeep Gladiator, or J-series, is a line of full-size pickup trucks originally produced by Kaiser Jeep from 1962 to 1988. American Motors Corporation (AMC) purchased Kaiser in 1970. These trucks were based on the large Jeep SJ (Wagoneer) platform and is noteworthy for being in production for 26 years on a single platform generation. The Gladiator was also the basis for the first post-war Army trucks designed for civilian use. Gladiator was dropped as a name in the early 1970s and was known by the name Jeep Pickup. The J2000, J3000, J4000 series designations were given based on payload capacities and features.
The 1971 trucks came with a variety of options inline-six and V8 engines. The J-2000s were available in rear-wheel and four-wheel drive, with either a solid front axle or independent front suspension.
This series had the typical utilitarian and rugged design of that time and featured a classic pickup truck style body with a separate bed. Bed variations included Townside and Thriftside (step-side).
Chrysler bought out AMC in 1987 and since it competed directly with their line of Dodge trucks, Jeep trucks were discontinued.
Valuation tables can be seen at Caaarguide.com. Current values can also be seen at Collectorcarmarket.com. Histories of the Jeep truck series can be read at Motortrend.com, Allpar.com, Cars.com, and Jeep.fandom.com.
Image credit – Wikipedia.org
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