*      My typical response is that Jeep is THE original, but went by the
name Willy back in the day.
 
I'll happily stand corrected, but my understanding is that the vehicle
produced by Willys Motors was designated by the army as a "General
Purpose" vehicle. As such, the various models used by the army were
given "GP" designations -- which then got acronymed to "JEEP".
 
Steve
Team Tierra Buena
"There ain't no word that can't be verbed." - William Safire