# The First SUV? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 13, 2004, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-suv/234145 "2004-03-13T23:20:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-suv/234145/21 "2004-03-15T03:06:52Z")
> [@](#): > > You know that the first Land Rover prototype was built with parts from a Jeep? Do you have a cite for that? I’ve heard that the first Land Rovers used Willys-Overland parts, but I don’t recall which. I thought it was the chassis, but then I thought that the chassis was welded up by the guy who came up with the Land Rover. I also thought that they used the W-O “Go-Devil” engine, but it turns out that they used a pre-war Rover engine and quickly upgraded it to a more powerful Rover engine. Sheet metal was aluminum (steel being in short supply). Anyway, I _have_ heard that Land Rover “used Willys parts”; but I haven’t seen any evidence of it. Not that I’m doubting you; I just want to know for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-suv/234145/22 "2004-03-15T03:34:28Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > Do you have a cite for that? I’ve heard that the first Land Rovers used Willys-Overland parts, but I don’t recall which. I thought it was the chassis, but then I thought that the chassis was welded up by the guy who came up with the Land Rover. I also thought that they used the W-O “Go-Devil” engine, but it turns out that they used a pre-war Rover engine and quickly upgraded it to a more powerful Rover engine. Sheet metal was aluminum (steel being in short supply). > > Anyway, I _have_ heard that Land Rover “used Willys parts”; but I haven’t seen any evidence of it. Not that I’m doubting you; I just want to know for sure. I’ve seen it mentioned a couple of places, but the cite I have handy is _Car Wars: Fifty Years of Greed, Treachery, and Skulduggery in the Global Marketplace_ by Jonathan Mantle. It’s described on pgs 132-133. > [@](#): > > Gordon Bashford was the thirty-two-year old charged with the initial design of new Rover postwar cars. Bashford was also given the job of designing the new four-wheel-drive vehicle for Rover. He took Jeep components, a new frame, and reconfiguring the body slightly, used the four-wheel-drive layout of the Jeep. Bashford had the prototype on the road in six months–not a short development time when major mechanical systems not only already existed but were utilized. Interestingly, it has this to say about the Jeep: > [@](#): > > The first four-wheel-drive vehicle is widely believed to be the wartime U. S. Army Willys Jeep. In fact, many manufacturers preceded it, albeit on a much smaller scale, from Stryker to Bugatti. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-suv/234145/23 "2004-03-15T03:55:41Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > I’ll see your Ford and raise you a [1905 Packard](http://www.packardclub.org/html/1905t.htm) or any number of [1909 Packard trucks](http://www.packardclub.org/html/1909t.htm). I give you the [Mack Manhattan](http://www.macktrucks.com/default.aspx?pageid=467), first made in 1901 but didn’t go into mass production until '04. ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-suv/234145/24 "2004-03-15T06:06:01Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > I’d like to say that; but I think Chevrolet has a good earlier claim, based on what someone said in another thread a couple of years ago. (Could depend on how you define “SUV”, but I don’t know enough about the Chevys to say.) Earlier threads, [When did we start calling them SUVs?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=150875) from a year and a half ago, and [The SUV saga…](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=22844) from four years ago. My comments in those threads were partly based upon discussions from the usenet group alt.fan.cecil-adams ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-suv/234145/25 "2004-03-15T21:58:24Z")
> [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > [1940-'45](http://wilk.wpk.p.lodz.pl/~whatfor/pkw_k1_kfz_82_volkswagen.htm). Whoa, Nellie! I thought the Kubelwagen was two-wheel drive. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-suv/234145/26 "2004-03-15T22:24:47Z")
> [@Rocketeer](#): > > Whoa, Nellie! I thought the Kubelwagen was two-wheel drive. Actually, I’m not sure if they did or not. It’s the closest thing Germany had to our Jeep so naturally I thought it was what **Tucker** was referring to. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-suv/234145/27 "2004-03-16T00:23:48Z")
> [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > Actually, I’m not sure if they did or not. It’s the closest thing Germany had to our Jeep so naturally I thought it was what **Tucker** was referring to. At least _one_ version of the _kubelwagen_ was 4WD, that was the Type 87 _Kommandeurwagen_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-suv/234145.md?page=1)