The old Jeep, the new Jeep and all the Jeeps in between.

The Jeep Willys we had as kids was a member of the family.  What fun we had with that Jeep!  No wonder we've had so many Jeeps since.

I always knew it as a 1957 Jeep Willys.  We referred to it as The Jeep.  I don't know where it came from and sadly, don't know what happened to it after my father passed away.  It was key in our Sunday afternoon "Jeep rides" to the local sandpit.  We screamed with delight as my father raced up and down the mountains of sand.  OK.  I was a little kid.  They seemed like mountains.  We sat in the back and held on for dear life.

The good old days were centered around The Jeep. I (and many others) learned how to drive in The Jeep.  With a virtually indestructible transmission, it was perfect for the student driver who was a bit hard on the clutch.

As you can see from the photo, The Jeep also accompanied us on weekend trips to horse shows as well as the weekly trip to the dump.

Not quite as large as the Saint Bernard in the first photo, this collie pup seemed to enjoy his rides in The Jeep too!

When my dad retired, my parents moved to Florida.  The Jeep moved to my brother's house for a short time until my parents realized that Florida wasn't for them. They moved to a lovely hilltop location in Vermont.  My husband and I borrowed a friend's truck, rented a car trailer and drove The Jeep to Vermont to be with my dad once again.  The plow would certainly come in handy!

When my husband and I had our first child, we sold the small, two seater Toyota pick up for a 1988 Jeep Cherokee.  It was time for a family car.  I don't have many photos of the Grey Jeep because we were too busy taking photos of our son (as it should be, right?)!  

This is the only photo of the entire Grey Jeep that I could find.  My dad loved cars and he took the photo.  On the back he wrote "Parking Lot".  It was his front yard and he loved it when we all came to visit.

The Grey Jeep was much loved but as high mileage set in along with the birth of our second son, we traded it in on a 1994 Cherokee.  The Red Jeep had an automatic transmission unlike the manual Grey Jeep.  We kept the Red Jeep until it had over 150,000 miles on it and guess what we traded it in on.....

.....a Yellow Jeep of course!  This was the coolest Jeep we had ever seen.  A yellow Jeep?  We were on our way to a local ski area in Maine when we passed this Jeep at the dealer.  The kids yelled "Look at the yellow Jeep!" when we drove by.  So we dropped them off with their skis and snowboards and while they were there, we traded the Red Jeep in for the Yellow Jeep!  Crazy and spontaneous but who had ever heard of a Solar Yellow Jeep?  When we picked them up later that evening, they confirmed that we were cool parents.

Our boys learned how to drive in the Yellow Jeep.  Another automatic, it was easy to drive.  And thanks to the color, we always knew where they were.  Of course, so did everyone else!

I posted this rear end photo because I think Jeep made a mistake with the new Cherokee.  The concave section of the new Cherokee rear door doesn't make sense.  It's dead space that should at least house the license plate like the older models, but it doesn't.  Rather funny looking in my opinion.

I believe that 2001 was the last year for the Jeep Cherokee with this body style. 

When we retired and moved to snowy Central Massachusetts, we quickly decided that we needed a snow plow.  There was no question in our minds that we wanted to find an Old Jeep.  After record breaking snow last year, the Old Jeep is a treasured member of our family.

After almost seven years of being "jeepless", it was time.  Meet the newest member of our fleet, the Blue Jeep. 

As I said earlier, we weren't impressed with the new Cherokee body style.  Something was simply not right.  After a ride to the Jeep dealer, we decided to invest in a new Jeep Renegade.  And it was available with a manual transmission; a plus in our book.

The Renegade rides nicely.  We've driven it on the highway and on local roads.  Around home I don't think we'll be using the 6th speed very often but it's nice to have on the highway.  The Blue Jeep is a nice, tight and rugged Jeep.  It was hard to top Solar Yellow, but I fell in love with Sierra Blue.

Jeep has "hidden" this little logo throughout the vehicle. 

The word "Jeep" is embedded in the fabric.  I like it.

Jeep remains a favorite in our family.  My sister recently purchased a new Wrangler.  She loves it.  My nephew has one too.  My brother has had a Liberty, a Cherokee and a Grand Cherokee.  My son said he'd like to find an old Cherokee that's in good shape; perfect for his fishing gear.

As for The Jeep....my dad sold it to a local farmer before he passed away.  The farm is still there and I like to think that The Jeep is nice and cozy in the barn.  Perhaps I'll write to the farmer who bought it.

What's next for us?  I'd like to trade our pick up in on a new Jeep Comanche.  Yes, we've heard the rumors.  Jeep....please make it happen!

Update - From roadandtrack.com..... Is it true?  A Wrangler Pick Up Truck for 2017?  Click here for article.

Update - We took the Blue Jeep over to Bromley in Vermont yesterday.  Took this photo in the parking lot.  That's Magic Mountain in the background.