# Remembering Bantam's revolutionary Jeep **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [June 14, 2026, 1:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/remembering-bantams-revolutionary-jeep/205858 "2026-06-14T13:31:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 1:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/remembering-bantams-revolutionary-jeep/205858/1 "2026-06-14T13:31:52Z")
> **[How Bantam Jeeps, designed in Butler County, became "America's greatest...](https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/bantam-jeep-butler-county-world-war-ii/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h)** > > The Bantam Jeep was designed in Butler and credited with helping the Allies win World War II, often called "the vehicle that won the war." ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 6:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/remembering-bantams-revolutionary-jeep/205858/2 "2026-06-14T18:39:13Z")
Truly sad Bantam was not allowed to manufacture the Jeep, just a matching trailer. Missing is how the name Jeep came about. Army designation General Purpose Vehicle, GP, GP started to be pronounce Jeep. On the other hand, how did Hummer get its names?🤪 ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 6:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/remembering-bantams-revolutionary-jeep/205858/3 "2026-06-14T18:41:19Z")
> [@Purebred](#): > > Bantam was not allowed to manufacture the Jeep It was all about production numbers. Bantam simply didn’t have the capacity for _volume_ production. Willys did, but when even Willys’ capacity proved insufficient, then Ford was brought into the situation. ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 6:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/remembering-bantams-revolutionary-jeep/205858/4 "2026-06-14T18:44:15Z")
The point being, with multiple manufactures involved, Bantam should have been allowed to continue. ---
**Author:** ![wolyrobb](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/wolyrobb/32/45497_2.png) [@wolyrobb](https://community.cartalk.com/u/wolyrobb)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 3:14am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/remembering-bantams-revolutionary-jeep/205858/5 "2026-06-15T03:14:42Z")
Hummer was the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle or HMMWV by AM General ---
**Author:** ![SteveCBT](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/stevecbt/32/3192_2.png) [@SteveCBT](https://community.cartalk.com/u/SteveCBT)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 11:43am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/remembering-bantams-revolutionary-jeep/205858/6 "2026-06-15T11:43:29Z")
Bantam designed and built the prototypes on its own dime and got very little for it The design was given to Willys and then Ford who made a ton of money Unfortunately Bantam went out of business ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 3:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/remembering-bantams-revolutionary-jeep/205858/7 "2026-06-15T15:57:03Z")
> [@SteveCBT](#): > > Unfortunately Bantam went out of business They were already running on fumes by the late '30s. Their CEO had bought-out American Austin in 1935, and while his redesign efforts to create the American Bantam car were admirable, they still struggled with sales. By 1940, they were selling fewer than 5,000 cars per year–which was less than Austin’s sales figures had been. Their total Jeep-building amounted to less than 3k units, whereas Willys/Ford were able to churn-out more than 600,000 in total. American Bantam closed their doors and their books in 1956. ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 4:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/remembering-bantams-revolutionary-jeep/205858/8 "2026-06-15T16:47:06Z")
Sorry you did not get the humor.