This issue of Willys News shows that Jeep dealers were experience continued growth. This issue also suggests that the ashtrays and cuff-tie-links were introduced in 1960. Anyone have the full page 1959 Nieman Marcus catalog ad of the newly introduced DJ-3A Surrey mentioned on the last page?

In the ‘sometimes it’s better to be lucky’ department, eBay blessed me with a huge win the other day: 10 Willys News issues from 1960 and 1961 for only $20 (and free shipping)! Here’s the first one. It includes a lot of DJ-3A Surrey articles, a note about future President Lyndon Johnson checking out a Willys truck for his ranch, and more. The 1/4 ton jeeps (CJ-5s and CJ-3Bs) take a back seat to the FCs, Wagons, and DJs in this issue. There’s also articles demonstrating how dealers felt TV shows were helping to drive sales, which is likely why Willys Motors moved forward with other TV show and movie tie-ins.

The January 1958 issue of Willys News includes a rare article on the Willys Economy Delivery Truck, which was new for 1958.

This issue of Willys News includes a variety of FC-related articles, but also takes a full-page look at the Truth-or-Consquences, New Mexico, 2nd Annual ‘Jeep’ Derby.

I can’t imagine that Willys was fielding enough Land Rover questions that the sales department thought it needed to highlight the Jeep’s advantages over it?

This issue is Dealer-Contest focused and, frankly, a little uneventful.

A big thanks to Barney Goodwin (of Barneys Jeep Parts) for sending me this early edition of the Kaiser Willys News. This is issue #3. A couple interesting things about this issue. Perhaps the biggest curiosity is that there isn’t much related to jeeps in this issue, confirming that even by early 1954 there was still a lot of integration still going on. Issue #2, seen in the post below, also didn’t have much information related to jeeps. Volume 4 of the newspaper, which appeared in May (and can be seen below the #2 issue), had a few more jeep specific references.

The last issue of Willys News I posted was from the summer of 1956. I don’t have any others for 1956. I also don’t have the January 1957 issue, but I do have some eBay pics (from 2013). It looks like a good one (see post below this one).

This issue of Willys News highlighted a new advertising campaign, the “Gets there . . . works there . . .  anywhere!” magazine ads (will highlight those on Thursday). Page 3 has some advertising reprints (lower left pic), showing the diversity of ‘Jeep’ ads (I hope to find examples of all of these for a future post). Also on page three appears to be “NEW LIFE” ads that include concentric circles. Maybe that was a local parts dealer campaign. I’ll have to see if I can find newspaper examples of that campaign from DC newspapers of the time. On Page 2, there’s an image of the Light Rescue Truck, featured in yesterday’s post about the Light Rescue Truck brochure.

Ted Bumiller’s trip around the world was highlighted in this issue as well. More information this trip, including reference to a film about it, can be found in this 2016 film and lecture post.

Regarding the back page article, it’s a bit hard for me to believe that the motorhome the Murray’s built on a truck chassis (with an inline 6?) was capable of sustained cruising of 70 MPH, especially given that modern interstates had yet to be built (the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956––aka Interstate Highway construction bill––hadn’t yet been passed when this issue of Willys News was published).