This ad March 05, 1949, ad in the Beatrice times (Beatrice, Nebraska) from M. O. Trindel, and authorized Jeep Sales and Service provider underscores his enthusiasm for the Willys 1949 line-up of vehicles. His argument that Willys-Overland’s lack of innovation (models didn’t change yearly) was a competitive differentiator that I hadn’t considered, but this meant there was much internal innovation. I would argue that instead of Willys-Overland and Willys Motors innovating internally, they left the innovations to the special equipment folks, from tops and hubs to winches and other pto equipment.
