Happy 50th birthday, Jeep Wagoneer

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Jeep Grand Wagoneer

The Wagoneer got the SUV on the radar of buyers looking for something capable, comfortable and rugged.

The Jeep Wagoneer was introduced 50 years ago, and it's that vehicle we have to thank for the herds of excellent crossovers and SUVs that make up our current automotive landscape. On a personal level, I have always loved the full-size Jeeps and their crisp Brooks Stevens styling, which aged well over their long tenure on the market. The SJs, as they're known among enthusiasts, were the Wagoneer and its two-door counterpart, the original Cherokee. The Wagoneers had become true luxury vehicles by the end of their run, which stretched form late 1962 as a '63 model all the way to 1991, when they were offered exclusively under the Grand Wagoneer nameplate.

At the end of the line in 1991, The New York Times called the Grand Wagoneer "one of the last true gas guzzlers" as it eulogized the vehicle. It deserves more respect than that; the Wagoneer got the SUV on the radar of buyers looking for something capable, comfortable and rugged. People who could afford such luxuries seemed to understand its purpose. At the end of production, the average Grand Wagoneer buyer pulled in over $100,000 a year, and the Jeep often served as a second or third car. There is no denying that the Wagoneer invented the luxury SUV, years before the Range Rover was ever offered for sale.

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Happy 50th birthday, Jeep Wagoneer originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 May 2013 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #319 LIVE!

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We record Autoblog Podcast #319 tonight, and you can drop us your questions and comments regarding the rest of the week's news via our Q&A module below. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.

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Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #319 LIVE! originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Feb 2013 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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