The Jeep Wagoneer was the first luxury 4x4, sold and produced under various marques from 1963 to 1991. A "sport utility vehicle" (SUV) for decades before the term was even coined, the 4WD Wagoneer saw only minor mechanial changes during its 28-year plus production run, the third longest in US automotive history.
The Wagoneer pioneered the sport utiliy vehicle marketplace, the most car-like 4x4 in spite of its massive boxy shape. Compared with offerings from International Harvester and Land Rover — which were producing utilitarian work-oriented vehicles with spartan truck-like interiors — the Wagoneer's luxury set it apart. Based on the Jeep SJ platform, the revolutionary Wagoneer sported an advanced overhead cam inline 6 cylinder, and offered features unheard of in any other 4WD vehicle made it at the time such as power steering and automatic transmission.
The Wagoneer made its debut seven years before Land Rover launched its Range Rover in Great Britain, and 24 years before that upscale marque appeared in the United States. It was succeeded by the Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Read more about Jeep Wagoneer: The Willys and Kaiser Years, The AMC Years, The Chrysler Years, Competition, Revival