Road America: Why Americans love the Jeep

The stickers appeared years ago, when your narrator was young. A short phrase, catchy. Usually on the window of a lifted Wrangler.

It’s a Jeep thing, they read – you wouldn’t understand.

Perhaps you do understand? Regardless, the ‘thing’ isn’t complicated. Which is both the point and the glory and feed for the haters.

Today, we celebrate the off-road freedom prophet! A machine born in the free days of Churchill and Eisenhower! A seven-slot grille and round headlights, a countenance eight decades old and yet also freely new each free new model year, each successive model a fresh freestallment in an old story of freedom!

Did I mention the freedom?