And despite AMC's and Chrysler's efforts to protect the tradename, they didn't succeed.
On the trip to Chile for some four wheeling with Mike from Chile of NAXJA (the trip on which I met my wife, incidently), on the way to the area where we were to meet up with his club he kept telling me that his friend Ivan would be there with his (Mike's) old Jeep. I was expecting a CJ or a flat fender. The place we were wheeling was a spectacular area of pure sand dunes. We were out in the middle of this ocean of sand, and we could hear an engine in the distance before we could see anything.
"Here comes my old Jeep," said Mike. Imagine my surprise a few moments later when over the top of a sand dune came ... a Daihatsu Rocky!
Seems all over South America, the term "Jeep" doesn't indicate a vehicle manufactured by any particular company, it just means a small-ish 4WD utility vehicle. Samurais, Sidekicks, Trakkers, Kia Sportages -- all "Jeeps" in Chile.
And Mike's 2000 Cherokee Classic? It's not a "Jeep" -- it's a Cherokee.