In war and peace ; Exhibit traces Jeep origins and heritage.(Walter P. Chrysler Museum's Pearl Harbor exhibit)(Brief Article)

In an America at war following a surprise attack on its homeland, the approaching 60th anniversary of the Dec. 7 attack on Pearl Harbor is bound to resonate. From the standpoint of automotive history, the longest lasting echo from World War II is Jeep, celebrating its own anniversary in an exhibit at the Walter P. Chrysler Museum through March 2, 2002.

``The Mighty Jeep: A Legend Turns 60'' opened Oct. 2 in the lower level of the three-story Auburn Hills, Michigan museum (1-888-456-1924 or www.chryslerheritage.com). The 26 vehicles displayed include prototypes, through the early Jeepsters and Wagoneers, up to modern concept cars, even including the Archer Brothers' 1985 Commanche, an SCCA truck-racing champ. The story is also told with photos (TV

cowboy Roy Rogers in his Jeep Nellybelle among them), toys, models and other cultural ephemera, including advertising.

Museum manager Barry Dressel says his guiding principle was to examine the question of whether Jeep truly is a ``legend.'' An authentic legend, he says, answers three questions in the affirmative: 1) Is the object in question invoked as a symbol for something else? 2) Is it more than its own advertising, that is, does the advertising grow out of the object's attributes, rather than the other way around? and 3) Does it generate its own literature and material culture?

Most Americans could answer those questions without much guidance when it comes to Jeep, but the exhibit is both entertaining and instructive in the way it goes about making its point.

Jeep's origins are recounted, beginning in July 1940 with the Army requesting bids from U.S. ...