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   Born in humble circumstances in the 1940s, the Jeep quickly earned a reputation as a hard worker that could go anywhere under the worst conditions. By the mid-’60s, the Jeep began to be seen not just as a workhorse, but as a practical family car. Now as the next century approaches, the Jeep is considered as much a show horse as a workhorse.

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It’s time to make more room for the Jeep, a car that is becoming a way of life for an increasing number of drivers around the world.
Of course, some use it merely to drop off their children at school, soccer practice or piano lessons. But hardcore Jeep owners like to give their cars a rougher treatment. In the United States, for example, there are regular monthly “jamborees” where Jeep drivers take on back-country trails from the Black Hills of South Dakota to the bayous of Louisiana.

   Born in humble circumstances in the 1940s, the Jeep quickly earned a reputation as a hard worker that could go anywhere under the worst conditions. By the mid-’60s, the Jeep began to be seen not just as a workhorse, but as a practical family car. Now as the next century approaches, the Jeep is considered as much a show horse as a workhorse.

   Under that new shiny surface, however, the Jeep is still a Jeep. Even the new 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which sports such luxuries as an interior heating and cooling system that adjusts itself according to the surface temperature of the riders, is still built to take on rough roads. Traction can be secured, even if three wheels are in the mud, thanks to Jeep’s special four-wheel-drive system, Quadra-DriveTM, which pushes all the power to the fourth wheel.

   Of course, this kind of cutting-edge technology means cutting-edge sealing products. In 1999, Chicago Rawhide will be providing not only the bonded piston and plenum seals for the Quadra-DriveTM system, but front and rear crankshaft seals, a new front pump seal for the transmission and five seals in the newly designed transfer case.

   So drive on, and don’t mind the mudholes. They’re not likely to stop you anyway.

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