The original Jeep was the prototype Bantam BRC. Willys MB Jeeps went into production in 1941 specifically for the military. Arguably that makes them the oldest four-wheel drive mass-production vehicles now known as SUVs. The Jeep became the primary light 4-wheel-drive vehicle of the United States Army and the Allies during World War II. It remained so in the postwar period. The term became common worldwide in the wake of the war. Doug Stewart notes: