Ricki Dudley, age 13, of Elmira, Ore., for her question:

HOW DID THE JEEP GET ITS NAME?

When you capitalize the word Jeep you are mentioning the trademark of a civilian automobile, but without the capital J you are talking about the all purpose vehicle that was first used extensively by the U.S. armed forces as a command car.

Jeep became the slang nickname for the truck's official name, which was General Purpose vehicle. At first it was " GP," and then it became "jeep.''

A jeep can carry six people in its 11 foot body. It is powered by a four cylinder engine and can easily run 65 miles per hour. Some have four wheel drive while others have only two. They can easily pull an antitank gun or haul a thousand pound load of equipment.

In 1958 English engineers developed a folding jeep that could be parachuted to ground.