The Jeep Comanche (designated MJ) is a pickup truck variant of the Cherokee compact SUV (1984–2001) manufactured and marketed by Jeep for model years 1986-1992 in rear wheel (RWD) and four-wheel drive (4WD) models as well as two cargo bed lengths: six-foot (1.83 metres) and seven-foot (2.13 metres). Introduction During the mid-1980s, according to AMC chairman W. Paul Tippett Jr. "People are finding trucks a reasonable and sophisticated alternative to cars." To satisfy the demand and to compete with Japanese competitors, both AMC and Chrysler were preparing compact pickups for the 1986 and 1987 model years (respectively). Also at this time the financial health of AMC was poor and the automaker was in need of cash as it was preparing a new line of midsize sedans (the Eagle Premier) scheduled to be produced at a factory being built in Canada (Brampton Assembly), but the best thing the company had going for it was its popular line of Jeeps and introducing a compact Jeep pickup truck in the fall of 1985 was expected to help. The Jeep Comanche was introduced in mid-August 1985, at a lavish event staged at the ballroom of the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino (currently Bally's Las Vegas) for AMC's over 1,500 North American dealers. American Motors included Chinese officials as part of the negotiations establishing Beijing Jeep (now Beijing Benz). The goal was to produce and sell Comanches in China through this joint venture. The new trucks were unveiled by Jose Dedeurwaerder, an engineer and international business executive with 23 years of experience with Renault, who had just been appointed as AMC's new president. The base price of the two-wheel drive model was $7,049 (adjusted only for inflation equal to US$ in dollars), making it the lowest priced Jeep model for the 1986 model year. Design American Motors' Jeep designers based the Comanche MJ body, styling, engineering, and drivetrain on the XJ Cherokee, which had been introduced for the 1984 model year. The Comanche had a somewhat more conventional body-on-frame design behind the cab and a removable cargo box, but retained the unibody construction of the Cherokee in the front half of the vehicle. In the United States where the Comanche and Dodge Rampage were sold they are both considered pickup trucks. By contrast, in other markets the Volkswagen Rabbit Pickup was called the Volkswagen Caddy and considered a coupe utility, not a truck because the