What’s the idea behind upholstering a car’s interior in denim? Durability? Aesthetics? Stain resistance? Nobody quite knows. In the 1970s, American Motors Corporation made an effort to capitalize on the rising popularity of blue jeans and released Levi’s branded editions of two of their vehicles: the already-polarizing AMC Gremlin and the Jeep Renegade CJ5. Both came with denim interiors, complete with orange stitching and copper rivets.
If that was not silly enough, here’s an actual advertising blurb for the Levi’s Gremlin:
Now a Gremlin with upholstery that’s like blue denim Levi’s. Has orange stitching, the buttons, event the famous Levi’s tab on both front seats…Levi’s Gremlin. The economy car that wears the pants.
Official AMC/Levi’s press release
If you still wear bell-bottoms, listen to the Bee Gees (for some ungodly reason,) and have a mustache that looks like it was stolen from a push broom, then this Levi’s Edition Jeep Renegade CJ5 currently up for sale on Bring A Trailer may be your thing. Its red and blue paint and tall roll bar call to mind cheap knockoffs of G.I. Joe toys. That garish image is not helped by its equally brash denim top, which was available in either blue or khaki.
According to the ad, the jean Jeep has been kept in a garage for most of its life, and was sometimes taken out to plow snow from the driveway of its first owner. With relatively low mileage (just 46,000 miles) and a well-documented service history, including a newer battery, fresh shocks, and recent engine service, anyone looking to get into the world of off-roading with some Jeep cred has an ideal vehicle available here.
The current high bid already sits at $6,600…and with a whole six days left, that bid is sure to climb further.
