Start with what the M151 MUTT is: a Jeep with inline 4-cyl., 141.5 cuin, built from 1959, at the height of the post-war boom. What it meant takes a little longer.
The background
The M151, or officially: Truck, Utility, ¼-Ton, 4×4, was the successor to the Korean War M38 and M38A1 Jeep Light Utility Vehicles. Despite being a clean-sheet Ford Motor Company redesign, it almost completely retained the same vehicle concept, dimensions and weight. But contrary to all prior U.S. 1⁄4-ton jeeps, based on the 1941, World War II Willys designs, the M151 has a unitary body and frame, and pioneered replacing leaf-sprung rigid, live axles front and rear, with all-around independent suspension and coil springs.
The M151's 4 in (10 cm) longer wheelbase, and 2 in (5.1 cm) wider body and tracks, combined with the benefits of an integrated body, offered more interior room, as well as a more planted stance, with greater side-slope stability. During its decades long service-life, a considerable number of updates and variants were developed – both to deal with its rear suspension problems and provide for numerous special variants, spanning from field ambulance to weapons systems mounting a 106mm recoilless rifle or small nuclear missile. The M718 ambulance has a longer rear body, taller bows and canvas roof, and is wider from relocating the spare tire from the rear to outside on the passenger side, but rides on the same 85 in (2.16 m) wheelbase as the M151, contrary to its M170 jeep predecessor. From 1985 into the early 1990s, the M151 and M718 have been replaced by the much larger, heavier, and much more expensive AM General HMMWV, both in most utility and logistics roles, as well as in (uparmored) frontline use. The HMMWV continued using all-wheel independent suspensi
The engineering
The engine is inline 4-cyl., 141.5 cuin; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. On the scales it comes to 2400 lb. Drive goes through a 4-speed + reverse manual transmission / single-speed, part-time transfer case. The layout matters: drive goes to all four wheels, which is what lets the power be used on a wet road. The wheelbase is 85 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Where it sits
In the Ford line-up the M151 MUTT has a clear place: it replaced the Willys M38A1; it handed the line to the AM General HMMWV. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Dodge Challenger, the Nissan Patrol, the Mini Mini. Its Ford stablemates include the Ford 021C and the Ford Escort.
Owning one today
There is no federal ownership record for the M151 MUTT — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.