In 1951 Ford Motor Company was awarded the contract to design a 1/4 ton 4x4 Military Utility Tactical Truck (hence MUTT) to replace the M38 and M38A1 model jeeps. The M151 'MUTT' was developed with guidance from the US Army's Ordnance Truck Automotive Command. Design started in 1951 and testing and prototyping lasted through most of the fifties. Although the M151 was developed and initially produced by Ford, production contracts for the M151A2 were later also awarded to Kaiser Jeep and AM General Corp.