CJ's were from the early 70's (or possibly before?) through 1987. Then, YJ's came along through 95. There was no Jeep model in '96. '97 and newer are TJ's. Each model changed just a bit here or there, but all have been just as capable as the previous, if not more capable. Main points on the YJ over CJ were an actual dash board instead of flat metal panel with a couple of guages, and square headlights. Main points on TJ over YJ were the wussy looking dashboards ( some would say "carlike"),
coil springs instead of leaf springs (again, very "carlike"), airbags ("carlike"), and the windshield tilts back a few degrees more than that of the YJ and CJ (sorta "carlike").