This week's automotive fun thread centers on gettin' dirty. Here are ten vehicles that are good to go in the mud or snow - four- or all-wheel drive cars, trucks, SUVs that don't mind getting mud in their flaps.
So without further ado, here's the list!
1. Jeep CJ. Oh yeah. There's no other vehicle that even comes close to the #1 slot of "vehicles to take when the road... isn't." For over 60 years Jeep has been synonymous with off-road, recent attempts to civilize the Wrangler notwithstanding. There's a reason it's called the Jeep Jamboree...
2. HMMWV. The original Hummer, not the frou-frou specialty crap that GM decided to foist on an ever-gullible public. Approach angle of 54ยบ. Independent suspension. Capable of fording up to 5' of water. R-r-r-r-r-r-r! (Tim-the-toolman-Taylor-esque grunt inserted for good measure...)
3. Toyota FJ40. I had an Organic Chemistry professor in college who owned an FJ. He had it stocked to the rafters with survival gear and sundry. Thought the world was going to end at any given moment (remember two things: a) this was during the Cold War and b) he inhaled a lot of benzene...). Plus it's compatible with the GM small block V8.
4. Lamborghini LM. A four wheel drive, V12 SUV with 444 horsepower and a top speed of 120 MPH. What's not to love? Need another reason? It got Time Magazine's panties in a bunch and was number 40 on their 50 Worst Cars list...
5. Land Rover Series 1. Okay, this one makes this list primarily for the scene in "The Gods Must Be Crazy" where one winds up hanging from a tree.... *AND* it's got a Power Take Off unit. How cool is it that you could use your LR for a lawn mower?
6. First generation Ford Bronco. Top off. V8 at the ready. I don't care who you are, this is a sweet lookin' truck that's equally at home on the trails or on the beach. As with everything else in the 1970s, the redesign made it much larger and bulkier, and traded the fully removable roof for a smaller rear section.
7. Porsche 959. Okay, this one might not be the best choice for running the Jeep Jamboree, but it *has* won the gruelling Paris-Dakar rally (on its second try, but hey...). Show up with one of these beauties at a road rally and watch the WRX and STi owners cringe...
8. Third generation Chevy pickup. This is the base platform for building a serious off-road monster - with the option of engines ranging from the nigh-indestructible small block 350 to the monster 454 to the 6.2L Diesel, there's an engine to suit whatever you want to do. Put in a 6" lift, toss on 38" Mickey Thompsons, and you're good to get stuck miles and miles from civilization...
9. Jeep Wagoneer. Jeep off-road capability. Seating for 7. For dinner. Fake wood paneling. This is the vehicle to have if you want to take the whole (Brady Bunch) family off-roading...
10. Subaru WRX. Okay, got a soft spot for rally cars. Sue me. It's still a decent choice for something that'll go good in the snow, still haul all your kids and groceries, and doesn't reek of econobox like a Civic or Corolla...
Okay, so there's my list of favorite off-road type vehicles. I'm sure in my haste I've forgotten some really good cars or trucks, so remind me what's missing.
That is all.
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11 comments:
I looked at a HMMWV in the spring of '96, after a particularly bad winter in the DC suburbs - only the National Guard Hummers were getting through for a day or two after the 18" snowstorm.
It was a beast. When I started it, I thought it was a diesel. No, it was gas - the diesel was even louder and rougher.
My lovely bride thought it needed to be WAY more tricked out and nice on the inside for $50,000 ....
Hey Jay. Great thread. I've owned more SUVs than trucks in my 40+ years. Had 2 on the top ten (CJ7 and a Grand Wagoneer) By the by, the picture you posted for a "Wagoneer" is a "Grand Wagoneer". What a beast that was. Full time All Wheel drive with a 2 barrel 360 motor... My wallet is still hurting from owning that thing but it ran in anything!
Mazda 323 GTX - They always seem to do well at rally's.
Ugly as sin of course, but small, AWD, and tossable.
My fave; early Dodge Ramcharger.
My '78 was a beast. Tricked out inside like a van from "that 70s Show" (oh the times I had in that long before I met my wife!). 440 engine (out of a 69 roadrunner 6-pack), 4.56 gears, 9 inches of lift, 40" tires and full time 4WD. I could pass damn near anything except a gas station, and drive over anything that didnt get out of my way. Got about 5mph around town, and only slightly better on the highway. Went from that to a Dodge Omni when I got a job 50 miles away from home. :(
I was young, and stupid, and could have bought a brand new truck (or 2) for everything I sunk into it making it bigger, badder, stronger.
I still miss it though.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y7/MoparNJ/54619_1400.jpg
Doh, 5mpg, not 5mph!
If you're talking of the older FJ-40 and not the modern Landcruiser SUV or FJ Cruiser, I'd say you're spot on. I've watched one of those crawl around the side of a mountain where lesser vehicles rolled off, and climb hills that motorcycles feared.
But have you priced one lately? Even a rotted out rust bucket with a seized engine costs in the thousands.
Folks who have one seem to know what its worth.
My only grief with the WRX is that their new incarnations are completely and utterly ass ugly these days. The old ones are great, there is no doubt, but whoever took over Subaru's design section is just plain daft.
Land Rover oughta be higher up the list. IMHO, anyway. The early Land Rovers were the only vehicles ever made that could compete with a Jeep for off-road capability. If you spent much time watching National Geographic or Wild Kingdom when you were a kid, you'd think there were only two kinds of motor vehicles in all of Africa: Land Rovers and British WW2-surplus 2-ton trucks. Those things could go anywhere. They sneered at terrain that would make a Hummer wince.
Oh, I got one- the first car I ever drove offroad, the International Scout. Completely bulletproof and virtually 100% STEEL, except for a little bit of padding on the seats. Couldn't stop that thing, and if it got rolled over? Meh, roll it back.
Of course, it only did like 45 mph over the road, but the thing had a little engine straight out of a tractor.
Ted,
That was the very first thing that struck me about the Hummer - just how... spartan... it was. And this wasn't the military version (in which one would expect to find a certain degree of austerity).
Anon,
I've owned (counting on fingers) three pick-ups (all Dodge Rams FWIW) and two SUVs over the years. None on the top ten list, tho'...
As for the Wagoneer, so it is! If I weren't so damned lazy I'd go back and edit... ;)
Mike,
I wasn't aware that such a beastie even existed! Cool choice.
mopar,
Ah, the Ramcharger. You know, they actually made a Ram-based version on the 1994-2001 body style down in Mexico? http://www.uswd.com/images/00ramcharger002.jpg
Mule Breath,
Check the pic - of COURSE I meant the old FJ, not the retro new one... :)
There was an FJ for sale in my town a year or two back. Drove by it every single day for several months.
Mrs. G. said no new toys, tho'...
Linoge,
Gotcha on that. Between the WRX and the Honda CRV, I have *NO* idea what the designers in Nippon and Tokyo are smoking these days...
wolfwalker,
The only way it could go higher up the list would be to displace the LM, and anything that makes Time Magazine's asshole hurt has to be high on the list...
It's still in the top 5... :)
Paul,
It's funny that you mention the Scout. I was debating between the Scout and the (Grand) Wagoneer for the final spot, and chose the Wagoneer for two reasons:
1. The Scout already made one of my Friday lists.
2. Jeep is synonymous with off-road - it just seemed appropriate that they have two entries...
What no UniMog http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unimog
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