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Maggie’s Why are new model SUV's and "Off Roaders" so butt-fucking UGLY???
- Thread starter Blue Sky Country
- Start date
It amazes me how we’ve been making cars in the masses since 1908 and still can’t get it right the first time...
Toyota needs to bring the 79 series to the US.
Solely on electronics, not per se. However, I spend a crap ton of time on the road, and thoses little things matter.
Hell, I didnt buy the new Subaru Outback because it didnt have decent cup holders... (MF’er had spring loaded ones on my 2013, and big friggin holes in the 2017 - 100% chance of spill.).
Now, I could go out an buy a Half-track... but I’d prefer something nicer. I'm just not doing off road much at this point.
Gas is gonna go up quite a bit with the current shenanigans... and I was looking at the Hybrid Highlander. ..but its claim to fame is its technology:
When you look at the technology in a car and its clearly 8 years old... you’re gonna get hosed when something new comes along.
As I said previously: Ford is excellent about adding new features to their platforms for years after you buy it. That significantly better customer service than most automobile manufaturers.
Toyota makes a great mechanical masterpiece… But they also charge a fair amount. When compared to many of their competitors, they are behind In the innfortainment space.
That being said, I just saw the new Highlander for 2020 and that look really nice. However, now the infotainment center looks like it’s super overdone...Perhaps too far the other direction, for crying out loud…
Thing about a Toyota though is you pay a little extra for that excellent resale value.
And less ownership costs. Now if they could just nail fuel economy...
A Ford F-250 with FX4 package would make a sweet expedition vehicle. Where space permits of course. Hurry up Bronco.
That’s a key distinction. Americans think off roaring is finding the worst possible route from one place to another, but much of the world just wants to travel overland. An unmodified Land Rover can do that.
Maybe some. Usually left to the rock crawling community. You might be surprised how wrong your comment is.
I had a 87 four wheel drive Bronco II that I wrecked four times in a little over a year. Never did enough damage at one time to total it. The only thing original to the vehicle was the frame, engine, transmission and front/back seats. It spent so much time upside down I considered putting tires on the roof.
Got stuck on the beach and took four people and hour to shovel it out plus a F- 250 to tow. Crossing an interstate bridge in traffic it spent in two complete circles and then road against the guard rail for about a hundred feet.
That was the fifth wreck. Drove straight to the dealership and traded for a Ford Aerostar van that I drove for six years and never put a scratch on it.
I did the same thing. Paid $26,500. Got it on a 3 year lease as I drive a bit for sales and I could write some of it off. When the lease was up, I had dealers offering to pay me $24,000 for it. I only owed $13K, so I paid it off with no hesitation. Since then it's been my vacation rig. Icon lift. 33" Wrangler Duratrac's on 17" Methods. Expedition One bumpers front and rear. Demello sliders. Dual Battery's for the fridge and lights. Baja roof rack and Tepui RTT. Unfortunately, other than range days and camping trips, she's a garage queen. Somewhere right around 70K miles.
Elkhorn Mountains, Montana 2014
Yes, the FJ shares the Prado frame. Technically it's a LC, but the Euro version and way shorter than the US LC.
All I know is that I can drive circles around the Taco's that I travel with. Really nice having the short wheel base.
My buddy had someone forklift a pallet of ammo into his. Apparently those things are fantastic for heavy loads. (FJs).
Now THAT is what I call ready for serious business. Awesome acquisition right there. The current production models are looking super sharp too, going from Toyota's website. More than a few companies still willing to break the status quo and that is hard to beat. Starting MSRP at around $35K.
My grandpa tows a 26’ ocean fishing boat with his. Launches and retrieves it too.
There was/is a supercharger available for the FJ that was a Toyota part number that was covered under the original warranty of the vehicle. It was built by Magnuson but features a TRD casting. No longer available from Toyota. You might find it somewhere NIB old stock. But they were hot once it was announced they were not offering it any more. You might be able to get it direct from Magnuson. They're the ones building the current 4Runner kit. Not sure as it's not available for the Tacoma and I believe they shared the same 4.0 V6 and why you could also get the same kit for a Tacoma.
Like I did. ?
URD Stealth pulley for just a bit more.
Like I did. ?
URD Stealth pulley for just a bit more.
Up until 15my the Taco was a 1G-FE too. They could be bought of the lot with one.
Why we have the 2GR in them is beyond me. Wrong engine by a long shot.
Has he ever tried a high speed panic stop with that boat in tow?
Most vehicles have enough horsepower and torque to tow heavy loads, but mileage suffers and they don't usually have enough brakes to stop properly.
I'm way under capacity towing my boat, but having it run me over will never be an issue.
I hope your grandpa never has an issue.
Thanks! Except for the mount and balance of the tires and the alignment, I've done 100% of the work myself. She's got me just about everywhere west of the Rockies. From Anza Borrego in SoCal, to Canyonlands and Moab, to Yellowstone and Montana. This was Death Valley in Feb 2015. One of many to DV over the years.
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He doesn’t do very long hauls and has trailer brakes. It was more testament to the vehicle’s grunt and traction than it was long haul abilities.
Fj is a lot of things. Good tow vehicle isn't one of them. Ligtt weight and short wheel base do not make a good tow vehicles. A big boat like that would push that Fj all over the road in any kind of hard braking, or evasive maneuvers. Probably very little steering traction also with all that weight pushing down on the back. Hope DOT sees him doing that one days and writes him a pile of tickets. He's a danger to himself and everyone else on the road doing that.
Another vote for Toyota. 4Runner or FJ. 4Runner is one of the only SUVs still made that is actually a truck, not just a jacked up sedan. My wife and i love ours. It's her daily driver for now, but I'll inherit it as my hunt/range/winter vehicle when the mileage gets high. We just got back from Yellowstone/Tetons and i saw a ton of the Toyotas out there kitted out for offroading/overland/whatever.
I sure hope Toyota keeps the 4Runner pure with the next gen on the horizon.
Me too. As everyone else has moved to the unibody design, Toyota has maybe unintentionally created a niche for the 4Runner. They already have a unibody crossover in the highlander, so hopefully they realize what they have in the 4Runner.
We can only hope. My biggest fear is what they’ll choose for the engine... Hopefully they pull one from the Lexus side of things.
I agree that certain vehicles tow very heavy loads well.
And just so you know, I would trade my F250 for an FJ in a heartbeat.
My concern for your grandpa was just emergency stops, not anything to do with long haul.
Trailer brakes are mandatory for trailers/boats of that size here in FL.
Keeping them operating properly due to corrosion is a chore in itself.
My guess is your grandpa knows what he's doing.
However, nearly every auto accident I've seen that involved a boat has had one in tow that exceeds the tow rating of the vehicle.
My fishing buddy buddy bought a really nice 22' Shearwater and decided a new tow vehicle was needed too.
He bought a Raptor which tows it okay, but still suffers from not enough brakes even with trailer brakes.
He couldn't believe how much better my old 285k mile truck pulled and stopped it.
And, the bonus was I got better mileage.
Call your grandpa and offer to take him out fishing, in his boat of course...
Post up pics in the fishing thread.
After a lull in sales in early 2000s, they're selling more 4Runners than they ever have before.
I've 'heard' that they might discontinue it for 1 year then bring it back with some sort of big update. NOT looking forward to that.
I've 'heard' that they might discontinue it for 1 year then bring it back with some sort of big update. NOT looking forward to that.
No shit, look at the idiots driving them. I guess they are a step up in a way from the mini vans of the 90's. I'd take a Buick suv over one of the toasters on wheels, I want to just run over some of those.
The FJ was the first vehicle where I realized that a car should be no more than three colors. When I first started looking I found a Smurf blue one in stock and for a great price. I stood there looking at it trying to figure out what was wrong. It was the silver bumper wings and mirrors. You have your primary panel color. You're going to have black bits like the tires and the windows. I don't have a problem with the white roof (Although I'd take a trail teams color matched edition in black, red, or white in a heartbeat). But throw in the silver bits and it's too much IMO. Solved my problem by getting a silver one.
I hear ya, the gray stuff that all auto makers did for a long time is terrible. I blacked out the wheels and all the gray bits (except rear bumper), added the black steel front bumper so it's a lot better now.
Just brainstorming all day yesterday and today, I had been looking at all brands of SUV's and "trail vehicles" that are non-ATV's and can be driven on streets and highways. Everything, and I mean every fucking model of new 2018 and 2019 vehicles are ugly as fuck. I do not mean any offense to anyone who prefers these new styles, but to me, they are just plain bad. All of them look like a toddler or child's sneaker. The streamlining removes all sense of actual old-school adventure and ruggedness.
Nissan Kicks right here used as an example:
NOPE. Don't like any part of it.
My preferred style is solid and boxy. Like this:
And just as I expected, all of the new model Land Rovers resemble the Kicks on the top picture to every fucking exact dimension.
Now I am curious: Is there ANY manufacturer out there that are still building basic frame SUV's and 4X4's that do NOT possess any of these hideous new aesthetics that almost all current production vehicles have? I don't like bells and whistles. At least not so much of it that it pussifies the shit out of the whole thing. If I am going to invest in a sport utility or adventure vehicle that is also capable as a daily commuter, I can do without all of the shit that people nowadays cry and beg for. Fuckin' heated seats, power this, power that, heated steering wheels.......No....I just want something rugged and simple. Preferably with manual shift.
From my lengthy perusal, it seems like a Jeep Wrangler is the only option that will fit the description that I given above. Sure, I can find older Jeeps and Land Rovers on Carfax that have reasonable pricing and miles, but I don't like used vehicles that much at all. I'd much rather plop down financing for a new model that I am in control of from the beginning and that I can look with pride on the odometer at the miles that I made in it.
What does the Hide think? Anything else out there that I am not aware of that is actually available in the USA with convenient source for parts and repairs if necessary?
2019 Jeep Wrangler
We have 5 wrangler 4-doors. They've been very reliable. Great resale, but nobody wants to trade theirs in. Gas mileage only about 18-19 if that matters.My hood doubles as a shooting table..
Actually, they are running them on one or two largish computers with virtual machines (VMware)....
