Beautiful! “Car guys” rag on them endlessly, but these classic BOF SUVs are perhaps my favorite kind of cars.

“never warm in the winter”

Might be a manufacturing-related issue with body sealing causing a draft, because they have EXCELLENT heaters in them. 

When introduced in 1970 the Fiat 124 the Lada was based on was still one of the best driving compacts in Europe, so the Lada was very much with the times.  By the 80s yes it was growing outdated, the FWD Samara however was very much a modern hatchback for the time, they just kept making the RWD cars alongside for…

Must be an issue with wear or misadjustment. Of all the things good and bad about old Ladas, they have very nice and precise shifters, there is no “linkage,” the lever goes right into the transmission.

Glad this has been addressed. Once the Lada 2101 was introduced, that was THE car to aspire to. The Moskvitch was a consolation prize (albeit less so than a Zaporozhets), although getting your hands on anything given the supply constraints was a blessing. My grandpa got an ‘87 IZH Kombi brand new, owing to his…

A 4Runner with a moonroof and lowering rear tailgate does a pretty darn good impression of open air motoring, and actually does a remarkable job of keeping buffeting to a minimum even at 70-ish mph.

My friend who likes to do surf fishing on LI (drive on the beach) bought a 3rd gen 4Runner after we had a blast cruising around the OBX beaches with mine. He bought a local NYC truck, low miles, good deal... ended up having a very crusty (perforated) frame. Has had it for a few years now but long term it will be…

Absolutely. Got a free upgrade from a Sentra to an SV Crew cab 4.0L RWD Frontier in Vegas last year, loved the strong 4.0L V6 that felt more like an 8, and didn’t care that it was paired to “only” a 5spd auto. With the 6spd stick, even more fun, you’re accidentally barking the tires going into 2nd. Tacoma is…

My bro has an ‘89 with 250k that he uses as his MTB hauler, can confirm that it can offroad (and this is a RWD 4 cyl one)

Bigots? Why not “Americans?”

Head-ass take bro.

“Prior to him, nobody gave a single shit where the vehicle was built”

That’s where you’re wrong, big-brain. 

You can fuck right off you snooty Brit. Your own domestic auto industry is in ruins and/or owned by Indians, of course your brain-dead take is to go right back to some sort of ancient ethnic grievances and ignore what a slap in the face this is to working Americans.

LOL

“Women paid more than men for car insurance in 25 states, while men paid more than women for car insurance in 21 states.”

Wow this is truly horrific and deserving of more moaning about the “pink tax!” 

If you’ll excuse me, I have to go manspread and rape some people now

Looking at the prior articles, all your write about are electric cars and public transport, now this piece “hey guys this important person actually hated cars.” Take your agenda and shove it fella, people like you are sending Jalopnik down the tubes.

Idea for the next article: cars are racist.

They stay looking nice a long time, but check the frame carefully, you might be in for a nasty surprise.

1995 was a 2nd gen, Big-brain.

Yep, the only “win” for the diesel is better MPG (and range as a result). But factor in the cost of the swap, the (probably) lessened reliability, and much worse parts support here in the US, and this makes zero sense.  Hey I like the cool third world vibe of a clattering 4Runner as much as the next guy, but here in…

Fun fact: the 3.4L gas V6 actually makes MORE peak torque than the 1KZ-T diesel (in a stock state of tune). Not by much, and at higher but still very reasonable 3600rpm, but still.

“FIFTEEN GRAND FOR A NEARLY 20 YEAR OLD SUV”

I own a third gen 4Runner like this and secretly celebrate how values have been ballooning up the last 5 years or so. But $9k-10k will get you a REALLY nice, stick-shift, rear-diff-lock equipped original 3.4L gas engine truck that won’t have the reliability issues of a…