My friend has a 2005 Saab 9-5 and it has phenomenal seats. They have just the right amount of bolstering and are soft, but not squishy. They have the perfect amount of give.

Toyota FJ Cruiser. It’s her dream car.

I don’t get the “enthusiast” hate for trucks. They should love these things! They’re RWD/4WD, can haul/tow a ton of weight (good for project cars), usually have fairly powerful engines, and are very roomy and practical. Everyone always gushes about how great the Panther bodies were because they were V8, RWD, BOF, and…

I’d buy it. I used to have one with roughly 4X the mileage and it was a bucket of shit, but a less-used one would be amazing. 

A Tacoma or Frontier or something like that will be 90% as capable, and several times more comfortable and convenient. Also it probably won’t bankrupt you on repair and maintenance costs.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that you get most of the capability and a lot more livability. These things are bare bones, a Tacoma or Frontier at least has an interior. I won’t argue that they are probably great off-road, but that comes at the expense of basically anything pleasant about the rest of the vehicle.

But what does it do better than a cheap pickup or SUV (other than ground clearance)? These things are wide as hell, I would not take them down a lot of trails. Parts are probably tougher to get. They’re loud, uncomfortable, and smelly.

I was kind of wondering about the occupation in which one would be better served with this than a normal truck or Jeep or something. It seems like it doesn’t really do anything well in a civilian context except look neat.

CP. There’s a guy near me who drives one of these and it looks massively inconvenient for anything other than military use. They are as wide as an F350, loud, probably have bad visibility, tougher to get parts for than most vehicles, and that interior is very spartan. I’m sure they’re good for what they’re meant for…

Not for over $8k. It looks alright, but that’s easily twice what it’s worth.

Assuming you could wedge that monster V8 in the engine bay, the torque steer would be unreal.

I used to work with a guy who had a Laramie Ram 2500 diesel. It was a beast with that big Cummins under the hood, but the interior just felt so flimsy and cheap. It LOOKED very nice on the inside, but that illusion was shattered once you sat in the thing.

I kind of like the Z71. It looks like an actual sort-of capable vehicle. Still a behemoth, though.

My parents had an Acura Vigor and an Acura Legend back in the 90s. Once myself and my siblings came along, though, they switched to a Ford Expedition and an F250. After they got sick of the endless electrical BS on their Fords, they switched to Honda Pilots, which is what they drive currently.

Hot take: Not every performance car needs a manual. The current Mini automatics are very good and smooth. I like manuals in snarly, aggressive, mean cars, but Minis are smooth and refined. I think a good automatic fits this type of car better.

In my area, most are owned by teenagers. A fairly powerful RWD car and an inexperienced driver who likes to go fast are a dangerous combo.

I have 17s on my Tacoma and I don’t think I’d go much bigger. I like my sidewall and the pothole-crushing abilities it affords me.

What gets me is that you can’t really know your kid’s gender until years later when they find out for their selves. It seems like a waste of money to me.

Imagine rolling up to the car show in some ratty old NB with an airplane engine and parking next to all the LS swaps.

That’s actually kind of cool. Reminds me of the earlier Skylines a bit.