Short wheelbase with a 12V 5.9L Cummins diesel.... Hops like a bunny off-road.

Appropos of “real” trucks, etc., I’ve owned three Ram/Cummins trucks (2 5.9L’s and 1 6.7L) and I’ve driven three Titan XD’s for a total of 4600 miles. I’m disappointed in the Titan XD. It doesn’t have substantially more grunt on the low-end — empty, loaded or trailering — than the gas V8. That “world of difference”…

From the rotation and kick-back of the prop, it looked like he was cutting his engine in and out in the “final approach.” True?

My first vehicle was a ‘67 Scout 800 with the 196 cid four cylinder engine. It was a slant four because it was literally half-a-V8, complete with terminals on the distributor cap, half of which were, well, fake. Drove it across country eleven times to college, drove to Alaska and back once, to Mexico City and back…

So you drove a cheap Miata off-pavement. More loyalty to the principle if you’d driven a McLaren or a high-end Porsche.

That said, I regularly drive an ‘07 Miata NC on gravel, dirt and jeep trails, as I live 26 miles off the pavement myself. It’s a fine pick for such things, small and very forgiving. Tire of choice?…