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Sun 16 Jul, 2006 05:47 am
I think the first time I drove a 4x4 it was a Nissan Patrol that one of my professors lent me for the day. That was in '69. A year later my aunt lent me an early sixties International Scout. Both were four bangers. I finally bought my own in 1971. It was a '56 International Harvester S-120 4x4, a three quarter ton pick-up with a one ton rating. Wish I still had it. The engine even had a name. It was a BD (Black Diamond) 240. In 1974 I added a '73 Toyota FJ-40 Land Cruiser to my stable. A couple of years later I traded them both in on a one year old '74 Ford F-250 4x4. Full time transfer cases were the rage then and my Ford came with one. They were on the weak side when it came to off-roading and I broke mine before long and replaced it with a part-time case. I owned that truck for years and years and finally got rid of it when I bought a '93 Dodge Dakota xtra cab 4x4. I still own that at my state side residence but in 2003 in South America I bought a '97 Chevrolet Vitara (Suzuki) assembled in Ecuador. It has a hand operated choke for the carburetor and a mechanical clutch of all things but works great. This year I needed a truck in S. A. so bought a new '06 Mazda B2600 4x4 assembled in Bogotá. It uses the same motor they offered on Mazda trucks in the states in 1990 but updated of course.
Well who'd a thunk back in 1975 that twenty years down the road every suburban housewife would be driving a 4x4 jeep or truck (and calling it a Sport Utility Vehicle)?
It's an interesting evolution, isn't it? Use to be, a pickup or 4x4 anything was a solid steel box. A totally utilitarian box, with no comforts or conveniences, an an interior designed to cope with rain, mud, and heavy, dirty equipment and tools. Then the enclosed it, upholstered it, made it look more like an automobile, and took away the cargo bed. They gave it nearly the comforts of a luxury sedan. In fact, there are now entries in the field from Lincoln and Cadillac. So, what do they do, now? They take this luxury sedan, built on a truck chassis, chop the rear roof, and give you a very short pickup bed. Enough, already? Not hardly. Now, they offer a cover to keep that precious bed clean, dry, and out of the weather. Want to risk carrying something in that cutesy little bed? No problem. I think the lid is operated by servos from the dash.
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