CSG
Explorer
Land Cruisers came into my awareness in 1976 when I moved from San Francisco to Placerville (actually Pollack Pines and then Placerville). Anyway those old Land Cruisers (well, they were new then) were all over the place and I had a crappy Mazda 616. I really wanted one of these Land Cruisers but I was headed back to college and broke. It was many years before I finally bought a Land Cruiser. Finally, in December 2009, I found my '02 LX at Lexus of Lyndon (UT). Only had about 65k miles, was one owner, and in pretty good shape (but not certified). They actually drove the car to me in Idaho to inspect with the over-the-phone agreement that if the vehicle was as described, I'd give the driver a check and sign the papers. This was a cool thing to do because it was about a 450 mile round trip for the driver and his back-up driver and no additional fee to me for the service. Anyway, made the deal and took it home. While I'd test driven a few 100's, I haven't driven either the earlier versions or the 200.
A few days later, we got some good snow and, like an idiot, I went up by myself into the hills to see what it could do in the snow. God smiled on me that day and let me go cross country up in our local South Hills without ever having to go into Low or lock the CD. About a foot of powder everywhere and I didn't see a soul up there that day so if I'd gotten into trouble, I would have been in trouble! I realized that day that this was a no drama 4x4 (unlike a couple earlier pickups I owned). I was also in SAR in those days and the LX is just crazy good in its stock form. I had the factory running boards removed and the LX came with a new set of Big O AT C load tires. I now run KO2's which are significantly better tires (265/75/16). I don't wheel but I need to be able to get in and out of places with no drama (I always pick the easy line but I'm also always alone). The other thing about this rig is that it's been dead nuts reliable. I did the timing belt at about 95k, regular maintenance, and had to fix a broken power antenna cable. The power telescope function on the steering wheel has never worked and I have a wonky sensor that shoots lean fuel code messages when I change altitude by a thousand feet or so. I clear it and it might be six months before it happens again. Rig runs fine and I average about 15 MPG even with the heavier than OEM tires. So whatever it is is more of an annoyance than a problem.
But the point of this rambling thread, is this - I was was driving home from town today, beautiful sunny day after a couple snow storms the last few days. Lots of snow and ice on the roads which the LX didn't notice much. I was streaming a little Pablo Cruise through the Mark Levinson sound system, looking at the beautiful wood trim and leather (mine's the tan interior), thinking how blessed I was to be living in rural Idaho driving one of the world's finest 4x4 vehicles. We who own these rigs, stock or modded, are lucky guys (and gals). I'm 67 now and have been doing back country travel and camping since I was a kid. At this point in life, I don't know that I'll ever want to drive a different vehicle than an LC/LX for the rest of my driving years. I've just never been so satisfied with a vehicle than this LX than I've now owned for eight years as my DD.
Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble. I didn't articulate this post as well as I was thinking it but I'm sure you get the drift.
A few days later, we got some good snow and, like an idiot, I went up by myself into the hills to see what it could do in the snow. God smiled on me that day and let me go cross country up in our local South Hills without ever having to go into Low or lock the CD. About a foot of powder everywhere and I didn't see a soul up there that day so if I'd gotten into trouble, I would have been in trouble! I realized that day that this was a no drama 4x4 (unlike a couple earlier pickups I owned). I was also in SAR in those days and the LX is just crazy good in its stock form. I had the factory running boards removed and the LX came with a new set of Big O AT C load tires. I now run KO2's which are significantly better tires (265/75/16). I don't wheel but I need to be able to get in and out of places with no drama (I always pick the easy line but I'm also always alone). The other thing about this rig is that it's been dead nuts reliable. I did the timing belt at about 95k, regular maintenance, and had to fix a broken power antenna cable. The power telescope function on the steering wheel has never worked and I have a wonky sensor that shoots lean fuel code messages when I change altitude by a thousand feet or so. I clear it and it might be six months before it happens again. Rig runs fine and I average about 15 MPG even with the heavier than OEM tires. So whatever it is is more of an annoyance than a problem.
But the point of this rambling thread, is this - I was was driving home from town today, beautiful sunny day after a couple snow storms the last few days. Lots of snow and ice on the roads which the LX didn't notice much. I was streaming a little Pablo Cruise through the Mark Levinson sound system, looking at the beautiful wood trim and leather (mine's the tan interior), thinking how blessed I was to be living in rural Idaho driving one of the world's finest 4x4 vehicles. We who own these rigs, stock or modded, are lucky guys (and gals). I'm 67 now and have been doing back country travel and camping since I was a kid. At this point in life, I don't know that I'll ever want to drive a different vehicle than an LC/LX for the rest of my driving years. I've just never been so satisfied with a vehicle than this LX than I've now owned for eight years as my DD.
Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble. I didn't articulate this post as well as I was thinking it but I'm sure you get the drift.
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