The 300 Series Toyota LandCruiser would have to be the most anticipated new vehicle release in decades but is it a worthy replacement for the venerable 200 Series? Our resident not-so-grey nomad, Marty Ledwich, reckons it’s not for him just yet and here’s why. Toyota’s all-new 300 Series LandCruiser has been with us for a little over 3 months and much has been written about it since it first hit the streets. As the owner of a 200 Series LandCruiser, I’ve been following the commentary with great interest, particularly the feedback from those who have made the transition and those who have decided not to. I have to say, opinions sway both ways. If you’re considering making the switch, the decision is going to be a difficult one, to say the least. The arguments for upgrading to a 300 Series are quite compelling. The new Cruiser is a more modern vehicle sporting the latest technology. It is lighter, more powerful and supposedly more fuel-efficient. It arguably addresses many of the shortcomings of the vehicle it replaces which was looking pretty outdated five years ago. And while the prices for a new 300 Series are a little eye-watering (not to mention the wait times), the prices people are paying for second hand 200’s are positively atmospheric. You’re not likely to find…
Some things just get better with age WORDS BY DAN EVERETT IMAGES BY WARREN PILTON Do enough laps around the sun and it starts becoming painfully obvious our slow descent into a throwaway society. The march for more is never-ending. Each year new models of everything vie for our attention. More bells. More whistles. More finance. The ad campaigns trying to convince us we couldn’t possibly do something without the latest and greatest technology, even if we’ve been doing just fine without it for the last 20 years. Some things don’t need to be updated though. Some things are built to stand the test of time. Some things are worth keeping for life. For West Australian native Warren Pilton, his 80 Series LandCruiser is a forever kind of deal. He’s owned it most of his life, and no amount of gadgets or gizmos could ever catch his attention. Three decades ago, Warren was learning his trade down in Perth. An apprentice Master Tech and Auto Electrician in a Toyota dealership he spent his days doing pre-delivery inspections for lucky new 80 Series LandCruiser owners. Daydreaming on his smoko breaks with the other apprentices, promising them one day he’d own one. A few years later, working in the Kalgoorlie mines he’d saved his pennies and bought himself a 3-year-old 1994 LandCruiser.…
Ford didn’t invent the 4WD but they certainly took it to a new level with the introduction of the Bronco. Its history is facinating. Over 100 years ago Henry Ford revolutionised the automobile, forever changing the world as we know it. While some may argue it wasn’t exactly a positive thing, it’s hard to argue his introduction of the production line directly led to affordable cars for the masses but there’s one quote from the man who revolutionized the world that we can’t help but find ironic so many years later. “If I had asked the public what they wanted, they’d have told me faster horses.” A century later and two of the blue oval’s most successful cars of all time are directly named after horses. The Mustang, and more interestingly for four-wheel-drivers, the Bronco. Of course, there was the Pinto as well, but we did say only two were successful. With the Bronco recently re-released after a huge 25-year hiatus we thought it was high time to have a look at where the bucking bronco originated, and how it got to where it is today. The Path to Glory While Jeep has built a brand around the WW2 Willy’s GPs the reality is far more complicated. Willys-Overland and the American Bantam Car Company were first to tender for the…
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