'Commander unfit for human consumption' - CEO

4wdNewz had to look to the Australian Jeep forum for a photo of a Commander actually doing something off-road. Not exactly generous front wheel travel, it would seem.

You have to feel sorry (I do, sort-of) for owners of the Jeep Commander, the poorly conceived, large and ugly 4WD wagon whose only positive was an ability to seat seven. It's been put out of its misery now, and at the Detroit motor show Chrysler Jeep boss Sergio Marchionne was reported as saying of it: "That car was unfit for human consumption. We sold some, but I don't know why people bought them." Despite – or maybe  because of – being named its vehicle of the year by a local 4WD magazine, it was a poor seller in New Zealand, where it was launched in April 2006. In 2009 as many as eight Kiwis bought one, down from 19 a year earlier.

Eight grand later … a recovery story

Earlier this month, a couple of guys did Thompsons Track, one of the North Island's toughest trails. One was in a Land Cruiser 70 the other in a Prado. Both got horribly stuck. What happened next is recorded in a lengthy thread on the Off-Road Express forum. If you're planning on going tough off-roading without the proper equipment and the training to use it properly, first have a browse through this thread.

Why I love America

A Jerry can that's actually a tool box! It's made in California by Rampage Products and costs $100 in American dollars. Um, one question, where do you carry the spare gas?

Giveaway, big drive to mark FJ Cruiser launch

UPDATE: This trip was cancelled in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake. A rerun, or something similar, is evidently being planned for later this year.

The interesting Toyota FJ Cruiser is being launched to the media in the Far North Feb 20-21 and will be on sale around the same time. The intro is being tied in with a competition to win a restored original FJ. This giveaway will probably also mark the 60th anniversary of the Land Cruiser, which Toyota is now starting to promote. At the same time, professional celebrity Marc Ellis will drive an FJ Cruiser the length of the country, supposedly all off-road. (see Update below) Such trips have been proposed many times but nobody has been able to negotiate seamless access to tracks without cheating and doing bits on-road. So if Toyota pulls it off, it'll be a real coup.

UPDATE: A Toyota press release today (January 17) says Ellis will drive the FJ Cruiser from North Cape to the Bluff "entirely off tarsealed roads". So that's a bit of a cop-out! The item continues:
"Ellis will set off down Ninety Mile Beach on 21 February. Meeting up with the intrepid travellers at points along the way will be a fully restored Kiwi classic – a late 1970s FJ40 Land Cruiser which Toyota bought from a customer after a long search for the classic and will give away to someone who helps the team achieve its goal.
"Toyota expects the team to take 16 days of driving to reach the southern tip of New Zealand, via seven checkpoints. Ellis is set to meet national and local legends on the way. The vehicles will head south on the North Island’s western side as far as Taranaki, traverse the island to Hawke’s Bay, and on to the South Island via Wellington. From Picton, the FJ Cruiser will go through the centre of the South Island high country and the heart of Otago.
"The FJ40 was restored at Toyota’s Signature Class facility at Thames."

Here's where you can see the FJ during its trip:
22 Feb, Auckland (Giltrap City Toyota, Grey Lynn)
24 Feb, New Plymouth (Tasman Toyota)
26 Feb, Open day at Toyota HQ, Palmerston North
28 Feb, Hawkes Bay (Hawkes Bay Toyota)
2 Mar, Wellington (Rutherford & Bond Toyota)
4 Mar, Christchurch (Miles Toyota)
6 Mar, Dunedin (Cooke Howlison Toyota)
8 Mar, Invercargill (GWD Toyota).

Here's an earlier posting on the FJ Cruiser

And here's Toyota's website on the trip.

This just in

Not a 4WD item as such, but Toyota led the new-vehicle passenger market again in 2010 with a 20 per cent share, followed by Ford at 11 per cent and Holden just one per cent behind. Top car models were Corolla, Swift and Commodore in that order while the Hilux was top ute, followed by Navara and Ranger. New vehicle sales were 80,453.

You can tell the expert by how loudly he shouts

"I never cease to be disappointed by the stupid recoveries attempted. The 'expert' is often who can shout the loudest. A bit of experience allows you to gauge who to listen to and who to ignore." 

A comment on a 4WD forum on the value, or not, of having off-road driving training. I'm reposting it here because I couldn't agree more!