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About the Toyota FJ Cruiser

FJ Cruiser Suspension Lifts

FJ Cruiser Capacities

FJ Cruiser Dimensions

FJ Cruiser Engine and
Drivetrain Specifications

FJ Cruiser Product Reviews

  

Toyota FJ Cruiser Video Gallery

Toyota FJ Cruiser Photo Gallery

FJ Cruiser Press Release & Specifications

FJ Cruiser Reviews

FJ Cruiser Video Clip
Video of the
Toyota
FJ Cruiser
on the Rubicon Trail

 
Winter Cruisers
In our last trail report covering the excursion into Leatherwood territory, Transitions, there was some talk of how things have been evolving for us in recent years. Our big interest in highly modified Jeeps had slowly turned to a major interest in those nice things like "reliability" and "comfort". Things that we never thought we would utter when it came to getting muddy on the mountain trails. But there is two schools of thought on this. First, highly modified 4x4s are generally much higher maintenance and higher cost overall when compared to a good solid new 4x4 with a few mods. Plus, the bigger and badder that rig is, the more it takes to challenge it and have fun. Bigger challenges lead to more damage, more costs, transportation overhead of that 4x4 (trailering, big truck, gas, etc). Then you have to find the challenges. Around here, we have limited choices. A few offroad parks and open lands (Rausch Creek, Columbia county coal area, etc) and then there are some remote locations only we know about. These locations are not extreme but they are some great tracts of outstanding Pennsylvania wilderness. Then there is the equation of family. Kids love to come with us and to be honest, sometimes all that work to get a big 4x4 trailered up to the wheeling territory while looking out for the younger ones is a lot of work. Sometimes more than it's worth. So here's the where the transition comes in. The pursuit of a decent, reliable, comfortable 4x4 large enough to hold gear and family yet small enough to navigate the trails we spend most of our 4 wheeling time on. Not many choices out there, is there? For the average Joe looking for used 4x4's, there is a handful of Jeeps and Toyotas and a few other choice 4x4's that would fit the bill (been there). When looking at new 4x4's, there's a short list of choices. In our minds, it really boils down to two. The Jeep JK and the Toyota FJ Cruiser. A couple years ago we had a great opportunity to compare these to 4x4's first hand as two of our friends each purchased a new JK and a new FJ. We spend the weekend together and had a great time (Wheeling in Rattlesnake Country). Our impressions of both were very positive. Both had there own positives and negatives and both are great choices if one is looking for a new 4x4.  But the trend up here has been Toyota, and the FJ Cruiser.


The plan was simple.

Make the purchase of the new 2010 FJ Cruiser Christmas Eve.  Keep it a secret from the guys at work for 3 weeks until our cabin trip where 12-15 winter trip diehards would converge along with a nice attendance of several FJ Cruisers.  It would be that day that I would let it be known that I'm now a proud owner of the latest FJ in the fleet. 

Well things have a way of not turning out as planned.  Especially when there is kids involved.  What was supposed to be a fun weekend on a snow covered mountain, ended up being a weekend taking care of a sick child.  Thanks to a rough winter of colds and viruses making the rounds through families and schools, my 7 year old shotgun co-pilot and I stayed home, getting occasional updates in the form of pictures and HeyWay updates (iPhone GPS locations). 

We're planning on the spring trip though.

Ardmore Toyota

I do want to mention a great Toyota dealer to deal with in the Philadelphia area.  Ardmore Toyota in Ardmore PA.  I had called several Toyotas dealerships in my area over several months looking for a 2010 FJ Cruiser.   After talking to several dealerships during late 2009, Ardmore was the only dealership to actually hunt down a very hard to find 2010 Sun Fusion FJ Cruiser with the convenience package and option package 2.  All the other dealerships were telling me I'd have to order the FJ I wanted and wait 4 to 5 months for delivery.  Ardmore called me and said they found one that fit my specs and had actually shipped it in to their location before calling.  I guess they knew I was serious.  When it came to negotiation, they matched the best quote I had negotiated among the bidding dealers for my order, a very reasonable price based on my research.  To top it off the guys and gals at Ardmore that I dealt with were good people.  They seemed to work a little harder than I expected to make me a happy customer.  No, they're not providing any kind of kick back here for saying that here, it's just my experience.  So coming from a customers perspective, if you're from the area and in the market for a Toyota, give Ardmore a call.  And if you've called any other dealers in the area, you might see what I'm talking about.

Ardmore Toyota - www.ardmoretoyota.com
219 East Lancaster Avenue
Ardmore, PA 19003
(610) 645-5000
 


Brand new 2010 on the lot, xmas eve

Dupont Children's Hospital, departure day
   
   
   
Grice family contribution to the area
   
Dinner at the Central Hotel.  Why do we pos photos of the food?  We love this place!  Best Delmonico's in the state of PA!
 

 

 

 

    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Project CJ-7

The documentation of a several year project building a Jeep CJ-7 piece by piece.  From restoration of stock parts like the frame, body, engine and driveline components to upgraded aftermarket improvements over stock to custom fabrication and design ideas.  Read More
 
 
Wheeling in Rattlesnake Country
In this offroad report we have the opportunity to take a 2007 Jeep JK  Wrangler Rubicon and a 2007 Toyota
FJ Cruiser up into the Pennsylvania Mountain Trails for a Weekend of Offroading.  With this report we will run down the pros and cons and our offroad impressions of the FJ Cruiser and the JK Wrangler Rubicon.  But bear with us as we get the report together...