Posts from ‘Off-Road’
Hummer H3T Alpha
by John Biel
Note: The following story was excerpted from the December 2018 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine.
Hummer was badly wounded in 2008, first by the rapid rise in gasoline prices and then by the increasingly shaky economy. Ultimately, though, the brand was a casualty of General Motors’s June 1, 2009, bankruptcy filing, and with it went an intriguing vehicle that was snuffed out soon after its arrival.
2019 Ford Ranger Lariat FX4 SuperCrew in Lightning Blue
2019 Ford Ranger Lariat FX4 SuperCrew
Class: Compact Pickup
Miles driven: 463
Fuel used: 21.6 gallons
Test Drive: 2019 Ford F-150 Raptor
2019 Ford F-150 Raptor SuperCrew in Velocity Blue
2019 Ford F-150 Raptor 4X4 SuperCrew
Class: Large Pickup
Miles Driven: 267
Fuel Used: 18.4 gallons
2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon at Badlands Off Road Park
Badlands Off-Road Park in Attica, Indiana, is something like heaven on earth for off-road aficionados. It’s an incredible facility that spans 800-plus acres and encompasses a broader variety of off-road terrain than you’d ever expect to find in the Midwest. There are sand dunes, forested areas, streams for fording, several types of gravel (part of the park was previously a quarry), loose rocks and solid-rock trails, and lots of good ol’ dirt and mud. There are trails that are easy enough for children, trails that will challenge the most-experienced off-roader, and trails at most every level in between those extremes.
Review Flashback: 2001 Hummer H1
2001 Hummer H1
Created for the U.S. military, the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV, and more colloquially, Humvee) was engineered as a replacement for the M151 jeep vehicles and other light trucks that were previously the Armed Forces’ primary modes of light-duty transportation.
2019 Toyota 4Runner TRD Off-Road Premium in Nautical Blue Metallic
2019 Toyota 4Runner TRD Off-Road Premium
Class: Midsize Crossover/SUV
Miles Driven: 1063
Fuel Used: 61.8 gallons
First Spin: 2020 Jeep Gladiator
2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon in Billet Silver Metallic with Genuine Mud accents (a no-charge option)
‘What took you so long?”
That was one of the first questions raised during the preview for the 2020 Jeep Gladiator, voiced by someone (OK … me) who used to own a Jeep Scrambler pickup — and has been anxiously awaiting the versatile vehicle’s second coming.
Test Drive: 2019 Lexus LX 570
2019 Lexus LX 570 in Atomic Silver
2019 Lexus LX 570
Class: Premium Large SUV
Miles Driven: 590
Fuel Used: 42.8 gallons
2019 Toyota Sequoia TRD Sport in Midnight Black Metallic
2019 Toyota Sequoia TRD Sport 4X4
Class: Large Suv
Miles Driven: 1138
Fuel Used: 74.0 gallons
1980 Lada Niva
Most Americans have a fairly myopic view of the off-road-vehicle world. Ask any of us what the most popular 4×4 on the planet is and you’ll get the answer “Jeep” nine times out of ten. Not that Jeep is a bad answer–the Wrangler remains one of the most capable rock pounders you can purchase–but despite the Jeep brand’s power, there are markets where it isn’t all that well established.
