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Pinnacle Overlanders: The Best Vehicles to Buy Today and Drive Around the World · The Overland Journal Podcast

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to the Overland Journal podcast. I am
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: your host, Scott Brady, and I'm here with my co
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: host Matt Scott. What's going on, Well, we're going to
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: talk about We're going to talk about Pinnacle Overlanders.
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah, what can you buy today and literally leave the
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: lot and drive around the world. Like you know, we're
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: big fans of the g Wagon. You know, the G
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: Wagon has global motor packages. Now in the United States,
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: we don't get the turbo diesel engines. We never have.
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: I mean, I guess until relatively recently in the car's history,
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: we never even got the g Wagon. But if you
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: buy a new g Wagon today, you can get that
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: serviced with a mechanic that actually knows what's going on
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: in Kazakhstan or Cambodia or wherever. Because Mercedes International Service
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: and International parts network is I mean second, I mean
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: better than Toyota. People always think Toyota is the best,
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: but you know, Toyota uses a lot of you know,
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: regional drive train packages. Let's think of the Tacoma for example,
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: it has that three and a half liter Atkinson's cycle engine,
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: which that engine is primarily built for the US. I
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: want to say in Japan, it's in the Toyota al Fard.
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: You're not going to find one. You're not going to
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: find a windshield when you break it somewhere, and you're
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: not going to be able to fix that engine without
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: air freighting parts in. And a lot of times that's
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: just not an option. I mean, people think we live
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: in this really connected world, but you're going to end
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: up in a lot of countries where used car parts
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: or car parts have a five hundred percent tariff, and
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: they're going to get held up at customs for a
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: week or two weeks. And I know friends that were
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: in South America that were like had to fly back
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: and smuggle a transmission in with them because I think
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: they were in Columbia or something, and it just it.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: Wasn't an option. It was cheaper to fly home, get
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: the parts they needed, and fly back. And that's the
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: reason why we're focusing on these truly being pinnacle, which
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: means does it meet all of the minimum requirements that
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: we have for an overland vehicle for international travel, which
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: means does it have sufficient payload, is it capable in
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: technical terrain, does it have a reputation of durability and reliability,
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: and if you look within every brand, there's going to
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: be a vehicle that rises to the top in that regard.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: Even in the United States, I mean, we don't get
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: some of the coolest overland vehicles in the world. We
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: don't get a Y sixty one Patrol, we don't get
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: a seventy series land Cruiser, But we do get vehicles
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: that are pinnacle overlanders that are available in most countries
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: of the world. And that's what we're going to talk
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: about today. And the reason why we really want to
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: focus on models that are available around the globe is
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: because of service and support. One of the cool things
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: about a Mercedes if you buy a new g Wagon,
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: you actually not only have your warranty that's good forever
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: many months and how many ever many miles in your
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: home country, but it's also good for twelve months unlimited
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: miles globally, so you could you could drive your new
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: g Wagon into South Africa and rock up at the
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: dealership in joe Burg and actually get the truck properly service.
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: And that's actually a huge advantage. When we did the
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: big trip with the seventy series trucks, when we went
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: to all seven continents, Toyota provided us with that same
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: kind of a support. They said, for twenty four months,
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: you've got service and support at any dealership. Now, of course,
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: we never needed it because we were there were seventies,
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: there were seventy series. Because they were Lankers. We literally
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: never needed to go to a dealership for repair. We
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: did lots of oil changes, but you know, we never
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: we never needed to have anything fixed. I mean, I
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: don't even think a piece of plastic broke, but those
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: are those are certainly exceptional vehicles. But when we look
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: at what's available in the United States, I think it's
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: kind of important to start with what is, you know,
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: arguably the most pinnacle vehicle available in the United States,
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: which is the two hundred series Lan Cruisers.
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think people need to realize how cheap land
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: cruisers are here. Yeah, you know, they are twenty five
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: or thirty percent more expensive than Australia. They're they're cheap here,
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: and we get top spec land cruisers. You know, what
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: we're paying for something with air conditioned seats internationally would
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: be called a Sahara spec. You're you're probably getting the
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: working model. You know, overseas, some people will complain about that,
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: I will just smile and take the air conditioned seats. Yeah,
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: you know, but the point being that's not a reason
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: not to buy the car, Yeah, exactly, like the point
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: being with a two hundred series, whether you know you're
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: getting the luxury version here in the United States or
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: you know the un spec version you know in Africa,
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: they're the same bones underneath. You know, that five to
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: seven motor is pretty phenomenal. Like, I don't know anybody
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: that's ever had issues with it. Now, there are going
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: to be countries where that where that engine just was
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: not available, where maybe the Mercedes is a better for availability.
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: But I would argue all day that for what you're
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: losing with the small amount of decreasing availability from Toyota,
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: you're making up in reliability. Yeah, you absolutely are.
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: And Toyota does have the most prolific dealer network, only
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: followed by close to very clo by Mercedes. If you
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: look at any developing country, even a third world country,
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: there are bureaucrats in those places that want to drive
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: new Mercedes. It's it's a status symbol. So you do
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: find good Mercedes infrastructure throughout the world. And I think
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: the five to seven actually has a couple advantages. The
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: biggest disadvantage is fuel economy. If you were to get
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: the VDJ two hundred, which is the twin turbo four
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: point five liters V eight diesel, that is going to
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: have about forty percent better fuel economy, and it can
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: be significant, yeah, and it can be tuned to even
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: better than that while also gaining performance. So you can
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: get very close to the same acceleration performance of the
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: five to seven out of that diesel while also maintaining
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: much better fuel economy.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: But we don't get that. We don't get that motor,
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: and that diesel is an ultra low sulfware engine.
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: It is, and so even if we got that diesel,
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: it would be more limiting for international travel than the
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: five to seven would be. So I think we're at
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: this crossroads where we just kind of got to accept
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: gasoline engines for a while and maybe even for long term.
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: If you look at how efficient the new Ranger is with.
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: Turbocharging or engine that's almost three hundred horsepower.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: That's right, turbocharging, ten speed, automatic transmissions, all of that
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: is really also improved fuel economy and reduced emissions. And
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: it's funny people will often say, oh, you always want
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: diesel because it's the fuel that's going to be available everywhere.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: In my experience as a traveler, that is true to
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: some degree, but I've never found gasoline to be less available.
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: And the reason for that is because all of the
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: locals ride motorcycles. Motorcycles don't run on diesel. Little scooters
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: in the middle of the jungle in Vietnam, you know
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: you're not going to You may not see an over
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: the road truck. You may not even be able to
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: access village by a truck. Like land cruisers are luxury
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: vehicles even when they're used in a utility sense in
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: a less fortunate country. Gas you know people are driving.
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: Key is that they're driving Chinese cars that we haven't
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: even heard of most of time, and generally they're all
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: they're all gasoline, A lot of them are, and so
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: fuel availability has never been an issue. When I drove
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: across the Silk Road in that little Jimney, that was
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: a gasoline front, I mean, in the mid the deepest,
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: darkest to Jikistan, I still.
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: Confinm do we have a Jymney on this list? Yeah?
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I know, we just really they're really but
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: we don't get it. I don't guess, I know, I guess, Yeah,
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: that's an internationalist. But I will have to talk about
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: But back to the two hundred, I mean, you're looking
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: at something. I mean, Scott, I remember a while ago
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: you told me you were talking about the lan cruiser
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: engineer and they said that the two hundred was the
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: strongest land cruiser that they had ever made. That's true.
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: It was actually the lead engineer for land cruiser when
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: I was at the Nagoya plant, and he just he
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: reinforced the fact that the land cruiser is their pinnacle truck.
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: It's the one that's the most durable. The front end,
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: even though it's independent suspension, is significantly stronger than a
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: seventy series, and I would say that for me, it's
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: the two hundred series is the one vehicle that I've
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: literally flip flopped my opinion on if I when that
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: vehicle first came out in two thousand and eight, I
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: appreciated it for what it was, but it was still
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: we were still in the era that the eighty series
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: was the answer to everything, and you could still buy
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: low mileage eighty series land cruisers and they would have
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: only been ten years old. Yeah, when the two hundred
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: came out, and the hundred series is obviously a very
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: excellent vehicle as well. But I remember when the two
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: hundred came out, it felt round, and it felt soft,
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: and it felt too bigland, it felt too big, and
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: it felt somewhat soulless. But a lot has changed in
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: the market in the last ten years. A lot of
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: those vehicles that were boxy and cool have changed, They've
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: gone away, And when you look at it now, the
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: two hundred series is like, Yeah, that would absolutely be
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: a vehicle I would buy and leave and drive around.
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's I think it's it's it's a
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: smart purchase. They're obviously quite expensive, I want to say
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: they're eight ninety eight, but and you're you're getting something
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: that will have great resale. You'll you'll drive it around
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: the world and it'll still be worth something. Yep. You know,
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: I I think there's some vehicles out there that just
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: won't put up with the lifetime of punishment. And you know,
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: you kind of touched on the eighty and the and
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: the hundred. We're not saying that those aren't bad choices,
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: but you know what we're saying is that, you know,
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: the eighty series is almost a classic car. Yeah, like
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: I have one. I love it. That's the car that
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: I take on on my serious trips. But you're a
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: Toyta Dealer's not going to stock parts for a you know,
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: a twenty five year old car. No, And they're gonna
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: be hard.
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: They're gonna be hard parts to find, and you'll you'll
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: you start to get outside of the operational window of
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: even a land Cruiser. Land Cruisers are designed to be reliable,
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: reliable at that half a million mile mart Once you
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: get over twenty years or so, all the wiring becomes brittle,
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: all of the rubber and the seals and the everything,
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: ski heater hose and all that other stuff.
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: And the parts are not cheap. They're I mean, they're
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: they're great vehicles, but yeah, I would just take it
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: two hundred now. Yeah, they're very capable.
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: And it's not to discourage anybody from buying or driving
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: what they want. I just think that we have to
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: get out of that mindset that the eight series is
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: the solution for driving around the world. There are better
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: choices today for that for that exercise, and it would
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: at the top of my list personally would be the
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: two hundred series.
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think push comes to shove out of everything
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: we're going to talk about today. Yeah, it's still choose
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: g Wagon. Yeah, so so why would you pick the
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: g Wagon? What?
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: What?
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: Uh? I mean?
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: You and I we both we both drive cars like that.
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: And what's your what's your thought on the g Wagon?
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: You know, I I don't know exactly. It's it's it's
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: it's hard to pinpoint. I think that of all of
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: the vehicles on this list that are actively being used
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: by you know, the G Wagon is the only one
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: that's actively being used by by military's. It's the only
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: one that is has.
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: International like true international service ability in a lot of countries.
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: You know, here the g Wagon is that post Malone
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: notte a song about it, like it's kind of a
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: hippity hop Kardashian car. But underneath, it's the same thing
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: that the Canadian military is using. It's the same thing
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: that the Australian military is using, the same thing that
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: a lot of European military is use. It is it
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: is legit. I mean, there's there's four different body coatings
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: that go on to the body of that vehicle before
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: it's painted now, they're all hand assembled. They've they've been
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: in production for for so long and they're built in
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: the AUSTRIAEV Yeah, I mean it was a vehicle. I'm
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: a car guy. I'm a car guy. I'm I'm a
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: traveler first, but I am still a car guy, and
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: the G Wagon to me is like it's the best
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: restomod vehicle ever made. When you have something that predates
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: was sold at the same time as the f J forty,
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: that you can get with a twin turbo of the
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: eight if you want, you know, with a warranty. You
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: know we have I've always had these sugar pumps in
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: my head that I drive around the world and like
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: one a Jonathan Ward's icon FJS. Well, what's actually better
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: than that is a new G Wagon. You have that
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: that classic shape, that classic this is how you sit
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: in the car, an eighteen hundred pound payload, factory Winch
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: bumpers available, factory snorkels, factory roof racks, everything. I just think,
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: you know, to be honest, the other vehicle that would
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: really be on my list would be a Jeep Wrangler.
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: But that rollcage inside makes the inside so space inefficient.
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: And efficient and in a very low payload. I mean,
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: if you took a new Rubicon like Dan, Greg's a
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: great example. He's someone that used a Wrangler appropriately for
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: long distance travel. Most of the people that I see
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: preparing Wranglers for overland travel overbuild the car, They overweight
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: the car, and then they end up with a lot
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: of problems. And we've talked about this before in the podcast,
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: but if you're driving across Australia in an overloaded vehicle,
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: they're going to impound your truck.
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: I mean, I mean they in very remote places. They
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: have a way stations they do. You know, you will
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: get defected, your your vehicle will get towed yep. And
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: they're not going to care if it's registered in another country.
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah they won't.
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: I mean you're just going to have to find you
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: have to find a dumpster and start unloading stuff that's
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: making your vehic, including the rear bumper and the rock
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: sliders and all that other stuff you have to with
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: the jeep Wrangler. Is the Wrangler even worth talking about
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: now that the Gladiator is available? The Gladiator, I think
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: that's I think if you were to look at I mean,
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: I guess to wrap up on the on the G Wagon.
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: The downside of the G Wagon is it is extremely
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: expensive because of the content that they've chosen to include
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: in the North American market, and that's the one thing
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: that's disappointing about the G Wagon. In other markets of
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: the world, you can get up a three point fifty
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: blue Tech diesel model still with cloth interior, where it's decontented.
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: It's the same exact car, same exact difflocks, you know,
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: all of the robustness that comes with a four to
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: six G Wagon, but it's decontented where it's not only
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: more affordable, it's more efficient, it's easier to work on
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: because it's not so complicated. In North America, we get
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: very complicated, up contented versions of the G Wagon, and
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: that is certainly a downside. So you have to make
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: a huge investment. If you look at a new twenty
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: nineteen G five fifty, you're going to spend one hundred
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: and sixty to one hundred and eighty grand if you're lucky,
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: if you can find one. You might have to even
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: pay over MSRP for the car.
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: I've heard people paying fifty thousand dollars over sticker. Yeah,
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: because since that vehicle has that international warranty, they can
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: be exported. Yeah, and that's why they do export them. Yeah,
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: the the used vehicles that we buy. So the United
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: States is the largest market for G Wagons. We're also
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: the cheapest place in the world to buy a G Wagon.
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: You're talking about the professional edition that there's no carpet,
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: it's very utilitary, and that vehicle is more expensive in
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: Euros converted than a G five fifty, at least for
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: the four sixty three. Yeah. Sure. In twenty nineteen in
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: the US they made an update to the G Wagon
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: added independent front suspension which still fully locked. Honestly a
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: better vehicle. Yeah.
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: So like we've gone through Toyota Pinnacle Vehicle two hundred series.
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: For sure, Mercedes G Wagon easily because it's the only option.
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: With Toyota.
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: You could say, what about the fore Runner or what
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: about And it's not to say that a fore Runner
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: isn't appropriate to go around the world. It's that the
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: land Cruiser is more robust. It's also available in nearly
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: every country of the world, and that's why it wins.
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: It doesn't mean that a g X four sixty isn't
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: a great vehicle. It absolutely is, and that platform, the
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: one fifty platform is used in many countries.
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: Around the world. I think there's more of an argument
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: for the four sixty than there is for the four
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: or four runner. You know, I go back to really
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: simple things. What happens when somebody breaks into your car
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: and you need a new driver's side window? Right? What
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: happens when you are driving down a dirt road and
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: a and a truck kicks up a massive rock into
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: your windshield and it's spidered and you can't see, like
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: you can't like you're not going to find a windshield
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: or a side window for a for a four to
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: four runner anywhere outside of North America. I mean even
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: in Mexico. I think he'd struggle. But again, I mean
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: that's why those vehicles, you know, they're notable. They're they're
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: not a terrible choice, They're just not like if you're
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: if you're setting out to spend a long time in
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: the road and you are a legitimate overliner that wants
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: to go experience countries, you don't want to spend a
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: week of your time finding a windshield because it's going
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: to happen. I mean, you know, I remember when you
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: guys did the East seven trucks and they first came
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: over and we were building them, there was multiple windshields
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: in them. Yeah, and I'm like, and that's what occurred
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: to me. I'm like, yeah, because if you bust a
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: windshield in the US or Canada, how do you get
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: a new one? How do you get a new one? Yeah?
• 16:55
  Speaker 2: And I know people think that those details are small,
• 16:58
  Speaker 2: but it is the small details we make things. I mean,
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: Jeep Gladiator, you know, the Jeep Wrangler is sold. I mean,
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: I don't want to say everywhere. It's very popular, much
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: more popular than it used to be. Yeah.
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: Now, once they came out with a four do or,
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: it became a solution for a lot of folks. They
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: still haven't been widely adopted in places like Australia because
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: it really is Toyota country, but they're very popular in
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: Europe and they're reasonably priced. I actually think that, you know,
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: I think Dan Grek has done a great job of
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: reinforcing why a jeep is still a good solution. He
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: had very little issues with his vehicle in Africa, no
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: matter what fuel he encountered, you know, and knew his
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: was a gas model, of course, but if you look
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: at the Gladiator. Now, the Gladiator solves all the problems
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: because you could put you can put any version of
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: a camper or just a topper on the back. You
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: can have a seventeen hundred pound payload, which is which
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: is about six hundred pounds more than a typical wrangler
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: seven hundred pounds in some cases as well, and a
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: lot of capability. And it's not it's it's a big vehicle,
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: but it's not an overly wide vehicle.
• 18:03
  Speaker 2: It's within a foot of length of my eighty series. Yeah,
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: and that's just because you know, I can fit a
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: thirty seven inch spare underneath the factory position. Yeah. If
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: I want to fit a spare that's larger on my
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: eighty series, I've had to buy a Kmar bumper which
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: sticks out and the tire sticks out more. Yep. You know,
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: like if you want to add a winch, you have
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: to had a winch bumper, which means that front bumper
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: sticks out a little bit more. Right, they're not and
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: don't quote me on a foot, but they're not that
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: much different. I mean they are.
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: They are a long vehicle, but they're still going to
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: fit in a container. They're still gonna go down most
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: roads and colonial cities because they're not overly wide. Once
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: you get up into full size truck territory. Once once
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: the width becomes a consideration. Like if you if you
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: look at most small villages in the world, or even
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: even cities, crowded cities in the world, they still need
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: to have service and infrastructure brought into those cities in
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: those villages. And that's where you see the mit Mitsubishi
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: Fuso FG. You see these medium duty trucks cab over
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: and they're very narrow. They have a huge payload, but
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: they're very narrow vehicles. They're actually narrower than a full
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: size domestic pickup. And that's where the Gladiator actually becomes
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: a great choice. Like right now, you can buy a
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: three six Gladiator with you know, a great transmission, seventeen
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: hundred pounds payload data, forty four axles front and rear.
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: It's designed to tow a considerable amount of weight if
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: you chose to toe something around the world. I think
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: a Gladiator would actually be a great choice to leave.
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah, a bit. I think vehicles. You know, if you
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: would have asked me to drive a very early JK
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: around the world, maybe I would have had a little
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: bit of anxiety, although Dan Grek didn't have a single issue.
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: Nothing is eleven thousand miles on mine. I mean, in fact, Laura,
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: my partner, she's she's out in New Mexico with the
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: thing right now, and you know, we get if I
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: don't drive aggressively, I can get seventeen miles to the
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: gallon on thirty seven's with a camper. That's amazing using
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: cheap fuel, and I don't have to worry about diesel,
• 20:09
  Speaker 2: exhaust fluid. I don't have to worry about any of
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: those things. It did just come out with a diesel Wrangler,
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: and we would sort of see that engine in the Gladiator.
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: But other than additional range, I don't know. I mean,
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: always solve that problem with ultra loose selfur diesel, which
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: is going to happen faster than you think.
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: It will happen quickly. And also, you know diesels just
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: they drive great off road too. I mean they develop
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: so much torque at low RPM's throttle modulation and that
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: ability to kind of effortly cross train. I remember just
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: testing the difference between a Bison with a diesel and
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: the ZR two with a gas motor, it is a
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: lot different. The tip in with a gas motor is
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: a lot more aggressive, it's not when it's in low range,
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: it's a lot more difficult to modulate. Yeah, diesels are
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: just a pleasure to drive. Yeah, especially small displacement turbo diesels,
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: which is just a type of motor that I've come
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: to love personally.
• 21:11
  Speaker 2: And you know, you know, it's it's a little bit sad.
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: We've got the Chevrolet Bison now, which has front rear lockers,
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: is fantastic suspension, you know, a fifteen hundred pounds payload
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: and a diesel motor, and you'd kind of think for
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: a second, like, oh, is that actually the best choice
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: to drive around the world, And for like this hot minute,
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: it's probably not. You're probably better off getting a gas
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: version of the soundtrack.
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: But here's the cool thing is in in five years
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: when the entire world, yeah this is hypothetical, it's on
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: ultra low self or diesel, because it's it's happening. Eventually
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: it hit a critical mass where the refineries, oh yeah,
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: won't they just won't have the economy of scale to
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: make these countries. I mean know, Venezuela and that kind
• 21:48
  Speaker 2: of stuff. They're gonna they're gonna do their own thing.
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: But you know, imagine in five years when that bcens
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: twenty grand yeah, and be such a great choice, buy
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: it and go. I mean, you know, the spring I
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: so wish a Sprinter could be on here. Yeah, but
• 22:04
  Speaker 2: you know they have worth talking about for Sureeah, you know,
• 22:09
  Speaker 2: I'm sure super popular. I'm sure there's a solution from
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: the factory to to get rid of that requirement for
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: the ad Blue or the Death. You know that the
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: Sprinter is great because you have interior living space, which
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: is huge, and I think they're a realistic look at
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: the capability you'll actually need from a four wheel drive
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: system while you're over landing. I I you know, I
• 22:31
  Speaker 2: think there's specific trips that require, you know, maybe something
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: a little bit more technically capable, but for most people,
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: ninety percent of the time, you're going to be on roads.
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: You know, you're you're you're tackling you know, roads that
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: people are driving in regular cars every day. I just
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: think the Sprinter is super realistic. I think if I
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: was to do it all over again, and I wasn't
• 22:51
  Speaker 2: going to do a Gladiator and I was, it was
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: just a North American truck. I think I would do
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: a sprinter, and I do one of those Winnebago rebels.
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: I know there's some things I'd have to fix it. Yeah, sure,
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: But you know, I know people that are trying to
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: get their sprinters built by independent companies and their two
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: hundred thousand dollars and a two year wait list. I
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: can go buy a brand new Revel right now for
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: one hundred and twenty grand. Yeah. I like the idea of.
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: Getting the sprinter and then and then doing some off
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: road modifications to it and then slowly building out the
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: interior based upon what I find my needs really are.
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: I think I would probably go that route.
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: And I think part of it is because I love
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: the idea of being able to load a motorcycle up
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: in the back. Yes, so like so or anything, go
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: to home depot or whatever. It's kind of what I
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: use the really practical. It's kind of what I use.
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: The Defender for now is like my home depot trug.
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: But you know it's real, it is really practical, and
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: and I do like the sprinter. It's it's funny, you know,
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: the more that I travel, the more I realize, like
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: the idea of being able to retreat in from bad
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: weather is appealing. And that's where that's where the camper,
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: at least for me as a as a traveler, starts
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: to make a lot more sense. Is you know, having
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: been in really crappy weather in Iceland for days and
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: days and days at a time, or pick any other country.
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: It is fatiguing when you can't get away from that,
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: And something like a sprinter is a pretty awesome way
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: to do it. Yeah, I mean, close the door, you're done.
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: You can park it in a city. You know, people
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: are gonna know. I mean guys that like I used
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: to live in free To, Colorado. It's like a mountain
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: bike van life mecca. And you know, they all kind
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: of roll in and I'm like, oh, I'm in my
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: white sprinter. People think it's just a delivery van. Now, Yeah,
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: a delivery van would like brand new be of good Rich,
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: all terrains and a Winch bumper.
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, like delivery. Yeah, there's no such thing as
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: a two hundred thousand and other custom delivery van. That's right.
• 24:50
  Speaker 2: But I think the idea of the stealth camping where
• 24:54
  Speaker 2: nobody really knows, you know, unless you're putting Bob's plumbing
• 24:57
  Speaker 2: on the side.
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: That ship is sales ships sail specially ten years ago.
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: You could get away from it, get away with it.
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: But there's been a lot of like counter movement in this,
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: like boon docking and yeah, and people just camping wherever
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: they want and tell your ride right on the street.
• 25:12
  Speaker 2: I mean, but a van.
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: A van is a great way to do that because
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: it is much lower profile once you set up a
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: roof ten.
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: It's yeah, and I think it's I think it's like
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: probably if you're going to do it, the most respectful
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: way to do it, as long as you know you're
• 25:24
  Speaker 2: self contained. Yeah, you know, people, Oh, what's the what's
• 25:28
  Speaker 2: the problem with me camping, Well, there's no problem with
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: you camping there. It's just the fluids that have to
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: find a way. Yeah, that's right, you know somewhere. So totally.
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: But I do.
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: I do like the idea of the sprinter and they
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: are very popular all over the world. They're they're sold
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: in most countries. There is good dealer infrastructure and support,
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: and you do especially in other countries, you will fly
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: a little more under the radar when you're just driving
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: down the road. It's not going to be just like
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: Amazing Gladiator on thirty sevens. It's going to be That's
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: the problem.
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: That's my biggest problem with the g wagon I think
• 26:03
  Speaker 2: is I mean I could imagine driving like a flat
• 26:06
  Speaker 2: of flat black twin tabo g wagon or something in
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: Uganda and.
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: Maybe that's not the nicest thing to do, maybe not,
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: maybe not, but it's also very effective too.
• 26:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: I mean, there anyone anyone in Uganda that drives a
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: matte black jew wagon is someone that no one's gonna
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: mess with. Like, like, even someone that doesn't know what
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: a g wagon is knows what a truck like that means.
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: Like if you go into Russia and I guess the
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: only problem you'd have in Russia is that the the
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: other guy with a matte black jewagon might think.
• 26:39
  Speaker 2: You're encroaching on his territory.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, but there there is at times, there is
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: an advantage to driving a vehicle that's highly disruptive. Right
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: where Because I'm not advocating for for the for the
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: display of wealth or luxury, that's not at all what
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: I'm saying. It's it's about being disruptive as a traveler
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: when you come into an area with high security problems,
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: like what we did with Expedition seven is we had
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: several identically placarded vehicles that looked like an NGO or
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: it looked like an ambulance. You know, it had a
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: large chevron on the door, it had chevrons down the
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: side that looked very much like an ambulance. The whole
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: idea it's not to be deceptive, it's just to be
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: disruptive enough where the local criminal doesn't try it, They
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: don't even make an effort to do a carjacking or
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: a break into your vehicle.
• 27:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, definitely, I mean, I mean, and I think
• 27:35
  Speaker 2: we should talk about Tacoma and like the Frontier too,
• 27:38
  Speaker 2: Like these aren't bad choices. I will not at longer
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: than Pinnacle choices. I know, I know, I'll have a
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: million people on the internet yell at me if I
• 27:45
  Speaker 2: don't say that Tacoma is an option, and.
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: It has been an option for a lot of people.
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: They are still popular to use for international travel, their
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: gasoline engine, very reliable platform. Overall, there are functional issues
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: with the vehicle that make it perform at a standard
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: that I consider below Pinnacle now, primarily the transmission ratio
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: choices that Toyota went with, once you start to load
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: them up, I would actually almost say that they're dangerous,
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: you know, because they just don't they don't respond properly
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: when you're trying to make a left hand turn. For example,
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: if they're totally stock, they accelerate fine and you don't
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: even notice it. But once you start to put them
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: at payload, at maximum payload, they respond much differently. Even
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: with stock stock diameter time.
• 28:37
  Speaker 2: I think Nitro recommends like four eighty eights for them
• 28:40
  Speaker 2: or something, and I think they have three seventy threes.
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: I mean, that's a significant jump in gearing and that's
• 28:47
  Speaker 2: what it needs.
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: And all Toyota really needs to do with the vehicle
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: is just adjust the first and second gear ratios. You know,
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: the first gear ratio on the Tacoma transmission is in
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: the high threes, whereas the Gladiator is a five to
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: one first gear. It's an enormous difference and that results
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: in driver confidence. Like manufacturers, they I think they've lost
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: the way on how the how the vehicles interact with
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: the driver. When a vehicle does certain things right, it
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: gives the driver confidence, and that gives the person it
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: inspires them to buy another one. It gives them a
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: good experience while they're driving it, and that first and
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: second gear ratio choice on the newest model Tacoma was
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: a miss.
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean that. The thing that I hold out
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: for the Tacoma is that that is the first generation
• 29:37
  Speaker 2: I guess of the third generation, even though yeah, it's
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: really close to the second generation. I think that's also
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: a failing Toyota had. You know, there's always the glimmer
• 29:45
  Speaker 2: of hope they'll go to a world model because the
• 29:47
  Speaker 2: Highlux internationally when that received its update, that was essentially
• 29:53
  Speaker 2: a body of the of the previous generation. So you know,
• 29:59
  Speaker 2: if Toyota through an eight speed in that instead of
• 30:01
  Speaker 2: a six speed YEP, they'd probably solve a lot of
• 30:03
  Speaker 2: their problem problem solved. You know, if they added twenty
• 30:07
  Speaker 2: horse power YEP problems solved. Me twenty foot pounds of
• 30:10
  Speaker 2: tork is what I take. Yeah, yeah, I mean this
• 30:13
  Speaker 2: is going to happen. I think that's where I'm excited
• 30:15
  Speaker 2: for the Tacoma is it's inevitable and they're going to
• 30:19
  Speaker 2: have to give it a little bit more power in there.
• 30:21
  Speaker 2: They know that they have a maybe an issue, but
• 30:26
  Speaker 2: that they sell like hotcakes. So do they actually have
• 30:28
  Speaker 2: an issue. They sell two hundred thousand units a year.
• 30:31
  Speaker 2: It's a it's a very logical choice for a lot
• 30:34
  Speaker 2: of people. I think.
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: I think it's it's it's curious because people who are
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: listening to this podcast that own it Tacoma will probably
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: feel like we're being critical of their car. What's actually happened.
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: The thing that's changed is that we have options now. Yeah,
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: so the third generation Ta Coma, if it was out
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: five years ago, it would it would still be like
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: we would have it on this list. We would say
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: it's a Pinnacle truck. But if you were to compare
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: it against against the new Bison, the New Bison is
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: a better vehicle. If you compare it against the Gladiator,
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: the Gladiator is a better vehicle. Now, I'm not saying
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: that they're more reliable, even though there are a lot
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: of reliability indicators that do speak very positively of the
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: GM products. Now, I think that the Tacoma just now
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: has a lot of competition, and Toyota is an incredible brand.
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: They're going to figure it out. They're going to be like,
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: all right, sales are starting to shift towards our competitors.
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: We're losing market share. We have an opportunity to tune
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: the vehicle in a way now that addresses those competitive pressures.
• 31:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think that they're very expensive. They are
• 31:43
  Speaker 2: well not I mean no just body gladiator Okay, yeah, yeah,
• 31:47
  Speaker 2: that's what everybody says to me. Right, So my full
• 31:49
  Speaker 2: disclosure of my Gladiators has all the leather, it's loaded whatever.
• 31:53
  Speaker 2: I'm not saying this to gloat, just as a positioning thing.
• 31:55
  Speaker 2: It was sixty two. I think it was the only
• 31:57
  Speaker 2: model though that you could buy, the model that I
• 31:59
  Speaker 2: could buy by that or my veins very very early.
• 32:03
  Speaker 2: But I have a Winch compatible steel front bumper that
• 32:07
  Speaker 2: has wings that could be removed. I have a four
• 32:09
  Speaker 2: to one low range. I have locking differentials front and rear.
• 32:13
  Speaker 2: You know. It came with Fox shocks, It has sliders.
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: It has a steel rear bumper with sliders. You know what.
• 32:21
  Speaker 2: And it came with four elevens, which for up to
• 32:23
  Speaker 2: thirty five's is totally sufficient. What would it cost you
• 32:27
  Speaker 2: if you're going to go down the more modified four
• 32:30
  Speaker 2: wheel drive route? What would uh? You know? And this
• 32:34
  Speaker 2: is the Rubicon, so it has the appearance stuff, it
• 32:36
  Speaker 2: has the hood. What would it cost for you to
• 32:37
  Speaker 2: put a TRD Pro which is forty five grand, and
• 32:41
  Speaker 2: they're stelling, I believe, still selling for oversticker for some reason.
• 32:48
  Speaker 2: You know, they're a great truck, they're a great truck,
• 32:49
  Speaker 2: but forty five to fifty grand. And then you add
• 32:52
  Speaker 2: what's a bumper cost, What's what a slider's cost, what
• 32:55
  Speaker 2: is a rear bumper cost? Because you're going to have
• 32:57
  Speaker 2: to mount that tire somewhere, and then you're going to
• 32:59
  Speaker 2: have you're going to have to regear. The Gladiator becomes
• 33:04
  Speaker 2: a value. Yeah, it does.
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: And I think the only the only thing that gives
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: it a little bit of a challenge is the Bison
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: because the Bison's about seven thousand dollars less.
• 33:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah it.
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: Does, and it does have front and rear lockers and
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: even a diesel engine, which yeah, you know the Gladiator
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: will come out with soon enough. But you know, when
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: we think about these Pinnacle vehicles, when you look at
• 33:25
  Speaker 1: a pickup, I would I would be really inclined, you know,
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: if I was going to look at a mid sized truck,
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: I'd be really inclined towards a Bison with a gasoline motor.
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: Right now, that would probably be what I would take
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: around the world, and and another option I would seriously
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: consider would be a frontier.
• 33:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean they're so affordable platform, Yeah they are.
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: I mean a lot has changed with the Navara and
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: other markets, and and I know that Nissan is right
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: at the doorstep of a model change for that vehicle
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: as well. But it is the most reliable vehicle of
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: its class, and the u US right now, it's more
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: reliable than the Tacoma has fewer problems per thousand vehicles
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: it is.
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: It is a much better choice for mystifies me why
• 34:08
  Speaker 2: the new Navara over overseas is not sold here because
• 34:12
  Speaker 2: they're you know, the D forty. I want to say
• 34:16
  Speaker 2: that what we're still getting is that hasn't been sold
• 34:19
  Speaker 2: overseas for some time time. I went to the press
• 34:21
  Speaker 2: launch for the new Navara in Australia in twenty fifteen,
• 34:27
  Speaker 2: you know, and I was told there'd be in the
• 34:29
  Speaker 2: US and you know, a year or so. But that
• 34:32
  Speaker 2: that chassis is phenomenal. It's coil sprung in the rear,
• 34:35
  Speaker 2: it's really well balanced. Mean, it's so good. It's actually
• 34:38
  Speaker 2: what Mercedes chose to base their X class off of.
• 34:42
  Speaker 2: And Mercedes is crazy crazy, particular with dynamics. Yeah. I
• 34:49
  Speaker 2: mean there's a lot of really good choices out there
• 34:51
  Speaker 2: there are.
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: I think the interesting thing about the Frontier when I
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: was talking with some of the program managers recently, is
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: they're selling more of them than they have of even
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: three years ago. So like they sell they sell almost
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: eighty thousand Frontiers a year.
• 35:06
  Speaker 2: That's a lot. That's a lot of the car that
• 35:08
  Speaker 2: they did their too Linge fifteen years ago. Yeah.
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: Yeah, they sell twice as many Frontiers as Bard sells Rangers. Yeah,
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: and that's because they they come across as very as
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: a great value, They come across as very honest, they
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: come across as very capable. You can get a Pro
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: four X with a rear locker, yeah, and a large
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: diameter tire. It has a larger displacement engine that has
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: the best torque in its class. And these are these
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: are a lot of things that compel people to buy them.
• 35:36
  Speaker 1: And and if you go onto the website and you
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: look at the MSRP, that is they sell for much
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: less than that.
• 35:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah. So like you go to the sticker for it's
• 35:45
  Speaker 2: a comma, Yeah, you're gonna pay sticker for it. You're
• 35:47
  Speaker 2: gonna pay three.
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: To five grand off sticker for a Frontier and Ranger
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: starts to be very very compelling as far as a value. Well,
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: let's talk about full sized trucks. What do you think
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: is there anything that falls in that category?
• 36:03
  Speaker 2: If we set aside that that ultra low sul for
• 36:06
  Speaker 2: diesel thing and the diesel exhaust fluid thing. Yeah, the
• 36:10
  Speaker 2: F two fifty is a great choice. I mean I
• 36:12
  Speaker 2: took mine everywhere. I mean it's big, yeah, but I
• 36:15
  Speaker 2: always said, if she fits, she gets. You know, you
• 36:19
  Speaker 2: can put massive tires on those things. They have the
• 36:21
  Speaker 2: drive line. You know a lot of times even with
• 36:23
  Speaker 2: large tires, they don't really require gearing. Sure, you know,
• 36:27
  Speaker 2: but I think of full sized trucks. And then there's
• 36:31
  Speaker 2: the F one fifty. I mean, you know, a very
• 36:34
  Speaker 2: solid choice would be buy an F one fifty, throw
• 36:36
  Speaker 2: four wheel camper in the back and just go. Yeah.
• 36:39
  Speaker 2: But the rams fantastic. I mean you can actually buy
• 36:43
  Speaker 2: a Ram that I don't want to say bypasses the
• 36:48
  Speaker 2: deaf because it still has deaf. Mario just bought that.
• 36:51
  Speaker 2: It was the Ambulance commercial chassis. It will run completely
• 36:55
  Speaker 2: legally since it is a commercial vehicle. It won't go
• 36:57
  Speaker 2: into limp home mode, which can be can be super valuable. Yeah,
• 37:03
  Speaker 2: you know, it has two fuel tanks and I want
• 37:06
  Speaker 2: to say it was like I think he paid forty
• 37:08
  Speaker 2: grand for that thing with the under fifty Cummings diesel
• 37:11
  Speaker 2: And no, you're going to have to do some modification
• 37:13
  Speaker 2: to that. But if you're if you're going to do
• 37:15
  Speaker 2: a flatbed or or anything like that, you know those
• 37:19
  Speaker 2: are great. Yet. You can check his out at Overland
• 37:23
  Speaker 2: his big boxes on it. Yep, that'll be an interesting
• 37:26
  Speaker 2: project to watch. I mean, you know, going back to
• 37:29
  Speaker 2: Sema that my favorite truck at Sema was was Av's
• 37:33
  Speaker 2: new twenty five hundred in that cool green color. The
• 37:37
  Speaker 2: bumper they finally did a little bit more brushguard style,
• 37:40
  Speaker 2: which I like for animal strike protection.
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: Man, that was really cool. Totally agree new new rear bumper,
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: spare tire amount. That thing looked literally ready to go around. Yeah.
• 37:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know the thing I say about the full
• 37:54
  Speaker 2: sized trucks in comparison to my Gladiator, where do you
• 37:59
  Speaker 2: put that tire? You have to have a bumper or something.
• 38:02
  Speaker 2: It's funny that my Gladiator will fit at thirty seven
• 38:04
  Speaker 2: underneath and a full sized truck. Well, right, you know,
• 38:07
  Speaker 2: a friend of mine has a you know, a wedge
• 38:09
  Speaker 2: style camper on his twenty five hundred. Now he's a
• 38:11
  Speaker 2: six and a half foot bed. I have a five
• 38:13
  Speaker 2: foot bed on my Gladiator, but I have completely vertical
• 38:16
  Speaker 2: walls and I don't have to have my tire inside
• 38:18
  Speaker 2: the bed, right, So you know, granted you could do
• 38:21
  Speaker 2: a swing away, but swing aways are kind of few
• 38:23
  Speaker 2: and far between for full sized trucks.
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: And there's a lot of details in the Gladiator that
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: I really respect. I mean it shows I mean Mark
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: Allen Obviously it comes back to the guy that's in
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: charge of design, and Mark Allen is an Overlander.
• 38:36
  Speaker 2: He does it. He does it.
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: He's been a subscribed Overland journal since the very beginning,
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: so he you know, and he looks at all of that, like,
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: how do I fit a thirty seven in the stock location?
• 38:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah?
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: How do I make sure that it has the right payload?
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: How do I make sure that the vehicle can be
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: easily modified? And when you've got an organization that has
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: people in charge that get it, you end up with
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: vehicles like the Gladiator, which are an awesome choice.
• 39:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Like I was just on that. I probably mentioned
• 39:04
  Speaker 2: this was on the Rubicon maybe a few months ago
• 39:06
  Speaker 2: with Mark and some of the engineering team, Like you
• 39:10
  Speaker 2: can't fake driving skill, yep, Like I've you know, we've
• 39:15
  Speaker 2: both been on a lot of trails with designers and
• 39:18
  Speaker 2: and you know, some are in velvet shoes selling four
• 39:20
  Speaker 2: wheel drives and some are in hiking boots spotting you. Yeah,
• 39:24
  Speaker 2: and I think that's what's cool about about Jeep.
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: Totally, totally, you know, all right, So I guess the
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: other elephant in the room is we haven't talked about
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: land Rover yet. Does land Rover currently sell a vehicle
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: that you think is a pinnacle vehicle something you drive
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: around the world.
• 39:40
  Speaker 2: You know, we'll we'll find out because obviously we're going
• 39:41
  Speaker 2: to drive the Defender soon in in Namibia, which I
• 39:45
  Speaker 2: think is, uh, you don't send a car to Namibia
• 39:47
  Speaker 2: if you're not trying to make a statement that it
• 39:49
  Speaker 2: is that it is worthwhile. But I don't know. I
• 39:55
  Speaker 2: don't think there's anything wrong with with with land Rover.
• 39:58
  Speaker 2: I think they make fantastic vehicles for normal people. That's
• 40:01
  Speaker 2: the problem is they're for normal people. It wouldn't would
• 40:09
  Speaker 2: I love to drive a range Rover around the world. Yeah,
• 40:13
  Speaker 2: would I actually choose that over you know, some of
• 40:16
  Speaker 2: the other Pinnacle vehicles we've mentioned. I don't know. I
• 40:19
  Speaker 2: I think I've lost a lot of confidence in land
• 40:25
  Speaker 2: Rover as as far as a you know, an international vehicle.
• 40:30
  Speaker 2: There's just so many systems, you know, like the two
• 40:34
  Speaker 2: hundred series and the G class. Those are luxury vehicles, right,
• 40:38
  Speaker 2: but underneath they're being used on mines somewhere. A range
• 40:42
  Speaker 2: Rover is not being used as a mind forman's truck
• 40:44
  Speaker 2: or a military vehicle anywhere. I mean, maybe it's some
• 40:47
  Speaker 2: general's vehicle in a country, but sure he's an army
• 40:51
  Speaker 2: behind him to fix it.
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 40:53
  Speaker 2: They're they're great vehicles. They're they're insanely capable off road
• 40:56
  Speaker 2: for what they are, but I feel like they're more
• 40:58
  Speaker 2: like an X five these days, and I wouldn't drive
• 41:02
  Speaker 2: a Next five around the world. Yeah.
• 41:03
  Speaker 1: You can definitely see that the priority for the organization
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: has shifted towards making a premium luxury.
• 41:11
  Speaker 2: Suv, and their sales have skyrocketed, because I mean, that's
• 41:14
  Speaker 2: the thing. Can you can you fault it for him?
• 41:17
  Speaker 2: Fault for I don't know. I always give land Rover
• 41:20
  Speaker 2: you know, enthusiasts a little bit of grief. I mean,
• 41:22
  Speaker 2: I'm I love land Rovert. We're both into this because
• 41:26
  Speaker 2: of land Rover. Right, I've owned a bunch of them.
• 41:29
  Speaker 2: They're They're some of the most emotional vehicles I've ever
• 41:32
  Speaker 2: driven around. But land Rover enthusiasts don't buy new cars. Yeah,
• 41:38
  Speaker 2: Like I I don't know. I don't know a single
• 41:40
  Speaker 2: person with a Discovery five right now that is taking
• 41:43
  Speaker 2: it off road. I know a lot of people with
• 41:45
  Speaker 2: l R three's and l R four's, and back in
• 41:47
  Speaker 2: the day, I know a lot of people with D
• 41:49
  Speaker 2: one s and D two's, but they bought them used
• 41:52
  Speaker 2: to their second, third, fourth owner vehicles. And unfortunately, like
• 41:57
  Speaker 2: for land Rover owners, they don't come out of the
• 42:00
  Speaker 2: actory with one hundred thousand miles for ten grand. Right,
• 42:02
  Speaker 2: they're expensive cars. They depreciate rapidly. I mean, you could
• 42:08
  Speaker 2: certainly argue that bina used land Rover is the only
• 42:11
  Speaker 2: way to buy a land Rover. I mean, you can buy,
• 42:14
  Speaker 2: but yeah, I think, yeah, I think it's just a
• 42:16
  Speaker 2: different they have a different goal.
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: Ye. And if you look at like range Rover now
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: is very much luxury, you know, the Discovery is very
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: much like this family and they're doing well.
• 42:28
  Speaker 2: They're actually selling quite well.
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: But you know they're they're like this this family truckster
• 42:33
  Speaker 1: that has really good snow capability and you could take
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: it camping and everything like that. But they it does
• 42:39
  Speaker 1: seem like they're they're trying to make a statement around
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: utility and durability with the new Defender. Now you and
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: I have seen the vehicle in person. We spend a
• 42:49
  Speaker 1: lot of time with the car. We spend a lot
• 42:52
  Speaker 1: of time with the engineers, so we know their intentions
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: behind it, and I think their intentions are are at
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: least of the engineering team, I think are quite good.
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: I think they missed the mark on some of the
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: styling with the front end, but you know, the the
• 43:05
  Speaker 1: engineering for a modern vehicle, their intentions are good.
• 43:10
  Speaker 2: But once we get it out in.
• 43:11
  Speaker 1: The deserts of Namibia, we'll have a much better idea
• 43:14
  Speaker 1: how I think the vehicle in softer terrain will perform fantastically.
• 43:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, that much power and sandians with what
• 43:26
  Speaker 2: is phenomenal suspension for something like that, it's going to
• 43:30
  Speaker 2: be really cool. A low center of gravity, you know
• 43:32
  Speaker 2: they have they have a roof tent that'll be available
• 43:34
  Speaker 2: for a high roofload. I would love Paloa too. I
• 43:39
  Speaker 2: would love this time next year to revisit this. And
• 43:42
  Speaker 2: I'm rooting so hard for land Rover to be on
• 43:45
  Speaker 2: this list. Yeah, I just you know underneath, you know,
• 43:50
  Speaker 2: I kind of drilled one of their engineers on this. Okay,
• 43:52
  Speaker 2: how is this different than the Discovery five? And they
• 43:54
  Speaker 2: told me that ball joint was five millimeters larger and
• 43:56
  Speaker 2: the lower control Armah Okay, you know, Discovery five wouldn't
• 44:01
  Speaker 2: work for me. It's going to take a lot to
• 44:05
  Speaker 2: to convince me that, you know, the changes that they
• 44:08
  Speaker 2: have made.
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: Yeah, what I'm trying to do is look at look
• 44:12
  Speaker 1: at the Defender as an entirely new model. I think
• 44:15
  Speaker 1: once you attach the name Defender to it, it brings
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: all of this heritage and legacy and passion that came
• 44:22
  Speaker 1: with the original car, and for me, it starts to
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: taint my judgment on being able to assess the vehicle,
• 44:30
  Speaker 1: you know, because I have a Defender and I've driven
• 44:32
  Speaker 1: Defenders all over the world, and i have a lot
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: of passion for that model. So I'm trying to come
• 44:38
  Speaker 1: into it with fresh eyes. But let's see let's give it,
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: Let's give it some time and see where it came.
• 44:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I mean I if it was the new Discovery,
• 44:47
  Speaker 2: it'd be the world's best Discovery, I know, I know, yeah,
• 44:50
  Speaker 2: I know. Yeah.
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: It kind of reminds me of because I owned a
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: Mark three Range Rover and it was it was one
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: of my favorite vehicles for what it was, and it
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: reminds me of like I just got a super utility
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: version of a Mark three Range Row Yeah yeah, which
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: which to me seems exciting and it seems, it seems honest,
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: and it seems appropriate as a defender. Time's going to
• 45:10
  Speaker 1: tell if it's going to be a good replacement for
• 45:12
  Speaker 1: that vehicle. I had somebody say to me recently, looks cool.
• 45:16
  Speaker 1: What does it do for me that an l R
• 45:18
  Speaker 1: four doesn't for fifteen grand? Right, you know, and that's
• 45:24
  Speaker 1: that repetitive cycle of the land rover thing is why
• 45:27
  Speaker 1: would why would you buy one?
• 45:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah?
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, anyway, that'll be an interesting one to see as
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: the as time develops, right yeah.
• 45:35
  Speaker 2: And then you know, internationally we kind of touched on it.
• 45:38
  Speaker 2: You know, there's there's some obvious choices for Pinnacle Vehicles
• 45:41
  Speaker 2: seventy series. You know, we put the defenders on that
• 45:44
  Speaker 2: list with it, Puma motor. It drives great. I think
• 45:47
  Speaker 2: it has a Mustang transmission. Now it's kind of cobbled
• 45:49
  Speaker 2: together from Ford. Was the last year of that cartoon
• 45:52
  Speaker 2: six sixteen, you know.
• 45:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so you can, I mean one of our one
• 45:55
  Speaker 1: of our thoughts with this Pinnacle vehicle list was vehicles
• 45:58
  Speaker 1: that were available within the last ten years, so relatively new. Yeah,
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: and you can. You can find a four six three
• 46:04
  Speaker 1: g Wagon, which is what we'd recommend. A four sixty
• 46:07
  Speaker 1: one G Wagon another great recommendation, A Y sixty one Patrol.
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: You can find underrated, Yeah, highly underrated. You can find
• 46:15
  Speaker 1: that that vehicle. They're still being sold in Saudi Arabia.
• 46:19
  Speaker 1: They're being sold as the as the Gazelle, and as
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: the Falcon and and.
• 46:24
  Speaker 2: And other other models that are massive like gas engines
• 46:28
  Speaker 2: in them there. They are supercharge and turbo charge and
• 46:30
  Speaker 2: do all kinds of things too, that's right.
• 46:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah, So the Y sixty one Patrol is still a
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: great consideration. Obviously, any variant of the seventy series is
• 46:37
  Speaker 1: going to be really worthwhile. Yeah, and particularly if you
• 46:40
  Speaker 1: buy it with the one eight Z. Now, I like
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: the motor. The VDJ a lot, but the one eight
• 46:47
  Speaker 1: z is is a motor that's it's understressed all the time.
• 46:51
  Speaker 1: If you're driving by yourself or with your slow and
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: you're not, yeah, you just not. You're not going to
• 46:55
  Speaker 1: be in a rush.
• 46:56
  Speaker 2: But we had one, I mean, that was what was
• 46:58
  Speaker 2: in my seventy and my troup say our troopy, and
• 47:02
  Speaker 2: it was fine. Yeah, I just I wouldn't want to
• 47:04
  Speaker 2: drive one in the United States, the Interstates. I mean,
• 47:07
  Speaker 2: but I think once you get out of the US, like,
• 47:10
  Speaker 2: it doesn't just really matter. You're not going as fast. Yeah,
• 47:14
  Speaker 2: it just doesn't matter.
• 47:15
  Speaker 1: You know.
• 47:15
  Speaker 2: And just to touch on why we're why we're focusing
• 47:17
  Speaker 2: on things that are in the last ten years is
• 47:20
  Speaker 2: one I think we want to reward companies for making
• 47:22
  Speaker 2: you know, we want to give them a nod for
• 47:24
  Speaker 2: continuing to make these vehicles. But you know, vehicles are
• 47:28
  Speaker 2: quite reliable right right now. You know, again we talked
• 47:32
  Speaker 2: about the eighty series. Yes, the eighty series is very reliable.
• 47:35
  Speaker 2: So it's the two hundred series. But you're not going
• 47:38
  Speaker 2: to find an eighty for under fifteen grand that has
• 47:41
  Speaker 2: under two hundred thousand miles right now, it's tough. Like
• 47:44
  Speaker 2: like you are at the point where it's even if
• 47:46
  Speaker 2: you find a low mileage vehicle, you still you've timed
• 47:50
  Speaker 2: out on things, like you said, the rubber, the gaskets,
• 47:53
  Speaker 2: that kind of stuff, electrical wiring, they're just not going
• 47:57
  Speaker 2: to be as reliable. I mean, you have to want
• 47:59
  Speaker 2: to drive that va. It's my choice. Yeah, I mean
• 48:02
  Speaker 2: that's why I'll actually do it in But I've I've
• 48:06
  Speaker 2: spent a gladiator and refurbishment and purchase price on on
• 48:09
  Speaker 2: that vehicle.
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: And there's a lot of advantage to leaving on a
• 48:13
  Speaker 1: big trip that's important to you. I mean, if you
• 48:15
  Speaker 1: if you think about most people that are doing a
• 48:17
  Speaker 1: big overland journey, they call it the trip of the lifetime, right,
• 48:21
  Speaker 1: And that's because in many cases it's the only trip
• 48:24
  Speaker 1: that they will do like that in their life. Yeah,
• 48:26
  Speaker 1: so you want you want to pad the experience in
• 48:29
  Speaker 1: as many ways as you can. Modern vehicles are more safe.
• 48:33
  Speaker 1: They have air bags, they have better handling, they have
• 48:36
  Speaker 1: better stopping performance, they have advanced abs, they have vehicle
• 48:40
  Speaker 1: stability control, and it's it's very easy for like the
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: curmudginy like old timer to say you don't need those systems. Well,
• 48:48
  Speaker 1: it's they say you don't need those systems because they
• 48:51
  Speaker 1: don't understand how well they work and how many lives
• 48:53
  Speaker 1: that they.
• 48:54
  Speaker 2: Act, Like how much fatigue is reduced by radar cruise
• 48:57
  Speaker 2: control at no compromise on on my jeep for example,
• 49:01
  Speaker 2: Like you know, we just drove to over the nextpo
• 49:03
  Speaker 2: east and back. That was and it was almost seven
• 49:06
  Speaker 2: thousand mile road trip. If I was in my lankers
• 49:09
  Speaker 2: or I would have been able to do half the distance.
• 49:11
  Speaker 2: I maybe not half, but you.
• 49:13
  Speaker 1: Know, significant impact to the distance right that you can
• 49:17
  Speaker 1: drive in a day. So driver fatigue is really important.
• 49:19
  Speaker 1: Safety of yourself and your family members or your loved
• 49:22
  Speaker 1: ones that you have along with you, or your best
• 49:24
  Speaker 1: buddies that you've got along on this amazing trip. Why
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: not make it safer? Why not make it more of
• 49:29
  Speaker 1: fuel efficient? Why not reduce the impact to the environment
• 49:33
  Speaker 1: because of emissions all of those things that modern vehicles have.
• 49:37
  Speaker 1: It's easy to just take this puritanical approach of like,
• 49:41
  Speaker 1: you know, it's not an eighty series, so I don't
• 49:42
  Speaker 1: want it. I don't think that that works anymore. I
• 49:44
  Speaker 1: think we have to I think we have to be
• 49:45
  Speaker 1: open minded to the fact that technologies have changed, vehicles
• 49:49
  Speaker 1: have gotten better in many ways. You know, a twenty
• 49:53
  Speaker 1: nineteen Wrangler is the most capable Wrangler ever made. Yeah,
• 49:58
  Speaker 1: you know, you can. I can look back at my
• 50:00
  Speaker 1: I C J seven that I had, and a new
• 50:03
  Speaker 1: Rubicon would run circles around that. Truckers would run absolutely,
• 50:07
  Speaker 1: And that's the cool that's the cool thing with the Wrangler.
• 50:10
  Speaker 1: It's the only vehicle I know of that each year
• 50:12
  Speaker 1: becomes more. It just gets better and better. It gets better.
• 50:15
  Speaker 2: And obviously people get stuck on their model and JK,
• 50:18
  Speaker 2: guys like all the jail is soft, Well, stop saying that,
• 50:21
  Speaker 2: because in five years you're gonna be driving a Jail
• 50:24
  Speaker 2: and you're going to be stoked about it. Yeah.
• 50:25
  Speaker 1: What In most cases, what they're saying when they're being
• 50:27
  Speaker 1: critical of a new model is that they can't afford it.
• 50:30
  Speaker 1: So now I've got to pick it apart so that
• 50:33
  Speaker 1: I feel better about the fact that I can't afford it.
• 50:35
  Speaker 1: But those are, like you said, those are the folks
• 50:37
  Speaker 1: that in ten years they'll be buying that vehicle because
• 50:39
  Speaker 1: it'll be within their price range. And it doesn't doesn't
• 50:42
  Speaker 1: mean that new vehicles don't have faults. They certainly do.
• 50:45
  Speaker 1: But if you look at the Bison, it's the most
• 50:48
  Speaker 1: capable mid sized truck that GM is ever produced, and
• 50:51
  Speaker 1: it's available today. The Gladiator is the is the jeep
• 50:55
  Speaker 1: pickup that we've always wanted. Of course, inspired heavily by
• 50:58
  Speaker 1: Aev's Brute, but the Gladiator is it's the most capable
• 51:02
  Speaker 1: jeep pickup ever produced, and it's available today. The g Wagon,
• 51:07
  Speaker 1: the new model g Wagon still has triple differential locks.
• 51:11
  Speaker 1: The two hundred series is still one of it's the
• 51:14
  Speaker 1: as the engineer said, the most durable Lancers are they've
• 51:17
  Speaker 1: ever made. So it's it's really easy to be dismissive
• 51:20
  Speaker 1: of modern vehicles. But I think in many cases they're
• 51:23
  Speaker 1: listening to consumer need and they're responding with trucks that
• 51:27
  Speaker 1: people are passionate about.
• 51:28
  Speaker 2: People are gonna have car companies are going to have
• 51:30
  Speaker 2: to specialize. Yeah, will people like will the need for
• 51:34
  Speaker 2: a Hyundai, a Lantra, Exit, a Launch, I don't know,
• 51:37
  Speaker 2: say whatever that thing, whatever it is, whatever the cheap
• 51:40
  Speaker 2: HOUNDAI are, the cheap Kia or whatever you know, is
• 51:42
  Speaker 2: that that's gonna be absorbed by ride sharing. It's going
• 51:45
  Speaker 2: to be a commodity rental cars or that kind of thing.
• 51:47
  Speaker 2: So I think if these car companies want to exist,
• 51:49
  Speaker 2: I think a lot of them are in the right path.
• 51:51
  Speaker 1: Cheap in particular, build vehicles that people are passionate about.
• 51:55
  Speaker 1: Build vehicles that solve problems, and we've talked about a
• 51:58
  Speaker 1: lot of those today. Those exist, These pin vehicles are
• 52:00
  Speaker 1: still available to us, and we encourage doing some research.
• 52:04
  Speaker 1: I mean, don't just listen to what Matt and I
• 52:06
  Speaker 1: are saying. This is based on our own experience, But
• 52:09
  Speaker 1: a vehicle like a two hundred series, when you look
• 52:11
  Speaker 1: at the aftermarket options that are available for it and
• 52:13
  Speaker 1: the global service, it's a very compelling choice. Yes, right on, man, Well, yeah,
• 52:18
  Speaker 1: we got a couple trips coming up. We got Africa.
• 52:20
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm spending about a month in Baja in a
• 52:23
  Speaker 2: few weeks. Yeah, Africa, and I think we're going to
• 52:26
  Speaker 2: try and do something maybe in Botswana, South Africa February. Yeah,
• 52:30
  Speaker 2: go do some adventure and then Alaska, Yukon Northern Territories
• 52:34
  Speaker 2: for me probably two months next year, hopefully leaving right
• 52:38
  Speaker 2: after over the next but some of the mosquitoes, Yeah,
• 52:41
  Speaker 2: there you go. I love it. I love it.
• 52:43
  Speaker 1: Well, Thank you all for listening, Thank you for spending
• 52:45
  Speaker 1: time with us on the Overland Journal podcast. I'm your host,
• 52:49
  Speaker 1: Scott Brady. You can find me on Instagram at Overland Journal.
• 52:52
  Speaker 1: You can find me at at Global Overland and then
• 52:55
  Speaker 1: we've got Matt Scott.
• 52:56
  Speaker 2: Where can people find you? Yeah, so you can find
• 52:58
  Speaker 2: my sarcastic gramblings on Instagram at Matt Explore, follow me
• 53:03
  Speaker 2: or don't don't. You're gonna see You're gonna see a
• 53:05
  Speaker 2: lot of cool trucks and also a lot of pictures
• 53:07
  Speaker 2: of my greyhound.
• 53:08
  Speaker 1: So yeah, you know, yeah, tell people about about your greyhound.
• 53:12
  Speaker 1: I think it's important.
• 53:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah. So this is a little Dakhar. He's he's actually
• 53:15
  Speaker 2: he's silent. He's it's been hanging out here. You probably
• 53:17
  Speaker 2: didn't even know he was here. Yeah, super passionate about
• 53:20
  Speaker 2: about rescuing greyhounds. I can't tell you how how much
• 53:24
  Speaker 2: of a positive influence this dog has been in my life.
• 53:26
  Speaker 2: It's been a great experience. There's dogs out there that
• 53:28
  Speaker 2: need homes. You know, this guy a little bit of
• 53:31
  Speaker 2: separation anxiety and that kind of stuff, but so awesome.
• 53:34
  Speaker 2: He's never never chewed anything up. We had him for
• 53:37
  Speaker 2: two months and we took him to Baja for three
• 53:39
  Speaker 2: weeks in the back of a lancas Or and he
• 53:41
  Speaker 2: I think these dogs are just there. I don't know.
• 53:44
  Speaker 2: I would say greyhounds are very appreciative dogs.
• 53:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and they and they need homes. They need homes.
• 53:49
  Speaker 1: So you take a look, take a look at that,
• 53:51
  Speaker 1: when you look at your when you look at you
• 53:52
  Speaker 1: two hundred series, switch over to another browser window and
• 53:55
  Speaker 1: start looking for greyhounds.
• 53:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, everybody, have a great week. Yeah, take care, guys.