Home From the 2023 Rebelle Rally: An Incredible Honda Journey

November 4, 2023 / Mercedes Lilienthal / Leave a comment

After 2.5 days of driving our trusty 2024 Honda Pilot TrailSport, I’m finally home from this year’s Rebelle Rally! The gear is unloaded and mostly unpacked. Here are a few quick stats about our endeavor:

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A Trio of Honda TrailSport SUVs Compete in the 2023 Rebelle Rally

October 12, 2023 / Andy Lilienthal / Leave a comment

Honda today unveiled its trio of rugged TrailSport SUVs that will compete in the grueling 2023 Rebelle Rally. This is an eight-day off-road competition through the unforgiving desert conditions of the American Southwest. The vehicles are Piloted by Honda associates and automotive journalists—including Crankshaft Culture’s own Mercedes Lilienthal who also took these photos. Vehicles include two 2024 Pilot TrailSports and…

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The 2023 Wicked Big Meet Is A Big, Wicked East-Coast Subaru Show

September 1, 2023 / Andy Lilienthal / 2 Comments

The 2023 Wicked Big Meet is one big east-coast Subaru show and part of the Subiefest family of Subaru-centric events. Held June 11, 2023 at Stafford Motor Speedway outside of Hartford, CT, Wicked Big Meet is billed as America’s largest Subaru enthusiast festival. It also kicked off the 2023 Subiefest series. Mercedes and I flew…

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Winter Road Trip Road Test: Toyo Celsius All-Weather Tires

January 21, 2022 / Andy Lilienthal / 2 Comments

As you know, we recently got a 1998 Honda CR-V. In fact, we drove it from Oregon to Wisconsin and back and only broke down once. (That’s a story for another time.) Before leaving for the frozen midwestern tundra, we put some all-weather Toyo Celsius tires on. No, not all-season, all-weather. If you’re not familiar,…

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Old-School Adventuring: Using a Suunto Global MC-2 G Compass

November 10, 2021 / Mercedes Lilienthal / 1 Comment

The advent of modern technology has brought about smartphones, tablets, and other gizmos outfitted with navigational programs. These include Gaia GPS or OnX Offroad for off-pavement usage or even Waze for on-road travels. However, carrying a compass with you, like the Suunto Global MC-2 G Compass can help you find your way when technology fails….

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Crankshaft Culture Gear Garage: Nextbase 622GW Dash Cam

August 3, 2021 / Mercedes Lilienthal / 2 Comments

The Nextbase 622GW Dash Cam provides high-quality, crisp recordings and can give you added security when on the road. We recently received a Nextbase 622GW dash cam for review. At a tune of $399.99, it certainly isn’t the cheapest one on the market but it offers several bells and whistles in exchange for its hefty…

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Crankshaft Culture Gear Garage: VSSL Java Coffee Grinder

May 26, 2021 / Andy Lilienthal / 1 Comment

We’re coffee geeks. We love good coffee. We’re willing to skimp on some things, but not when it comes to our java. That includes when we’re on the go or while camping. And the first step to good coffee is good beans. The second step is grinding them. There are a variety of portable coffee…

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2020 Alcan 5000 Rally Memories: The Sourtoe Cocktail

February 18, 2021 / Andy Lilienthal / Leave a comment

It’s been nearly a year since we participated in the mother-of-all-winter rallies, the 2020 Alcan 5000. We’ve been reflecting on some of our favorite moments and are putting together some fun memories. One of these was our night in Dawson City, YT Canada and the infamous Sourtoe Cocktail.

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Crankshaft Culture Gear Garage: The SUV Doorstep

November 16, 2020 / Andy Lilienthal / Leave a comment

For years we’ve seen these steps that simply hook onto your door’s latch and you can use them as a step. Frankly, we always thought they were a good idea. Recently the folks from SUV Doorstep reached out and sent a sample for us to try out.

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We Got a New Van: Mitsubishi Delica Space Gear

July 15, 2020 / Andy Lilienthal / 9 Comments

A couple of months ago, we sold our beloved Space Tractor, our 1989 Mitsubishi Delica L300. It was a fantastic vehicle, but it was time for a change. We knew we wanted another Delica, but it had to be the right one. Somewhat amazingly, the perfect van fell into our laps rather quickly: a 1994…

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