During Portland Snopocalypse 2017, I’ve been driving The PDXJ (project 2001 Jeep Cherokee) quite a bit; it’s been pretty much unstoppable in the snow. Then again, vehicle is only as good as its tires. I must say, I’ve been very impressed with our Yokohama Geolandar M/T+ tires during this snowy mess.
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Portland doesn’t usually get big snow storms. We’re one of those cities that shuts down if an inch falls. So when a storm comes that that dumps 13″ of heavy, wet snow, the city becomes paralyzed.
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It’s official: Ford will offer the Bronco as a 2020 model. However, that’s about all the info that’s out there. Ford has said that it’ll be a mid-sized 4×4 vehicle, and they did use the word “off-road” in describing it. Well, those are all good things. But will it be the retro concept it teased…
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You’ve got your 4WD vehicle, and you’re wanting to add larger tires on it. Cool! You’ll likely be able to go more places and do more things with that extra bit of meaty rubber and you know they look good. However, there is one downside that comes along with adding larger tires: Your rig is now…
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There are a few specific things many look for in a truly off-road capable four-wheel drive vehicle. This includes a two-speed transfer case with low range; solid axles or at least a solid rear axle; a durable ladder frame vs. unibody construction (with the exception of the Jeep Cherokee (XJ), of course); and arguably a manual transmission…
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“You modified a Toyota Yaris? Why bother?” Yep. Heard that one before. “You drove from Oregon to Colorado in that?” [points at our Suzuki Sidekick and trailer] Uh huh. Got that multiple times. When talking cars, some peoples’ eyes glaze over when I’m telling them we have a customized Toyota Yaris as our “go kart,” and a lifted…
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I’ll make no apologies: I like Yokohama tires. I first had Yokohamas back in 2006 when I got a set of 205/50/16 AVS ES100 tires for my Scion xB . A couple years later, I shod my Toyota Yaris’ wheels with 195/55/15 S-Drives. In fact, I just replaced them last month with the same tires. So when…
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We love a good road trip. We love a good off-road trip. Adventure. Travel. We love a good race. Speed. Competition. We love cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Anything with a crankshaft. We love automotive culture in general. We are Crankshaft Culture.
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You know that “Keep Portland Weird” saying? It pertains to cars too. The Avants car club hosted the inaugural Weird and Wacky Car Show on Saturday, January 27 at IPD in Portland. To no one’s surprise, the show lived up to its name and did not disappoint.
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Gran Turismo was a video game that defined a generation. While many learned about and coveted Nissan Skylines, Silvias, Toyota Chasers, Mitsubishi GTOs, FTOs and Mazda Cosmos, it was the Mazda Demio, Mitsubishi Mirage Cyborg-R, Nissan Pulsar GTi-R and tiny kei cars that caught my eye. Now that 25-year old kei cars are eligible to…
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