The other day I was goofing around on Wikipedia, and for some reason I bumped into the entry for the Ford Pinto, a completely little econo-car from the 70's. Perhaps more significant was that it was one of my very first cars. So I decided to make a list of all the cars that I/Kristie & I have owned. I started looking for pictures, and that's how we got here.
1988 Toyota Landcruiser
Shortly after Allison was born, we began to feel that urging that our cars were not right. The Accord was a great car, but a little run of the mill. It was the early 90's and the sport utility craze was a full power, and we got sucked into it.
We decided that we wanted, no...we needed a sport utility vehicle. I had brokered yet another deal with my dad and he agreed to take the Accord off our hands. My mom was ready for a better car and this would be perfect for her. So we set out to test drive all of our viable options.
We drove the Toyota 4Runner...didn't really like it as it was too narrow. We were a family of four and we needed our space! I wouldn't consider the Ford Explorer...it was new to the market and I still wasn't going to look at Fords. We really liked the Nissan Pathfinder, which had just introduced their 4 door model and the Isuzu Trooper, which had just done a redesign and was quite nice. But these were new cars and Kristie wasn't working and we just didn't think we could swing the payment on a new vehicle. So we looked at used...and our choices were very limited. As I said, the Trooper and the Pathfinders were new models, and their previous designs were not acceptable. So on a lark, we stumbled onto the Toyota Landcruiser. It had been recently 
redesigned and moved very upscale, but the 88 & 89 model (officially known as the FJ-62) were what we were looking for. Big on the inside, reasonable comfortable and known world wide for their durability and reliablity. And we could afford it to boot. So we enlisted an auto broker to find us one, and he came up with a nice dark grey model, with about 60K miles (a little high for the time, but it was still very solid). So we bought it. And this began our 10 year obsession with the Landcruiser.
redesigned and moved very upscale, but the 88 & 89 model (officially known as the FJ-62) were what we were looking for. Big on the inside, reasonable comfortable and known world wide for their durability and reliablity. And we could afford it to boot. So we enlisted an auto broker to find us one, and he came up with a nice dark grey model, with about 60K miles (a little high for the time, but it was still very solid). So we bought it. And this began our 10 year obsession with the Landcruiser.About the only complaint I'll ever state regarding the Cruiser was that it was a little under powered. For around town driving, it was fine. Highway and especially mountain driving, it was a little tough.
We hung onto this Cruiser for just a short while. When we sold it, I remember telling the new buyers that we'd probably want to buy it back from them some day.... Didn't realize how prophetic that statement would be....