Growing up in the 80s, there was no shortage of TV shows in which the heroes teamed up with a driving machine so remarkable that it became a character in its own right. The most obvious example of such a pairing is Michael Knight and KITT, as the car could speak, but we proffer that even non-verbal vehicles easily met this criteria. The Duke boys drifted the General Lee around every dirt road in Hazard County. The Fall Guy flogged his pickup on every hill in Hollywood. The A-Team toured in their black van. Hardcastle & McCormick hurried about in their Coyote X. Magnum mozied around in Higgins’ Ferrari. And we haven’t even cracked the book on the unforgettable big screen rides.
A customized vehicle given a voice would easily able to tell its own stories. Like Dr. Frankenstein animating his monster, the modifications you make, the miles you travel, and the TLC you put in all combine to transform a rig it into an entity all its own. Rather than just taking you somewhere, it goes along with you.
A comfortable seat, a beautiful view, trouble-free transportation to somewhere new, speakers filled with your favorite songs, a dry place to sleep, a hot meal, or some light in the dark – all of these things have been provided by our FJ with the same feeling of a friend handing you a cold beer at the end of a long day.
It makes us glad that those we travel and explore with all have something different than us. For us, it really is “the more, the merrier” when it comes to vehicle builds. In the process of making a vehicle your own and completing various adventures with it, it becomes a companion that travels the trails with you. The rig you’ve built yourself is an integral character that heavily influences the the stories your experiences together will lead you to tell.