April 15, 2009Sighting: Toyota FJ40 Landcruiser

There are very few things that can surprise a New Yorker.  In the automotive realm, you really see everything.  There are minivans cruising the FDR Drive with big chrome rims.  There are Honda Accords with blown out windows that have been replaced by the finest in garbage bag and duct tape engineering.  There are plentiful Maseratis, Maybachs, and even an occasional McLaren to be sighted.  There are great rarities to be seen too: a Land Rover Defender from the 1940s, a Saleen, a Delorean, a Rolls Royce Phantom.  

Still, there are some cars that prompt a double-take.  Sometimes the second look is provoked by fancy bells and whistles, other times it’s the wide press coverage a vehicle has received, and once in a while it’s the extreme personality that a car exudes that catches a passerby’s attention.  

The FJ40 pictured in this post has been on various street corners in my neighborhood for the last couple of months.  Its inherent anomalousness warrants a head turn.  To be honest, the FJ40 is not particularly attractive.  The car is bulky, unrefined, and completely devoid of grace.  Nevertheless, its two-toned color palate - with a clean white roof that caps a safari tan paint job - together with its modest grill, round headlamps, square rear windows, pronounced front windshield hinges (many FJ40s had removable roofs and doors and a folding windshield), and rugged oversized tires give the FJ40 an appealing old-world charm.  Its rustic aesthetic contrasts with the polished urban cityscape that exists around it, thus making this FJ40 a Manhattan marvel.

The FJ40 was produced from 1960-1984.  The early SUV has architectural dimensions that are almost the same as the equally rough-and-tumble Jeep CJ7 of the same time period.  The FJ40 was designed for off-road adventures and can handle tough terrain, deep waters, and extreme muddy conditions (see video below).  The FJ40’s compatibility with GM parts has made it an enduring classic.