Good video mate. One thing I will ABSOLUTELY agree with here is that the 70 series toyota landcruiser is really the pinnacle of the modern 4x4. Amidst all of this change and compromise and progression of utility it managed to deliver both incredible ruggedness while being quite refined for what our was. And I'm talking about the early 70 series e.g. 75s etc. in particular. I've long since been of the view that these vehicles represent all of the best things about "true" 4wds and not really many of the worst. They're rugged, dependable, durable, capable, simple, reliable, yet still have an air of civility about them which neither the 40 series or the landrover at the time did. You could live with them. They had air conditioning, power steering, they were reasonably comfortable and quiet. Yet when you looked underneath you knew you were looking at a platform that was built for the rough stuff. Long live the 70 I say. The world's best ever 4x4 and still going, even if it has got a little softer and tamer over the years. I don't think we'll ever see a better platform for remote area travel
I recently test drove a new RL Discovery. The salesman talked for a half hour about all the tech, and how he could change the temperature of the passenger seat with his smart phone from the other side of the country. He failed to tell me the engine was supercharged. When I asked him about the off road ability and toughness, he said “ almost no one actually takes them off road.” I own a Jeep JKU , and also love the older Land Rovers, but fear Land Rover has lost sight of there roots. If only SOMEONE would build a simple, capable vehicle again! Great history lesson! Well done.👍
Also, the LandCruiser's success had a lot to do with the Snowy mountains hydro electric scheme because of the Theiss Bros. Sir Lesley Theiss ordered 200 LandCruiser from Toyota; simply because Landrover couldn't supply that many at the time.
Hi! Just came across this excellent talk. Many thanks! What really hit the nail on the head for me was when you talked about patience! I have owned four series III's over the years and enjoyed everyone one of them! Why? They were slow! Yes, I took my time whilst driving and enjoyed the journey . They were also extremely useful, rugged, full of charisma and I did not mind if it got a ding in a car park! Reliable..yes! No more and no less than any other vehicle i have owned. But the best thing about the series for me is that you could drill, bolt on, change, virtually anything you wanted! However, many years ago after I had taken my last Slll (diesel) for a service, I got home and pulled the engine kill knob to kill the diesel engine and the wire came through the dashboard! So I opened the bonnet to find the wire had snapped! I found some string and attached it to the kill lever and fed it to the bulkhead and pulled. The engine died! Easy!.....Honestly, I would not know how to fix modern stuff! Like you said we all want better, more economical, computer driven, disposable white goods! That is what has happened to cars now!...Thankyou for a down to earth decent video! Mark (UK)
A interesting fact: Pajero was the first 4x4 equipped with a turbo diesel engine. Which everyone has now. Landcruiser and Patrol only had straight diesel back then.
Indeed Ford's model T was the beginning, especially during Western Desert campaign with the LCP, however in between the great Wars R.A.Bagnold circa 1923 onwards developed the model A for long range overland travel in the deserts of Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Sudan & Libya charting unchartered territories. Many of what we today take for granted were developed for overland remote travel; condensers, sand ladders, airing down tires, keeping vehicles light weight, sun compass. When WW2 broke out, RABagnold and a team of hands on peers including ANZACS, South Africans, Rhodesians, Brits, Greeks, et al, formed the Long Range Desert Group who initially used 2wd Chevy's and later also incorporated the 4wd Willy's..
12:55 "It was the Americans that actually came to save the day America appellate America towards the end of the late 1930s was finally starting to get their economy back on track and one of the things that they developed was the Jeep.... " ERR, the video is entitled "Origin of the 4WD" but the first one you mention is the Jeep. That came out as late as 1940. Meanwhile, England had 4WD vehicles for ~3 years by then....... A Midlands firm made a small 2WD goods vehicle called the Ant. But for towing guns around rough terrain, the army wanted a 4WD vehicle - and the Ant seemed like a good starting point, so it approached the manufacturer of the Ant to make a 4WD version - and so, by the end of 1937 the Quad Ant was available. These vehicles were made by Guy (trucks) (the Guy Warrior being one I can remember the name of.) And I know someone who has a Guy Quad Ant locally.
Well if we are going down this road. They were not built on the mass scale that the Jeep was and did not have the impact which the Jeep did. As you know many nations experiment with the idea of the four wheel drive concept though none were built in large numbers. Cheers Geoff
great vid, I don't agree entirely with your statement that the Kubelwagen was the last 2wd off road vehicle, what about the Citroen 2cv? in France to this day you see comparetively few 4wd vehicles, they all seem to be able to get by in front wheel drive vehicles due to their fully independent suspension
I agree, I have 2 defenders both TD5 and they are great engines, I read a while back they were rated the best Land Rover engine. Land Rover deserved more than a 4 cylinder. They got it with the TD5.
Bantam designed and built the prototype, the contract to build them was awarded to Ford and Willy’s because of their production capabilities. Bantam was given the contract to build the trailers.
5 computers with more power than Intel and twice as many parts as a Boeing 787 does not make a great 4wd. That is why landrover is engineering it's own demise and is no longer relevant in the true 4wd market. It's a pity. Because look at how it all began..................
