Hello,
I've been lurking here for a couple of weeks, I thought I'd introduce myself and tell you my story.
First off, I've always been a "sports car" guy. I've never owned a truck, never owned a 4x4, SUV, anything like that. Of course, I have friends and family that do, but I never saw myself in an SUV. Ever. My first car was an '73 Opel GT, I've owned an '83 Toyota Supra (really cool all-black, Darth Vader-looking Supra), and I currently own a '65 Corvair, an '87 Porsche 944S, and an '02 Porsche Boxster.
This spring, I will be in the market for a new "year-round" daily driver, as my '82 BMW 528e, while still running like a new car, is, shall we say, "cosmetically challenged" and starting to get eaten by cancer. I was pretty much set on buying a used MINI Cooper S, but started thinking about how handy it might be to have a truck around that I could occasionally trailer a car with, and use to haul bigger stuff than I can now. So I was looking at the Honda Ridgeline. The seem pretty ideal, decent gas mileage for what they are, could tow a car on a trailer, seats four comfortably, has a bed good for occasional use... but it seems kind of... boring to me.
So then one day, I remembered the FJ Cruiser. Since they've been out, I've only seen two in my home town, both of them in early 2007, and I didn't think too much of them on first glance. But, I found this site, found out about the FJ's heritage, and that the FJ is truly an off-road beast. The looks started to grow on me too, you guys are all passionate about your FJs, which I like, and they are certainly not boring. Controversial, yes, it seems people either love them or hate them, kind of like Corvairs and Porsches.
So now, the FJ Cruiser is at the top of my list for my new daily driver, and this spring I plan to start looking more seriously at them. Of course, I already have mine spec'd out and I'm even starting to plan what "mods" I'll do to it.
So far, I'm thinking:
2008 FJ Cruiser
6-speed manual
Sandstorm
CQ package
Roof Rack
Trailer Hitch
All-weather floor mats
TRD 16" wheels
then doing the ATRAC switch hack myself.
I'm just trying to figure out if the silver or the grey TRD wheels will look best on the Sandstorm. If I was going Titanium (my "previous" first choice) I'd go grey, but not sure on the Sandstorm. Also, I'd like to see a Sandstorm in person before finalizing on that color.
Then, eventually, as I venture into offroad driving, I'm sure I'll start wanting more and more mods...
So, am I nuts? Why has the FJ Cruiser captured my fancy so much? Why am I really looking forward to test-driving one?
Anyway, I look forward to hanging out on this forum in the meantime and absorbing all the info I can.
p.s. if you want to check out my current cars, check out my Motortopia garage linked in my sig. I think a Sandstorm FJ Cruiser would make a nice addition.
BLACK CHERRY,ATM ,4 WHD, REAR DIFF LOCK, A-TRAC HACK,TOYOTA HITCH,TOYOTA ROCK RAILS ,CONVENIENCE PKG,BULL BAR, HELLA 500.SIRIUS RADIO,UNIDEN C.B. SCUBA MOD THANKS TO CAPT. RICK AND SLITHER!!! 
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