While we had the Toyota FJ Cruiser here in The Garage, our good friend Neil Caton was picking up his own FJ Cruiser in Connecticut. Neil has been so happy with his FJ that he agreed to give our readers of his impressions of his big red beast:

My SUV experience first began with an ’89 Pathfinder that didn’t have working brakes, or working lights. That truck lasted a week until I ended up in a 2002 Pathfinder. In a short amount of time that Pathfinder had been lifted, and graced with an ARB Bullbar on the front, guard in the rear, and various other modifications done myself. It was a passion I thought I couldn’t give up. Unfortunately the Pathfinder and I went separate ways when the fiancée didn’t get along with her, and I ended up driving a Hyundai Tucson for 18 months.
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Have you ever had a first impression of something only to find your perception changes after getting to know it? Sure you have and I just had that very experience with the 2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser. I suppose a bit of an explanation is in order here. Last fall, when I visited the IMPA Test Days, I had 3 vehicles I was psyched to check out on the off road test track. The H3, the Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon and the FJ Cruiser. The Rubicon is a full on off road beast and the Hummer folks had brought an H3 with all terrain tires and fancy paint straight off the SEMA show floor. The FJ Cruiser that that Toyota sent was wearing plain old all season tires. Talk about bringing a knife to a gun fight. Needless to say, the impression left by the FJ that day was severely hampered by tire choice. Fast forward 8 months and I’d just spent a week in a Rubicon and had the opportunity to get it dirty for the camera. When I picked up the beige FJ from Toyota Canada, it was wearing some all season boots. So much for our planned photo shoot in the mud! I was disappointed.

What happened during our week with the FJ Cruiser was very interesting. Every single time I got behind the wheel, I found something else that I liked. The truck grew on me in a way that no other vehicle ever has.
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2008 has brought the most snow southern Ontario has seen in years. As a result, I’ve been pretty happy to be sampling a pretty wide variety of AWD and 4WD vehicles this winter. Every one of those vehicles has done a decent job getting off the line in the white stuff, but none of them were able to beat the laws of physics when it came to stopping. As I mentioned before, Toyota realizes that all season tires are really 3 season tires and have equipped their media fleet with true winter tires. What a treat!
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This story might generate a special session of the United Nations Security Council. It is the type of event that might cause unrest worldwide, unrest among car enthusiasts that is.

Ferrari is considering putting their dancing horse on an SUV. I would assume a red SUV that will compete with the Porsche Cayenne.
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If the Dodge Durango is aimed towards busy families, then the Chrysler Aspen must be aimed at their still youthful grandparents. You know the ones. Grandpa still works and takes clients to meetings, while on the weekends they load up the car and head to the cottage. Or the track. For these folks, the interior of the Aspen is perfectly suited, with an exception level of comfort and maturity.

Up front, the driver and co-driver are treated to just about every convenience known to modern vehicles. There is tons of storage space, two stage heated power seats, navigation system, bluetooth, satellite radio, power sunroof and more. The fit and finish are better than average for a traditional domestic and even the plastiwood looks pretty good.
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Way back when I was 9, my dad drove a brand new Dodge Aspen wagon for a year or so. When he tired of the wheezy slant 6, it was replaced by a new big block Dodge Monaco wagon. Both of these monstrosities wore the hideous fake wood paneling that was so popular during the time and both were the same ghastly colour of the one in the ad above.

When Chrysler chose to resurrect the Aspen nameplate, car fans old enough to remember the first Aspen shuddered. This was supposed to be an upscale machine. Would people buy a modern wagon with a moniker that was related to the Ricardo Montalban Volare days of Mopar history? Would a Chrysler Aspen be cool enough to lure Escalade drivers over to Chrysler dealers? Would the addition of a Hemi overshadow the name’s unfortunate history?

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The Dakota went home today and in it’s place, we’ve got a 2007 Chrysler Aspen. My initial thoughts are that this truck has gotten a bit of a bum rap from the media. It rides nicely, looks great and has all the toys one would expect of an SUV of this level. We’ll let you know what we think as the week rolls on.

Welcome to the Canada Day edition of the Carnival of Wheels! It’s been a busy couple of weeks in The Garage. We are in the middle of three weeks of track action and we’ve picked up a new to us SUV, so our work here in The Garage has been pretty self centered. Don’t worry though, our selfish posting will continue, as there are still tons of photos yet to be edited from the VARAC festival and next weekend is a double header. First we’ll have 2 days in the pits at the Steelback Grand Prix for Champ Cars and then on Sunday, Miss Shelby has her first race of the season. Elsewhere online, autobloggers have been busy churning out all manner of hot content, so sit down, strap in and get ready for a smoking hot lap of the blogosphere while you watch the French Grand Prix.

First up we’ve got another visit from Hello Kitty Hell, with a truly frightening tuner mod. This poor guy’s wife has actually installed this happy feline exhaust tip on their car! Be afraid, be very, very afraid.
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More and more consumers are realizing that they want to drive something with a bit more pizazz than a minivan these days. While we might all want to drive a sports car, for most of us reality dictates that we need something with a bit more utility. These opposing needs are what has fueled the growing CUV market. Smaller than a full size SUV, less seating than a minivan, this niche offers good looking, sporty vehicles that can haul some gear. The newest player is the attractive 2007 Ford Edge which combines a sporty look and feel with a healthy dose of utility. In fact, the Edge offers more utility than the FX-35 that we spent time with earlier this year.
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The 3rd concept from Mazda to use their new Nagare design philosophy is called Hakaze. This cross-over will be aimed at active 30-40 somethings who like to go topless! Really, the rear roof section will be removable to all for al fresco motoring. Very nice. Can’t wait to see this one!

Mazda press release after the break
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