Toyota Stalking, er...um, SPOTTING with Charlie™ (Land Cruiser and Lexus LX/GX Edition)!

I've seen late model vehicles driving around during a heat wave with the windows down!

 

The new 1234yf refrigeration systems run at very high pressures and are more leak prone. The refrigerant is still extremely costly sometimes upwards of $700 for a refill so even people with late models out of warranty opt not to repair.

 

Not new enough to be R134a...

Some people just don't like A/C! In 2013 or 2014, I got into a huge argument with my uncle because he wouldn't turn on the A/C in his 2002 Nissan Frontier during a heat wave. The A/C in his truck ice cold, but he was all "It's a short drive. We don't need the A/C..."



Back in 2010, my friend refused to turn on the A/C in his black 2010 Volkswagen Tiguan in the middle of summer, and many heated arguments broke out between us.

 

R1234yf is newer than r134a. R134a is being phased out by the end of 2020 or 2021 I believe. R134a is cheap right now so you best stock up before it's creation is banned like r12

 

I just found this thread Great Pictures

 

@disconnected

You quoted your post...

 

First LC pic of the new decade! Happy New Year!


January 1st, 2020:

Norfolk, Virginia

 

January 1st, 2020:

Norfolk, Virginia

 

@ColoradoTJ
@disconnected
@El Duderino
@shakerhood
@Speedytech7
@Taco critter

In the 1997 movie Dante's Peak, it's a solid tossup between two different 4x4s with regards to which one is my favorite...

The 1987 Chevrolet Suburban K1500 Silverado driven (and presumably owned) by USGS Volcanologist Harry Dalton (Pierce Brosnan)...




...Or the 1984 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ60 owned by Mayor Rachel Wando (Linda Hamilton)...




Both the 'Burb and the FJ60 meet a fiery end when they are engulfed by lava about halfway through the movie; Since this is supposed to be a Land Cruiser thread, we will discuss the FJ60 here and then discuss the Suburban in either my Square Body Thread or my Aspergers/Build thread...

 

Dante's Peak takes place in the Washington town of, you guessed it, Dante's Peak! Land Cruisers have always been very popular in the Northwest, so it makes sense that the mayor of a town in Washington (and also a coffee shop owner and single mother of two children) would drive an older but well-maintained FJ60. The movie was filmed in 1996, released in 1997, and said to take place in 1997, so that makes this gorgeous FJ60 12-13 years old at the time...

 

A fairly clear view of the 6-digit odometer can be seen here...

It is showing just under either 160K or 170K miles on the clock (can't tell if it's 159K or 169K), which is not bad for Land Cruiser that was more than a decade old at the time, and serves as the daily driver for a hardworking single mother!

 

I remember when my mom bought me a DVD of Dante's Peak maybe 15 years ago; I saw Linda Hamilton's name on the cover and said to my mom "Linda Hamilton sure is in a lot of disaster movies!" My mom said "I don't know if I'd classify Terminator or its sequels as a 'disaster movies'." That's when I realized I'd gotten Linda Hamilton mixed up with Helen Hunt, who is known for playing Dr. Jo Harding in Twister.

Anyway, both actresses were definitely on my "celebrity crush" list in the early 21st century; The lovely Ms. Hamilton would have been about 41 years old at the time Dante's Peak was made, and "Stiffler's Mom" fantasies definitely come to mind here!

Here, we Linda Hamilton as the mayor of the titular town seated behind the wheel of the FJ60, and Pierce Brosnan as an outspoken volcanologist in the shotgun seat...

 

In the scene where Rachel's kids "borrowed" the FJ60 to go up the mountain to get their grandma, dialogue between the two kids implies that the vehicle has a manual transmission; Specifically, Lauren Wando asks her older brother Gram "Do you know how to do all the gears?"

However, based on watching how the vehicle drives, it appears to be an automatic; A possible 4-speed manual gearshift can be seen in at least one scene, but it's hard to tell for sure...

Based on the condition of this FJ60, I'd say it was more than likely borrowed from somebody local and given back once production ended. This FJ60 is clearly shown to have manual crank windows in a couple scenes; I am 99% sure this particular one is equipped with air-conditioning...

On another note, the Washington license plates seen on the FJ60 throughout the movie appear to be fake, as the state did not use that letter/number format between 1989 (when this style of plate was first issued) and 1996 (when the movie was made)...

 

Rachel's Land Cruiser being driven up an erupting volcano by her son, who is a teenager but not old enough to have a driver's license...

That is ash from the volcano falling, NOT SNOW!

 

January 27th, 2020:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania