Classic Toyota FJ Land Cruisers have a strong following among automotive collectors. Their durable design and iconic shape have made them prime candidates for restoration. Now, some wish to go a step further — to modernize one of the best off-road vehicles ever built.
The FJ Company is one such outfit, specializing in 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s Land Cruisers (FJ20, FJ40, and FJ60 series models). Once the FJ Company acquires a donor car, it sets about transforming it into a customized, reliable work of vehicular art.
This year, the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) invited the FJ Company to strut its stuff and instead of displaying one of its more traditional Cruisers, the specialty shop went to work on the “Aspen Project.”
What began life as a 1982 Toyota FJ43 Land Cruiser has become a tailor-made beauty. FJ Company President Juan Diego Calle asked for a “purpose-built, family-friendly beast that could take on the rigors of everyday highway driving as well as the back-country near Aspen, Colorado.” What we see here goes just a tad beyond those loose specs.
The build started by removing the FJ’s frame, tweaking the car’s power steering, front disc brakes, and climate controls, then addressing the powertrain. Toyota’s 1FZ engine, a 4.5-liter inline six-cylinder with electronic fuel injection, serves up 210 horsepower in this configuration. That is paired with a five-speed manual transmission for optimal off-road responsiveness.
A passing glance would overlook the trail-ready equipment on this FJ because the original Land Cruiser exterior remains mostly unchanged. In addition to a matte white paint job, the FJ Company added a Warn 8274 winch on the original front bumper, flanked by a pair of seven-inch LED fog lights. Most importantly, a custom roll cage was engineered to keep all occupants safe — especially since the back half of the rig is only covered in canvas.
Inside, the Aspen Project gets Recaro Speed seats, trimmed in the same marine-grade material as the door panels and fold-down rear seats. The floor is also coated in Rhino Linings bed liner for all-weather protection. As convenience features go, there is a digital instrument cluster — which some luxury cars do not even have — LED interior lighting, and a premium sound system with Bluetooth.
As a one-off build, the Aspen Project FJ has already been sold (price unknown), but we wager if you have a healthy bank account, the FJ Company will design any Land Cruiser you fancy.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.