The 1998 National 4x4 Show
had a fair collection of 4WD manufacturers,
and a good showing of accessory makers, tourism operators and special
interest items. In 1999 there will be a show in Sydney
(June)as well as the Melbourne show.
The new vehicle this year was the 1998/9 Suzuki
Jimny
which replaces the Sierra.
Recent (oz-) arrivals included the
Mercedes M-class
and
Ford Expedition.
Land Rover had a softback 3-door Freelander
in addition to Range Rovers, Discoveries (not the new one),
and Defenders.
They are going to suffer from having only 1.8 litres in the
Freelander petrol engine up against 2 litres or more in the
Vitara, RAV4, Sportage, Outback etc.,
although the diesel (an option for the 5-door) looks good.
The (Holden) GM Suburban is billed as the world's largest four wheel drive,
but the ad's conveniently forget to qualify it as the biggest
consumer 4WD. Suburbans there were, with their rivals
Ford Expeditions and F150 ute's (on the Billrich stand),
but for a real four wheel drive,
for a big 4WD,
it had to be the Bushmaster Infantry Mobility Vehicle (~APC)
on the Australian Defence Industries(ADI)
stand.
Bushmaster is now one of two models
in final selection trials with the Australian Army.
At the smaller end of the scale, ADI had the Flyer
high mobility four wheel drive.
Drawing heavily on off-road Baja racing buggies, the Flyer
is a US design by the HSMV Corporation, but also built
and supported by ADI at Bendigo. It had been aimed at the
Australian Project Mulgara,
but that is now cancelled or "on hold"
depending who you talk to.
The Flyer is in use with US army special forces, and has been exported
to "a couple of Asian countries".
It weighs 1.2 tons and can carry 1.2 tons across country.
The 2.1 litre diesel engine is mounted in the rear
and drives all four wheels through an automatic transmission
and part-time four wheel drive system.
A gun ring and pedestal can be mounted in the centre of the vehicle.
ADI's third vehicle has a High Speed Engineering Vehicle (HSEV),
i.e. tractor, for the Australian Army.
On road, the air-bag suspension (and of course steering and brakes etc.)
can handle speeds of up to 110kph so the HSEV is no mobile chicane
for other traffic. This is very attractive to the army because
it can get itself to the action, possibly a long way away in Australia,
under its own steam and without the need for a truck to carry it.
Offroad, the suspension is locked out to give tractor characteristics.
Tyres that could handle to high on-road speeds had been one of
the major stumbling blocks to such designs.
The HSEV could also be attractive to farmers -
in the UK JCB have made a lot of money
out of their own high speed tractor
and that one can only do 80kph.
One of the big automotive trends of recent years has been
the rise and rise of air-bag suspensions (as on the HSEV).
Heavy trucks have used them for their ability to handle
a wide range of loading conditions,
and to share weight between multiple axles without complex linkages.
They came into luxury four wheel drives
with the Range Rover, providing an excellent ride,
big axle articulation and simple load-levelling.
Now Victorian Air Suspension (5277-9065)
will sell you a kit for a trailer
or even to replace the coil springs on your Toyota LandCruiser
80-series.
A Landcruiser bull-catcher provided a bit of colour.
For non-Australian readers, the bull catcher is used to pursue
and eventually lasso (water-) Buffalo
in the north of Australia. This involves careering around the scrub
after a couple of tons of angry meat, trying to avoid termite mounds,
the larger trees and rocks. Needless to say the vehicle's life
expectancy is fairly short.
Four wheel drive
clubs
were represented by the
Pajero 4WD Club (Vic)
and the
Land Rover Owners Club (Vic).
If you are new to four wheel driving, a good way to learn the ropes
and to make some good friends, is to join a club.
The Land Rover Owners Club will be holding their annual
Field Day
next February.
- 4wdonline.com/4WD.html
Consumer four wheel drives:
Daewoo Musso and Korando (were Ssangyong),
Ford F150, Explorer & Expedition,
GM Jackaroo & Suburban,
Honda CR-V,
Isuzu Vehicross,
Jeep Wrangler, Cherokee and Grand Cherokee (1998).
Land Rover Range Rover, Defender 130, & Freelander,
Mercedes (Daimler Chrysler) M-class,
Nissan GU Patrols, and Terrano IIs,
the next model Suzuki Jimny
& '98 Vitara,
Subaru Impreza and Forester,
Toyota 100-series V8 and Hilux,
these below and
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