Who Is The Iron Yuppy?
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The Iron Yuppy is my 1992 Toyota 4Runner. I bought this truck completely stock in February 2000, from Totem Ford in Vancouver. I had been looking for a used SUV for a few weeks to replace my beloved red 1986 Toyota Celica GTS (almost 300,000kms when sold, and still running great!!). I needed a truck for work. I noticed the 4Runner in the back of the lot, and when I asked about it. I was told it was a repo vehicle brought in for a wholesale auction, and not for public sale. Needless to say, it was a steal, and two hours later (after a minor struggle from the Sales Manager), I cut a cheque for the truck. It has the 22RE engine and an auto transmission, so it's a little underpowered (especially compared to my other car, a Jaguar XK8 convertible, but that really is an unfair comparison--after all, the Jag has very little rock crawling ability, and absolutely no room at all for the Hi-Lift jack!), but it's a great truck with lots of room for stuff (such as Ikea furniture, martini glasses, and other yuppy essentials), and even stock, it's a natural rock climber. Plus, like all Toyota trucks, it's almost completely waterproof, right off the assembly line. This particular truck was as base as you can get, having no air conditioning, or power anything. Not even a sunroof. The stereo was missing, so I installed a Panasonic CD player with a Walkman/MP3 player input jack. The 4Runner had 154,000kms on the odometer when I bought it, but I know better than to get worried about high mileage in Toyotas... Nevertheless, I bought the extended dealer warranty, which turned out to be a very wise decision. Although this truck runs like a wonderful but slightly noisy dream, I have had to have a bit of work done in my first year of ownership, including a new ignition switch assembly, a master cylinder, a right front C/V joint, and (yikes!) a cylinder head gasket. God bless the warranty elves!!

Way back in the day, when I lived in Ontario, I had a government-surplus
AMC Concorde wagon, so I thought I wrote the book on off-roading, but I quickly learned, especially in the rugged BC terrain, I don't know jack! After a few solo outings around beautiful British Columbia, including having some very understanding Cherokee folks help me off a huge rock which almost ate my rear diff, I ran into the Herd of Turtles Four Wheel Drive Society. The Turtles members were very receptive to me and my truck, even though I think some of them secretly (or not so secretly) chortle at my city-slicker persona. Hence my truck's name. The Iron Yuppy is a minor character (are any of them really 'minor'?) from FOX TV's The Simpsons. It's also an homage to (read: ripoff of) the long-running Japanese mega-violent soap opera, "The Iron Samurai".

That's right, I'm a left-of-centre sittin', wine-collectin', Jaguar drivin', AirMiles hoardin', APEC/NAFTA protestin', Style Council-listenin', John Irving readin', glasses wearin', non-red-meat eatin' yuppy! If you can get past that, please read on...
NOTE: I'm a member of the
BC Four Wheel Drive Association and the Nanaimo Sidewinders, so how bad can I be??
The Iron Yuppy the day I bought it. February 2000
As of July 15 2001, we became residents of  Vancouver Island, having bought a home in sunny Nanaimo..

We still have to keep a small place on the Mainland for work. But unless we're working or lining up for Greek food in Vancouver, you'll find us puttering around the garden in our new place.
Mt. Sicker, November 2003
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George W. Bush is all in favour of war--as long as he doesn't have to fight it. He cheated on his military service--more HERE
Brigade Days 4x4 Race 2000
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My Yuppy Wife's 4x4 Trip
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Mt. Benson, August 2001
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Click here to read about some of the people Rush Limbaugh calls "anti-American Marxists and Communists". Maybe if Rush hadn't been a draft dodger during the Vietnam Invasion, he would think more like these guys...
IRON YUPPY II
1994 Toyota Land Cruiser
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