I've only owned three cars - I'm on my third right now. It was a hard decision to sell the other two but it had to be done.
My first car was a FJ40 Toyota Landcruiser soft-top (an original soft-top from the factory too - very rare). When I was studying one of my class-mates had one and I knew that when I had the cash I wanted one. I bought it in 1990. I loved that car - it (almost) never let me down and I serviced it to death. Any time anything broke, it got fixed immediately. It cost me a lot of money. But it was fun. And that's all that mattered.
In 1999 I decided that I should stop using the Landcruiser as a daily driver and look for a small, cheap runabout. A Corolla or Laser would do just fine. Instead, my friend Gerry found my a Mitsubish Galant VR4. I had forgotten these cars existed in this one was a Japanese import. It was an all-wheel-drive, two litre, turbocharged rocket.
Again, I spent a lot of money making sure the car was in good working order. But it was totally worth it - the VR4 was just as much fun as the Landcruiser but in a totally different way. And it was a total stealth car. If you didn't know what it was it would just miss it in the crowd.
So there I was with two cars having a good time. Then we decided to move into an apartment with two car bays. And between us we had three cars. Whoops. Given that Anna has a VW Golf GTI and I do like going off-road I made the very hard decision to sell the VR4. I miss that car - it was very hard watching it drive away. <sigh> I'd had it for six years and it was good the whole time. I'd always get out of the car with a smile on my face.
Then it came down the Landcruiser. It was getting old and in need of some TLC from someone who was mechnically minded. That just isn't me. I could have spent a bucket-load of money doing it up but at the end of the day that wouldn't have convinced Anna to come off-road with me. So, it had to go. Again, a hard decision and it was difficult watching it drive away.
What to get next? I wanted a short-wheelbase four-wheel-drive and one that had solid axles front and rear for the best off-road performance. I looked at the Defender 90 series but it was far too agrictultural, but it did come with a diesel engine. I also looked at the Jeep TJ Wrangler. It was ok but quite thirsty, a bit too small and would required significant modifications to bring it up to the off-road capability of the Landcruiser. Nissan do sell a short-wheelbase GU Patrol but only in Japan. Damn.
Then, I found out that Jeep were releasing a new Wrangler - the JK. They changed everything from the TJ to make the JK. They even made a four-door model that I wasn't particularly interested in. So, I waited. For almost a year. We had to live as a one-car couple (which given our proximity to the CBD was no great strain). Finally it came to Oz.
And here it is. Not perfect but pretty close. Needs a new front bullbar (on the way) and some recovery points. Also needs a bigger fuel tank for longer trips. But overall it's exactly what I wanted. And yes, I had to get the extremely bright number plates. ;-)
It has already seen some rough terrain - the photos here on the site prove that. The rear mudflaps have been ripped off. The front stone guard has gone too. The rear bumper has a dent in it but that's going to be replaced with some barwork, a tow point and some recovery points in any case.
Now I'll probably keep it for far too long as well...