Submission information
4-Wheel & Off-Road welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must include an address or a telephone number so the sender can be verified. Once verified, your name may be withheld at your request. Letters published in this magazine reflect the opinions of the writers, and we reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, brevity, or other purposes. Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that we cannot reply to unpublished letters or return photos. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file.
Write to:
Editor, 4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA
90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704
E-mail to:
4wheeloffroad@primedia.com
How much does it cost?
Reader: I just read my Apr. '06 edition of 4-Wheel & Off-Road magazine and saw the article on the new '07 Jeep JK Wrangler. The article was quite informative and makes me want to buy the new Rubicon when it hits the showroom floor. However, the article told me everything I needed to know except for one thing. What is the MSRP for the new Rubicon?
Steve Clausen
via 4wheeloffroad.com
Editor: We scooped all the other mags with this story, but the price of the new JK wasn't available at that time, nor is it available yet. We figure the price will be very close to current Wranglers, and pricing will probably be released around October when the JK goes on sale.
Bashin' The Isuzu
Reader: I am pretty disappointed with the lack of education your editor has on the Isuzu Vehicross ("Inbox," Feb. '06) so let me educate him. Here are a few sites where aftermarket Vehicross accessories are sold: http://independent4x.com, www.darlington_offroad.com, and www.tonemonday.com/vxparts.html. Now that you have scrolled through and seen that all the necessary parts for a build are already available, let me say that there are many more than 27 Vehicrosses on the trail, in fact take a look at this: www.vehicross.info/gallery/ showphoto.php?photo=1623. That is just the amount of people who were able to show up for 'ZuZoo '03. Yes, there has not been a solid axle swap yet, but there is one in progress, and here is a great site with a wealth of Vehicross knowledge: www.vehicross.info.
By now you should be thinking to yourself...why hasn't one of these awesome rare off-roading gems seen the cover of Petersen's 4-Wheel & Off-Road magazine? And to be honest, I don't know why not either. Jeeps are a dime a dozen in any 4x4 magazine along with every part imaginable that you can bolt right on, and the reason is due to all the exposure they get. Since all the 4x4 magazines seem to neglect Isuzu as an off-roading machine, there is not much for the aftermarket. If some magazine had the balls to put something else besides Jeeps, Fords, Chevys, and Toyotas on the cover, there might be people who would think outside this narrow-minded box of mainstream off-roaders and venture on to much different projects than the ones we see in every magazine over and over and over again.
And since the editor mentioned something about a Vehicross maybe making the cover if it was a good enough action shot, I have attached several action shots of different rides that could be on the cover of a magazine.
I hope that you will actually look through this stuff as it took me two hours at work to find everything. The rides in the pictures are all members of www.vehicross.info.
Eric Berge
via 4wheeloffroad.com
Editor: OK, Eric, we win. There were only 17 Vehicrosses in the photo, not 27. But still, that amount on the trail is extremely impressive, as are the infrastructure and perseverance of your group. However, I do take issue with your assertion that it's the magazines fault that there isn't a large aftermarket parts following because we neglect these fine rides. I believe it's simple economics. For instance, look at the number of Vehicrosses produced versus the amount of Jeeps produced. If I were a businessman, I'd rather sell one $10 widget to every Jeeper than to every Isuzu driver.
Where's the Taco?
Reader: I had a lapse in my subscription while I was finishing grad school (read: broke) and think I missed something. What happened to the Ultimate Taco? All I heard about it after the Ultimate Adventure last year was the wrapup telling about the techy gizmos. Your first installment of the buildup said you would have it for two years to thrash before returning it to Toyota. I did a little looking online, and found different stories that lead to nothing, when on some Web site I found the picture of a rolled Taco! What happened? I think this deserves a story about that particular outing.
Jeff Duesel
via 4wheeloffroad.com
Editor: Actually, Tech Editor Fred Williams rolled it on flat ground while testing suspension deflection. And you can see the results of the carnage in the Apr. '06 edition where we show you all about vehicle recovery and such. We still have the rig, and will update the new features and its history in a future edition as well.
We Are Everywhere
Reader: I've been subscribing to your magazine for about 10 years. It's a great mag, and I look forward to reading it every month. I was watching a rerun of Seinfeld and there is a scene where George is on the street in front of one of those sidewalk newsstands and there is a copy of 4-Wheel & Off-Road smashed against the window of the store. I've probably seen the episode four or five times and I never noticed it before. I thought it was funny that a show that takes place in the big city would use your magazine for a prop.
Ken Ziegler
Sarasota, FL
Editor: See, you just can't get away from us. I wonder if it was planned, or just a lucky break?
How do you pronounce Pw?
Reader: I enjoy reading 4-Wheel & Off-Road every month, especially the articles written by Editor Rick Pewe. I happen to be a big fan but dang, do you pronounce his name pay-way or pee-wee?
Bob Cuozzo
Muldrow, OK
Editor: It happens to be pronounced pay-way, like "pay your way," even though it doesn't look like it should. The French accent ague over the "e" makes the ay sound, even though it is a German name. You should try growing up with a name like that. It makes for some interesting times.