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 Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that we cannot reply to unpublished letters or return photos.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.
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4-Wheel & Off-Road
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Reader: Alright, now I have to write in regarding the Rhino Hunter article ("Samurai vs. Rhino," Nov. '07). I think the comparo is a great one. My buddies and I have discussed this quite often. But there is one area that you lost touch and that is the cost of building the Samurai-$1,700 for a winch, $1,200 for shocks, $540 for lockers, $500 for a ring-and-pinion? Are you guys sniffing RTV again? I mean come on, if you are trying to get the costs the same, then state that as your goal. Don't inflate the pricing and make it look like they cost almost the same! I am glad you're not spending my money. Used Suzuki 4.62:1s or 5.12:1s are $400 for the pair at the most. A Trail Tough spool is $100. A front EZ Locker is maybe $200. Shocks are (at the most) $400 a set. An 8,000-pound winch costs $500 (overkill on a Samurai). Your figures are all wrong. As always, keep up the good work and keep including the trucks that don't say Jeep on them. There are a lot of alternate wheeling rigs on the trail.
Jeff Theis
Editor: Our prices vary just as they do around the country, and we can't find killer deals like you can. We had a guy write a similar letter where he said he could get Chevy Dana 60 fronts in great shape all day long for a couple hundred bucks each. I said I'd take 10 of them, but never saw a one.
Reader: I was flipping through my last issue (Oct. '08) and on pages 13 and 14 is a two-page ad for the Jeep. Right in the first paragraph it states "Toledo, Ohio. that's were the original Jeep brand vehicles were manufactured." How bogus is that? Who can I write to pitch a fit about the real first jeep, the Bantam? The ad goes on to mention that in 1940 requests were sent out, but it doesn't mention who originally designed and created the jeep-the American Bantam Car company.
Ellen Roberts
Butler, PA
Editor: The truth of the matter is that the Jeep ad is right because they were careful on how to word it. Notice they said Jeep brand, not just Jeep, and they had the registered trademark below the word Jeep. They did however say that it "is a tribute to the designers" which we all know started with the Army laying out the specifications. From this, the American Bantam Car company produced the first prototype vehicle, and their work product was given to Ford and Willys so they could compete as well. Unfair as that may have been in the eyes of Bantam, the rest is history.
Reader: What is the deal with the slow start in the aftermarket world with the new GMT900 trucks? It seems that we're being left out for some reason. I skim through Web site after Web site only to come up short on aftermarket parts for the new trucks. Now granted, the new Fords seem to have a strong jump on cool accessories to make hot chicks overlook their lack of interior styling (whoops, spoke out loud). But in all seriousness, what is taking companies so long to come out with some products for our trucks? How about an article with some of the new GMs? Maybe I have overlooked my past subscriptions that had them featured, but I'm talking besides the one that reads "GM to release new model beginning in late 2006." As always, great magazine and great articles!
Nick Sutton
via 4wheeloffroad.com
Editor: Yep, the aftermarket has been slow, but we will be featuring a few manufacturers' kits in the next issue or so, so hang in there!
Reader: I am a subscriber to both 4-Wheel & Off-Road and Four Wheeler magazines. Though I regularly receive and enjoy both of the publications, I recently went to the newsstand to look for even more four-wheeling reading material between issues. I came across a magazine called 4x4 Garage. I did not notice that it was published by Primedia, even though I made a point to quickly scan the cover for Primedia's logo. I paid $5 for the mag, and realized that it consisted of nothing but old features from the other two previously mentioned Primedia publications. Not only was the content the same, but so were the photos! So, I just wanted to say thanks for suckering a loyal subscriber into paying $5 for old recycled stories that have already been printed. There should at least be a warning on the cover stating "contains previously printed and released material," or something to that effect. Maybe Primedia should consider customer loyalty before ripping off subscribers by grouping old stories in new packaging in order to mislead readers.
Jason D. Treadaway
via 4wheeloffroad.com
Editor: We're sorry you feel duped, but we have found that for the most part the crossover (people who read more than one mag) isn't that much in our market, and we've found that we can reach many more new readers this way. If you feel duped, send me the mag back and I'll personally refund your money. Better yet, leave it in a doctor's or dentist's office, and send us a photo of them reading it for our mag and I'll send you a license plate. Do it with 4-Wheel & Off-Road as well and I'll send you a sticker too!