[Bookmark Link][Original] To: ironpigs@lists.best.com Subject: Re: name? From: cruiser@akcache.com (Whatley,Mark) Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 02:05:02 -0800 References: <199803242341.PAA08510@lists1.best.com> <199803250027.QAA21607@lists1.best.com> Morgan Fletcher wrote: > "Kanz, Harald [Exchange]" writes: > > Why are the JF55 called ironpigs? > > Mark Whatley coined it, as far as I can tell. Mark? > > See also http://www.hahaha.org/landcrusher/iron_pigs.html. So far as I know I did. But it didn't come out of a vacuum... There are a variety of reasons that the nickname came into being, and they all kind of dovetail together. There is precedent too. In these parts snowmachines are often called "Irondogs". This stems from the fact that the dog sled was a primary means of transportation in years past, and the snowmachine has largely replaced it. The Plains indians of the American West, called the locomaotive "Iron Horse". Harley Davidson motorcycles (which seem to share a similar character in many ways to the Cruisers) are known as "Hogs". Now look at the rig itself. Basic, low technology brute force. No fancy alloys and alumimun to be found. Just good old, practically indestructable iron and steel. LOTS of iron and steel. The '55 has the sturdiest frame of any Cruiser ever offeredd in the US. And we all know how the Cruisers in general match up to most other 4x4 offerings in terms of strength and weight. It is slow, and if you don't think it wallows down the trail, take a ride in a '40, and then do the same stretch in your '55. It is perfectly at home in the mud. It's kinda low slung (from the factory anyway), narrow, and long. It'll run happily on any kind of slop you chose to feed it. but it has one hell of an appetite... While some rigs may hop skip and jump down a rough trail, a '55 grunts, grinds and chews it's way through. I don't know about your's, but mine is always dirty, and it always has a few clumps of dirt behind the ears. The slightly downward sloping lines of the front end, and the *character filled* grill bring to mind the similar shape of the forequaters of it's namesake. Let's spend a moment on the nature of a pig. Not an overfed domestic animal waiting for the slaughterhouse. But an free ranging Arkansas Razorback. Or better yet an African warthog or a Russian Wild Boar. A couple or even a few hundred pounds of mean and surly. Nearly as surefotted as a mountain goat, afraid of nothing. the stamina of an ox. Sturdy, strong, coarse, amazingly quick, and surprisingly fast, maybe a bit homely (okay, ugly as sin). Few predators will stand before the charge of one of these beasts, and the Russian Boar in particular has been know to kill horses and hunting dogs when it choses to make a stand. Even when mortally wounded they seemingly refuse to die (sound familier?). Largely ignored, and underestimated and even denigrated when they do receive any attention (sound familier again?). If it still doesn't strike you that the title is both appropriate and honorable, then visualize one last mental picture. A wild boar the size of a Cruiser. Tusks protruding from his jaw. Clad in plate armor such as a medival warhorse would have worn. Standing atop the stomped and shredded remains of a Jeep Grand Cherokee... I give you the Iron Pig. Mark... -- Palmer Alaska. ASE Certified Technician. Tech Editor, Toyota Trails. Owner, Cruisers Only. Land Cruiser Editor, http://www.rockcrawler.com "Self Proclaimed First Knight of the Iron Pig". TLCA #6303. '82 FJ60, 2 '78 FJ55s, '78 FJ40, '66 FJ40 and "Too Many" parts rigs. Chrome and leather don't get you down the trail... Don't even say "SUV".