[car engine revving]
- You want a super capable dead nuts, reliable froader
but Jeeps just ain't your thing,
and Land Rovers break down to much gosh darn dangin much?
[car crashing]
From mid-century military outposts,
to modern suburban driveways,
this rough and tumble froader
from the land of the rising sun
fits in just about err'where.
Few competitors can match its
go anywhere, do anything attitude.
This is everything you need to know
to get up to speed on the Toyota FJ Cruiser.
[electronic music]
Before we get into the show,
I just wanna give a big old shout out to our partners
over at Nos Energy Drink.
Our editors thank you.
This puppy, he thanks you.
[can opens] [slurping]
Ahh, yeah.
Nos Energy Drink gives me that [siren].
Other energy drinks are like,
oh, well, is that it,
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But Nos Energy Drink is like
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No problem!
You wanna get back together with the ex-girlfriend?
[whistles]
Sorry but, that's probably not gonna happen.
You can still enjoy an ice cold Nos Energy Drink though.
[slurps]
Ahh.
Now back to the story.
The FJ helped propel- fitness water-
Toyota to the top and made them a household name
around the world.
- FJ, FJ,
FJ, FJ.
- Nowadays you see FJ's cranking tunes
and blasting dunes.
But originally, they were made for war.
And it all started with a Willy and a BJ.
During World War II the Japanese military
got their hands on the Willys Jeep and tasked Toyota
with making a better version of the lightweight,
go anywhere vehicle of the U.S. Military.
Toyota created the AK Series
and they were impressive little froaders.
But they didn't turn the tides of battle
so Japan ultimately lost the war.
This is why they lost the war, and the only reason
that they lost the war, Donut Fact.
Toyota got another chance to update the AK
a few years later in the Korean War.
This time, it was the U.S. Military
who ordered the company to build them some Jeeps.
So, they took what they learned from the Willys
and the AK and gave the U.S.
a BJ.
They created a vehicle known as the Toyota Jeep BJ,
which technical director, Hanji Umehara, later named
the Land Cruiser.
The BJ was bigger than the Willys
and faster thanks to a 3.4 liter inline 6 power plant.
While Toyota was 0 for 2 in the military campaigns,
they learned a crap-ton about building all-terrain vehicles.
In 1955, Toyota released the second-gen Land Cruiser
which featured a fully redesigned
3.9 liter, inline 6,
F-series engine.
These were known for their high amount of torque
and low RPM, massive cast iron blocks and heads
and crazy good reliability.
And in 1960 it was this engine that gave birth
to one of the most iconic Toyotas of all time,
the FJ-40.
Now the FJ-40 not only conquered
the jungles, mountains, and deserts of the world,
it literally made Toyota
a global brand.
[barks]
Sorry excuse me guys.
What's up?
Are you bored?
Yeah, you wanna go home?
Okay.
This is our editor Colby's dog and he's done. [laughs]
This is an easy time to remind you guys
to hit that like button and hit that subscribe button.
It's the only way that we can tell
if we're doing a good job.
Uh also if you don't, I'll eat this dog.
Back to the story.
In fact, the FJ-40 was so popular
that they sold them for 40 years.
And Toyota, till this day, still makes
new replacement parts for the FJ-40.
The FJ-40 has a really, really cool story.
We actually made another video about it.
It's the Land Cruiser.
So, if the FJ eventually turned into the Land Cruiser,
we know today, where did the new FJ Cruiser come from?
Well friends, it started out as a concept
that was never meant to be built.
The new FJ Cruiser AK XJ-10
made its de-but as a concept only vehicle
during the 2003 Detroit Auto Show.
And the voodoo blue retro off-roader quickly cast a spell
on those longing for the good ol' days.
While modern Land Cruisers were still super badass off-road,
[engine roaring]
they'd become 3-row behemoth
made for transporting drug lords through South America,
war lords through Africa,
and soccer moms to H&M at the mall.
The old school Land Cruisers like the iconic FJ-40
were way more utilitarian.
The torque-y, lightweight vehicles could go almost anywhere
and really gave Jeep, their main competitor,
a run for their money.
[engine roaring]
Plus, they look freaking cool
which young people loved back then.
I might be 34 but I'm just like you kids.
The FJ concept was born out of the internally labeled
RYU, or rugged youth utility, design team.
[sighs]
Because nothing gets the kids going
like an internal design code.
- What do they want, what do they want?
- I don't know.
Let's make a big old team of old guys to figure it out.
- Oh yeah, that sounds good.
Let's get a big old team of old guys,
they can figure out what the kids want.
[laughs]
- The mid-2000s were a bingo haul beige
group of years for Toyota.
Their business model had gone
totally conservative and boring.
They got rid of all the small, fun enthusiast cars
like the Supra and the Celica.
[Rap Music]
And Toyota had no plans to actually produce the FJ concept,
they just wanted people to think that they were trying.
To their surprise, the reception for both
the media and the general public
was so overwhelmingly positive,
that they had to go full Oprah on it-
- You get a car, you get a car,
you get a car, you get a car.
- and fast track the FJ into production.
So with no production plan in place,
chief engineer, Akio Nishimura,
was given the almost impossible task of developing
an FJ that could roll into show rooms in just 3 years.
Normally, car development takes anywhere
from like 7 to 11 years.
And even though he was like, this is crazy,
this is crazy, this is crazy, the dude made it happen,
so props for that.
The 2007 model year FJ was based on
a stretched Land Cruiser Prado box frame.
It was powered by the bulletproof 1 GR-FE engine,
which was an aluminum 4-liter V6, good for 239 horsepowers.
The engine was later upgraded with VVT-I
which gave it an additional,
respectable, 20 horsepowers.
[engine roaring]
This was paired with your choice of
a 5-speed automatic or a 6-speed manual.
It was offered in either 2 or 4-wheel drive option.
[laughing]
But it wasn't until you got past
the drivetrain and underpinnings
that the real beauty of the FJ came out.
First and foremost, it was designed to be
utilitarian like the FJ-40 Land Cruisers of the '60s.
This was achieved in 2 ways:
The first being, tremendous off-road capability.
[engine roaring]
And the second being,
unusual exterior and interior design elements.
Toyota claimed that the 4x4 version,
which was the one that everybody bought,
was the most capable off-road vehicle in their lineup.
And they have a pretty dec' off-road lineup.
It can drive through water up to 27.5 inches.
It had an approach angle of 34 degrees,
departure angle of 30 degrees,
and boy band angle of 98 degrees.
FJ achieved its off-road capability by using a high mounted,
double wishbone, front suspension, a 4-link rear suspension,
with a lateral rod, coil springs, and a stabilizer bar
that provided over 9 inches of travel.
They also mounted the air intake box
on top of the engine for extra breathing room,
and gave the front and rear bumpers
the high-water pants look to minimize
the bumper being ripped off.
[cracking]
The FJ also came with Toyota's A-Track system,
rest in peace, that applied braking to wheels
that have lost traction, mimicking the performance
of a locking diff without the binding
that can make steering difficult
in normal locking diff setups.
Genius, I love Toyota for stuff like this.
One of the unusual exterior design elements
is the windshield.
It's flat, squat, like Reggie, that you met before.
You wouldn't want me to eat this dog would you?
You're not sick, are you?
And it's at an angle similar to its namesake FJ-40.
Because of this, it had to have 3 front windshield wipers.
The downside to the cool looking windshield, however,
is that it's loud and it breaks
because it doesn't deflect wind or road debris,
which is like, in my understanding,
the main 2 jobs of a windshield.
Also like the FJ-40 instead of having the Toyota emblem
on the grill, they actually spelled out Toyota.
T-O-I-Y-A-T-D-A,
Toyota.
Another exterior design element is the hidden doors,
which open 90 degrees to make it easier
to load and remove the quick-release seats.
Though this suicide door design also meant
that if the person in the front seat got out
at the same time as the person in the back seat,
they would be trapped against the parked car next to them.
The doors also make it easier to hose down the interior
and I mean that quite literally.
The inside of the car was made of waterproof plastic
so it could be easily cleaned
and also easily be manufactured.
Another unusual interior design element would be
all the dummy switches.
Normally blank switches are bad
but in the case of the FJ, they're pretty cool.
In a rare move, Toyota gave the off-road aftermarket
early access to the FJ so that when it launched,
customers could immediately find aftermarket parts
like winches, light bars, and brush guards
to turn their Bruce Banner Toyotas
into Incredible Hulk off-roaders.
Which brings me to our next subject,
customization.
The company offered a TRD version,
which included a catback exhaust, Bilstein shocks,
rock rails, and cooler wheels and tires.
And in some cases, a different mechanical locking diff
or you can have your local dealer turn your cruiser
into an FJ Crawler
with brush guards, skid plates, lift kits, and more
from the legendary Australian off-roading company, ARB.
The Toyota-issued trail team special edition models
featured unique colors for each year.
And personally I am quite partial to 2012's radiant red.
[Singing] Radiant red.
The FJ Cruiser is a great truck
and Toyota sold over 100,000 of them in the first 2 years
but as sales tapered off dramatically,
Toyota decided they didn't want to carry a car
in their lineup that only averaged 14,000 sales a year.
So in 2014, they quit selling it.
And the irony is, that the FJ Cruiser
maintains its resale value
better than almost any other vehicle in America.
So if you learn anything from this video,
I hope that it's you should take all of your money,
drop out of college, and buy a ton of FJ Cruisers.
Cause there's gold in the mountains.
We all gon get rich, we all gon get rich.
Ooh, that ones fancy.
This guy, is this guy's brother.
This guy could be their brother
but he's not their brother, but he's just as a handsome,
if not more handsome than the brothers.
That guy's not that attractive,
well he's definitely handsome than the littler brother,
but equally, if not more handsome than the bigger,
more handsome brother.
[whispers] I love you.