A Half-Century Of Four Wheeler

July ’72

Four Wheeler Firsts
“Next month will mark the beginning of a series of technical articles that will be of interest to anyone who drives over the back country in any section of the country. For some time the staff has been assembling information on the common problems and techniques of driving and rebuilding fwd rigs….”—Apr. ’63, “Editor’s Report”

“Consistent driving, a little help from Lady Luck, and the Four Wheeler Land Cruiser took first in class.” —Feb. ’74, “Baja 1000, Four Wheeler Wins!”

“Four Wheeler’s First Annual Achievement Award has been won by the Jeep Cherokee for 1974.”—Feb. ’74, “1974 Jeep Cherokee”

“For 1981, Toyota has been awarded the Import Four Wheeler of the Year award. This is a new award starting in 1981 and we hope will become as prestigious as our ‘Four Wheeler of the Year’ award started back in 1973.”—Feb. ’81, “Toyota…Import Four Wheeler of the Year”

“For the first time our Four Wheeler of the Year test pits sport/utility vehicles directly against each other in one class, with pickups competing against each other in another class.”—Feb. ’88, “Random Input”

“It is vehicles such as this that we celebrate with this issue. Ugly 4x4s that work hard, that have no chrome, and that aren’t festooned with plastic parts and brightly colored urethane shock boots.”—Sept. ’89, “Random Input”

“This issue will mark the last episode of Granville King’s column, ‘From the Backcountry.’ Granville was killed on a highway near San Felipe, Mexico, October 25, 1989.”—Mar. ’90, “Random Input”

“Late last summer, we invited those readers who own “the world’s best four wheeler” to put up or shut up: Take us up on our Top Truck Challenge—the search for the best truck—and send in an entry.”—Feb. ’94, “The Challengers, the Inaugural Entrants

Feb. ’99, “1999 Four Wheeler of the Year”

“This year’s test yielded the largest field of new or substantially revised 4x4s ever, with nine sport-utilities of all shapes, sizes and prices vying for the title.”—Feb. ’96, “Four Wheeler of the Year”

“Who says we won’t publish pictures of black trucks?”—Aug. ’03, “Black Truck Blowout”

“Welcome to the first-ever Real Truck Challenge….”—Mar. ’04, “Real Truck Challenge 2003”

“Four Wheeler’s First Annual T-Shirt Contest.” —May ’84

July ’64, “The 4 Wheeled Hunter

Chicks and Four Wheeling
“Regular readers will recall that we had a letter asking for advice on what to buy in a used four wheeler for a young, single gal…a good eighty percent of those that replied prefer the Chevrolet Blazer.”—June ’72, “The Broad View”

“A well dressed young lady with white gloves shows the world how easy it is to operate the new Husky Selectro Hub.”—July ’72, “Easy Does It”

“It is an understatement to say that men have always been impressed by women. They kind of appreciate the way they look and the way they are built. They were even more impressed after the great job the damsels performed in conquering rough terrain and all obstacles in the first ‘All Women’s Four Wheel Drive Run’ ever held in the sport of four wheeling in California.”—Oct. ’72, “Women’s Lib in the Desert”

Apr. ’72, “Brubaker: A Micro-Mini Van”

“Many readers, however, probably don’t know about Jean’s (Four Wheeler women’s columnist Calvin) off-road racing, or her career in automotive writing. And even fewer know that she was a professional ice skater for 10 years!”—May ’74, “To Write or Race?”

“Just as it happened for the male species a while back, it is happening now for the female species. Once hooked, you cannot get enough! And contrary to what some people think about tough four wheeling, any woman can!”—Nov. ’74, “Tough Four Wheeling…Any Woman Can!”

Nov. ’64, “Girls Girls Girls”

“You had a story that women were getting more into four wheelin’; I think I was born with four wheelin’ in my blood. If any of you guys out there are Mopar lovers, unattached, and love to have fun, write and maybe we’ll get together. Jill”—June ’84, “Owner of a Lonely Heart”

“There has been a surprising number of women voting (for TTC). We also notice husbands and wives voting separately, with different picks.”—July ’96, “Random Input”

July ’72, “Easy Does It”

“But what’s unusual is that seated at the controls of these jeeps is not the usual array of burly men. Rather, what I see gripping all those steering wheels are women.”—Mar. ’02, “Women on the Rocks”

“You see them at love-ins and cookouts; in church; in movies and commercials; at the grocery store, but have you ever seen women perform in the sport of four wheeling, out in the wide open desert?”—Oct. ’75, “Ladies Day”