Yesterday we saw a car straight out of a science fiction movie. And like a red shirt in a Star Trek Episode, the ETV went DOA with 81% of you Crack Piping its fifty grand asking price.

Only six grand will buy you today's contender, and while the ETV would have trouble traversing a phalanx of migratory Scolecophidia, this Suzuki could hurdle moose without getting antler on its skidplates.

Meaning those who serve, the name samurai denoted the protectors of the classical Japanese nobility. Selfless and brave, the warriors dedicated their lives to their protectorates, accepting death before defeat.

What might end in your death, or your ending up walking home on your feet is this modded Suzuki, for which the seller is asking $6,000 for his efforts.

For the unfamiliar, the Suzuki Samurai was condemned by Consumer Reports for having the non-traditional driving dynamics of a vehicle designed to be driven off-road. Tall, with a high ground clearance and requisite center of gravity, trucklettes like the Samurai tend to flip over when you get up to speed and then saw at the wheel as though you suddenly remembered you left the stove on back home.

This 1988 example has had these tendencies, not quelled, but celebrated, with a 6" lift and 35" tires, putting the passengers firmly into nosebleed altitudes. Lots of other mods have been made, including a heart transplant from a 1.6 litre Geo Tracker to help get those inevitable spills over more quickly.

So, there's lots of fun of the hold my beer nature to be had with this little Suzuki, and, as the seller lists a bushido of parts that have gone into it, there at least exists some rationale for the asking price. But, is that asking price a kimono full of of Nice Price? Or, is that the Ginzu of Crack Pipe?

You decide!


Two Pickets to Tittsburgh Craigslist or go here if the ad disappears. Hat tip to rebeldevil!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

Alright, after reading a ton of threads on welding up gears for extra traction, i went ahead and welded mine up.
I put the third back in and went to pull out of my garage, and I just roasted my clutch. I figured that maybe there was some slag left in the bearing, so i dropped it in 4lo and lo and behold something broke loose.
MY FUCKING DRIVE LINE.

I'm really pissed at all this BS talk. I welded my junk really wel. And now my driveline is twisted up like a damn pretzel.

You are all a bunch of shit talkin Jerks.

What the hell did you all do differently?

This troll has used several cunning techniques to lay his trap. First, he's carefully chosen his quarry, Pirate4x4 is home to some of the most no-bullshit off-roaders and rock bashers on the net. It's fertile ground for a sneaky troll. Second, he's taken a well-loved and cheap modification technique referred to loosely as "welding the differential" and turned it on it's head, creating something nonsensical and then displaying outrage at the darn thing for not working.

We'll explain. Normally, welding a differential means you permanently weld in place the spider gears in a diff and create an el-cheapo locked differential. If you want to buy a real locker later on it's an easy replacement and it's a good way to get mud bogging when you're doing it on the cheap.

This troll has not done that. Instead, he's welded the pinion to the ring gear which creates a differential-shaped paper weight. He even supplied a second picture to prove his point and then called the forum a "bunch of shit talkin jerks" for providing the information he misinterpreted. To the credit of the forum, the primary reaction was to call the troll a moron, but there are a couple members who fell for it. Remember to keep your eyes peeled, forum fan-boys. Without proper vigilance, you too could fall for this wily troll trap.

[Pirate4x4 (Thanks to all the tipsters who sent this one in)]

(Auto Forum Troll Of The Week is Jalopnik's public service to the auto forums, helping them rid their threads of trolls lurking about. Do you have a nominee for "Auto Forum Troll Of The Week," send an email to tips at jalopnik dot com with "Auto Forum Troll Of The Week" as the subject line!)

We skipped over to the Yamaha site and took the survey ourselves and it seems the triple tuning fork brand is eager to know if there's a market for a miniature off-roading RV. They present three different concepts which range from the increasingly popular side-by-side class towing a fold out tent all the way up to a dedicated folding elevated camping platform. The survey is looking to find out whether regular camping enthusiasts would be interested in such a vehicle or if it's something more appealing to back country hunters and fishers.

We're still into roughing it when camping, but there's probably a section of the population eager to get way, way out into the bush and have a fold out burner and a shower when they get there. Although this is a slick concept, we can't help but think the market for these kinds of things is pretty slim these days. (Hat tip to bpapa9013!)

[Yamaha Survey]

Dana 60's front and rear, air lockers, hydraulic steering dampers, air suspension, and an Atlas transfer case
that goes from 2.7:1 all the way down to 20.68:1. In case you weren't counting, that's enough reduction to allow the 6.6L Duramax to drag Iceland south if he could find a good towing point. While Kristjan's dually fendered 'Burb is the baddest in the land, we're pretty interested in the T-Rex-like 6x6 Dodge Ram in one of the pics.

Yesterday our group went wheeling for a New Years day run. Not long into the ride one of the new Jeep Wranglers went past a fallen tree and a branch that was sticking out hooked the Jeep. The end of the tree broke through the wheel well and almost seriously injured the driver. Does this remind anybody else of the movie Final Destination?

Press Release:

Press Release

This small, tough transporter leverages compactness and light weight for special off-road agility and adopts body-on-frame construction for outstanding durability and cargo capability. This mountain bike support model was designed in collaboration with the leading professional cyclist, Raita Suzuki.

* A hub reduction system, which transfers driving power via gears mounted between the drive shaft and wheel hub, together with large-diameter 16-inch off-road tires, achieves 370mm ride height and generous angles of approach, departure and breakover for outstanding off-road drivability and stream-fording capability.

* The body uses highly durable, lightweight and compact body-on-frame construction. A range of attachments can be combined for a variety of applications, from outdoor sports to work in rough terrain.

* Large gullwing doors on three sides give the MUD MASTER-C great convenience, ideal for loading and unloading bicycles in the "mountain bike support" model.

* Full-cabin styling creates a strong presence.

* The interior features a simple instrument panel with large-screen LCD multi-display and the water-repellent seats, reflecting the car's rugged image.