Just an observation

[HiVel-JR]

Sunday I took a short road trip up to Shreveport, LA. After seeing 2 white 4th gen 4runners going the opposite direction at the begining of my trip I decided to start counting 4th gen 4runners. I was shocked. I counted 12 from start to finish. That is almost one 4runner for every 10 miles. It may have just been coincidence that there were so many out driving around that day. Next time you go out for a drive see if you get the same results.

:beer:

 

[drake3]

Yeah, I too get totally surprised about the amount of 4th gen 4runners here in southwest Ohio. And, I personally think too many people liked Shadow Mica as much as me when I got my '06! I hate that! Don't see many of my 2nd gen style anymore even though people tell me it is only broke in at 160K miles.

Now if you really want to test your counting skills see if you can keep up with the amount of Toyota Sienna vans around here. It must be 1 in every 4 or 5 cars! I live in mini-van-opolis.

 

[Falls]

Its amazing how they all catch your eye. I check them all out too, really dont see any modded ones except maybe a brushguard.

Yours will stick out with that 12" lift and 35" tires your putting on .....

 

[Uneek]

I've seen a bunch, over eight, on my way up and back from the Sierra snowboarding, 250 miles one way. I saw two 06-07s parked in the lot with third row seating. I see a minimum of one 4th gen when I go to work, depending on location 10-15 miles round trip. There are at least four within a 5-10 minute walk around my neighborhood.

Just today, I saw my first 4R with a T4R.org sticker. :cheers:

 

[Rob96]

I am more amazed at the number of 2nd and 3rd generation 4R's I see on the road evry day. Also throw in some 1st gens. Every day, and this is no lie, I probably see close to 20 4R's tooling around the city.

 

[pickerdd]

Here in the Atlanta area we see a lot of 2nd and 3rd gen 4Runners as well as plenty of 4th gen 4Runners on the road everyday. You can't go anywhere without seeing a 4Runner. Come to think of it, I can't remember seeing a 4Runner broken down around her... That's pretty cool.

David

 

[owen4runner]

Besides being able to count 20 4th Gen 4R's during my 15 mile trip from one side of the island to the other, I've also parked in a lot in the mall (yes we have shopping malls) next to 3 and sometime 4 4R's. Once I was parked next to a Camry, Corolla, Highlander, Echo and a Tacoma. Toyota rules on this island.

 

[sbbamafan]

I'm in metro Atlanta too, and like pickerdd said, we see them everywhere. I have always been one to drive cars that were a little off the beaten path and that almost kept me from getting the T4R. Now I realize why there are so many. It really is a great car! There is no exclusivity though, unless you really want to shell out the cash for a GX470.

 

[techno]

Back home in Australia there were still plenty of 1st and 2nd gen 4Runners around, and I have only been in the US 15 months. At work there were at least two 1st gens and five 2nd gens (company of 300 people). On the road you would see them every day, and during off road excussion someone would always be wheeling one pretty hard. Aussies tend to drive cars for alot longer than they seem to do here plus they had some pretty good diesel engines too that just never stop.
I only ever saw 1 3rd gen that some dude had imported from Japan. The owner loved it but all the labels, stickers and manuals were written in Japanese and the stereo was virtually useless! It also had one of those funny little mirrors above the headlight.
Prados replaced 4Runners in 96.
I'd never even seen a 4th gen till I visited here in early '05!

 

[Mark86]

I see around 7 4th generation 4Runners on my 20 mile commute every morning. The most common car in my area is the Lexus RX330. If you go to a shopping mall in NJ, there is at least 3 in each parking aisle! Overall, the majority of the cars on the road here are Toyota and Lexus.

 

[Falls]

I see alot of nice 3rd gens. at my Toyota dealer. They usually have a few all the time. Most are extremely nice. I dont know where they get them , but have been tempted a few times.

I really wish I would see more tricked out 4th gens around here. Even a nice set of rims and tires would be cool , NO not 20's or 22's either. ( damn I hate that when people do that to a nice 4x4 )

See a brushguard with piaa's every now and then , but thats it.

Im surprised with the off road ability of these truck's ( even in stock form ) why you dont see more of them around tricked out with an off road look atleast even if they dont off road. There are tons of trucks around here , lifted , huge tires , customized , that I'm sure never even see a dirt road.

 

[TheBlueWave]

I am on assignment 40 miles from Des Moines, IA and hardly EVER see 4th gens, or import vehicles around here, for that matter. In St. Paul, I also see very few 4th gens. Don't know why, they are awesome in the snow, like you all know. I see lots of Trailblazers and Explorers (I drove both before the 4runner, T4R is superior vehicle and thats why I paid the little extra for it).

 

[jpalaska]

Alaska is a truck state. I'd guess that more than 80% of the non-commercial vehicles on the road are trucks (pickups and SUVs).
You used to see mostly Suburbans and Blazers, but that has changed in the last 10 years. Now you see many CRVs, Highlanders, and some 4Runners.
And among the pickup crowd you see a lot more Toyotas than you used to.

I'm probably a lot more brand-aware of the trucks than I used to be, when I was mostly hoping that one of those 'damn trucks' wouldn't squash my 911.

JP

 

[xUSNavy]

I just returned from a trip to Southern California over the weekend. While passing through LA, I noticed that most of the 4th gen 4runners are 2wd. I think out of the 20 or so 4runners I passed on my trip, only 1 was actually 4wd.

 

[rook]

I see quite a few here, too. The only gripe I have is that there is no "brotherhood"... no appreciative nod or wave of the other ones's ride when crossing paths in traffic.

 

[HiVel-JR]

Rook, I noticed that too...

 

[Burzinski's 92]

Now that you say something when i was driving last night to the shop i saw about 4-5 2nd Gens like mine and on the way back none.

 

[drake3]

I see quite a few here, too. The only gripe I have is that there is no "brotherhood"... no appreciative nod or wave of the other ones's ride when crossing paths in traffic.

I can offer a theory as to why there is no "brotherhood" or sense of community. I know you are not asking for one, but for some reason I think I want to put it into words.

For people to wave or nod while passing by I think there must be a stronger sense of community between the people. They must feel they share in something pretty special to put out the effort to acknowledge the other person. With 4runners, even though we know they are one of the coolest trucks out there, it is a common truck. Some of us see them everywhere, more than others.

We here have a sense of community and make the effort to participate, but for every one of us - who frequent this great board - there must be 4, 5 or more owners who don't share the sense of community. They are just happy they have a found a nice truck to drive and really it is simply another means of transportation to them. Now find another 4runner with a t4r.org sticker on it and I bet you will get a nod, wave or other acknowledgement because that person has the sense of community, belonging to something a little more exclusive than normal.

For example take another car... I guess the most exclusive car I have owned would have been my 2003 350Z (#3 Z car in my history). Z owners are generally very loyal as shown by the one commercial of the multiple generations of Z cars with personalized license plates. Owners often start or participate in very active clubs that go for drives, meets and shows. Everytime I passed another Z owner I could count on a wave or nod. Again, I think it was the sense of community brought about by the fact that Z owners really think they are different, which may be true or not.

I am a runner, when I run I wave or acknowledge other runners, but generally don't to walkers or other people unless they acknowledge me first. Other runners are part of the "club".

There is definitely sociology here, but the bottom line is I think the 4runner is just too "common" for lack of a better term. I am not going to find the sense of community from the soccer Moms tooling around in their 4runners in my city.

Does this sound reasonable?

 

[Falls]

1 & 2 gen's are very rare here in Wisconsin.

Probably because this is the "winter road salt belt of the USA"

I remember the older gen. Toyotas used to just rot away like hell here in Wi.