Episode 506 – What Would Pinky Say?
This Week In Jeep
And The Winner Is…..
Jeep enthusiasts gather annually in April to check out the industry’s newest products from over 200 vendors at The Daytona International Speedway. The event is in its 18th year, and it is the largest Jeep-only event in the entire Southeast corner of the US. Since 2012, Jeep Beach has donated over $2 million to local charities through the event’s week-long fund-raising efforts. All proceeds raised are distributed to charities throughout central Florida counties. This year, after the huge success of the Gladiator giveaway, Jeep Beach is set to give away a 2021 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392.
The 2021 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 is the first-ever performance-oriented Jeep available from the factory. Billed as “the most powerful Wrangler ever,” the Jeep makes 470 horsepower, 470 foot-pounds of torque, and can tackle a quarter-mile in 13 seconds flat. And of course, there can be only one winner. And The Winner Is… Local Jeep aficionados Larry and Pam Bivens of Owensboro, Kentucky! The Jeeping couple had originally planned to attend the Jeep Beach rally this year, but Pam had to undergo surgery the same week the event was held in April and had to be satisfied with watching a live stream of the event throughout the week. What’s funny is that she apparently was watching it live when they did the drawing, and despite being under pain medication, she was elated. The couple traveled to Daytona Beach to pick up their new ride. While there, they enjoyed a party at the Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum located near Daytona International Speedway. After taking ownership of the Jeep, the pair decided to take it easy on the drive back to Owensboro. Larry Bivens said that after making their way up the Florida coast to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the couple drove to Columbia, South Carolina, and then over to Deals Gap, North Carolina, to test out the Jeep on the legendary “Tail of the Dragon.” It is 318 curves in 11-miles. Not exactly a Jeep trail that legends are made of as it is mainly a sports car and motorcycle type of road. Still pretty fun in a Jeep I bet. Especially one with that much grunt. After spending a few days in the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, the pair decided it was time to head back home to Owensboro. The 2021 Wrangler Rubicon is the seventh Jeep the couple has owned throughout their marriage. They also currently own a Jeep Gladiator they purchased last year. According to Jeep, the estimated retail of the 2021 Wrangler Rubicon 392 is $75,935. For the Bivens, Jeep life is a family affair, and they plan to enjoy their new ride with family as soon as possible.
Don’t Call It AVON
Jeep Wrangler Coming Soon With Tuscadero Pink Paint Option
So you may remember in Episode 504 I was talking about a limited edition color that Jeep was releasing, and how they occasionally release impact, bold, or special edition colors that are only around for a very limited time. And once they’re gone, it’s almost impossible to get your hands on the color again. I bet the body shops just love that.
Jeep’s color palette already includes some well-named options like Hellayella (yellow) and Snazzberry (red), Or how about that Nacho (orange)? As you heard in Episode 504, this has now been expanded with a limited-edition Gecko (green) color too.
Well, Jeep is doing it again and this time I think this is going to be a color that only a select few will be going after. Right now, Jeep isn’t saying exactly WHEN they will release the “Tuscadero Pink” paint color for the Wrangler. One would assume this would also be available for the Gladiator like the last few special colors have been, but a pink Glady? Really? Anyways, for those who don’t do the research as I do, or who are under the age of 38, I will explain the reference in case some of you don’t get it.
You see there used to be these things called sit-coms, and in the mid-’70s one came out called Happy Days. This is where the infamous Fonzie character and the “jump the shark” reference came from. In just three episodes Carol “Pinky” Tuscadero, plays an old romantic flame of Fonzie’s. Played by Roz Kelly, this character could fix vehicles and ride a motorcycle (a pink one of course). She was allegedly famous for her trick riding, and as you would guess, her trademark color was pink.
If you want to relive your Happy Days and spring for this special shade of pink for your next Jeep, you’ll have to stay tuned to the Jeep Talk Show and we’ll let you know when it becomes available.
JTS News Story Update
Occasionally we get some inside information from our Jeepers on the street as it were, and sometimes this is directly related to something we talked about here on the show. This last week we got an update on the Jeep electric vehicle charging stations that are supposed to be going in at all or most of the Jeep Badge of Honor Trailheads. According to the company, Jeep has partnered with for this endeavor, Electrify America, the first three were supposed to be up and functional by spring. This included Moab, The Rubicon, and others. As of the recording of this episode, those first three are not yet installed. HOWEVER, we got news this last week from Chris, one of our loyal listeners, and a volunteer behind the scenes here at the Jeep Talk Show who informed us that people from the Drummond Island Tourism Association, had been working with Jeep on the install of the charging station there near the famous Jeeping destination. Jeep tried to have the charging station in place in early July before the Summer Jeep Jamboree, however, they only got as far as getting the concrete pad poured. Jeep is installing the charging station at the Tourism Assoc. office, which is just a few miles from the ferry, right on the main road, HOWEVER…it will be 16 miles West of the South Marblehead Loop Badge Of Honor Trail! So with the claimed 22 miles of electric range the 4Xe gets, you would literally have to use ¾ of the range just getting to the trailhead. Doesn’t leave much left in the ol battery box to do any wheeling now does it. Nicely done Jeep. When will Jeep learn? When will they start paying me a healthy salary to point out their stupid decisions? We may never know. But what we do know is that we are grateful for listeners like Chris. Thanks for the update, Chris!
Chris is very involved in the Jeep world and I encourage anyone within the sound of my voice to go check out his website, https://www.sevenslats.com/ it’s a very well done Jeep blog that has some great photography behind it.
Newbie Nuggets with Wendy
Overlanding event
We had a chance to attend, teach and present information at a local Overlanding event this past weekend. Pure 4×4 hosted the event here in Big Bear. They are a northern California club and wanted to check out the trails Big Bear has to offer. There were at least 350 vehicles, lots of people, kids & dogs. Most of the set-ups were Toyotas but there were Jeep Gladiators, Lexus, Subaru’s, and other vehicles too. Every one of the vehicles was set up for Overlanding with rooftop tents, full kitchen set-ups, and other creature comforts. There were also full-size tents not attached to the vehicle and some dome-shaped tents that looked like something out of a space movie. We saw lots of setups with solar panels too – That’s for the serious camper
A few things I observed were that everyone we met was happy, having fun, and very polite. So I have to adjust my opinion on Toyo owners because I couldn’t believe the reception we received as Jeep drivers.
Don Alexander, Bill, and I did a training class on recovery and gear. We weren’t sure how the class would be received but it turned out there are a lot of people who have no idea what type of gear to start with let alone use it. I love teaching and training so this was a perfect setup to allow them to touch and feel the equipment. We also gave them a chance to hook up and use a soft shackle (my favorite piece of recovery gear) with a tree-saver strap and winch line. What was also an interesting observation is that we noticed the recovery points on other vehicles are very different from jeeps. Some were way underneath the front end, which meant the D-rings would eventually get rubbed on/off as time and trails often do and some had only one point to one side, like the Subaru. They only had one recovery point front and rear. That changed how we presented the class, but all in all, they walked away with knowledge of how to get themselves out of a sticky, wet, or slippery situation. Of course, our first recommendation was to not get stuck and always travel with a buddy.
Walking around the vendors we met the nice folks from Gear America. They make all the usual items for recovery including tow straps, kinetic ropes, snatch blocks, soft shackles, and D-rings that don’t make noise. YES, you heard me right. I am so tired of our old D-rings banging all the time. I want to be able to hear the other noises that may be an issue, not those darn D-rings clanking all the time. These D-Rings have rubber spacers that you insert on each side and they stop the noise… AND they come with an anti-theft device to keep them from getting stolen. There’s a three-sided key, sort of like an Allen wrench, that fits into a left-hand threaded locking nut that keeps the main shackle bolt in place. If you try to remove the main bolt with a wrench it will only get tighter due to the left-hand threads of the lock nut at the other end of the main bolt. And unless you have the three-sided Allen-style tool to extract the locking nut, you’ll never get the main bolt out. I am in heaven that I won’t have to hear them anymore and of course, they come in all kinds of colors – we chose Blue, sorry Tony.
Later in the day, we presented “Trail Etiquette” for the attendees. This was a talk about keeping trails open, not driving on sensitive areas, or off the main roads where you don’t belong, being aware of campfire restrictions, and overall pack it in, pack it out rules. Embracing the ambassador of the trail’s effort and teaching others as well. We were surprised at how many people weren’t aware that the trails can be closed at any time within the forest. I loved that we got to share the ‘let’s keep it open for generations’ with these over-landers too. Perhaps we helped make a difference
It was a great day and I loved being around all the campers. Camping out in the wild of Big Bear mountains had to be a highlight of their trip. Of course, there were stories of 4x4ers going through some of our trails and breaking stuff –they have so much to learn LOL. A lot of setups don’t have the ground clearance or articulation to handle our tough trails. Others asked for directions to easy/medium trails and we were happy to offer suggestions.
I love when two worlds can come together, jeepers and over-landers, and share info and have a great time. Thank you to Pure 4×4 for having us and letting us share our knowledge and training to keep the trails open for everyone.
Jeep Talk Show Gladiator Update
Motobilt Crusher Series Rear Bumper w/ Corner Frame Mounts – Bare Steel – JT $1,536.95
https://www.northridge4x4.com/
Must-Have Stuff Pick-of-the-Week for your Jeep!
Xprite Front Foot Pegs – U.S. Flag Style (07-18 Jeep JK/JKU) – 1 Pair
https://amzn.to/3AWH76O $19.99 & FREE Returns
If you’re driving a Jeep without doors and you don’t have footpegs, we probably can’t be friends. This is one of those incredibly affordable and incredibly easy modifications (or upgrades if you will), that will change your life… like the discovery of the rearview mirror flip. Relax and enjoy the breeze as you ride with your doors off, your leg stretched all the way out, and your foot resting comfortably on a footpeg. This particular set of footpegs are more of a platform and have over 1000 five-star reviews on Amazon.
- Made From Stainless Steel with Matte Black Powder Coat Finish.
- Comes With a Rubber Bumper to Protect Your Jeep’s Paint
- CNC Cut, Durable One-piece Construction.
- Anti-Skid Strip In a Patriotic American Flag Design Keeps Your Feet from Slipping off Pegs, Especially in Muddy and Wet Conditions.
- No Extra Drilling or Modifications Required.
- Product Mounts Directly Into The Bottom Door Hinge After Door Is Removed From Jeep.
- From Xprite USA (Based in Chino California) https://xpriteusa.com/
Campfire Side Chat
If you could buy any Jeep right now, which one would it be?
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Links Mentioned in this Episode
NEXEN Tires USA https://www.nexentireusa.com/
Trails 411- POWERING Your Adventure https://www.youtube.com/user/backcountrydriver
The 4×4 Radio Network http://4x4radionetwork.com/
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Jeep “Must Have” – Xprite Front Foot Pegs https://amzn.to/3AWH76O
Jeep Beach Event https://www.jeepbeach.com/
Seven Slats https://www.sevenslats.com/
Offroad Only – https://offroadonly.com/