Caffeine and Octane – Atlanta, GA

6 ounces of stitched cotton comprise the Speed and Style variant of the Caffeine and Octane commodity line-up.

I love the brilliant blue backed by the mottled retro feel.  These well designed commodities, available at each event, are a good sign of the acceptance and approval of the Caffeine and Octane show.

Let us not forget the imperative nature at the forefront of the brand: Caffeine.

MotoIQ has recently introduced a new offroad project in the form of a 5th generation Toyota 4-Runner. Offroading, too often left at simply tire size and reverse rake, has many topics to cover and we intend to answer them.  That said, I take nothing away from this beautiful example of offroad prowess.  The Jeep J-series pickup was built from 1963 to 1987.  This is a J3000 “Gladiator” model; it was born, true to its name, in a time of relatively wimpy, low-slung pickups.  It immediately and forever defined “truck” as a tall, large displacement brute with four, powered legs to travel confidently both on and off the pavement.

The 80 Series Toyota Land Cruiser is one of the most notable and capable vehicles in the offroad world.  It has been tasked with everything from overland excursions into the outback to extreme rock crawling.  I was once a proud owner of a 1998 FJZ80 in this exact color.

The predecessor to the FJ80 is the 60 Series Toyota Land Cruiser.  It was produced from 1980 through 1990.  It, like its younger sibling is quite capable offroad and many arguments have formed over the preference between the two.  The 60 Series features leaf springs while the 80 Series has coil springs.  The 80 Series is bigger in every way but also more expensive and complicated.

I honestly love the beauty and simplicity of the 60 Series.  There are several companies that have taken the aesthetic of the FJ60 and slung it over the chassis of an 80 Series.  Best of both worlds?

This is the cleanest and most well executed example of this breed of offroad warrior…errr samurai. The tiny stature of the SJ-Series Suzuki Samurai was offered with a 1.3 liter 63 and later 66 horsepower motor and true 4WD making it capable in the extreme where the pavement ends.  On April 21st of 2007, a modified Suzuki Samurai reached 21,942 feet on the Andes’ Ojos del Salado (Salty Eyes); the highest active volcano in the world thereby unseating Jeep as the previous record holder (21,804 feet).