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Mike Sinclair29 Jul 2014
FEATURE

FJ Peaked

Every year a group of like-minded Toyota owners take their FJ Cruisers to new heights

If you think Tour de France riders hit some heights as they pedal across Les Alpes or the Pyrenees, then obviously you’ve never heard of the FJ Summit.

A non-competitive gathering of Toyota off-road fans, the event can see you crest circa 4000m mountain passes — sometimes three or four times in a day! Granted you're at the wheel of an FJ Cruiser rather than pedalling, but Colorado’s mountainous terrain helps make the Summit arguably the highest 4x4 party in the world — and that’s no reference to the US state’s legalisation of marijuana.

The biggest gathering of Toyota FJ Cruisers in the world, the FJ Summit kicked off in 2007. It was the brainchild of a couple of instant FJ Cruiser fans and came to life barely a year after the retro-style Toyota off-roader went on sale in the USA.

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In that first year, the organisers already understood the FJ Cruiser was quickly winning a following from serious off-roaders and newbies alike. They identified the small town of Ouray in the southwest of Colorado in the heart of the San Juan Mountains (and christened the Switzerland of America) as the ideal location for an event that would celebrate the FJ.

Just how ideal was evidenced by the turn up for Summit 1.

The team had optimistically expected 30 cars — about the same as the Jeep Jamboree that also took place nearby. However, with the help of very active online community, and a then already burgeoning number of companies that specialise in custom parts for the cobby off-roader, the very first FJ Summit attracted more than 150 cars from a range of US locations.

This year (2014), Ouray and an expanded organising team hosted FJ Summit 8 and motoring.com.au got an invite.

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And the verdict? Although the FJ Cruiser will no longer be sold in the USA once the 2015 model year has passed (it will continue Down Under however - see details below), somehow I don't think that's going to dampen the enthusiasm for the vehicle or the event.

Silver screen
Once a silver and gold mining town, Ouray was established in the mid-1800s. Surrounded by peaks on three and half sides, it sits adjacent to a 3000m high natural amphitheatre with rock formations and waterfalls that would anywhere else be a natural attraction of serious proportions.

It’s a quaint, small town with, save for its six-lane width, what could be a Main Street straight out of the movies. In fact, it is out of the movies. The original film version of True Grit, the one with The Duke, John Wayne, was filmed in part in Ouray. So was the The Way the West was Won.

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It’s a summer town, sitting at around 2400m (that’s higher than the top of Australia, Mt Kosciuszko) Ouray’s winters are long and harsh. And the hills are too steep for skiing even of the extreme kind. The main attraction is the region’s only ice climbing park. Apparently shimmying up frozen waterfalls is the new ‘in thing’ Stateside.

What it does deliver to off-roaders in the warmer months is access to some of the best 4x4 trails in the USA. Once the snows melt sufficiently (there was still white stuff on some trails during our July visit), a variety of steep, rocky and in parts technical trails climb up and over the mountains that separate Ouray from skiing mecca Telluride and the mining and off-road touring centre of Silverton.

Tracks with names like Black Bear Pass, The California Corkscrew and Imogene Pass all peak well above the tree line between 3300 to 4200m in elevation — and deliver views across thousands of square kilometres.

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Black Bear in particular is something special with a precipitously steep descent into Telluride adjacent to a giant waterfall and featuring switchbacks that require two or three-point terms even in a ‘shortie’ like an FJ Cruiser.

These ‘main attraction’ tracks and any number of trails that feature Gulch in their name, are what brings the off-roaders back.

FJ Fever
And come back they do. In fact, for at least one weekend of the year, the other 4x4 brands, tourists, mountain and motor bikers and climbers alike are seriously outnumbered by Toyota aficionados and FJ Cruiser nuts.

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They come from as far afield as the US east coast and Mid-West, Canada, Texas and the southern states and, of course, California and Colorado. And this year, even Australia.

If there’s a Mecca for retro Cruiser fans, it’s Ouray.

The town’s regular population of just over 1000 doubles and Ouray is bursting at the seams when the FJ Summit hits town. The capacity of the town’s hotels and campgrounds and the complexities of the trails (many are so narrow and steep, they are run one-way) mean that numbers for the Summit are strictly limited. It’s a measure of the popularity of the event that this year, the 340 vehicle registration places sold out in ten minutes.

Drivers, families and friends who make the trek to Ouray are joined by a cross-section of companies that specialise in FJ Cuisers.

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Plenty of the FJ Cruisers arrive stock as Toyota intended, but not surprisingly most owners leave their first FJ Summit with at least plans to modify some aspect of their vehicle. And if the demands of the most technical of the Ouray trails and obstacles aren't enough, the peer group pressure surely must be significant. From mild to wild, there's no shortage of jacked-up, splayed-out, barred, flared and LED-lit four-wheeled inspiration on hand.

Toyota’s TRD Division has a large presence at the FJ Summit with everything from dress-up items through to suspension and even supercharger kits. Company names like MetalTech, Redline Cruisers, Toytec and Icon are all specialists in the FJ. Indeed, some owe their establishment, if not existence to the square-rigged retro Toyota.

There are of course other Toyota models in attendance. LandCruiser 60, 80 and 100/200 Series, like hen’s teeth elsewhere in the USA, are popular ring-ins. So too the latest ‘snake-eyed’ 4Runner.

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Even if you have only a passing interest in off-road vehicles, there’s plenty to look at — and some things to gawk on open mouthed. Some of the FJs at Ouray sport track are stretched in the order of 200-300mm and need step-ladders to get into. Apparently the latest kits offered by some aftermarket vendors add upwards of 400mm extra suspension travel.

It’s all there for you — all you need do is add money!

Family matters
The entire event is focused on family involvement and it’s no surprise to see a tribe of kids disgorged from a lifted FJ Cruiser when it stops on one of the trails. Of the approximately 1000 people who came to town with this year’s FJ Summit, almost 200 of them were under 11.

The event itself is vigilant in its involvement with the local community. The registration fee of under $US200 per vehicle still facilitates generous donations back to Ouray establishments. Indeed, the FJ Summit has even established scholarship schemes for local schools.

Company vendors including TRD and Toyota USA help equip the local Sherriff’s Department, Ouray Mountain Rescue and the local fire department. No prizes for guessing their vehicles of choice…

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And the local firefighters raise extra funds putting their hoses and equipment to work washing the 300-plus FJs before they leave town. For a donation, of course.

The pressure is on the organisers of the FJ Summit to run more events in other locations across the USA, but for the moment they say Ouray will remain the solus Summit.

But they are coaching others. There's already FJ Summits underway in Japan and even the Caribbean. Both events have requested assistance in planning from the Ouray Summit and have also visited to see how it’s run.

With the FJ Cruiser a relative newcomer to the Aussie off-road scene there’s no standalone local event for the vehicles — although that’s something that may change.

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In many aspects it’s a case of numbers — for every FJ sold Down Under, Toyota Australia moves five Prados, the vehicle on which it’s based. In the USA, over 200,000 FJs have been sold since 2007. Since 2011 when the FJ Cruiser was launched Down Under, only around 8000 have found new homes.

Toyota Australia knows it needs brand champions — the FJ is one of them and the company is committed to a future for the vehicle.

Such is the charisma of the retro FJ that its appeal extends beyond serious off-roaders. This in itself gives rise to the chance of a FJ Summit event aimed at a wider cross-section of consumers being a success in Australia.

It won’t have 4200m high mountain passes like Ouray, but there’s surely a small town with a big heart and open arms that would like to adopt the FJ Down Under? If there is and you make it happen, be sure and let motoring.com.au know. We’ll be there in a heartbeat.

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FJ Special
Forget what you've heard – Toyota's FJ Cruiser isn't going anywhere. It might have got the chop in the USA, but Toyota Australia reckons it's got a big future Down Under.

Built on the same underpinnings as the top-selling Prado, the FJ Cruiser is unashamedly retro.

Designed to recall the famous FJ40 Cruiser that helped build Toyota's reputation in Australia, as well as transport the men and material that created the Snowy Mountain scheme, the latest FJ gets a modern 200kW V6 petrol engine and a whopping 159-litre plus fuel capacity.

It's auto-only Down Under but gets a proper all-wheel drive system and Toyota's five-mode CRAWL Control and locking rear diff to deliver genuine off-road ability.

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In Ouray we were driving US-market Trail Team versions of the FJ fitted with a range of TRD accessories. For the 2015 model year, Toyota USA will launch a special limited-edition finale for the FJ Cruiser called ‘Ultimate’— in many aspects it will mirror our FJ Summit test cars.

The Prado is known for its off-road ability and the FJ is in some aspects even better. It has, for a start, shorter overhangs. The lack of a turbo-diesel powertrain means it misses out on some aspects of serious off-roaders’ wish lists but Toyota Australia say its enhanced fuel capacity delivers 1200km-plus range in normal conditions.

Alas, however, local execs have also confirmed even though the US market has bowed out of the FJ Cruiser distribution, there are no plans to transplant a diesel for Down Under.

Still, it’s a measure of the FJ's capability that it's as at home in Australia's High Country and Outback as it is in the VERY high country of the San Juan and Rocky Mountains.

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Over 4000m of elevation saps power out of the V6 FJ and the driver. At near 14,000ft just a brisk walk to photograph a basking marmot sitting next to the trail gets the heart pumping and the lungs puffing.

On the highway, even at 2400m elevation, overtaking takes some planning. It’s little wonder TRD’s factory supercharger kits are a popular choice in the US states where the hills get big, bigger and biggest.

With full factory warranty and emissions approval, the kit boosts power to around 227kW at 5400rpm and torque to over 450Nm over a flat curve which tops out at 3600. The torque boost is telling — the standard Aussie FJ is rated at 380Nm at 4400rpm.

But even on the extreme trails of the eighth annual FJ Summit, the standard FJ coped better than the breathless Aussie media contingent. Short overhangs help (the FJ Cruiser that is) and it's relatively easy to see where the front corners of the car are. That's important when putting a wheel wrong could mean you’re way too close to precipitous drops.

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On some of the tracks loose edges were all that separated you from literally hundreds of feet of near vertical scree and shale!

On the trails rough and smooth and on the highways (almost all very smooth) the FJ Summit test cars rode very well on the optional TRD dampers fitted. These dampers also offered better wheel control and mild lift kits just a couple of centimetres of extra travel to our FJs.

Thus only a couple of extreme rock-ledge and rock-garden obstacles separated our FJs from the heavily-modified vehicles that were the stars of the FJ Summit.

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In real-world terms, a turbo-diesel Prado is probably the more practical purchase for Aussies. The FJ's got room for five but its trademark suicide rear doors limit access and don't work in tight car parking spaces.

But who buys a retro SUV to be practical. Even though I’m no big fan of off-roading, the FJ Cruiser is just alternative enough to suck me in.

So, if you’re listening Santa Claus: I’ll take mine in yellow, with fat tyres, a TRD supercharger and the word Tonka written down the side, thanks!

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The ones that got away
Two Toyota brands were high profile at the FJ Summit and could be the same Down Under: TRD and 4Runner

TRD (Toyota Racing Developments) offers a range of suspension kits and add-ons for the FJ Cruiser and other Toyota models. A standalone operation, it also has road-based accessories but treats off-road as its bread and butter.

In the future, the operations will shift much of its off-road focus to the latest snake-eyed 4Runner and its eventual replacement.

The body-on-frame 4Runner wagon is based on the Tacoma one-tonne truck — the US market’s older and slighter version of our Hi-Lux. With the discontinuation of the FJ in the USA, the 4Runner is the vehicle it looks likely many FJ buyers will turn to – at least those who are looking for heavy-duty off-road performance.

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More than a few of the trail leaders that chaperoned FJ Summit participants across the San Juan Mountains trails around Ouray ran 4Runners. With the choice of part-time and full-time four-wheel drive systems depending on model grade, the 4Runner retains body-on-frame design but features coil suspension all-round.

It’s powered by the same 4.0-litre petrol V6 as the FJ Cruiser and is auto only (a five-speeder as per the FJ).

The Hi-Lux and Tacoma are built on differing chassis currently, however it’s postulated that the next generation of Toyota one-tonners will share platforms.

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The 4Runner is to Tacoma what the upcoming Fortuner will be to the new-generation HiLux. Unlike the family-aimed wagon we’ll get, however, the 4Runner features more aggressive styling. In its Trail and Trail Premium versions it features a locking rear differential and Toyota’s Multi Terrain Select and Crawl Control.

Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (as featured on some Prado and LC200 models Down Under) is also optional.

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