Red FJ60 Dreams: Megan's eBay Land Cruiser Gamble
To All The Cars I've Loved Before: Classic Car Restoration, JDM, and Automotive History
To All The Cars I've Loved Before: Classic Car Restoration, JDM, and Automotive History
Nov 26, 2024
Red FJ60 Dreams: Megan's eBay Land Cruiser Gamble
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Car
Volkswagen Rabbit
The Volkswagen Rabbit GTI is a small car that is fun to drive and has a sporty design. It's known for being quick and enjoyable, making it a favorite among car lovers.
Car
DeLorean
The DeLorean is a unique car famous for its shiny metal body and doors that open upwards. It's well-known because it was featured in a popular movie about time travel.
Car
Jeep CJ7
The Jeep CJ7 is a tough, off-road vehicle that people often use for adventures. It was made from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s and is popular for its ability to handle rough terrains.
Car
Jeep Wrangler
The Jeep Wrangler is a popular off-road vehicle that you can take the roof and doors off of. It's great for driving in nature and has a lot of fans because it's fun to drive.
Term
stick shift
Stick shift means a car that you drive with a manual transmission. You have to change the gears yourself using a stick, which can be more fun and gives you more control over how the car drives.
Car
Jeep Cherokee
The Jeep Cherokee is a family-friendly SUV that is good for both city driving and off-road adventures. It offers more space than the Wrangler and is often used for daily activities.
Car
Jeep Grand Cherokee
The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a larger SUV that provides more comfort and luxury features compared to the Wrangler. It's great for families and can handle off-road conditions as well.
Car
Jeep
The Jeep started as a military vehicle in the 1940s and has become a well-known brand for tough, off-road cars. It's famous for its rugged design and capability.
Brand
Chrysler
Chrysler is another American car company that makes different kinds of cars, including family vehicles. They are known for their minivans and sedans.
Brand
Willys
Willys was a car company that made the original Jeep during the war. They are important in the history of off-road vehicles and helped shape the Jeep brand we know now.
Term
just enough essential parts
'Just enough essential parts' is a funny way some people say what Jeep stands for. It means that Jeep cars are made with only the important parts to make them work well, especially for off-roading.
Car
Ford Explorer
The Ford Explorer is another SUV made by Ford. It's larger and has more space inside, making it a good option for families or people who need to carry a lot of stuff.
Term
automatic transmission
An automatic transmission is a system in a car that changes gears for you, so you don't have to do it yourself. This makes driving easier, especially in heavy traffic.
Car
Chevrolet Blazer
The Chevrolet Blazer is a sporty SUV that looks good and is fun to drive. It's designed for people who want a vehicle that can be used for everyday errands as well as weekend adventures.
Car
Ford
Ford is a car company that makes many different types of vehicles, but the specific model isn't named here. They are known for their trucks and SUVs.
Car
Toyota Cruiser Fj
The Toyota FJ Cruiser is a tough-looking SUV that can handle rough terrains and off-road adventures. It has a unique design that many people love, and it's great for those who enjoy outdoor activities.
Term
six shift
A 'six shift' means the car has a six-speed manual transmission. This lets you change gears yourself, which many people find more fun than automatic transmissions.
Car
Toyota Highlander
The Toyota Highlander is a type of SUV that is great for families. It has a lot of space inside and is known for being reliable and safe.
Car
Suzuki Samurai
The Suzuki Samurai is a small SUV that was really good at driving off-road. It became popular because it was simple and tough, making it a favorite for people who like to explore nature.
Term
inline six
An inline six engine has six cylinders lined up in a row. This setup helps the engine run smoothly and is often used in larger vehicles like SUVs.
Car
Maserati Ghibli
The Maserati Ghibli is a fancy car that looks great and drives fast. It's made by Maserati, a brand known for luxury sports cars.
Term
daily driver
A daily driver is a car you use every day to go places like work or school. It should be dependable and easy to drive.
Term
oxygen sensor
An oxygen sensor is a part of the car that checks how much oxygen is in the exhaust. It helps the car run better and produce fewer harmful gases.
LIVE
Listener Land, you have found the podcast that's balanced and rotated, but never aligned.
It's leaking a little from the oil pan, yet still overflowing.
The podcast whose timing belt needs a few more notches, but the extended warranty will always
hit you to the next mile post.
Where sheet metal gets metaphysical, where horsepower takes a backseat to horse play,
your podcast that sits at the corner of memory lane and nostalgia avenue, you're about to
take a permanent detour, we have no intention of fixing.
You have found, to all the cars I've loved before, your podcast where every car tells
a story, every machine has a soul and every car has a culture.
What do you think?
Pretty good, right?
Does that work?
All those people.
Yeah.
Okay.
Phenomenon.
Onward.
Oh, and we have that new domain.
Should we talk about that domain or should we get straight into today's theme?
Let's get straight in.
Today's theme.
Are you?
Okay.
So Jeep has this kind of saying, if you look around, the Jeep experience, right?
So I thought, you know, kind of Jimi Hendrix, I'm a big classic rock guy.
Are you experienced, right, the Jimi Hendrix?
So are you Jeep experienced is what I want to know.
And we're going to dive into that a little bit later.
So any thoughts on maybe where the Jeep name came from?
Everybody who's on the podcast today is on the Jeep.
What do you think?
Can we roll with it?
I do have a joke about a Jeep and it involves a rental car.
Rental cars.
Okay.
Let's do it.
I did not come up with this, but I heard about it.
What's the difference between a Jeep and a rental car?
Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, I know this one.
There are places you wouldn't take a rental car.
Is that it?
No.
There are places you won't take a Jeep.
I think I had the inverse of the punchline.
Now my mind works.
Lovely.
We have jokes on it.
So it implies the Jeep can go anywhere, but if it's your Jeep, you're probably not
going to take it some places.
But if you want to have fun, actually rent a Jeep and then you can go somewhere.
Oh, you have the best of both worlds.
You could just, you could film it in Louisa into the Pacific Ocean and it really doesn't
matter.
Just pay for the extra insurance.
Right on.
Right on.
Hey, so what about future guests?
Any word on, I know we have a backlog of people, we've, let's take a step back here
in time if you would, Listener Land, let's go into the Wayback Machine.
When we started this podcast, low these six or seven months ago, we said to people,
hey, do you want to be on a podcast?
He would say, no, you're an idiot.
The podcast is going to be terrible.
But now we're still idiots, but we have a list of people we're trying to get on the
show.
Do we want to talk at all about some of the, some of the people in the queue right
now?
Doug, or should we stick to how easy it is to be on the show?
Well, let's see.
I put them, I love putting them on the spot.
I love the look of confusion.
In the queue, we had your, we had your, we had your, we had your.
We had your son on.
He is a trip.
That boy was a trip.
We did a little, a little sneak preview of him talking about, him talking about his, his
time as a, doing National Garden, learning to drive a Hummer.
No, no, no.
Actually, I got to correct you.
Sorry.
I meant to correct you.
I didn't.
It's not National Garden.
It's Army Reserves.
Army Reserves.
A lot of people made that mistake.
Army Reserves.
Army Reserves.
I took that.
Yeah.
Army Reserves.
Sorry.
I took a little children's books about nine.
Coolest guy.
Oh, great.
Great website.
Tisforturbo.com.
A is for Apple.
T is for Turbo.
You get, you get it.
Geniuses.
We have a Corp's head at Gwinnivere from Freshia Brothers.
Can't say enough great things about her.
I just spoke to him.
Absolutely.
Dave from the small car company, which is not a car company anymore, but he was
a referral from Gwinnivere, looking forward to talking to him.
She's the best.
And yeah, we've we've got some great ones recorded and hoping to talk to Dave in the
future.
But and this is this is how the show happened.
It's all about family.
We're today's guest.
We're going to cue her in in a minute has it we've got this live and it didn't
dawn on me today where the parents got a car she's one of several several
siblings.
The car was just kind of a hand me down and worked its way down.
That that's the way I got my my rabbit GTI, one of my favorite cars there.
But I didn't think of that car as a hand me down.
Right. You ever get hand me downs from siblings or friends.
They're a little bit older, bigger than you are.
And clothes, shoes, the toys, whatever comes to you.
So we call well, I mean, we had one gentleman on Rob, the part time
car photographer, right?
His car was used to help friends.
Two or three friends pass the pass the driver's test.
Right. That was unique.
And maybe our guest, maybe our guest today.
Her car might have been in a similar boat, except with family.
That's such a great callback.
Rob was hilarious.
The car just I don't know if it was easy to drive or everybody wanted to
drive it or the car just had good luck.
I know he's got the mall was the key.
It was easy to park.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Very good. Yeah.
Yeah. And the way the show works is so Guinevere
Frisha was on the show and she had a great time.
We're trying to try to get her dad on.
They own a garage in Connecticut.
So all about family, like they said, it's all about family.
OK, let's get into calls to action.
And all we really have here, I just want to say a couple of things
because we've got to move on kind of quickly here.
Every car has a culture.com.
Every car has a culture.com.
We're taking over the Internet one domain at a time.
And so we got that one.
Also, we wanted to say so Doug is always out in the community.
OK, to all the cars I love before.
Very often, Doug, I'm in I'm in Florida a thousand miles away,
but he's very often at the Annapolis City
dock at the cars and coffee.
So if you see his car, very distinctive, distinctive DeLorean,
just walk up to him and just say, Hey, man,
like your podcast, hate your co-host, it's fine.
Just let him know what you really think.
So how often do they have them up there?
Every every Sunday, it's going to stop soon.
But but I'm trying to go to other ones.
Annapolis Town Center.
There is one in northern Virginia called Katie's Cars and Coffee,
which apparently goes year round.
And they'll have like 400 cars there.
Problem is, I have to leave at about 5 30 a.m.
to get there to get a spot.
So I, I, I, that's too early.
But I'm hoping to get there.
All right, I also have a just, you know,
in ways of making people smile with the DeLorean,
I have a upcoming birthday party that I'm bringing the car to
for a bunch of six year olds that the son loves back to the future.
So his parents thought it would be a nice surprise for
to have just a DeLorean show up for a little bit.
So looking forward to that, looking forward to the excitement.
You know, so many people our age love the car.
But to find somebody six years old
that really is all about back to the future and wants to see the car.
I can't wait. Right. Right.
I hear you. Lovely.
All right, well, walk up to him and introduce yourself
at the Annapolis Cars and Coffee.
All right. So as we kind of tease at the top, let's get into Jeeps.
Are you Jeep experience is the question of the day?
And before I hand this off to Doug, tell us about a little bit about his Jeep
experience and we pull Megan into the conversation.
Just can tell you a little bit of mine.
I didn't really come from a Jeep culture background,
but one kind of got my hands on one.
Let's see. This was just a few years ago.
I'm going to say, golly, maybe eight
eight years ago, seven or eight years ago at this time.
And I live in Florida. OK.
So you just yank off the top.
You yank everything out of it.
You take off the doors and stick it in the garage.
So it is basically denuded, you know, 10, 11 months out of the year.
And it's just so fun.
It is just so fun.
You get your son, get your fresh air, get your tunes, get out.
You're moving from one place to another.
But I was surprised by how much fun I had in that car.
And it was a completely different experience.
Doors on top up than not.
And it's great that it can go anywhere and crawl up a 45 degree angle.
But boy, just cruising the beach in that thing was a trip.
So, Doug, I remember yours.
Which one do you remember the first one I had?
I do. When we first met in college, that's that.
It was yeah, it was held together.
I think Doug got the duct tape option package on that one.
And that was holding together the doors
and possibly even the engine block.
It was a CJ. It was a CJ seven.
That's right. That's right.
Yeah, I remember the one with the American flag on the side, the Olympic version.
Yep, 1994. Yeah, that was a that was a fun vehicle.
There there's.
Yeah, that was a great car.
I want to say I owned it post 9 11.
And I got more waves post 9 11 is the flag because of the flag.
Yeah, that's really neat.
That's really I have a picture somewhere of that.
I was looking for it the other day.
I was going through the picture with the it's the picture with the kayaks on top, right?
It is our ill fated.
Yeah, our ill fated adventure where amazingly we didn't die.
But I got to ask you a question.
How did our guests today make income into our lives?
Well, you know, the gift that keeps giving.
We've had some we've had some great guests on.
And I've been fortunate enough to reconnect
with old high school friends as some of these guests.
But James McCrae, great guy,
has his own specialty car shop in eastern Maryland.
McCrae Enterprises.
And he's, you know, a true friend of the show, like so many others.
And he just keeps telling us about great people.
And that brings us to today's guest, who had her car in,
which we'll get to, into his shop for repairs, because it was too old
to be repaired by your normal shop, because they're worried about
if something breaks, they can't find the part.
I totally get it, owning two old cars myself.
So or maybe the what a great car.
Yeah, maybe the the the next generation of mechanics
is so used to getting certified on computers and in high tech.
That's what I think is a lot of these shops don't want to touch something
that would take them time to learn, but then it's just it's a curveball.
You know, it's kind of out of the wheel.
So you've got both, right?
And then just availability of parts, right?
Maybe you've got to find a used part.
Maybe the part is eight hundred dollars
because there's only a few left, maybe you have to rebuild it.
There's so many reasons why.
But fortunately, we have James keeping the dream alive and we have Megan
and we have Megan, most importantly, today, we have Megan.
Megan, how are you today?
I'm doing well. Thanks for having me.
There she is.
And she's in the she's walking through the doors of the very large
cars, love one cars, love Plaza studio into the very.
Big overstuffed couches.
But think of think of the tonight show.
That's what we have here.
How are you doing?
I'm doing well.
So you're not you're you're not in Buffalo, but you're Buffalo Bill's fan.
But let's let's step in the way back machine.
Let's go way back and talk about your dad's
Jeep. Do you remember that?
Did you have fun with that?
Did that lay any groundwork for something to come to the future?
Let's let's get your your take on jeeps.
Yes. So so before I could drive, my dad had a Jeep, a CJ seven.
And this was before either my brothers could drive and so my dad bought it
for himself just to plow snow because I grew up in Buffalo.
So plowing snow, pulling stumps, doing those kinds of things.
And my oldest brother then got to drive that car once he turned 16.
And by the time I came along at 16, we had a Jeep Wrangler.
The CJ seven had been sold, but then we had a Jeep Wrangler.
So that became my car and my my other brother.
So the two of us had to use that car.
And I loved it because that's how I learned to drive on that car.
I learned to drive stick shift, which was the reason why I wanted stick
shift cars, stick shift cars in the future.
But Jeeps are a ton of fun.
We would take the top off in the summer and the doors and it would just stay off.
Fall summer, we'd throw a tarp over it overnight if it was going to rain.
And we just have a lot of stories with those Jeeps.
Good times for sure.
Yeah, I'm shaking my head because you have that.
It's amazing how great the tops are now versus way back when.
And I know you had a hard top.
So it was either it was on or it was off.
There was no in between with those.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. And and yeah, great story.
So that that Jeep that your dad.
So you learned to drive stick shift on that Jeep.
And then your dad bought a Jeep for the children, right?
You and your two brothers, right?
Yeah. Yeah.
Tell us tell us about the the next experience in the Jeep family.
Well, then I had so then I drove the Wrangler in high school and then
I guess part of college and then we've had various Jeeps in the family.
My mom then had a Cherokee, both my brothers in there as adults have
purchased Wranglers.
I had a Grand Cherokee recently.
So there's been a lot of Jeeps in the family, which has been kind of fun.
Yeah, it's a, you know, they're all these great slogans.
And I'm surprised Christian didn't get this one, but it's a Jeep thing, right?
That's such a great one.
Sorry, Christian.
No, you got it. I'm glad you called it back.
It's a Jeep thing.
So yeah.
Gotta love Jeeps, right?
It's it's the American thing, right?
And it goes, you know, speaking of Conrad, right?
Going way back to the military, right?
The Jeep, the original Jeep,
yes, was a military vehicle, right?
And it spawned what became the Jeep that we know and love today, right?
But it spawned since, I don't know.
Let's see the 40s, maybe.
And Jeeps were made by actually multiple companies.
Ford, I think Chrysler, maybe.
I think Willys maybe came up with the successful
design, but during during wartime production,
yet everybody and their brother building whatever was needed.
In fact, they could ship a Jeep in a box, basically,
and it could be assembled overseas.
And they did that quite often, just to get it just the quickest way
to get them out the door and make them fit in, you know,
on the boat, on the aircraft carrier,
would drop it off the plane, right?
Willys Overland.
Yes, Willys Overland.
Thank you very much.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
So where did Jeep come from?
Do we I was doing a little, you know,
we have hundreds of researchers on staff here at One Cars Love Plaza
and they were looking into slightly dozens
and they were looking into where Jeep comes from.
And this is one of my favorite ones that they came up with.
And who knows if this is real or apocryphal or what?
Jeep stands for just enough essential parts, which I like.
I'd not heard that before.
Oh, I haven't heard that before.
GP, where Jeep would be this,
right, the sounding out of the letters G.P.
and in the GP stand for general purpose at all.
Or was there another reason for it?
Another theory I read is that
Jeep is after Eugene, the Jeep,
the dog cat hybrid pet from Popeye.
Yep, but yeah, it was a cartoon character.
Yeah, no clue about that.
Something like that. Yeah.
Yeah, I've heard that one, too.
And last, last one for you before we move on here.
And as early as World War One,
Jeep was used as a slang term for new soldiers
or untested vehicles.
So who knows where that came from?
That could have been a rural phrase
from someplace in the middle of nowhere.
Now it's it's become what we all know.
But OK, enough trivia.
Back to you, partner. Take it away.
Yeah, so so so we had this family,
family of Jeeps, right?
I believe Megan in in high school,
your older brother used to take you to school in the Jeep.
Then it became your car and your turn
to do that for your younger brother at one point.
Right. No, I never had a younger brother.
I just had two older brothers.
Oh, just two older brothers.
Four and two. One four years older, one two years older.
Right. One brother, four years older, one brother, two years older.
So yeah, she was the end of the line.
You got gotcha. They gave up.
They said, we got a perfect. No more.
Yeah, exactly.
So that that Jeep was used by all three siblings.
Yeah, yeah.
And who would end up happening in that Jeep?
Who got it? Where did it go?
It was it was sold.
I think by the time I went to college,
I had it actually at college for part of my freshman year.
And then and then I think after that, my dad sold it.
And that was the end of the Jeep.
Yeah, what a great great college vehicle.
My yes, it was.
Yeah, my best friend when he was going to college,
his roommate had a Jeep and man, we had so much fun with it,
which inspired me to buy a Jeep,
which I then learned was not great for commuting every day.
And so I went back to a different car.
But it, you know, still still love Jeeps.
When Christian had his Jeep,
I was thinking about buying another one.
It's just not not great for an everyday car.
But some people make exactly some people make it work.
In fact, we interviewed somebody somewhat recently, Jeremy,
who invent has an invention that we're going to talk about
in a future episode for the Freedom Tops
and securing them in the new. Oh, yes.
Yes. Yeah.
So yeah, there's, you know, it's it's a Jeep thing, right?
Very true.
Jeep thing. Yeah.
So so when you were so post college,
you're still on the four wheel drive vehicles, you bought a.
I bought a Chevy Blazer.
OK. And I was headed out west.
And so I needed one of the four wheel drive trucks.
So I bought a Chevy Blazer to head out to Colorado.
And and that was good.
And then that I pretty much drove that thing until it died
and was unsafe to drive.
And after that, I wanted to get wanted to get back to a standard vehicle.
So then I ended up buying a a, oh, my gosh, I'm forgetting,
a Ford Explorer that was that was standard.
So I wanted I wanted a standard car again,
but I had to buy the absolute base model in order to get standard.
But that was what I wanted.
I enjoy driving more than more than automatic.
Yeah, no, it's I I love stick ship cars
having broken my left ankle about 20 years ago.
Yep, 20 years ago, 20 plus years ago.
It's it's not something I can do every day,
but it's it's it's like a treat, if you will.
So yeah, my everyday car is certainly automatic.
But I do have two older stick shift cars,
including the DeLorean that everybody's probably tired of hearing about.
Can I can I pop in here real quick?
You know, these three, you know, she she she buys cars
that also are kind of verbs, right?
So the Chevy Blazer, she's blazing a trail out West,
you know, not unlike a covered wagon.
Then she's exploring in the Ford and then she's going to go cruising
in her next automobile.
So it's very this is very.
Yeah, it's like you're kind of like your Magellan or something.
Anyway, sorry, go ahead.
Right.
Yeah, so yeah, so you you went to an explorer
and I think there were obviously cars in between.
But what are your daily drivers
and save the best for last, which is actually the older oldest car?
Yeah, so so well, with the Explorer,
I drove that thing till it was pretty much dead.
And my dream car at that point was an old Land Cruiser FJ 60.
My time in Colorado is when I was introduced to them for the first time.
I kind of fell in love with those old trucks.
And I had some friends who drove them and I had an experience
where I actually depended on one to get me safely to where I needed to go.
And I realized how awesome those trucks were.
So I ended up buying one, a 1985 Land Cruiser 12 years ago.
And I bought it on eBay, which was well, no way.
So I didn't see him.
Yes, yes.
But the guy who the guy who was selling it had lots of pictures,
lots of great descriptions.
So I felt like I was he was pretty fair about things.
So I bought that and I've been driving that for a long time.
It was my daily driver for a few years and it was awesome.
And, you know, on the highway, it would maybe go up to about 65
and start to shake a little bit.
So that was kind of maxed out.
But, you know, driving around here in Easton, you know,
I'm not really on the highway much.
I'm, you know, five minutes from work, so I didn't have to drive
on the highway too much.
But I wanted to get it was an absolute necessity
that it was going to be a six shift again.
I had to have I had to have standard, just more interesting,
more fun to drive.
So I've had that for years and it's had the engine rebuilt
and then it's had some more work done recently where I had it
with James and he got everything all tuned up ready to go
and it drives so well.
And I do have another car right now.
I do Toyota Highlander, but that's been in the shop.
So I've been driving the Land Cruiser for the past week
and it's really fun to drive.
What color is the Land Cruiser?
It is red.
I was going to say it's got to be red.
Yeah, it's red here.
Yeah, I know, right?
You know, that's funny because I never really thought about that.
I guess my Explorer was silver, but yeah, the other ones
were all like some.
Yeah, that's what you are.
You're kind of this bright, exploring, big truck,
land yacht person.
That's what you are.
You're you're you you want to throw back to those
to the the the ancient explorers.
They would just get in a ship.
You know, the way that you want to go, you know,
you get in your Land Cruiser and go marauding.
Right, like these they would just get in a ship
and it's all around the year.
They wouldn't care.
They would just let's go.
Let's go to new worlds.
You know, it's fantastic.
It's so fun and just makes me happy to drive it.
You know, I've considered selling it over the years
and I can't quite do it.
It just it makes me smile when I'm in it.
It's fun just driving around town.
People give me a thumbs up.
You know, parking lots.
Somebody will comment on the truck.
So it's really it's really fun to drive.
But yeah, I can't get rid of it.
High landing could also be a verb.
What are you doing this weekend?
I'm going Highlanding Highlanding Highlanding Highlanding.
Sorry, go ahead.
Well, well chosen words.
In fact, the 1980 the FJ 60 Toyota
Land Cruiser was called the Samurai, I believe, in Japan.
Really automotive knowledge.
I dig that, if you will.
Samurai, OK, and so that that car just curious, if you know,
has a four liter inline six.
Is that correct?
If you know, Megan, my I don't know.
OK, that's all right.
Does it take diesel?
No, or regular, regular.
OK, so it's probably a four liter inline six.
Yeah, really, really, really hearkens back.
Would it would a great vehicle?
There's some somebody in my neighborhood has one.
I just got to find them when they're outside
and see if they want to be on the show as well.
But I don't want to talk to anyone.
Yeah. Yeah.
So dream cars, are we about ready to start talking about dream cars or?
Yeah, yeah.
I mean, I think she has one of her dream cars, right?
For sure. Yes, that was that was it.
You know, people are like, what?
But yeah, that was my dream car.
Well, I heard that it changed, though.
You have a new dream car.
We're dreaming of something new
and has nothing to do with the land cruising,
highlanding, blazing, jeeping or marauding.
What what what is our new?
What do you want next?
So I've always really liked
Maserati's for whatever reason.
I mean, I say it always, but just in the past, I don't know,
12 years or so, I've kind of noticed them there.
You know, they're not all that common,
but they have a cool look to them.
So that's just something that I'm Maserati.
Maserati.
It's like the same.
There's a great song with Maserati.
Yes, but I do like them.
They've got a pretty, a pretty unique look.
And yeah, they're not as popular as, you know,
some of the other brands you see around town.
So we'll see.
I don't know if I'll ever get to that.
But boy, those Italians can really do styling.
Pante shoes, suits, churches, OK, cars, goodness.
They're you know, it's funny you mentioned that
because there was there was one for sale
at not an insane price, not far from me.
And I thought it was just beautiful.
It was gray and it was the Ghibli.
And and I wanted to go drive it.
And I thought, no, if you go drive it, you're going to buy it.
And it's a terrible idea because I want to make it a daily driver.
And then, you know, the oxygen sensor is probably
three thousand dollars to switch out on this stupid thing.
So I was able to disengage, you know, as you as you go through life,
you know how you have these fatal flaws?
They're kind of embedded deep in your DNA.
And you're just like, yeah, we can't mess with that
because it's this kryptonite, right?
So you got to just kind of stay away from these behaviors
that are going to get you in trouble.
But I was was on my bicycle today and I saw I saw a white one go in
turning and boy, just look at the the the swoops and the curves of the car.
It's just so attracted to the eye and distinctive and different.
And I do think that the little Trident, you know, the little Trident.
What do they call it?
The little symbol on the car is so distinctive and different.
It makes me want seafood, frankly.
What do you think?
Doug, are we on to something or no?
I don't know about that.
But, well, you know, I could go for some oysters right now.
For listener land, if we have anybody with a Maserati obsession,
Maserati background love to love to talk to you or if you have a referral.
Yeah, it's good that Maserati is kind of a weird long word
that begins with M, my last name, I won't say it, but it's also a weird
long word that begins with M.
And I thought that was always a little bit of a little bit of an interesting point there.
So let's move on.
Hey, are we OK to move on causes here, partner?
Because she has a great one.
And when we OK, so for listener land, if you come on the show,
you fill out a little bit of a form and it sends us some some of your
the information, like what were your cars, you know, and any causes that you have.
And Megan wrote something really beautiful.
And if it's OK with you, Megan and Doug, I would just like,
can I just read it verbatim?
We've actually never had this happen before.
Is that OK, Megan?
Sure. Yeah.
And so this is about hospice.
And I will let her talk about the organization that she's involved with.
And actually, they're doing something really neat at the end of November.
And when you hear this episode, we were going to drop it ahead of time
so that you can go to this if you'd like.
So about hospice and about the senior citizens in this country.
Megan wrote not really a cause, but I do wish more people,
especially young people, would give elderly people more time, respect and patience.
Most of us will be there someday.
And it's a whole different world after all those years.
I feel like they are so often brushed aside so easily as if they have nothing to offer.
We should help them when they need help navigating a more modern world,
listening to their sayings and their stories, knowing the joy they have in telling them.
They will probably give us a lesson or a glimpse of what life was like way back when.
And I think that is just beautiful.
And if I can say something here, you know, you only get to be old if you're lucky.
A lot of people don't even make it there.
I am actually just we were, I won't tell you my age, but
a high school classmate of mine passed away, lived on the West Coast, passed away,
recently shock, right?
You only get to get old if you're lucky.
And I think what you wrote was just beautiful.
So please tell us a little bit about where you were, what they do
and how this came into your life, please.
Oh, okay. Well, thank you.
So I work at Talbot Hospice.
So it's a hospice over on the eastern shore of Maryland.
And I am the volunteer coordinator there.
And I've been there for five years.
And prior to that, I had been at another nonprofit in town,
managing an elder law project where we were trying to get older people,
their wills and powers of attorney.
And I really just enjoyed the time that I got to spend with older people,
just hearing their stories, hearing their one liners,
so much about what life was like.
And you realize the importance and the lives that they have lived.
And if you can just take the time to listen to them
and you're going to get something back,
you're going to get a good laugh, they're going to teach you something
and you're going to be better off for it.
And I really enjoy my job at Talbot Hospice.
As I said, I'm the volunteer coordinator.
So I work with the volunteers,
but I meet a lot of the patients and the families and just amazing people.
And I absolutely love being there.
And for a long time, I like old things.
I like old people.
And it's a good place for me to be.
And I think that is truly, that is just God's work.
That is the work of angels, what people in hospice do.
And you know, it takes a team.
So everything y'all do to lift that up and make that work,
to me, is just so beautiful.
And a couple of years ago,
my father's long-term girlfriend passed away.
It was a sudden, it was a sudden thing, cancer.
But the hospice people that were there,
he was telling me just from another world,
I mean, real life heroes.
So you were mentioning to us earlier that
there was a special event going on here.
And as we sort of guide the podcast show here
to gently to the off ramp,
I wanted to have you tell us a little bit
about what's happening at the end of November
with your organization.
Sure.
So every year, there's the Festival of Trees here in Easton.
And it's put on by the Friends of Hospice.
And they're actually a separate nonprofit organization.
And they do the Festival of Trees.
But everything that they, all the money that they raise
goes directly to Talbot Hospice.
So it's beautiful.
It's held at the Tidewater here in Easton.
And local people can buy trees and decorate them.
And then they've got the show for the weekend
right after Thanksgiving.
So starting that Saturday, the 30th.
Tuesday.
And you can go to the Tidewater and see this room
that looks like an absolute winter wonderland
with all of the trees.
And it is, it's absolutely beautiful.
And Friends of Hospice has been doing this
for I think 30 to 40 years
and raised a lot of money for Talbot Hospice,
which is wonderful.
I love that.
Thank you for that.
And if you want to learn more, we can probably,
yeah, we could, okay.
So Talbot Hospice, that's T-A-L-B-O-T hospice.org.
And I'm sure they will have more information.
We're going to put this, these links
and this information, the show notes.
So if you're, if you're checking this out on,
we'll have all this there that you can,
that you can link to.
So Megan, it was wonderful to meet you.
Thank you for taking time to talk to us.
And I have to tell you that I'm slightly annoyed
that the Bills are doing so well.
And my New Orleans Saints just fired their head coach today.
But you know what?
You're a wonderful and delightful person.
And I can't hold it against you that you were successful.
Well, you know, Bills fans have been through a lot
over the years.
I've been a diehard Bills fan.
I had a rough go, you know, in the early 90s.
Well, I'm proud of you.
Always proud of somebody for sticking with their team.
That's kind of the way I've been.
From Louisiana originally with my Saints.
So, hey, I want to wish you all good things.
Have a great rest of the season.
And you are welcome on our show anytime.
Thank you.
Thank you so much, guys.
All right.
Well, you have just heard the high-reving,
low-mileage, late model goes to 11.
Heard round the world authoritative podcast
on automotive nostalgia.
He is Doug at CarsLove.com.
I am Christian at CarsLove.com.
She was, most importantly, Megan.
And, hey, please, if you like what you hear,
please follow and tell a friend we only get to grow
and keep doing this if we widen the tent.
Okay, so check out our link tree at linktr.ee slash CarsLove.
I'll give that to you again.
Linktr.ee slash CarsLove.com.
You can see all of our online presences.
And, hey, I'm sure we'll see you
at the next local car show we go to.
Doug wanted to sneak something in here.
What was it, partner?
It was info at CarsLove.com for anything you want to know,
or just hit us up.
Hit us up separately at either Doug at CarsLove.com,
Christian at CarsLove.com.
Thank you for listening.
Keep the love a side down.
And we'll see you next week.
About this episode
Megan shares her journey with Jeeps and her dream car, a vintage Land Cruiser FJ60, which she bought on eBay. The episode dives into her family's Jeep culture, learning to drive stick shift, and the nostalgia tied to these vehicles. The hosts also discuss the importance of respecting and listening to the elderly, highlighting Megan's work with Talbot Hospice and their upcoming Festival of Trees event. With humor and heartfelt stories, this episode captures the essence of automotive passion and personal connections.
Original notes
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia!
Megan grew up in a Buffalo-area Jeep family—her dad's CJ-7 plowed snow and pulled stumps before becoming the siblings' shared ride. Learning stick shift on that family Wrangler sparked a lifelong love affair with manual transmissions and 4x4s.
After heading West with a Chevy Blazer, then a base-model Ford Explorer (the only way to get stick shift), Megan discovered her dream vehicle in Colorado: the 1985 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ60. Friends drove them. One got her safely where she needed to go in rough conditions. She was sold.
Twelve years ago, Megan did what any rational person does when they find their dream car—bought it sight unseen on eBay. Red, six-speed manual, with tons of photos and honest descriptions from the seller. The gamble paid off spectacularly.
That FJ60 became her daily driver around Easton, Maryland, earning thumbs-up and parking lot compliments constantly. With a rebuilt engine and recent tune-up from James McRae's shop, it still runs beautifully. Megan can't bring herself to sell it—even with a Maserati now on her dream list.
Currently? She's the volunteer coordinator at Talbot Hospice, where her love of "old things and old people" finds perfect expression.
Megan's favorite is "Rust to Riches – James’s Restoration Secrets and Craftsmanship Journey" https://pod.link/1733902541/episode/48f07efddc0bf7859f40c85efc58d654
Her story is an empowering one for anyone who’s eyed a classic 4x4 and wondered, “Could I really use that every day?” Megan’s answer is a resounding yes – with passion, a bit of mechanical empathy, and the desire for an adventurous, emotionally fulfilling driving experience, you absolutely can.
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Don't Forget to Rate & Review to keep the engines of automotive storytelling—and personal restoration—running strong.
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