Ew ew ew, look what I spotted in Maryland

[Buick61]

We've been invaded....









Sorry for the poor quality, I had to get out my camera, turn it on, aim it, shoot the photo, and clear the intersection all in a contemporaneous fashion.

[rhvfd10]

friggin diplomats...

What is it though? it looks like a cross between a toyota echo and a trailblazer.

[BrickTamland]

It's a Land Cruiser Prado. We know it as the Lexus GX 470. They sell it in Latin America and Australasia.

Well, if a diplomat gets to have a right-hand drive car, a born-on-U.S.-soil citizen should get to have one, too. I am going to import a Mondeo ST 220!

[tomprice]

Originally Posted by BrickTamland

It's a Land Cruiser Prado. We know it as the Lexus GX 470. They sell it in Latin America and Australasia.

Well, if a diplomat gets to have a right-hand drive car, a born-on-U.S.-soil citizen should get to have one, too. I am going to import a Mondeo ST 220!

It's also sold in the UK and Europe as the Land Cruiser, alongside the older Amazon variant. That one is particularly disgusting though.

And get a Mondeo ST TDCi - all the performance but a bit less costly

[t-rex]

Whew!

For a moment I thought it was the ghastly Dadi Shuttle!!

[drew630]

Eww is right!! What is the little mirror on the front for anyways? I have always wondered.

[member12]

Oh cool. It's like the Lexus GX/Toyo 4runner's cousin from europe.

The Japanese market Trailblazers have that funny mirror up front too. What the hell is that for?

[Bravada]

Originally Posted by t-rex

Whew!

For a moment I thought it was the ghastly Dadi Shuttle!!

Same here - a regular Prado doesn't strike me as particularly... striking (though at second glance I realized what's "wrong" with it...)

[Htay7500]

Originally Posted by member12

Oh cool. It's like the Lexus GX/Toyo 4runner's cousin from europe.

The Japanese market Trailblazers have that funny mirror up front too. What the hell is that for?

its a blindspot mirror ( I believe) that is gov-required on all suvs like the CRV and larger in the japanese market.

where did you see this buick61? as far as diplomat cars go, I've seen a hyundai terracan, and a rhd RAV4. and since DC is a close distance from here, its no clue that they could be ambassadors. I never knew at first rhd cars are allowed to be driven here. parallel parking can be a ..... when driving in an environment that drives on the right, so is making a left turn.


I don't think its a bad car, its not appealing, but thats certainly not the point. if I had to go around the world, the land cruiser would be a good choice since its easy to fix, repair, and go around rough terrain.

[Buick61]

Originally Posted by Htay7500

where did you see this buick61? as far as diplomat cars go, I've seen a hyundai terracan, and a rhd RAV4. and since DC is a close distance from here, its no clue that they could be ambassadors. I never knew at first rhd cars are allowed to be driven here. parallel parking can be a ..... when driving in an environment that drives on the right, so is making a left turn.

It was taken on December 12, 2007 at approximately 11:40am at the intersection of E. Jefferson Street and Rollins Avenue in Rockville, Maryland.

[t-rex]

Those accessory "blindspot" mirrors are just as likely a strange Japanese fad as anything required by law. It's hard to argue the Japanese don't have an affinity for things that seem very strange to westerners.

[Htay7500]

Originally Posted by Buick61

It was taken on December 12, 2007 at approximately 11:40am at the intersection of E. Jefferson Street and Rollins Avenue in Rockville, Maryland.

oic... I think i've seen this car before, nowhere near recent though, probably on Mass ave. but I saw a european ford van (looked late '00) in rockville towncenter in MD ave. LOTS of diplomat cars have been around MoCo recently.

[rearden82]

Originally Posted by t-rex

Those accessory "blindspot" mirrors are just as likely a strange Japanese fad as anything required by law. It's hard to argue the Japanese don't have an affinity for things that seem very strange to westerners.

I don't know, pretty much every 80s or older Japanese-market car I've seen has those mirrors.

They look weird, but I think they're in a better spot than our door-mounted mirrors. They have a better view of blind spots, you don't have to take your eyes as far off the road, and they'd be easier to adjust properly. One of my pet peeves is that when I drive someone else's car, they almost always have the outside mirrors pointed AT THE SIDES OF THE CAR. I suppose that's nice for making sure your body panels haven't mysteriously vanished, but I'm more concerned about being able to see if someone's in my blind spot.

[SnapOversteer]

The LC Prado is what the FJ Cruiser is based off of, chassis wise. It's fully boxed.

[member12]

Okay, now the million dollar question:

How do we get that guy into a GMC, Hummer, or Chevrolet SUV?