Thread: Are 4WDs too high-tech for the bush?

Soy,dairy milk goes straight to my arse. Pat

I wonder if we are missing an important point here.

Maybe instead of asking whether modern 4WDs are too high tech for the outback, we should be asking if they are an appropriate vehicle to maximise the experience of travelling in the outback.

As I told colleagues when I returned from the aforementioned diagonal crossing of Australia in my 1973 LWB 4cyl petrol Series III, if you did the trip in a more modern vehicle, you would miss out on a lot.

In a better sealed vehicle, you would miss the smells of the variety of flora and would not get to enjoy the dust that is an integral part of so much of the centre of Australia.

With air conditioning, you would have no idea of the way the time of year and the time of day produces such a huge variation in temperatures in Central Australia.

With better suspension, you would not get a full appreciation of the difference between sealed suburban streets and the rocks, corrugations, sand and washaways that characterise so many outback roads.

In a faster vehicle you would not have a realistic idea of the vast distances between centres of civilisation that are so much a part of the outback experience.

Furthermore in a quieter vehicle you would have the added pressure of feeling under some obligation to carry on scintillating conversation with your passenger/s instead of being able to concentrate on your surroundings.

It is entirely possible that an all-singing, all-dancing, bells and whistles modern 4WD could complete the trip, but you would miss out on a lot. You might as well stay at home.

Geeze Allan your good at stirring the pot. ...

I'll make sure next time I'm driving somewhere to wind down the window so I can appreciate the dust and the many various smells so I'm more in touch with the real Australian bush ...

You just need one of those 'smells of the bush' things hanging from the rear view...with the fluffy dice.

When driving up the hills, near Kilcoy, we have the windows down, so we can hear the bellbirds. And smell the trees. Wouldn't do it on a dusty road, though. Haven't seen any D3's or D4's with the windows down. Or modern defenders, for that matter. How can their dogs stick their nose out into that delicious air , poor things. Bob

Bob it's really quite simple us Disco owners don't let our dogs hang their heads out of the windows for a very simple reason.

Didn't you know that if you let either a Poodle or Chihuahua hang their heads out of a moving cars windows they tend to fall out?

Why? ... Cause we can't hold onto them and a hot Latte at the same time and drive. ...

Originally Posted by TerryO

Bob it's really quite simple us Disco owners don't let our dogs hang their heads out of the windows for a very simple reason.

Didn't you know that if you let either a Poodle or Chihuahua hang their heads out of a moving cars windows they tend to fall out?

Why? ... Cause we can't hold onto them and a hot Latte at the same time and drive. ...

Classic! good one, Bob

Originally Posted by TerryO

Bob it's really quite simple us Disco owners don't let our dogs hang their heads out of the windows for a very simple reason.

Didn't you know that if you let either a Poodle or Chihuahua hang their heads out of a moving cars windows they tend to fall out?

Why? ... Cause we can't hold onto them and a hot Latte at the same time and drive. ...

And talk to our hair dressers on the mobile . Pat