So, I drive by this Jalopnik author's house occasionally...

[Soup DeVille]

Anybody read David Tracy's stories in the adventures of Jeep ownership? Well, anyways; I drive by his house occasionally. You can tell its his because of the rotating pantheon of junk in the front yard. Don't get me wrong: its interesting junk. Its even sometimes desirable junk. But junk it is, and his stories of contending with the infamously conformist and suburban city he lives in are often more entertaining than his discoveries of Another Thing Wrong with one of his beloved Jeeps.

Anyways, this is noteworthy because today, there was a 100 series Land Cruiser parked where the junk usually is. So I looked up the story:

https://jalopnik.com/what-a-lifelong-jeep-owner-thinks-of-the-toyota-land-cr-1846683487

And I found it amusing how hard he looks for excuses to not keep it. Oh well, its a Jeep Thing. I wouldn't understand.

[Payman]

Ha ha yeah I follow David and his adventures. Fun to read.

[Payman]

One thing has bugged me though, especially with that dangerous POS USPS Jeep he drove to Moab and back: don't you need a safety done before you can plate it and drive it on the road? You guys are actually able to drive that crap on the highway?

[MrH]

So basically: The Lexus is actually well made, and my content is generated from fixing and dealing with shit boxes, so it's got to go

[MX793]

So basically: The Lexus is actually well made, and my content is generated from fixing and dealing with shit boxes, so it's got to go

It lacks character and thus the ownership experience is boring.  Wondering if you'll make it to your destination or if you'll have to perform a roadside repair is part of the fun.

[Soup DeVille]

One thing has bugged me though, especially with that dangerous POS USPS Jeep he drove to Moab and back: don't you need a safety done before you can plate it and drive it on the road? You guys are actually able to drive that crap on the highway?

In many states, yeah; No safety inspection required. California, New York, and most of the New England states are an exception.

[MX793]

One thing has bugged me though, especially with that dangerous POS USPS Jeep he drove to Moab and back: don't you need a safety done before you can plate it and drive it on the road? You guys are actually able to drive that crap on the highway?

Not sure about Michigan, but some states have no safety inspection.

[Soup DeVille]

So basically: The Lexus is actually well made, and my content is generated from fixing and dealing with shit boxes, so it's got to go

I take issue with his contention that its less capable off road. I won't say I've done anything super sketchy in mine; but I have pulled out an XJ that tried to follow me more than once.

[Soup DeVille]

Not sure about Michigan, but some states have no safety inspection.

No inspections in Michigan.

[AutobahnSHO]

zero inspections in Wyoming, Georgia or South Carolina. Yes in Virginia, NY, Maryland, and Utah.

Some counties (usually cities) also have emissions inspections, which vary from plugging into the computer to actually putting a meter on the tailpipe. 

[CaminoRacer]

zero inspections in Wyoming, Georgia or South Carolina. Yes in Virginia, NY, Maryland, and Utah.

Some counties (usually cities) also have emissions inspections, which vary from plugging into the computer to actually putting a meter on the tailpipe. 

Not in Utah anymore. Just emissions, no more safety.

I didn't register any of my cars here until they got rid of the safety inspection. They all would have passed, but I just didn't want to deal with it. Luckily the Bolt and El Camino don't have to do the emissions testing. (El Camino needs an antique plate to avoid it, they require it for anything newer than 1967 )

[AutobahnSHO]

Interesting. I'm mixed- I see some cars on the road that definitely shouldn't be. But it's a hassle.

And it's so weird what different places inspect vs others.

[shp4man]

I don't follow this guy, but Roadkill, a show on Motor Trend channel that has the same philosophy is all about driving junk cross country. I think it's their most popular show.

[FoMoJo]

It lacks character and thus the ownership experience is boring.  Wondering if you'll make it to your destination or if you'll have to perform a roadside repair is part of the fun.

I've driven a lot of cars when I've wondered whether it would make it to my destination, but it was never fun.

[MX793]

I've driven a lot of cars when I've wondered whether it would make it to my destination, but it was never fun.

Think of it more like the rush from skydiving or bungee jumping.

[RomanChariot]

Interesting. I'm mixed- I see some cars on the road that definitely shouldn't be. But it's a hassle.

And it's so weird what different places inspect vs others.

I almost always take my cars to places that only do inspections because they don't have a financial incentive to find problems with the car. One time when I was in college I took my car to a mechanic because they were offering discounted inspections. They put the car up on the rack, yanked on the  exhaust system with a pair of channel locks and poked into a bunch of areas that had nothing to do with a normal inspection. The guy that pulled the car in said I had a leaky axle seal that had contaminated the brake pads because he could feel it in the way the brakes behaved when he drove it 50 feet into the bay. They tallied up $1000 worth of required repairs for a $750 car. I went to the junk yard and picked up a wiring connector for the brakes lights that had gone bad and I inspected the brakes which showed no signs of contamination as their was no axle leak. Roughly $5 for parts and an inspection at a different location and I was back on the road.

[CaminoRacer]

I almost always take my cars to places that only do inspections because they don't have a financial incentive to find problems with the car. One time when I was in college I took my car to a mechanic because they were offering discounted inspections. They put the car up on the rack, yanked on the  exhaust system with a pair of channel locks and poked into a bunch of areas that had nothing to do with a normal inspection. The guy that pulled the car in said I had a leaky axle seal that had contaminated the brake pads because he could feel it in the way the brakes behaved when he drove it 50 feet into the bay. They tallied up $1000 worth of required repairs for a $750 car. I went to the junk yard and picked up a wiring connector for the brakes lights that had gone bad and I inspected the brakes which showed no signs of contamination as their was no axle leak. Roughly $5 for parts and an inspection at a different location and I was back on the road.

I found an emissions place that doesn't do repairs. They'll just do the inspection, but then you can get your registration renewed on the spot without dealing with the DMV. Super nice.

[MX793]

I've never encountered a shop that only does inspections.

[RomanChariot]

I found an emissions place that doesn't do repairs. They'll just do the inspection, but then you can get your registration renewed on the spot without dealing with the DMV. Super nice.

That is what the place that I go to does but I'm cheap so I register mine online rather than pay them to do it:)

[MX793]

I don't follow this guy, but Roadkill, a show on Motor Trend channel that has the same philosophy is all about driving junk cross country. I think it's their most popular show.

Roadkill tends to involve taking a junker and making stupid modifications, like dropping a crate engine in or some cobbed-together junkyard turbo add-on.

David Tracy is more like a broke Jeep nut and blogger who buys run down examples of uncommon Jeeps and then writes about his misadventures trying to fix them up or live with them day to day.

[FlatBlackCaddy]

I guess you have to follow him, because based on reading that only article linked in the OP, the guy sounds like a moron.

[MX793]

I guess you have to follow him, because based on reading that only article linked in the OP, the guy sounds like a moron.

Jeep diehards are like VW diehards.  A bit masochistic, the lot of them.

[Soup DeVille]

I guess you have to follow him, because based on reading that only article linked in the OP, the guy sounds like a moron.

I like following him because of the misadventures he gets into with his Jeeps (and the city).

His excuses here why he doesn't want the Land Cruiser are just funny though; when he has three non-running similar sized Jeeps in his driveway that are even slower.

[Morris Minor]

Not in Utah anymore. Just emissions, no more safety.

I didn't register any of my cars here until they got rid of the safety inspection. They all would have passed, but I just didn't want to deal with it. Luckily the Bolt and El Camino don't have to do the emissions testing. (El Camino needs an antique plate to avoid it, they require it for anything newer than 1967 )

They got rid of safety inspections in GA years ago. There's an annual emissions inspection in the 13 counties of Metro Atlanta. Nothing elsewhere in the state.
Safety inspections of drivers would have some worth. Inspecting vehicles is chasing up the wrong tree.