Mater is a 1999 Jeep Cherokee I picked up in October of ‘06. He’s the dog car, hauler of stuff, spare car, community transport, camper, winter hack, and general whipping-boy of the household. As much fun as the MINI is, I could never really come to terms with it as a jack of all trades, and missed the utility and go-anywhereness of an open-cabin 4×4.
Mater’s far from perfect; with over 143,000 miles on the clock, it seems that everything’s a little creaky and loose, but his body’s solid and his motor purrs. He’ll cruise at 80 comfortably, and still manages to eek out nearly 21 MPG. I don’t have any major projects or mods planned for him at this point, but I am hoping to do some very mild off-roading which may call for different tires and possibly a limited-slip diff. For now, I’m concentrating on general reliability, drivability, and comfort.
