What Vehicle Would Be The Best?

It could be any scenario or any vehicle. I just need to know if I am too prepare. I think a jeep of some kind, how' bout you?

 

Thanks guys, I think that lonewolf makes a good point on the blend in thing, but I think it would be better to have a off-road vehicle of sorts.We are four so a jeep would do it. I am not the best with cars, for I do not take any interest in them, but I do know my fair share about cars. I do think that if you live in the woods somewhere (like you Keith) that a jeep, pickup truck and maybe like a dirt bike would all be great vehicles to have. The jeep would be great for taking more people at once off-road, the pick up truck would be good for getting stuff and the dirt bike for many things, including fun!

 

If you are live in the east or west coast in an urban area, your best bet I may be a Subaru or other small vehicle with all wheel drive. A Subaru station wagon, Honda CR-V, or similar vehicle are reliable, durable, will fit your family and won't stand out at all.

If you insist on an SUV it's important to remember that Jeeps are primarily hype and a brand name. In the end they are made by Daimler-Chrysler and have a number of big problems such as transmissions, electronics, frequent maintenance, etc. Having driven a Dodge (same company) at work, I would never considering owning anything made by Daimler-Chrysler. To top it off, many of their supposed "trail rated" vehicles are actually not trail rated at all. They are just badged that way. Towing capacity, due to a short wheel base and poor suspension, are significantly lower than comparably priced vehicles. I have several friends than own Jeeps (Laredos and Wranglers) and they simply don't love up to the hype.

A much better option would be something like an FJ-Cruiser or a Toyota Highlander. Although the FJ Cruisers are not made anymore, they are considered a poor man's Land Rover. They are durable, robust, reliable and will fit your family of four. They also have a huge number of aftermarket accessories available. The Highlander is also on my list, for the same reasons. The Highlander can accept a snorkeling kit, heavy duty bumpers, a winch, heavy roof rack, etc.

If you watch any movie, race, TV show, etc that is set in Africa you will notice that everyone is in either Mercedes-Benz vehicles, Land Rovers or Land Cruisers. Mercedes-Benz doesn't offer the same line of vehicles in the US, so you can safely count them out. Land Rover and Toyota (Land Cruiser) can be acquired in the US. There is a reason you see these vehicles in Africa. Africa is one of the most unforgiving landscapes on the planet with extreme heat, sand, etc. If your car breaks down in parts of Africa, you die. Take that into consideration when picking your vehicle.

 

Thank you, that part doesn't show up on the mobile version.

That part of the advice still applies then. Avoid Daimler-Chrysler at all costs.

 

Hey Thanks guys, but any land rover isn't worth the time, because we had 1 then it broke down and no one could fix it and then we bought another one, which like the previous one gave problems and it too broke down.

 

Whatever your vehicle, make it a rather old war horse like a Dodge Power Wagon. After an EMP anything with electronics could be toast. You need an old distributor and a regular carburetor without computer control. I had an old truck that got some gas mileage. I had my mechanic replace the computer controlled carburetor with a mechanical one. The gas mileage went to pot and so did its energy. Yes, it would survive an EMP, yet I was so disappointed in it, the next time I did vehicle trading I threw it into the deal.

In any future wars, one of the first attack priorities is to electromagnetically pulse the nation under attack so as to fry all unprotected electronics in a vast area. The Soviets used to use vacuum tubes in their advanced aircraft because a tube will arc, then go back to working -- solid state chips fry and die. One can attempt to protect electronics with a Faraday cage. Any real war starts = electronics go bye-byes. Terrorists are planning to fry power grids and all electronics.

The major nuclear powers on Earth keep EMP bombs -- their sole purpose being to damage electronics. I know the U.S. has a fleet of EMP cruise missiles (they generate an awful EMP without using anything nuclear).

That said, it turns out that if the car has a steel body, that steel acts as a somewhat effective Faraday cage. Testing many cars has produced results indicating that many cars using electronics will not suffer fatal damage to their solid state run systems when exposed to a serious EMP. I don't know which vehicles are best at surviving, but the more steel, the better. Then too, if your garage and or its roof is steel, there's a bit of protection also. New microwave ovens will serve as a great Faraday cage for small electronic devices. Perchance one could keep safe a replacement computer integrated circuit for your truck!

Note that certain police and government agencies have been issued EMP guns to kill vehicles. A criminal is getting away, so nuke his car. Thus, nice to have an old mechanical / electrical vehicle. An old distributor will simply arc then go back to its work -- maybe causing a backfire, but certainly not death.

 

you don't want something that stands out too much, a truck or a jeep or a land rover would shout "prepper", you want something that the ordinary guy in the street drives, that dosent look out of place in the city or the country. if everyone in your area drives a pick up then buy one of those.

 

There are plenty of choices to be considerated when you want to ch0ose a car, like for example for work the ideal car is van due to large size and can carry heavy products, but for normal person that wants to buy it will probably define in the budget that person is willing to spend, then choosing the car can depending the format because check the length of any car you might be considering. You may well be limited by your garage or driveway. And don’t underestimate how hard it can be to find a parking space for a big car in today’s ever more congested towns and cities, then choose body style because the body style of a car can have a serious impact on just how good it is for you.

 

Here in Florida a jeep would blend right in, they are in abundance here. Whether it is new or old it would be considered the norm.
This scenario is for in case of an emergency flood situation or even offroad.
The Jeep Cherokee's from the 90's are known to "sink" and drive out of deep mud holes with minimal issue (considering water can go over the roof don't expect everything to be ok, mechanically they should be sound as long as they are properly prepared). An issue being getting water in the engine, which is quickly solved by the removal of the spark plug and crank of the motor, this process can be done in minutes depending on your skill level and toolbox. Most of the time you will need merely the appropriate socket, extension, and ratchet handle of course. I feel that this could be kept in the vehicle at all times. The old Cherokee's can be found for just a few hundred dollars and should have all seals and rubbers replaced/maintained. The jeeps are known to run well above 300K miles with no problems. 4x4 options would be great as well.
This post is not responsible for the damage to your vehicle nor am I inferring that you should attempt this. I am in no way advising you do this. But I do think considering a jeep is a great decision. I am sure more of this community can support some of the ideas spoken about here.