Hey, Handsome, That's One Big Four Wheeler, How 'Bout A Ride?

I guess you could say they are paying me to review magazines so I shouldn’t discriminate just because it may be the last magazine I would ever read. However, it deserves to be reviewed and I will hold my judgment until the review is finished.

I am reviewing the July 2001 issue of Four Wheeler, which has the subtitle of “Extreme Gears for Extreme Wheelin.” The cover tells me that there are reviews of at least one car with which I am familiar and that is the Jeep Grand Cherokee so perhaps it isn’t all extreme.

This 154-page magazine is broken up into the following sections:
Special Sections
Features
Road Test
Tech
Travel and Adventure
Departments

I am immediately impressed as I always am when letters (In the Departments Section) are responded to by the editor (s). In this magazine they aren’t just responded to with one line. In some cases there is a whole story that goes along with the letter.

Should I assume this magazine is geared for men based on what is a sexist ad right in the beginning? The ad is of chewing tobacco called Rooster with the heading “Where’s The Chicks?” Ok...I’m still not judging it. If this is geared for men, then many men wouldn’t mind an ad like this. My husband would, which is one of the reasons I am married to him!

I want to take a look at some of the articles but just perusing the contents I can see this is not for the novice driver of four wheels! There is a lot of technical jargon in almost every article so if you want to learn about driving, this may not be the place to start.

•One of the articles in the Special Section area is called “ Gear, Glorious Gears...an intro to gearing theory and practice.” This article really does an excellent job of explaining otherwise inexplicable terms to me. When I read “Gears make it possible to transfer rotational motion from one plane to another,” I thought to myself, this is “Gearing Theory 101?” but in fact the author, Trent Riddle, goes on to the explain the above sentence starting with, “In other words when the term gear ration is used", he then says, “Fine, but what’s gear ratio, you ask?”

This article also gives a comprehensive list of places that specialize in gearing upgrades.

•Under Features, “Just An Ol’ Farm Truck” will help you learn if 6 x 6 traction is better than 4 x 4 traction. I won’t pretend to understand much of what this magazine is talking about, but I can tell that if the subject interested me, then I would know what 6 x 6 versus 4 x 4 is and I would think this is a well-written, comprehensive, easy-to understand, not complicated article.

The layout of the magazine is very easy to follow. You don’t have to search for articles or wade through a lot of unnecessary information. The magazine is full of full-length articles.

•Another article in Feature is a "Guide to the Scout" which gets into the history of this vehicle, the changes through the years and various Scout specifications. If this is your thing, you’ll like it.

•Under “Road Test” we read about the 2001 Jeep Cherokee, a vehicle to which I can relate. I don’t own one, but they are a mainstream vehicle. I found it interesting to read their version of why this is a dying breed; of course, it is dying out because of the popularity of SUVs. A very interesting article that explores the Jeep in detail.

•You will also find some practical, helpful articles such as “Helpful Gas Saving Tips," a really interesting article on “Alive and Wheelin In Death Valley” where you will find a lot of helpful information if you are driving in that area including 4 x4 trails in the area.

This magazine comes out monthly. On line at www.fourwheeler.com you will find a subscription offer of $12.00 for 10 months and 2 months free (or $12 for the year) making the magazine $1.00 an issue.

In summary, truth be told this is not a magazine I am subscribing to in the near or distant future. If you found this review helpful and interesting then the magazine might for you. There is no age range, in my opinion. Any one who is driving and enjoys reading about these vehicles will enjoy the magazine. I would actually love my husband to get rid of his truck and get a 4 x 4 so we can ride on the beach that only 4 x 4 vehicles are allowed. I may just leave this magazine around for a while and let him get the hint!

I am rating this 5 stars because it does an excellent job with the subject matter.

If you have any questions I haven't answered about the magazine you can check at the website or feel free to e-mail me. I’ll try to find the information for you from the magazine.