Two Lane Desktop

The Land Cruiser is one of Toyota's most iconic models for off-road vehicles.  The name started on the line of FJ cruisers sold throughout the world and takes cues from the Jeep in the U.S. for a rugged off-road machine.  By the 1980's times were changing and luxury SUV's like the Jeep Grand Wagoneer and Range Rover were starting to arrive on the scene so Toyota decided to split the Land Cruiser line up: the rugged FJ platform for the basic Land Cruiser offered in various cab configurations, and the luxurious Land Cruiser that was the only model sold in the U.S. to take on the Wagoneer and Range Rover.  Even times have changed as more and more SUV's get the luxurious treatment: even Lexus got SUV's of their own including the Land Cruiser.  Once again another Land Cruiser spin-off, this time a smaller SUV called the Prado, or the GX series by Lexus in the U.S. Siku 2012 Land Cruiser The current Land Cruiser went for a major redesign ...

Another formidable player in the European van category, and one of the best-known, is the Sprinter van.  Even before adopting the Sprinter name in 1995 the Mercedes large van has had a long history in commercial van sales in Europe and now in the U.S.  Here are three different versions from Maisto in the pre-Maisto MC Toys version, the Greenlight version used from the defunct Malibu International brand, and the Siku version with a pickup bed. Maisto Mercedes TN van As Europe was starting to grow back from the devastation of World War II there was a market for a home-grown van without having to go the expensive route of importing U.S. made vans that were not designed for narrow European streets.  Mercedes, a company most recognized for the prestige luxury cars, somehow got into that calling with the TN van line.  While it shared some styling elements with the car line this was a model of its own with a more boxy look and using a ladde...