First Ever Off-Road Cars & Coffee
4x4's and Coffee
When I started hearing friends complain about their highly-modified rigs being turned away from Cars and Coffee in Irvine, I knew it was just a matter of time before someone did something about it. To be fair, most people who like to drool over exotic luxury vehicles don't have the same level of appreciation for a vehicle that can be purchased on any dealer showroom floor, even if it does have tens of thousands (or more) of modifications. Josh, the owner of Icon Motoring in San Juan Capistrano, tired of heading up to Cars and Coffee Irvine and never knowing if he'd be let in or turned away, decided to kick off a similar event just for offroaders. Last Saturday he hosted the inaugural "4x4's and Coffee" in Icon's showroom parking lot. The idea is to provide a welcoming environment where a mix of brands can come, with the following guidelines:
- All vehicles must be modified, unless 1995 and older (classics are welcome!)
- All two wheel drive off-road vehicles are allowed
- Enduro/Dual sport motorcycles are welcome
Examples include: Hummer, Jeep, trucks, rally cars, Land Rover, Land Cruiser, Willys, Bronco, Blazer, monster trucks, prerunners, rock crawlers or any special one-off vehicle.
Josh told me that even vehicles for sale are welcome to participate and hopes people will take advantage of the opportunity. He intends to hold the event every two weeks, and when there are enough steady participants to fill the large lot, the event will move to a larger nearby facility. The event started at 7:00 a.m. and Icon Motoring provided coffee and donuts to all participants. With many off-roaders in Moab attending Easter Jeep Safari, it may not have been the best date to encourage strong attendance, but there was still a nice mix of vehicles - and I was glad to see that, for once, the parking lot wasn't overtaken by Jeep Wranger JKs. There were several beautifully restored and modified Hummer H1s. I know that we Jeep owners like to make fun of H2s and H3s out on the trail (all in good fun!) but H1s definitely get respect. I was invited to sit in one and could not believe how much room was in the driver cockpit! I drooled over the CTIS (Central Tire Inflation System) that allows the driver to remotely adjust the tire pressure from inside the vehicle.
This Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser is a classic beauty!
About as custom as they come, I spotted the Willys badge on the grill of this rig and was scratching my head trying to figure it out. The owner, laughing, explained that he had purchased a 1961 Willys to restore, but rather than spending a bunch of cash replacing all its sheet metal, he used a 1987 Suzuki Samurai body instead.
Customized off road trucks were represented with a Ford Raptor and Chevy Avalanche.
I never found the owner of this VW to get the details, but there’s clearly a lot of custom work in this buggy.
I went for a ride in a race-modified Polaris RZR XP 1000 out at King of the Hammers and I can tell you that these things are a LOT of fun!
And of course the Jeeps, some built for show and some well-used.
“Which one is yours?” I was asked and I pointed to my 2DR JK. “Looks like you use it,” he said. “Yes I do!” I replied with a big smile on my face. In my opinion, that’s the best compliment you can give an owner of an off-road rig. I hope this event gains traction and continues to grow. It was a great opportunity to see other off-road rigs up close and spend time talking with other owners. No matter the brand, we all share the same love of adventure, the outdoors and pride in our vehicles! For more information check out the 4x4's and Coffee Facebook page.
