10 YEARS AGO – MAY 2012

THIS time 10 years ago, Marcus Craft took over the editorship of the magazine after returning from a four-year hiatus in South Africa.

The lead-in feature story covered the 4.8 petrol V8 Cruiser that had just been released in Australia, while other newcomers also got a mention including the Foton and the beginning of the Chinese invasion.

The Mitsubishi Challenger and Triton were compared, with the Challenger taking a major part of the accolades; I mean, who would want a ute when a wagon offers more comfort and on-road driveability? Maybe today, with the great improvements in utes, the story wouldn’t be so clear-cut?

We also took a close look at couple of superb aftermarket rigs – a GU Patrol and a Troopy, both of which still make great custom vehicles today.

There was, as normal, a great mix of travel yarns from Keep River in the NT, the Bay of Fires in Tassie, Eungella in Queensland and the Capeto-cape region in WA.