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Like Mitch said. If you want bare bones why are you looking for a new rig? The best overall choice is the Jeep XJ aka Cherokee. With the 4.0 I-6 it will just keep on going as long as you want to drive it. The best combination is the Dana 44 rear and Dana 30 front. Add a locker to the rear and it will go wherever you point it. All parts are endlessly available and every grease monkey on the planet can fix them. Best of all, you can get a museum quality version for $5000 and a million or so lesser examples from $1000 up.
Drawbacks? No frame rails. "A" pillars do not support the top in a rollover (this is true for a lot of cars and trucks). No airbags.
Why can't you buy an old school 4 wheeler anymore? Because, anymore when someone buys a 4X4, they also want a Cadillac. Ever notice how most new trucks now aren't spartan like they used to be? So sure you get the 4X4 and you also get crushed velvet seats with heaters in them, power everything, heated mirrors and all the bells and whistled you'd get on a Caddy...on your 4X4. Why is this? Only reason I can think of is b/c they want the best of all worlds in one vehicle. Also I think it has to do with people not wanting the harsh ride of solid axles.
I'd say the vast majority of the car/truck buying public doesn't travel on any back roads that the typical 4x4 SUV or Crossover can't handle. Most of them don't even leave pavement. On top of that, the minimum level of accepted equipment has been rising due to healthy competition. If any one manufacturer had their way, we'd be paying the same price we do now without any of the bells and whistles but competition takes care of the consumer.
I am disappointed that I cannot buy a "real" 4wd utility vehicle anymore. The last hold out was the Jeep Wrangler, but even that ride has gone soft in it's latest incarnation, complete with power windows, locks, and a cushy interior, not to mention a body tub so thin I could dent it with my pinkie finger.
Why doesn't anyone sell a new hardcore, simple, no nonsense and very seriously overbuilt 4wd vehicle in America anymore, a la Landcruiser 70 or Land Rover Defender!? I need giant axles, metal floorpans and bulletproof transfer cases, not cupholders and swoopy, squishy dashes. I want a vehicle I could tear apart and put back together with a crescent wrench and a hammer, not bluetooth, GPS, XM, heated this or that and other "luxury" accessories!
It's not like we don't have the terrain where one would be useful.... I also can't be the only one that wants something like that. Or am I?
you're not. i wish they still made trucks, too.
and by that i mean durable, capable, simple, and cheap.
i don't care how capable they may be, nobody with good sense would spend that much on a brand new truck, and then take it anywhere significant off road.
like the hummer, this one is really marketed to the show-offs. people who work for a living aren't buying $50,000 raptors and hummers.
It's nearly impossible (is impossible) to find one without carpet and with vinyl seats to just use as a farm truck anymore.
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