Posted: 10/26/16
The 2000 Jeep Cherokee. Watching the livestream of the release of Axial's new SCX10 II platform brought back flooding memories of my high school days. I lusted, dreamed, and tried to finagle a way that somehow, someway I could own that Cherokee. My dad worked at a Jeep dealership so I had spent many a days walking the lot, reading the brochure, picking out option parts, changing my mind, and then picking different parts and accessories. I had the entire build down to the lug nuts and blinker bulbs picked out, dreaming and wishing it would be in my driveway one day.
Throughout high school, I spent many weekends working on my buddy Alan’s ’89 bright yellow Cherokee. It had 33” BFG Mud Terrains and a custom suspension created à la carte with parts from multiple brands; I will still never forget installing the formerly awesome Tereflex Revolver rear shackles. We had a silly fascination with articulation and slamming wheels into the wells to get that super coveted “tuck” (A dream still being chased after by Axial’s own John Schultz). Instead of chasing girls and going for ice cream, we were chasing bolts and building wheeler dreams. It was a blast wheeling in his Jeep and it fueled my desire even more to have a Cherokee of my own.
Pulling the SCX10 II RTR out of the box was like looking into the dreams of my high school self. Almost every part replicated is the way I was going to build mine. The gray was so close to the factory Metallic Silver, the black beadlocks, black bumpers and the BFG All Terrains; deja vu to 2002. I couldn’t hold back the stupid grin I had across my face as I looked over this rad new machine. My gawking was so intense my wife even commented, “Are you going to drive it or just look at it?”
I had watched how it performed at AXIALFEST this summer and I was excited to see how it would perform on my local stomping grounds. I grabbed a battery and headed for the granite slabs of Northern Utah. Out of the box, it's an amazing rig with turning, climbing, looks, etc. I was in love after just the first climb. I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do as I never ended up owning a Cherokee but I have never lost the love and admiration for the XJ. Thank you Axial for allowing me to take a journey down memory lane.
More info on the Axial Jeep Cherokee RTR can be found here:
AX90047 – SCX10 II™ 2000 Jeep® Cherokee 1/10th Scale Electric 4WD – RTR
