1979 Jeep Cherokee Chief

Full-time four wheel drive (Dana 44 f&r)

Engine:  5.9 l OHV V8 (AMC 360 cid), 175 hp

3-speed automatic transmission (TH400)

two-speed transfer case  (Borg-Warner 1339 Quadra-Trac) with 2.57 low range ratio

five/six seats (seven fit all right, +dog  +camping gear +kayak on top)

top speed - never went over 95  (speedo limit - 90). most comforable ride - 65-75 mph.

More about this '79 Cherokee Chief -
see Home of a Full Size Jeep.

Living in Southern California poses some ultimate transportation challenges. 
Anyone who needs to move from point A to point B, especially if the path between these points crosses desert sands, rocky creek beds, steep inclines, or traffic in the City of Angels, is in dire need of full- or at least part-time four wheel drive, big tires, humongous engine and other heavy and expensive armor. Others just don't make it.
Here's my current daily transportation, a 1979 Jeep Cherokee Chief. She came from the American Motors factory nicely outfitted with 360 c.i.d. V8 (gasping for breath through a two-barrel Motorcraft 2150 carburettor), a GM Turbo-Hydramatic TH-400 transmission (otherwise found on V12-powered Ferraris, Jaguars, and school buses), Borg-Warner 1339 transfer case (AKA Quadratrac), and stout Dana-44 axles kept under the jeep with big and heavy leaf springs. With the aid of this hardware I conquer the traffic in La Jolla, CA., year round, despite ten annual inches of rain, morning fog, and steady trickle of Honda Civics with trash can exhausts.
Got this girl in a very pitiful state - engine barely idling, four-wheel drive inoperational, leaking all fluids that the owner would occasionally put in (including motor oil, transmission fluid, gear lube, coolant, gasoline).