Just today at lunch… a confrontation with the owner of this Jeep. But first, the Jeep.
These are 40s. Huge tires, 40” diameter. This Jeep Wrangler Rubicon is lifted and it looks nicely equipped. But most owners put 35s or 37s on them. 40s are not very common.
The Rubicon is Jeep’s most trail capable Wrangler. While it may have been fun to own when I was younger, when I bought my Jeep 10 years ago in my 50s I wasn’t a fan of the Wrangler’s ride, handling, and suspension. My Jeep was on the road for 95% of its miles, and only 5% out on the trail. Wranglers aren’t the best street handling and maneuvering 4x4s out there. So I went with a Grand Cherokee which, off road, was surprisingly quite capable. I learned a lot taking some 4x4 classes. On the road the Grand Cherokee handles pretty well, especially with QL, the air suspension (Quadra-Lift). With QL, at speeds over 50 MPH the air suspension lowers the Grand Cherokee a little bit for better handling and aerodynamics.
I drove the old M151 Jeeps in the Marines (driving was not my primary job BTW), in the 1980s before the HummVees came out, and I always wanted a Jeep product. But for me in 2014 my choice was the Grand Cherokee. It was probably the most luxurious car I’ll ever own.
But will this Jeep ever see dirt? Will it be out on the trails? Who knows? A lot of people dress them up but never take them onto the dirt and mud. Those rigs are called Mall Queens. There aren’t any scratches on the wheels here so this one’s likely a Mall Queen.
And now about the owner confrontation…
Mrs. @Bullitt and I were at a deli enjoying our lunch sandwiches seated outside when he pulled into the parking lot. As he walked into the deli I called out with, Hi, nice Rubicon. He barely acknowledged.
Once he was in the deli I walked up to take these pictures. When I was done he had come outside to talk.
This guy was big and muscular. Not overly built like a body builder but he looked like he played some Div 1 college football.
He stood a little close.
Anyway this guy just says to me, with outstretched hand, That’ll be $20 for the pictures.
Me — I’m not giving you $20.
Him — You’re taking pictures of my Jeep. That’ll cost you $20.
Me — You’re out in public driving your Jeep. I’m not giving you $20.
Now, he’s a little close and his outstretched hand was 6-12” from my chest. He wasn’t loud, but he was clearly trying to intimidate me with his size and presence and standing a little close. I’m sure he could’ve kicked my ass, I’m 63 while he was maybe 30, but I stood my ground, was firm and professional, and I didn’t raise my voice. And I didn’t back down.
Over the course of the 1-2 minutes we were having this conversation his hand stayed out. At one point I offered my hand to shake and said Hi, without a smile but with a friendly voice, but he wasn’t interested. He mentioned the $20 at least 5 times, and each time I simply said no, and that he’s driving around out in public. I ended up walking away.
I take a lot of pictures of cars, and maybe 99% of the time when the owner is there they’re cool with it and they encourage it. I’ve stopped asking, May I take a picture of your car?, because on rare occasions the answer will be No. And when that’s happened, since I asked the question and since they’ve said No, I don’t take any pictures.
So I just stopped asking and it has been working out really well, even with buttheads like this Jeep owner.
That’s also why I usually don’t hide the license plates. They’re out in public.
Oh well, there are assholes out there and it’s best to steer clear of them.
What I should’ve done was turn around and take a picture of him! 
On to the next car!
