I know exactly one person who drives a Land Cruiser. His name is Robert, and he’s an engineer from Seattle. We met because we hired the same architect to design our houses.
Robert is plain, but extremely intelligent, and he could prattle on for hours about engineering. He’s the classic “only what you need, and no more” kind of guy. His house is this beautifully designed prairie style home, very much in line with the Frank Lloyd Wright/Taliesin design style.
His home is probably only 1,800 square feet, maybe 2,000 — but it’s built to last 1,000 years. When most people would have used 2x4's to frame their house, Robert used 2x8's, because the wider wall structure allowed him to blow in more insulation. All this insulation LITERALLY allows him to keep his home warm in the winter... using only 600 watts of total power. Yes, your computer uses more energy than Robert’s home.
His entire roof is a water reclamation funnel... and it’s made from copper, because he doesn’t want anything growing on his roof that may taint the water he’s using for his garden. Your roof and roof deck probably cost about $20,000, all in. Robert’s copper roof was over $100,000. Over the years, the copper has taken on this classic greenish hue, and it matches the finished concrete exterior. He told me his copper roof will likely last 300 years or more. I believe it.
There are no cheap materials. Where he could have poured concrete, Robert sourced local stone, and had it intricately chipped away so that every rock would dovetail together. His entire fireplace could have been simple, but instead he chose to have these two inch wide mahogany pieces that go together like a puzzle. It looks totally random, but it’s actually this intricate design.
I’d estimate that Robert spent over $1,500,000 just building his home. Maybe even 2 million. He spared no expense. The result was... a home that is tasteful, but not really eye-catching. It’s gray with a green roof, and some small wood accents. The garden surrounding it is humble and colorful, but not “look at me” in any way. It’s a medium sized, modest home, that is completely overdone in every way, but overdone in such a way that it’s not flashy. Per square foot, it’s hard to imagine a more expensive way to construct a home.
Robert drives a Land Cruiser. It’s immaculate. I saw it in his driveway, and I’d just assume the interior is as nice as the exterior. I’d guess it’s maybe a 2012 model? I’d venture to guess that Robert intends to keep and maintain it for the next 30 years. I think that, because he also has the cleanest Toyota pickup I have ever seen. (It’s one of those 22RE four bangers that just never dies.) I did ask him about it, and he mentioned that it belonged to his dad, and he intends to keep it forever. Then he just moved along -- cars aren’t really his thing. He just like quality things that last forever. He loves engineering.
The Land Cruiser is basically the pinnacle of the Toyota ownership pyramid, and it takes a particular type of customer to want one, but I think Toyota needs the Land Cruiser in the same way Chevrolet needs the Corvette. Oddly, the Land Cruiser is their halo car. It’s the best expression of Toyota’s dedication to over-engineering, while maintaining a blue jeans and a t-shirt appearance.
