I also skipped the early stuff. I had a Subaru Brat I used for a beater years ago. I loaded a deer on to take it home and while I was in the house on the phone one of the rear torsion bars (spring) broke. I had only driven it about 2 miles and the deer maybe weighed 125 pounds. My sister bought a Toyota and it looks built a lot tougher than when they first came out. The cabs are bigger too. A lot of guys I know bought 4x4 foreign trucks in the 80's, but most soon traded them in. The cabs were too small and on a long drive it was like sitting in a fish bowel. I am 6 foot and have a hard time in a chevy s-10. That is something to think about.