[11] cars and trucks

I have a bizarre fascination with knowing the makes of cars. Not all cars. I used to be primarily interested in minivans and SUVs as a teenager, for some reason. Not that I wanted one, or that we owned either one, just that I wanted to be able to identify all of them. It still bothers me when someone says something about "that Chevy Astro," when it was clearly a Ford Windstar.

Now I am primarily interested in the types of vehicles used in Africa. Not the little Corollas and Coronas, but the trucks and SUVs. There is a big difference, should you care to notice, between even the engine sound of a Nissan Patrol and a Land Cruiser.

The first thing I thought when I saw this article: Terrorised in Congo, was not the natural reaction, "Oh, how horrible for the IRC workers." It was, "Those are not Toyota Land Cruisers in that picture. They are Mitsubishi Pajeros."

The second thought was, "At least they have the right license plates." I am also bizarrely fascinated with license plates. It bothers me in those movies allegedly set in certain countries, like Hotel Rwanda, when the license plates are wrong. Fortunately, those NK license plates are, in fact, license plates from North Kivu Province in Congo.

I need some help.

(P.S. I wrote this all after seeing the photo and before reading the story, which is actually quite scary. I have the natural reaction now.)