Back ‘Round to the All ‘Rounder

With our 2 year anniversary fresh in our minds, it was fortuitous we ran into our old friend Dominic Green. We interviewed Dominic about a year ago, and he told us about how he used his red, 97 Mitsubishi Eclipse GST. Much has changed in Dominic’s garage in the last year. We thought it made for an interesting story. Perhaps yours is similar?

Why did you get rid of the Eclipse?
I had been beating the crap out of it for several years and I knew it was a matter of time before it let go. While I was building/playing with the GST, I also got married, and now have a stepson. This causes me to reflect about all the VERY irresponsible things I used the car for on the weekends. I, along with several others, received a warning one night around 2AM from a very nice DPS [Department of Public Safety, Arizona’s version of a State Trooper] officer letting us know that what we were doing was a felony and exactly what we could lose if he wrote us a ticket. 126mph (203kph) in a 70mph (112kph) zone is frowned upon apparently. ;) (Thanks again to the coolest cop I have ever met who let us all go that night!) So I sold the GST and got a Jeep…

How many vehicles have you owned since and why did you choose the ones you did?
First I chose a Jeep Cherokee 2 door for trail fun; I built it up 4 link long arm up front, Chrysler 8.25 out back, 7″ lift, 33/12.5, etc. While I loved the Jeep, I ended up using it for camping with the family most of the time and did not wheel it as much as I thought, I got an offer on the Jeep that I could not say no to and sold it. Not to be without a toy, I started looking for a good platform to build an awesome family camping rig. I got a 1996 Chevy Tahoe, 6″ lift, I liked the platform, but it was underpowered and just not what I wanted…

What I wanted was a diesel! I had wanted one for a long time, but they were too much; the ones I liked were $25k plus. During all these automotive shenanigans, I was driving my 2007 Eclipse GT. GREAT car, but when I got the opportunity to trade both the Tahoe and the eclipse for a cherry 2002 quad cab, short bed, GMC Duramax (LB7), fleet owned, 75k, I jumped! The truck had been on the Mitsu lot for five months and I got a really good deal on it. The power that comes from this truck is amazing! 300hp (220KW) and 560ft-lbs (759n-m) of TQ – what more is there to say? She is a 7000lb freight train. I plan on sticking with this truck for a long time, a trailer and a 1g AWD [DSM] track car may be in the future.

How has your time in the DSM community helped you in the 4WD community?
[It] hasn’t, but I am still close with all my DSM friends and am on the boards almost every day.

How has it set you back?
Well not too much; I have no issues with the truck and I bought a 36/3 warranty so I can mod for a while…

What are your plans for the new beast?
Wait ’til warranty is over, add Aid Dog lift pump, 4″ turbo back, EFI Live programming, add leveling kit, wheels, 285’s, find a good topper/camper for back, it’s hard being a car nut sometimes. =)

Dominic has gone through a lot of vehicles in a relatively short time. We know many gearheads are the same way. How many vehicles have you owned? What do you think of the decisions Dom’s made to go from 2G DSM to turbo-D GMC?