Nearly two months ago, a team of drivers took off in four Land Rovers from Birmingham, England, and headed to Beijing, China. The trip, taken to retrace a similar journey made in 1956, took 50 days and covered 8,000 miles of rural and urban roads in 13 countries. Even with careful planning, the team encountered a number of roadblocks that set them off course and delayed the journey. However, their April 26 arrival still coincided with AutoChina 2012, Beijing's annual car show.

After a short visit to the Geneva Motor Show, the caravan of Land Rovers headed to Italy's Aosta Valley, where the motorists witnessed a controlled avalanche. To keep the winter theme alive, the drivers headed to Austria to try their hand at ice driving. The tour also included stops in Vienna, Budapest and even Chernobyl, Russia. After touring the site of the devastating nuclear meltdown, the Land Rover parade stopped briefly in Moscow before heading across the natural landscape of Eastern Russia to China.

When the SUVs finally reached the alpine pass leading into China, the road was blocked with snow, which delayed the journey a few days. After the snow was cleared, it took the drivers another 72 hours to reach Beijing, but not without a few stops in between.

American drivers who are planning to take their own road trips this summer will not likely encounter the same winter conditions as the Land Rover Squad did. However, it is essential they make sure their cars are running smoothly before they hit the road. New Jersey State Auto Auction's Total Car Care Center is a great place for people with used cars in NJ to take their vehicles for a tuneup before they leave on an 8,000-mile journey of their own.