2040huck said:

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Why cant we buy one here?

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The answer will enfuriate you.

Pretty simple - does not meet safety or emissions standards which every government requirement adds cost to a vehicle

Can I get one with the mount for a 37mm antiaircraft gun? Need it for the revolution!

Deerdude said:

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powerbelly said:

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Deerdude said:

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I've thought of buying one in Mx and bring back.

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The one in Mx isn't the same one you can get in Japan and other places overseas.

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I don't know, the ones I looked at for sale in Mx looked the same as one I hunted in while in Argentina. Same one seemingly driven by every self respecting terrorist all over the world.

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They don't get the better engine options in LatAm.

The ones in Africa seem indestructible. I think all the PH's there drive them

They are indestructible and they also really take good care of them and stay on top of maintenance.

They aren't indestructible, but they are tough. Rough roads out here in the campo rattle them apart just like every other truck. Landcruisers are the pinnacle of tough vehicles out here, but way out of the price range of most people not dealing in narcotics. There are many 50 year old landcruisers of all models still bumping around out here. The funny thing is that down here is South America where I'm at is that Tacomas are seen as desirable over the Hilux, mainly because they're seen as a status symbol because they're popular in the states.

The Hilux is a solid vehicle, but it's underpowered and has a really small bed. The interior is cramped, but they can cram in half a dozen people in the cab when they need to down here. That 2.7L motor seems to be really reliable, but I really like that 5.7 when I need to get quickly get around slow traffic. With gas being hard to get at times, the Hilux looks more appealing every day.

I spent a year and a half kicking around the jungle and open country in Cameroon. Roads varied from paved highways to what you would imagine in the backcountry in Africa.

The NGO's and other international organizations all drove land cruisers. The newer it was, the less likely it was to pull off the main road or stop outside of the city. Anyone doing real work for an NGO in villages drove a LC older than 10 years. I don't remember seeing any sitting around, broken down.

The government and military vehicles were usually hiluxes. It might be the mayor's official ride or a truck full of quick reaction force or police. Some of them were at least 30 years old. I think I saw a couple that were scrapped for parts, but for the most part they were all running no matter how rough they looked.

The international companies with personnel out in the bush seemed to prefer Ford Rangers. I think it was the status symbol, "you should sell us your tobacco/coffee/whatever because we are more successful than the other company because we can afford a Ford Ranger". Saw several broke down waiting on parts to get delivered.

If your town was big enough to need it, there were repurposed prison busses that someone used to take people back and forth to the "city" at least once a day.

Most villages had a guy with a 30-year-old corolla loaded with 12 people and impossible amounts of stuff tied to the top and back. I've seen them get into and out of places that would make some jeep clubs jealous. These were never allowed to die, even if you had to bush-engineer a part out of whatever you had handy wherever you broke down.

Everyone else that had transportation drove a motorcycle or scooter. I saw one guy that ran a frozen fish delivery route through the countryside by making a pseudo-ice chest the size of a yeti 110 and mounting it to the back of his bike.

I would also love a hilux. I think whichever company can figure out how to meet gov't minimum standards in a legit light duty truck and bring it to market for a reasonable price will make a lot of money. But why do that when you can sell an F-150 for 60K and there's no other option?

Good story. I see similar things down here in South America. Old 70's era Landcruisers are common. Often very beat up, but still running. Down here, Tacomas are seen as a status symbol because they have to be imported. Four door Toyata station wagons are very common taxis and very often beat down to the point of being unrecognizable as a Toyota. Yesterday, I saw my first Hilux with a v6 in it.

There are also lots of old 70's era Ford one ton duallys down here as well as old Brazilian made Fords with different body styles that found in the States.

Top Gear had an episode where they tried to kill a 90s(?) Hilux and even dropped it from 50+ feet while a tower fell on it. Still ran after all that. Those trucks were super simple and dead nuts reliable. Most modern cars have too many features and parts, most made from cheap plastic, to be as reliable as the dumbed down version.