Tuesday, September 27, 2016

only one truck has a war named after it: the Hilux. The Toyota War of 1987, between Chad and Libya

The Toyota War of 1987, between Chad and Libya, took its name from the lightweight Hilux trucks that proved decisive in fighting. Regiments of Hiluxes armed with bed-mounted 106-mm recoilless rifles sprinted through deserts and minefields.

According to a French officer’s contemporary account, the tribesmen aboard the Hiluxes had long been the best light cavalrymen in the world—just that now “they are mounted on Toyotas instead of horses.”

The vehicular equivalent of an AK-47 in terms of widespread adoption, the Hilux joins the Land Cruiser and Corolla in Toyota’s “Triumvirate of Total Trustworthiness.” It takes a special vehicle for a manufacturer to brag that it’s “unbreakable”—yes, Toyota really does, and decades of loyal drivers are likely to agree.

In such esteem is the Hilux held, in fact, that the ever-present fraudsters have gotten in on the act: Places like Afghanistan have actually at times been flooded with imitation Hiluxes cobbled together from inferior vehicles—much to the disappointment of local fighters.

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/the-worlds-bravest-trucks-feature

even Top Gear tried to kill one, and couldn't

2 comments:

  1. Did you watch Part 2? They set the truck on top of an apartment building that was imploded and the truck still ran. It did have a nasty break in the frame, though.

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    1. yes, I did see that years ago, but I was running short on time to get this post up and on the blog... so I chose this clip to demonstrate the invincibility of the truck

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