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Toyotas and Terrorists: "Why are ISIS's trucks better than ours?" (2023)
91–100 of 135 posts
Re: Toyotas and Terrorists: "Why are ISIS's trucks better than ours?" (2023)
#92I loved my 1987 Toyota 4x4 pickup with all its mods. My wife used to say that I'd get rid of her before I got rid of it (wife's still here; I sold the truck long ago). But no way in hell would I want to be a real accident in one. That's why they're no longer sold in the US. Amazing off-roader, cheap and extremely reliable. But they're stuck in 1980's crash survivability while the rest of the world moved on.
They're selling side by sides today in the <3500 dry wt. category which can be road registered. If used primarily for agriculture, they're even tax exempt from registration in some states. The 80's toyota pickup is better than a side by side and weighs less than 3500, arguably safer, and offers better utility for agriculture. There are plenty of Toyota manufacturing facilities in the US, which would avoid the chicken…
That's the dirty secret, is that a lot of the side-by-sides kind of suck in relation to an old Tacoma, S10, Mahindra Roxor or a Kei truck, and cost an arm and a leg. It's amazing to me that Polaris sells as many as they do, given what they cost and their capabilities.
Re: Toyotas and Terrorists: "Why are ISIS's trucks better than ours?" (2023)
#93I wish it was easy and simple to buy the Hilux in America. Many amazing foreign vehicles have been banned or heavily taxed by the Federal Government to prevent competition.
The current Hilux really isn't much different than a Tacoma to call it "amazing"
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Upacara_...
The old Hilux that was on Top Gear hasn't been made for a quarter century.
Re: Toyotas and Terrorists: "Why are ISIS's trucks better than ours?" (2023)
#94Seems like the question is never answered. There's a lot of how the trucks get there, but not why they're better. (I skimmed it, the writing has too much emotional bait of "Look how evil they are! Don't forget, we're the good guys!"). Maybe it's survivor bias, the ones that are crap have been blown up by a Hellfire shot by a drone..
I can tell you precisely why foreign Toyotas (especially certain models) are more reliable that whats typically sold in the US. No electronics and parts which operate based on physics (pressure, gravity, etc). Both of these decisions lend themselves to a simple engine compartment and repairability. In the US, you can buy a five-speed 4runner which is about the simplest engine available on the market. Has all the bene…
> makes scavenging more economical and increases life span
NZ exports the front half of Hiluxes, 4runners, Prados etcetera to the Middle East.
Chop the front half off, put a bunch of em into a container, and ship them away.
I was yakking with a car wrecker the other day, and he said the above to explain why it was hard to find second-hand parts for a 1996 Prado.
Re: Toyotas and Terrorists: "Why are ISIS's trucks better than ours?" (2023)
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
They're selling side by sides today in the <3500 dry wt. category which can be road registered. If used primarily for agriculture, they're even tax exempt from registration in some states. The 80's toyota pickup is better than a side by side and weighs less than 3500, arguably safer, and offers better utility for agriculture. There are plenty of Toyota manufacturing facilities in the US, which would avoid the chicken…
That's the dirty secret, is that a lot of the side-by-sides kind of suck in relation to an old Tacoma, S10, Mahindra Roxor or a Kei truck, and cost an arm and a leg. It's amazing to me that Polaris sells as many as they do, given what they cost and their capabilities.
Just looked up their figures -- I would have never guessed they sell 600k+ units/yr of side-by-sides given what they charge for them
Re: Toyotas and Terrorists: "Why are ISIS's trucks better than ours?" (2023)
#96> It is also a very robust vehicle capable of withstanding elemental and physical extremities, as shown on the British TV show “Top Gear.”[6] If you haven't ever watched Top Gear, this is definitely one of the standout bits they did - putting that truck through absolute hell, and watching it continue to start up. I highly recommend it, even if you don't think of yourself as a Car Guy. It's basically a comedy show tha…
I don’t doubt how tough the Hilux can be, but Top Gear tended to stage a lot of things. Like they intentionally killed Hammond’s Land Cruiser at the end of the Bolivia special. Plus, they had some pretty damn good mechanics, while Clarkson pretended to fix his cars with a hammer in front of the camera.
IIRC, they have been caught pre-scripting scenes. The most famous incident being the Tesla Roadster debacle - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gear_controversies#Tesla_R...
"A BBC spokeswoman said several times in an interview that Top Gear was "an entertainment programme, and should not be taken seriously."
Re: Toyotas and Terrorists: "Why are ISIS's trucks better than ours?" (2023)
#97While I don't think it would prevent our troops from having foreign-produced trucks in theater, we can't affordably procure such trucks thanks to the Chicken Tax. I would also guess that giving a DoD contract to Toyota for a truck that may not be registrable in the US would also face institutional resistance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax
The military has an incentive to ensure there are plenty of Americans who know how to design and manufacture things. A truck and a tank have a lot in common - if war breaks out we want the ability to take people of of trucks and get them making things the military needs. This is the same reason the Navy has for building ships in the US even though they can be done other places cheaper.
> A truck and a tank have a lot in common
Maybe in 1942. Modern tanks cannot be built on highly specialized production lines that build road vehicles without years-long re-tooling. M1 Abrams tanks don't even use piston engines, they have turbines.
A older, but well documented example how specialized modern automotive production has become is the Mercedes Benz 500e. In the 90s Mercedes wanted to build a more powerful, wider version of the E class. They added 56 mm to the front fenders and discovered it wouldn't fit through the production line properly. MB contracted for Porsche to handle the low-volume 500e on a different production line.
Re: Toyotas and Terrorists: "Why are ISIS's trucks better than ours?" (2023)
#98Because the chicken tax keeps out great vehicles so the US automakers don’t have to compete. The hilux and 79 landcruiser are run of the mill workhorses in virtually every country in the world except the US and Canada. They run rings around the Tacoma and tundra. Tariffs and old world protectionism like the chicken tax are keeping the US automakers on life support, but they’re all doomed - they’re not even trying to…
AFAIK, the classic Toyota Land Cruiser (J70) has not been sold in EU for more than a decade since it doesn't comply with emission regulations. Interestingly, some are assembled in Portugal for North African and Middle East markets.
The 70 series is still very easy to buy and register in many EU countries.
The new 2.8 diesel is euro 6
We types who drive around the world do it often.
Re: Toyotas and Terrorists: "Why are ISIS's trucks better than ours?" (2023)
#99I wish it was easy and simple to buy the Hilux in America. Many amazing foreign vehicles have been banned or heavily taxed by the Federal Government to prevent competition.
The current Hilux really isn't much different than a Tacoma to call it "amazing" https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Upacara_... The old Hilux that was on Top Gear hasn't been made for a quarter century.
It is vastly different. Different engine, gearbox, axles, brakes.
They share no parts.
Its payload is double, its fuel economy is way better. It’s way, way tougher.
I’m an Aussie living in Canada, I’ve driven many models of both extensively, family have them all.
Re: Toyotas and Terrorists: "Why are ISIS's trucks better than ours?" (2023)
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think you probably know this because you used the US name for the car (internationally known as the Jazz), but for those who don’t, Honda discontinued the Fit in the US market due to poor sales. For every internet comment bemoaning the lack of these vehicles there’s the actual fact of revealed consumer preference in the US market.
Much of consumer preference doesn't originate from the consumers' own minds, though. It's shaped largely by marketing, and in the US car companies have been pushing bigger, boxier, more plush, and more expensive with its ad spend and incentives for decades now. It's way easier to find a dealership offering 0%-2% financing on some aircraft carrier of a vehicle than it is on a small car.
Americans' appetite for small cars seems to be linked pretty closely to the inflation-adjusted price of gasoline. Automakers always want to push more premium vehicles, because they make their margins selling to people with more money to buy more features, more space, more performance. The low end of the market is lower margin and you have to make up for it with volume.
When we hit another recession, we'll see smaller cars appear again.