There is one achievement of the last century that will stand without a doubt, and that is the 1980s era Toyota minitruck. In this Google video you see this greatness made manifest, as Jeremy Clarkson and crew do their best to destroy a 100,000 mile+ former farm truck with impact, seawater, fire, and other things.
Every broke person I hung out with in the 80s and early 90s drove one of these things. I’d buy one today. pbd had one that later the_silent_one had too. That was a 1980, wasn’t it? Greg’s was an ’88 and he put 100,000 miles of L.A. messenger/courier work on it before he sold it. The Chadian army blew up Libyan tanks with them. They. Will. Not. Die.
Is the Tacoma still that good, I wonder?
Be My Blog 
One of the big things that the Clarkson truck has (had?) going for it is that it is/was a diesel, which I don’t think was ever released in the US. Not having to actually need an electrical system to run the motor is a pretty big boost in durability/survivability. All-mechanical diesels have been known to run happily completely submerged as long as the intake and exhause are above water.
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i had one! i still have it too
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we had a little white one. had it for years. got the engine rebuilt, and a new paint job at some point. eventually got rid of it. now we have a another one. white as well.
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Mine is a 1996
And we just ticked over 200,000 miles… the damn thing shows no signs of quitting. Just keep up with a little routine oil change and tune up, and this thing likely has anothe 100,000 on it… it really is a remarkable little truck…
mojo sends
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Man, I see those trucks everywhere.
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Here in the Land of Salt on the Roadways for 6 months a year, usually the body quits before anything else.
I drive an 89 Camry, that will probably outlast its body.
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Camry is NASCAR TUFF! 🙂
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