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Toyota Hi-Lux

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The Toyota Hilux, or Toyota Tacoma, is a compact pickup truck built and marketed by the Toyota Motor Corporation. The Hilux name was adopted as a replacement for the Stout in 1969, and remains in use worldwide. In the United States, the Hilux name was retired in 1976 in favor of Truck or Compact Truck, until it was renamed the Tacoma in 1995. One popular option package, SR5 (Sport Rally), also became synonymous with the truck, even though it was used on other Toyota models as well. The name for the camper version of the Hilux was changed to the Toyota 4Runner in the United States in 1984. The 4Runner, now a full SUV, shares few visual cues with its brother Tacoma in more recent models.

As the Hilux name was dropped in the US in 1976, any details listed here purporting to relate to the Hilux from that date may not be entirely correct when applied to the vehicle that continues to be marketed by Toyota as the Hilux throughout the rest of the world.

The product lines for the US and elsewhere diverged at that point and in many cases on a year for year basis the vehicles sold in the US only resemble the Hilux, with major mechanical/chassis differences.

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1935

The original Toyota pickup was the 1935 G1. It shared many components with the company's A1 car, and was a 1.5 ton stake-bed commercial truck.

1947

After World War II, Toyota returned with a compact pickup truck, the Toyopet Model SB. This was the true ancestor of the Hilux, and remained in production from 1947 through 1963.

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1964

Toyota entered the American market with the 1964 introduction of the Stout. It was larger than the similar Datsun and Mazda compact trucks, and looked like a Chevrolet C/K.

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1969

The Hilux name was coined in 1969, but it was a highly-luxurious vehicle only when compared to the Stout. The only body style was a regular cab short bed and all were rear-wheel drive. It used a typical truck setup of A-arms and coil springs in front and a live axle with leaf springs in back. A 4-speed manual transmission was standard.

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1973

In the middle of 1972, the 1973 Hilux was released. A more-comfortable interior was specified along with exterior updates. A 7.5 ft (2.3 m) "long bed" was optional for the first time.

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1975

The truck was radically redesigned in 1975. Larger and more luxurious in every way, the truck also introduced the 20R engine and SR5 upscale trim package. A 5-speed manual transmission was optional. The Hilux name was dropped in America in favor of "Truck" the next year. Buyers of the Hilux in America found that their owners' manuals named it as the Toyota "Pickup".

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1979

The next generation appeared in 1979. This time, the SR5 package included an updated torsion bar suspension as well as the usual trim upgrades.

Another important addition was the a four-wheel drive model. It used solid axles and leaf springs front and rear and skid plates to protect the transfer case and fuel tank.

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1981

The 1981 model year saw a vehicle development deal between Toyota and Winnebago (primarily) and two other aftermarket customizers. Toyota was attempting to enter the SUV market. The vehicles which resulted from this collaboration were the Toyota Trekker, Toyota Wolverine, and the Toyota Blazer. All 3 employed the Toyota Hilux 4x4 RV cab and chassis, and an all-fiberglass rear section. There were at least 1,500 Trekkers and a much smaller, unknown number of the other two models sold in North America. Research and development work on the Trekker lead to the development of the Toyota 4Runner (called the Toyota Hilux Surf outside North America), which was released in 1984.

1984

The big news for the 1984 redesign was the introduction of the Xtracab two-row extended cab option. Also two diesel engines were offered, the 2L and the turbocharged 2L-T. The diesels were discontinued in the U.S. after the 1985 model year, for unknown reasons. The next year saw the introduction of an optional fuel injected engine, the 22R-E, and a turbocharged option, the 22R-TE. The solid front axle was swapped out for an independent front suspension/torsion bar setup in the 4x4 model in 1986, and optional automatic locking front hubs and an electronic transfer case was added as well. A V6 engine was introduced in 1988.

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1989

The next redesign, in 1989, saw a longer-wheelbase option, 122 in (309.9 cm) versus 103 in (261.6 cm) for the regular wheelbase. The V6 Xtracab SR5 earned Motor Trend magazine's Truck of the Year award that year. Production began at the NUMMI plant in Fremont, California in 1991.

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Volkswagen even signed a deal to build and market them under the Volkswagen Taro name; this agreement ended in the late 1990s.

1995

Part-way through 1995, Toyota introduced the new Tacoma in the United States. The name Tacoma comes from an Indian word that means Mount Rainier, which is near Tacoma, Washington. The Tacoma differs framewise from the Hilux, although both appear similar from the outside.

Both the Tacoma and Hilux variants are sold in Mexico.

This, the ninth generation of compact pickup trucks from Toyota, was radically updated, with a new frame and body, new suspension, and new engines. All versions now featured coil springs in front with a live axle and leaf springs in back.

The Tacoma was restyled in 1998 when the front fascia and the frame were the primary changes as well as the addition of new badging. It was also restyled in 2001 when a new "double cab" (crew cab) option was added, and a flashy S-Runner was offered as well.

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2005

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Both the Tacoma and the Hilux were updated in 2005. The Tacoma was based off the new Land Cruiser Prado chassis, while the Hilux rides on a refreshed version of the ladder frame found on previous versions. It spawned a mid-size crossover SUV version called Toyota Hilux SW4.

The new Tacoma won the Canadian Car of the Year Best New Pick-up award and was Motor Trend magazine's Truck of the Year for 2005.

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Reputation

The nearly destroyed, but still working, Top Gear Hilux.
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The nearly destroyed, but still working, Top Gear Hilux.

Jeremy Clarkson and his Toybota Hilux.
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Jeremy Clarkson and his Toybota Hilux.

The Toyota Hilux has gained a reputation for exceptional sturdiness and reliability, even during sustained heavy use. This was only compounded when on the third series (programme five) of the revamped BBC motoring show Top Gear, a 1988 Toyota Hilux with 190,000 miles on the clock, was subjected to a number of extraordinary survival tests, which included crashing it into a large tree, tying it up to a jetty to be washed out to sea by the incoming tide, driving it down a steep stairway, randomly ramming it into buildings in Bristol, dropping a caravan on it, setting the cabin on fire, and placing it at the top of a 240-foot block of flats that was subsequently destroyed by a controlled demolition. Amazingly, although it was now suffering from severe structural damage (there was already significant body corrosion when it was purchased), the truck was still running after being repaired only with typical tools and equipment that would be found in a car's toolbox, such as wrenches, motor oil and a monkey wrench. It currently resides as one of the background decorations in the newly revamped Top Gear Studio from Season 8.

In the 2006 series (Season 8, Episode 3), a Hilux was chosen by Jeremy Clarkson when tasked with creating an amphibious vehicle. This was almost a complete success, the Toybota easily travelling several miles by road and two miles across open water before capsizing during a quick turn. Once recovered, though, the truck would no longer start, to the surprise of the presenters. Outside television, these trucks have been known to clock up more than 300,000 miles with regular maintenance.

Also of note is that Transformers Autobots Trailbreaker and Hoist were based off of the Toyota Hi-Lux (possibly the 1983 model). Trailbreaker, the Autobots' defensive strategist, changed into a Hilux camper (produced shortly before Hilux/"4Runners" were sold in America), while Hoist, the strict maintenance specialist chose the appropriate disguise of a Hilux tow truck.

See also

External links

 

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