Early Toyota trucks are disappearing from the USA!

[Gnarly4X]

If you have ever wondered why early Toyota trucks are getting hard to find.......

I've lived in Arizona for 26 years.  I've seen probably hundreds of Toyota trucks "In Tow" heading south to Mexico.

Since I live about 2 hours from the Mexico border, and daily travel Hwy 10 towards Tucson, I often see Toyota trucks In-Tow 2 or 3 times a month.... I'm only on the freeway about 35 minutes.

In the early years the trucks being towed were the 1st Gen, then the 2nd Gen, now they are really scarce, so the Tacos are being towed to Mexico now.

If I were a Mexican living in Mexico, I'd want to come here and bring back a legendary Toyota truck as well.

Gnarls.

[CrazyYota]

Nothing new. A lot of them end up in Guatemala not Mexico. I know a guy in the valley that buys them to take to Guatemala. Four trucks at a time.

[Willard]

I see them at the wrecking yards galore when I drive to San Felipe every year. They are a desired vehicle down there.


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[300k]

damn bastids with their cool diesel ford rangers taking the only good trucks we have...

[H8PVMNT]

We should all be hording.

[Lewis Hein]

When I was in Panama, I made a count of car makes during a half-hour bus ride. I think some of the results are relevant:

91 Cars surveyed, trucks, sedans, busses, you name it.
Toyota  28
Nissan  13
Hundai  9
Honda   8
Ford      8
Subaru  6
etcetera. Misc Mazda, Acura, Isuzu, BMW, and Cheverolet

See that bolded number? There were twice as many Toyotas on the road as any other single make.

The numbers in trucks were even more lopsided. I didn't count, but I'd guess 90% of the pickups were new-ish Hiluxes. Maybe a few Nissan. And if you saw a Chevy or Ford, you were practically assured that it said ACP on the side.

Moral: The US doesn't properly appreciate Toyotas. Therefore, we don't get the HiLux or HiAce nowadays, and those we have remaining go to places that do.

[Toyotadon]

We passed those same guys on Saturday heading up HWY 58 out of Bakersfield (Tehachapi pass).  The poor green Taco was only going about 40 MPH.

[19954Runner]

2018 ford rangers will have diesels in them again in north America and Canada

damn bastids with their cool diesel ford rangers taking the only good trucks we have...

[Rocksurfer]

The drug traffickers love older Toyota trucks, parts are very interchangeable from one year to the next to keep things moving.

[Lewis Hein]

The drug traffickers love older Toyota trucks, parts are very interchangeable from one year to the next to keep things moving.

Where did you find this out? It sounds believable and intriguing.

[19954Runner]

did you not see Narco's

[Rocksurfer]

I've been approached by a buyer for them. 

[Toybrota]

Interesting thread, makes me VERY worried as I'm heading to San Diego in a month, in my Toyota. These trucks get stolen all the time so I'm very worried about going down there.

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[gdmcondev]

My TOY and I used to live in SD.  My Clifford alarm has saved it 3 times.  Pop the door handle, pop the keyway on column use a screwdriver to turn ignition.   I worry about it here too.  The truck attracts a lot of attention

[Toybrota]

My TOY and I used to live in SD.  My Clifford alarm has saved it 3 times.  Pop the door handle, pop the keyway on column use a screwdriver to turn ignition.   I worry about it here too.  The truck attracts a lot of attention

Good god, I'm getting real worried now. I have some kill switches I'm gonna wire in, probably sleep in the back too

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[Gnarly4X]

Good god, I'm getting real worried now. I have some kill switches I'm gonna wire in, probably sleep in the back too

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I'm always worried about theft.  These truck are REALLY desired.  I have a steering wheel bar so that will slow a thief down for a few minutes.  A hidden kill switch also slows them down some.  The audible alarm probably helps deter a less sophisticated thief.

If the thief is the high caliber kind, and they want your vehicle bad enough, it doesn't matter what anti-theft devices you have installed, they will steal it.

Some years ago, my boss drove an $80,000 Porche. He parked it in an underground parking area, live guard at a gate, with walking security guards roaming the parking areas 24/7.  He had the most sophisticated alarm you could install at the time.  It was a very busy high rise business building in downtown Los Angeles.

Thieves got it in the middle of the day!

When I get my truck running right and driving it every day, I will be installing some anti-theft devices, just to give me some piece of mind.  There are some trace tracking devices I will be looking at.

Gnarls.

[Gnarly4X]

More Toys going south of the border..

About 15 minutes after snapping those photos, I passed the Rest Stop and saw 6 to 8 more trucks parked together towing Toyotas!

Gnarls. 

[RB]

snip...
Moral: The US doesn't properly appreciate Toyotas. Therefore, we don't get the HiLux or HiAce nowadays, and those we have remaining go to places that do.

Americans DO appreciate Toyotas as the success of the Taco on our roads clearly demonstrates(I swear in Maui every other car was a Taco), however we do not beat on our trucks the way the rest of the world does, and we repair our vehicles for the most part when they are damaged compared to the rest of the globe. Perhaps I should say that 'we' did not use the hilux to its full potential(according to Toyota marketing i guess), so they created the 'softer' Tacoma, compared to the Hilux. Personally, i think our Taco looks better than the Hilux, but everything else about the Hilux is more robust than than the Taco. I wonder if the demand for the Taco down south is due to reliability, and not necessarily heavy duty mini truck duties. Go to http://www.toyodiy.com/ and cross reference Taco and Hilux parts, it amazes me how many parts are not shared between models. towing and payload specs also tell the story.

I daily a 92' 22re  Pickup, in MD and have had many offers to buy my truck from gentlemen of south of the border. A neighboring office manager stopped me one day and asked what year my truck was, and that he used to own a similar long bed. He was from Guatemala, and told me that the those trucks are often hijacked at gunpoint. They take the truck, leave you on the side of the road and strip it to resell all the parts. Very bad men, as he explained. Funny, he drives an Escalade here in the states.

[Lewis Hein]

Americans DO appreciate Toyotas as the success of the Taco on our roads clearly demonstrates(I swear in Maui every other car was a Taco), however we do not beat on our trucks the way the rest of the world does, and we repair our vehicles for the most part when they are damaged compared to the rest of the globe.

Yes, I suppose we do. But in my opinion not nearly to the extent that some other parts of the world do, especially in minivans and trucks. Neglecting ACP vehicles (I think the ACP must have some kind of buying/supply arrangement with the US), it was always a surprise to me in Panama to see a truck that was not a HiLux. Or a 15-passenger van that was not a HiAce. Tacomas, Tundras, and Siennas were pretty much unknown. And I saw many trucks and vans.

Around here (WY) there are a good number of Tacomas and Tundras. But the don't reach anything like the ubiquity of the HiLuxes in Panama.

[Lewis Hein]

More Toys going south of the border..

About 15 minutes after snapping those photos, I passed the Rest Stop and saw 6 to 8 more trucks parked together towing Toyotas!

Gnarls. 

It is obvious to me that there is only one option left us: Go to Mexico, Guatemala and other places in Central America and start a Toyota Cartel. We'll smuggle Hiluxes into the US inside loads of marijuana.