Guide to Foreign (Non-USA) Model Toyotas

[BUDDERS]

Has anyone seen the new 4WD Toyota Owner Magazine yet?  The 70 series on the cover is awsome!

[46&2]

Has anyone seen the new 4WD Toyota Owner Magazine yet?  The 70 series on the cover is awsome!

Have not. I will have to shoot down to Barnes and Noble and check it out, only place that carries it locally.

[46&2]

Funny Australian Toyota comercial. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3fOO7AdhIE

[Hilux_Max]

I believe they were leaf sprung until 98, at which point they switched to coilovers. Not sure what year this one is exactly, but I think it was pre-coil suspension. So yes, as far as I know this one was swapped.

they didnt swap to coilovers, they swapped to front coils like the 80 series cruisers had.  they have always and still now have leaves in the rear.

[46&2]

they didnt swap to coilovers, they swapped to front coils like the 80 series cruisers had.  they have always and still now have leaves in the rear.

Guess I should have been more specific, I was refering to the rear end suspension on the cruiser I posted which has coils in the rear. Didn't mean coilovers, must have been a late night. Thanks for clarifying though.

[46&2]

Some photos a fan of my 70 Series Facebook page posted recently.

1991 PZJ77 with 1PZ turbo.

[zembalayan]

Read nothing but great things about the 1PZ engine.  Pretty darn cool!

[Tofudude]

i wonder if other countries look in aw at our tundra and tacoma?

[zembalayan]

i wonder if other countries look in aw at our tundra and tacoma?

Well, I think anything exotic or anything that seems like unobtainium will be popular, here, there, or anywhere.  For example, my very close friend who has lived in Japan since 1999 currently owns and daily drives a fully loaded HDJ81 Turbo Diesel LandCruiser VX Model, which he really does like a lot; however, he told me when I visited him there last March that he dreams of importing a Land Rover Defender 110.   

WHAT???  I immediately asked him to sit down, relax, and get a hold of himself.  I then tried to explain that he could not say such ungrateful things in front of a poor, deprived American Toyota fanatic like me.  I told him that Defenders are kinda cool if you wanna be like David Silver on the original 90210, but not for somebody who wants the very best out of an off road vehicle.  My friend apologized and then let me drive his Cruiser around the rice fields and hills near his house in rural Gifu Prefecture.  In a half-way joking manner, he told me that if he ever strikes it rich, he will ship this very LC to me when it turns 25 years old.   

Here are some pics:



Right Hand Drive:




Factory diff lockers, of course:




Keep your U.S. Spec Tundra.  I'll take some Toyota Diesel Power please 









Here are a couple of stickers that I photographed at the local watering hole.  The top one says Anjanai, which is local speak for "no problem."  The second sticker shows that this bar is endorsed and frequented by the Noushuu (Southern Gifu) LandCruiser club. 

[46&2]

That thing is sweet!

[zembalayan]

I knew YOU would like it, Nick. 

So when are you getting your 70 series?  If anyone does, it'll be you!

[46&2]

I knew YOU would like it, Nick. 

So when are you getting your 70 series?  If anyone does, it'll be you!

When I win the lottery and figure out a way to import one.

[46&2]

[46&2]

 

[46&2]

I've been using the feedback I have gotten from international members and some aussie 4x4 forums to go through and add/correct specs and info in this thread. While doing so, I came across a post about some Aussies drooling over our 4th gen 4Runner which apparently is not available over there. I thought this reply was interesting in regards to Australia vs the USA in terms of the auto market, and their opinion of it.

In broad terms, I believe it's because Toyota Australia won't bring them in and they have lobbied government to stop others being able to import them (can do 1 as a personal import tho) in any sort of numbers as it competes directly with the Playdo and the import would be cheaper with more "bells & whistles" similar to the Surf (sold by Toyota in Japan) - 4Runner (sold by Toyota in Australia).

Generally in Australia we get vehicles that are of lower spec. than that of Europe, England, Japan, etc. cause as a nation we don't demand it.
Seems a bit like Australia is used a a bit of a dumping ground for running out of models. As an example .. a Surf with a 1KZ-TE engine built/sold in Japan in 93, however they were not an available option in an Aust. sold hilux till bout 2000 !!!

My observations anyway

[46&2]

 

[eMOJO]

Can I play... here's some of our local toyota's

mine




others

[eMOJO]

more

[eMOJO]

more

[eMOJO]

more

[46&2]

Badass eMojo! Those are some very nice Toyotas. Thank you for sharing! 

[Zs Confederate Toy]

This is an awesome thread! I love to see all of the cool that we don't get over here.

[eMOJO]

Same for me over here... a trip to the US is in need I think

[elrob20]

sweet rides!

[46&2]

Great column in the November issue of Road and Track magazine about Toyota Hilux and Landcruisers and how valuable they are in dangerous conflict zones around the world.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/column/cars-in-dangerous-places



Cars in Dangerous Places - Countersteer
Have rocket launcher, will travel: The J70-series Toyota is your friend...or enemy, as the case may be.
By Sam Mitani
September 6, 2011

An invitation from an expert on the most dangerous places in the world isn't the kind of offer that comes often. But back in 1993, a fellow named Robert Young Pelton asked me to join him on an expedition-type rally in the Malaysian rainforest, which I naively accepted. After nearly dying...twice...I came away with one heckuva story and a lifelong friend.

This experience whetted my appetite for adventure. In the ensuing years, I returned to the Malaysian rainforest, motorcycled through Vietnam and covered the Granada-Dakar Rally—but those excursions were nothing compared to the things Pelton was doing. For example, he was at the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi in Afghanistan, the Battle of Grozny in Chechnya, the rebel campaign to take Monrovia in Liberia and inside some 40 other conflicts. He also spent time with the Taliban before 9/11, penetrated the CIA hunt for Bin Laden and spent time with Blackwater, a controversial private military organization. He survived an assassination attempt in Uganda, and was kidnapped by the right wing death squads in Colombia (I remember watching this on the news). His book The World's Most Dangerous Places, sort of a guide for travelers with a death wish, became a bestseller.

"Is he crazy?" you might ask. Certifiably.

We met for lunch recently at a beachfront restaurant in Southern California. He had just returned from Somalia where he's organizing the Somalia Report (somaliareport.com), a website that reports on the tragic state of the country. Our conversation gradually shifted from pirates and famine to automobiles. So I asked him what type of cars he sees in these dangerous places.

"The most popular vehicle for both the good guys and bad guys is the J70 series Toyota. In places like Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, the Toyota Hilux diesel is popular because of its ruggedness and ability to carry 12 troops and their weapons. You can also mount anti-aircraft guns in the back. The Toyota Land Cruiser pickup, a model you don't see in the U.S., is also popular. Aside from the rebels—who usually steal their trucks—the United Nations is one of the largest customers of Toyota," he said.

And all this time, I thought Land Rovers were the vehicle of choice in these global hot spots. Pelton explained that what makes Toyota trucks popular is that they were specifically designed for these regions and people. "Simple and cheap. A radio is a luxury," he says. Pelton feels Land Rovers and even Jeeps have gone too upscale and soft. The Toyota Land Cruiser SUV (the same one we get here) is usually the vehicle of choice for status-conscious warlords.

"If you see a convoy, and there's one Land Cruiser in the mix, then you know exactly where the high-value target is," he explained. "That's why drones look for that particular SUV."
That said, Pelton does admit that some dictators used to prefer European cars for everyday commuting, and he actually spent time in a few notable ones.

"During the beginning of the war in Iraq, I bought a barely used, newly looted Bentley Mulsanne, owned by Uday Hussein, for $2000. An Iraqi colleague and I drove all over country at very high speeds in this bright red car with gold-plated trim. One time, a U.S. Apache helicopter spotted us and slowly followed us. We were grateful that he checked who was in the car before doing something rash..." Pelton explained.

Now that Pelton has expended 15 of his nine lives, he's also taking time to establish a new brand of survival gear called DPx Gear (www.dpxgear.com). And while he can be seen behind the wheel of anything from a Bentley to a Toyota pickup in those dangerous places, he cruises around his Southern California neighborhood in a BMW 540i, a car he praises for its 155-mph top speed.

"I'm getting softer in my old age," he says.

[46&2]

[BUDDERS]

Talk about a hunter's dream!  I'm in love too   

[46&2]

Very clean 4Runner diesel in Carmel CA. $4500.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1987-Toyota-4Runner-Hilux-Turbo-Diesel-/280806280266?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item41615bcc4a#ht_730wt_1167

[THK Matt]

Very clean 4Runner diesel in Carmel CA. $4500.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1987-Toyota-4Runner-Hilux-Turbo-Diesel-/280806280266?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item41615bcc4a#ht_730wt_1167

Id drop him $4500 all fkn day long for that thing, holy smokes.

[Zs Confederate Toy]

Damn that thing is CLEAN!!