Top Gear
3 HN recommenders · recommended in 13 months, 2011–2026
8:06 · 31M views · Sep 28, 2010
Top Gear episode in which Jeremy Clarkson and team try to destroy a Toyota Hilux pickup through water, fire, and a demolished building. It is the first part of the 'Killing a Toyota' series.
HN uses it as the go-to evidence for Toyota pickup durability, and as a benchmark in discussions of truck toughness.
14 comments from Hacker News
The entire decades-long overseas diversion saga surrounding American Toyota pickups has always fascinated me. Top Gear did an episode [0] trying to destroy a Toyota Hilux (similar to the Land Cruiser) and literally couldn't, which explains why it's so popular with terrorists. It's a worthwhile watch if you want to see truck survive after being drowned in water, fire, and the rubble of a demolished skyscraper. Say what you want about Toyotas, but that's quite the engineering feat in my opinion! [0] this video
Top Gear had an excellent several-part episode which illustrated just how ridiculously well built these things are. this video
Playlist of attempts: this video Part 3 with the 23-storey drop from a collapsing tower block is worth a watch
TL;DR: Toyotas tend to be more reliable, easier to maintain (less yak shaving), and thus tend to last longer and be more valuable. Toyotas have earned their cult-like status because of an extreme focus on quality at manufacture time (see Toyota Production System) which results in durability and reliability of the finished products (the vehicles themselves). For a real world (rather ridiculous and unscientific as it may seem), see this video where a popular automotive show set out to 'kill' (render inoperable without inputting new parts) a Toyota over the course of around 3 videos[1]. Here in the US, I drive a 1998 Toyota 4Runner, a cousin to the vehicle in the video, and I know that every single repair dollar it is fed translates to more miles on the road. Yes, if you feed new parts to old cars, they get slightly less old. But some brands (ancedotes are not data, yada yada, but:) primarily US domestic brands (though foreign BMW etc. can misbehave too) tend to make strange design decisions that result in an unreliable, poorly aging vehicle. A 199x Buick Rivera required my father to drop the front axle IIRC just to swap the oil pan, or something similar. [1] this video
> 20 years ago you could pick up a world-class Supra or a proper Land Cruiser or a Tacoma or a Camry or Corolla that could practically be the last commuter car you ever need. All of them stubbornly reliable. many of the cars Toyota had on the lot in 1997 still sell for close to their retail price! The mid-90s to early 2000s were a golden era for Japanese cars. I dream of importing a Nissan Silvia S15[1] with the legendary SR20 engine. It's quite feasible, especially if you live in a left hand drive country (warning: it's complicated getting some of these cars into the US[2]). The Skylines of that era (e.g. the blue and silver one from the Fast and the Furious 2) still sell for insane money (around €35k-45k last time I checked, depending on the model and trim), they are really hot items to import from Japan. Also, the Hilux of the era is virtually indestructible. Top Gear famously demolished a building with a Hilux perched on top[3], and the engine still worked afterwards. [1] [LINK] [2] [LINK] [3] this video