Toyota Hilux Meets Its Match

Mike Solowiow
by Mike Solowiow

Jeremy Clarkson is wrong! Top Gear demonstrated the Toyota Hilux survives drowning, fire, a tree, a wrecking ball, and the destruction of a skyscraper. However, the one thing he didn't try was handing it over to the average American Airmen/Soldier. Just like the Nissan Urvan, the Hilux' manual transmission couldn't handle the abuse heaped on it by America's finest and ended up with stripped synchronizers and chipped gears. To rectify the situation, the USAF recently purchased a fleet of Chevrolet Silverado Z71 6.0-liter uber-trucks for several deployed locations, with automatic transmissions, and push-button four-wheel drive. I wonder how those would hold up to Jeremy Clarkson?


Mike Solowiow
Mike Solowiow

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  • Sajeev Mehta Sajeev Mehta on Mar 07, 2008

    I agree with the others. Not to bag on our armed forces, but tranny problems like that are usually operator error.

  • Rpn453 Rpn453 on Mar 07, 2008

    Yep, they don't know how to drive a standard. Not a surprise.

  • Raskolnikov Raskolnikov on Mar 07, 2008

    They'd better order the beefed up suspension to handle Clarkson's fat, fish-n-chips eatin a$$.

  • Altoids Altoids on Mar 07, 2008

    Agreed. Comparing the reliability of an automatic to a manual is apples and oranges. The Hilux automatic (if such a thing exists), would stand up to USAF abuse just as well. Of course, an automatic would never survive the same things that Hilux did. Nor, sadly, would a modern Hilux. Crumple zones would pancake any modern truck.

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