In the year of our lord 1937 A.D. in the relatively unknown city of Nagoya at a small prefecture called Aichi on the island of Honshu in Japan, The first Toyota rolled off the production line.
Fast forward 80 years later and Toyota is the brand of choice for Terrorists, despotic regimes, dictators, militaries, khat producers and poor third world countries where more than half the population live below the poverty line, it’s (real or imagined) reliability and durability being the raison d’être for it’s popularity forthwith.
If Kiichiro Toyoda (R.I.P) were alive today to witness how his brainchild has become a household name worldwide, he would probably weep in admiration. While i’m no fan of Toyota (not by any stretch of the imagination) i’m appalled at the level of criticism it’s owners are forced to endure including being labelled as “unimaginative”, not real motoring enthusiasts, “conformers” of perceived societal norms, brand worshippers and all that hullabaloo, It’s about as annoying as a beautiful blonde with a southern accent. Before you cast aspersions on the ability (or lack thereof) of Toyota owners to make sound decisions when splashing their hard earned dough on their beloved brand, never forget it’s humble origins and solid reputation all over the world for its perceived reliability and durability including among despotic African regimes and oil funded terrorists who are otherwise able to acquire a fleet of BMWs instead though that doesn’t necessarily throw other brands under the bus in terms of reliability.
I for one is under the impression that Hondas with their VTEC sorcery under the hood are slightly more reliable than toyotas but that’s just my two cents, it’s not necessarily true or false, exhaustive scientific tests would have to be done and i’m neither willing (nor able) to conduct such tests given my lingering financial woes and less than impeccable motoring knowledge. Maybe Baraza JM would do the honours. If in the foreseeable future my endless pursuits of the ever elusive shilling yields copious amounts of legal tender, i may splash a sizeable chunk on importing a brand new custom 6*6 79 series (yes, there exists 6*6 Landcruisers) from Australia and spend the remainder fitting an aftermarket air filter snorkel, roof rack with mounted spotlights, BF Goodrich All-terrain tyres and the pièce de résistance; a huge Robs magic bull bar designed to scare the living sh*t out of the perennial matatu bullies who won’t dare cut me off in traffic When they see me in their side mirrors lest i scrap the bloody yellow lines off their jalopies with pure steel and the show-off subaru boys (if i ever catch up to them).
Terrorists and our distinguished (haha) law enforcement agencies alike can attest to the distinction of landcruisers as the symbol of power and fear. We the youth in particular know all too well how a GK 79 series strikes the fear of God in our hearts when you see one leisurely cruising around the neighbourhood. Such an intimidating vehicle. I bet if they had the ugly but no less reliable Nissan hardbody, they would be far less intimidating and look more like clowns.
I once drove a manual d/cab hilux with a massive bull bar with the frame stretching all the way to the back and huge roof mounted spotlights and the urge to bully all and sundry except truck drivers was overwhelming. What better way to build low self-esteem than to get behind the wheel of a big bad SUV and cause untold terror and fear among saloon cars? In the same breadth, i also got to drive a regular probox and i must say that my self-esteem fell to an all time low, i had to drive with the windows up because every other driver in traffic stared at me with contempt, as if i didn’t deserve to share the same road with them, i also got pulled over at every police roadblock and they almost always demanded that i reveal the contents of my boot as though i were ferrying some illegal herbs. My youthful looks coupled with the dubious distinction of the probox as the car of choice for criminals, khat producers and psychopaths made me the perfect target for rogue law enforcement officials.This harrasment and idignity while with the probox coupled with my hubris when i was with the hilux was indicative of the two sides of toyota, the good and the ugly. One has to simply be on the correct side.
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