Was this when you decided to buy a tacoma?

when this drove onto the top gear stage for the last time...

yes yes bring a diesel tacoma to America and all...

I first saw this top gear as the 2nd gen tacomas were just being introduced. I imagine that the designers of the 2005 tacoma were inspired by the destroyed roof line of the old hilux. I fell in love immediately (though i had always admired the perseverance of my dad's '87 pick up) and am here today because of it!

whether it was top gear, back to the future, or your dad that initiated your love for toyota pick ups, let's hear what brought you here!

10 years since the top gear hilux was officially retired, i just figured we should celebrate it

 

And just in case some folks haven't seen it.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnWKz7Cthkk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTPnIpjodA8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFnVZXQD5_k

I saw this a long time ago and it didn't do anything in my purchase.

Toyota / trucks have always been top quality. However - they're not nearly as good as they used to be. Dare to put a 2nd gen thru the same thing - there's no way in hell it would survive!!

 

This was one of the first episodes that I seen of Top Gear. I see it every month or so because it's one of my favourite episodes. I even bought the episode from Itunes so I could have it on my Iphone and I can watch it anytime. I agree with the poster above that a 2nd Gen would not last what the 1st Gen was put through.

 

Nope. Not impressed with that torture test. It's a dirt simple vehicle with no electronics. Not shocked at all that it still moves under it's own power. That's ALL that it does now. It's by no means driveable.

I wanted a midsize truck. Had an 86 Yota long time ago. Nostalgic? Maybe. But mostly bought it because it was the most truck for the money in the midsize class. It was either that or a Ranger, really.

 

Best show ever! Clarkson for President!

 

On this side of the ball they are designed to break much easier.
In most areas in north America there is a stealership every 100 miles. Lots of employees, lots of suits and marketing. Overhead a plenty. Plenty of fools with money to burn aswell.

In other continents, not so much. Reliability is paramount when you are in the middle of nowhere. The durability is what sells. Unlike here with television and print ads daily.

I love my truck, don't think it's going to be like the hardcore metal machines of yesteryear. To much plastic on metal.

 

my pops had an 89' pickup xtra cab that i LOVED riding in. Big oversized tires on the old skool bullet hole rims, manual hubs, and some off road bumpers. I loved it at the time and didn't think twice when he sold it because he told me why and i accepted it....now that its been about twelve years and i'm more mature, i realize that selling it was his biggest mistake...and he realized it too. So onto a 90' 4runner for me! loved it too but didnt need four seats and it was falling apart unfortunately...so here i am 2000 tacoma and i'll pass this one down to my son.

 

My dad sold his mint 1987 Pickup 22re, ran like a top at 240,000 miles, about 10 years ago

he kicks himself everyday over it.

 

My first car was actually a truck! My dad got me a 1987 Toyota Pickup with a standard cab, 4 cylinder engine, and a 5 speed manual transmission when I was 15. The motor was fried. The lady who owned it previous was driving it with little to no oil. My dad was a mechanic, retired now, so he bought all the parts and showed me how to rebuild the motor. We worked on in together after school a few days a week. Not just rebuilding the motor, but re-doing everything. It was ready to run by my 16th birthday. I loved that truck and owned it for over 10 years. I ended up giving to my cousin who's father had passed away and had no money for a car, but needed to drive to school.

I loved that truck! So many memories... so man 'firsts' in that thing. When the time came for me to buy a tuck as a secondary, fun vehicle; I didn't think twice about getting another Toyota. The Top Gear episodes didn't hurt either, I'm a huge fan of that show.

 

I come from a Toyota family. No tv, no ads. Although top gear and back to the future puts icing on the cake. Growing up as a little kid around Toyotas pretty much influenced me.

 

Family. Father was a toyota mechanic Dad had a tacoma when I was a kid, only sold it b/c i got too big to fit in it 89 4runner 93 4runner

 

That episode delayed my purchase. Always holding out for a diesel taco here

 

That's gunna be in few year I think once jeep comes out with there diesel wranglers and rams Toyota might start thinking about putting diesels in the tacos.

 

Those Top Gear episodes are awesome, but you cant compare that Toyota pick up to the Tacoma. Too much plastic and electronics on these things now a days. The Taco would be toast after being submerged in the high tide.
I still love my taco, Its my first and I have wanted a Tacoma for a long time. The only thing that was holding me back all these years is that we only have ONE Toyota dealer here on the islands, and I have always felt a resentment towards them for having a monopoly on Toyotas and Lexus. That ended when my wife really wanted the new Sienna SE. She had to have it, so we went and bought one, and it was such a pleasant experience that I put my one year old Frontier Pro4X up for sale and ordered a Tacoma
I have purchased over a dozen new vehicles in my life and the Toyotas were by far the easiest.

 

X2!!!!!!!!!!!!

They will never ever make trucks the way they used too. There isnt a big enough market for true badass trucks.

And yeah a 2nd gen would be absolutely destroyed. First gen too

 

I remember watching that back when I was like 10 on discovery channel, and back then, I swore I'd never drive a Toyota, well this is my second Toyota, 1st taco, and vow to never drive another pos chevy, ford or podge! Watched my parents with me spend too many days in dealers getting problems "fixed", two Toyotas here and not a problem yet!

 

I come from a chevy family, or at least what used to be a chevy family. When I was growing up my folks would only buy chevrolet and swore to their reliability. We had a couple suburbans, K5 blazers, and other trucks with 350s that were tough as nails. Then, around 2000 my mother bought a really nice loaded s10 blazer for around 18k. That vehicle was an ungodly chunk of shit... It had electrical problems from day one and by the time we junked it we had at least another 12k into it. After that experience EVERYONE in my family switched to Japanese vehicles and we now have 2 tacomas, a camry, and a subaru. I have lost all brand loyalty and will only consider models notorious for reliability, regardless of manufacturer.

 

I love my truck. For me however, it was not a show that made me fall in love with a Toyota Tacoma. A few years ago I took a small trip to a big sand box. There I saw US special forces beat the hell out of there trucks (Tacomas) and never think 2x about them breaking down. One more thing those trucks bone stock no mods.
I do love that episode!

 

I drove a lifted F150 for several years, and I was tired of passing up parking spots and getting mediocre mileage. I wanted a smaller truck, and I always thought the Tacoma looked pretty badass. The Frontier and other Tacoma competitors weren't even an option.

 

This is where it all started for me!!