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Notice the trend with the revolution photojournalism? Toyota pickup trucks. There's a reason my beat-up Tacoma pickup has the nickname 'Taco Jihad' - key ingred

Notice the trend with the revolution photojournalism? Toyota pickup trucks. There's a reason my beat-up Tacoma pickup has the nickname 'Taco Jihad' - key ingredient to uprisings.

po 14y ago
It has definitely become a reliable form of light cavalry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Hilux#Reputation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Hilux#Reputation
- IgorPartola 14y ago
  As discussed on HN: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1794419 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1794419
- jt2190 14y ago
  These types of vehicles are now widely referred to as "technicals": > Africa, says [David] Kilcullen, is where the truck got its > nickname as a fighting vehicle, “the technical.” “When > [nongovernmental organizations] and the U.N. first went into > Somalia,” he says, referring to a period in the 1990s, “they > were not able to bring their own guards. So they got so-called > ‘technical assistance grants’ to hire guards and drivers on > the ground. Over time, a ‘technical’ came to mean a vehicle > owned by a guard company, and then eventually to mean a Hilux > with a heavy weapon mounted on the back.” [1] [1] http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/10/14/why-rebel-groups-love-the-toyota-hilux.html http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/10/14/why-rebel-g...
Xylakant 14y ago
I don't know about syria, but in large parts of southern africa (botswana, mozambique, ...) Toyota Hilux and Isuzu pickups have a large share of the car market. They're sturdy, hard to kill and every mechanic knows the cars. I literally had a mechanic rewire the engine of our Isuzu on a bush road after large parts of the wire harness ended up wrapped around the drive train. Took him like two hours but not a single look in the tech manual.
InclinedPlane 14y ago
Trend? This is decades old. In Somalia in the 90s they were called "technicals". And the Chadian-Libyan conflict in the 80s has been dubbed the "Toyota War".

Notice the trend with the revolution photojournalism? Toyota pickup trucks. There's a reason my beat-up Tacoma pickup has the nickname 'Taco Jihad' - key ingredient to uprisings.

po 14y ago

It has definitely become a reliable form of light cavalry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Hilux#Reputation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Hilux#Reputation

IgorPartola 14y ago
As discussed on HN: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1794419 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1794419
jt2190 14y ago
These types of vehicles are now widely referred to as "technicals": > Africa, says [David] Kilcullen, is where the truck got its > nickname as a fighting vehicle, “the technical.” “When > [nongovernmental organizations] and the U.N. first went into > Somalia,” he says, referring to a period in the 1990s, “they > were not able to bring their own guards. So they got so-called > ‘technical assistance grants’ to hire guards and drivers on > the ground. Over time, a ‘technical’ came to mean a vehicle > owned by a guard company, and then eventually to mean a Hilux > with a heavy weapon mounted on the back.” [1] [1] http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/10/14/why-rebel-groups-love-the-toyota-hilux.html http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/10/14/why-rebel-g...

Xylakant 14y ago

I don't know about syria, but in large parts of southern africa (botswana, mozambique, ...) Toyota Hilux and Isuzu pickups have a large share of the car market. They're sturdy, hard to kill and every mechanic knows the cars. I literally had a mechanic rewire the engine of our Isuzu on a bush road after large parts of the wire harness ended up wrapped around the drive train. Took him like two hours but not a single look in the tech manual.

InclinedPlane 14y ago

Trend? This is decades old. In Somalia in the 90s they were called "technicals". And the Chadian-Libyan conflict in the 80s has been dubbed the "Toyota War".