Because I've worked for years at the edges of computer research, and have grown accustomed to flakey and fragile gadgets that only work intermittently, then crash, I have for my private life adopted a farmer's' frugal aesthetic when selecting durable tools. I favor poet Gary Synder's measure of dependability*:

I lie in the dusty and broken brush
Under the pickup
Already thought to be old -
Admiring its solidness, square lines
Thinking a truck like this
Would please Chairman Mao

My own people's pickup is a 1996 4-cylinder Toyota Tacoma 4x4 with 110,00 miles. Toyota pickups were widely visible during CNN coverage of the middle east as the vehicle of choice in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Indeed you find these almost anywhere in the world where reliability is difficult but critical. My mechanic for years, an expatriate Iranian, says that every mechanic he knows admires, and many own, the Toyota 4 cylinder trucks for their durability and reliability.

I use mine to haul feed for the animals, to clear brush from the pastures, to haul firewood, to traverse the high country through deep snow, and for regular commuting over mountain roads and congested freeways. Despite only 4 cylinders, power is ample for any use on or off-road. A used Toyota like mine would sell for $6,000. But I'm pleased to see that prices for a new one are about the same as I paid in '96: dealers sticker is under $18,000, retail around $19,000. The basic four cylinder engine is unchanged throughout the years. It's a classic, like the old GMC/Chevy straight six, and the Dodge slant six; only the running gear and comforts are improved.

It is a truck, I bet, that would have pleased Chairman Mao.

-- Mike Liebhold

Toyota Tacoma 4-cylinder 4x4
New $18,000
Used $5,000 on up
ebay

*'Working on the '58 Willys Pickup' from Axe Handles, North Point Press, 1983