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Why exactly are non of these trucks available in the United States? I just came back from a trip around central Africa and these vehicles are ubiquitous, not to mention nuclear bomb proof. They put the Ford 150/250/350 etc to shame.
It costs too much to certify them for sale in the US and we won't buy enough of them. It's another way your government serves you, by telling you what you can't have in the US.
NHTSA, EPA and CAFE standards are the main reasons. Some of the vehicles you find overseas do not meet the standards our government requires.
Remember the Land Rover Defender 90 from the mid 90's? Awesome vehicle, but the government was going to require Land Rover to meet the air bag regulations. Land Rover wasn't selling enough of this model in the US market to justify the cost associated with installing air bags so they just stopped importing in America.
I drove a Land cruiser (70 series) for a few months down in Bolivia in the mid 9th and yes, it was a great vehicle, like an ultra reliable, virtually unbreakable Wrangler JK, really. Discos on the other hand are mostly crap and were sold in the USA for quite a few years. They have absolutely horrible reliability. I think pajeros were sold here as Monteros? and had a long run too. The hilux is the Tacoma here and is the exact same vehicle as it's overseas counterpart.
Anyway, the US 4x4 market has shrunk down to pretty much only 1 truly hardcore offering (the wrangler) and that's probably all our market can support. There just isn't the actual need for a safari ready vehicle and the "just for fun" off-road crowd has mostly moved to ATVs.
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