I'm really tired of this "hurr-durr Hilux indestructible" meme. They used it because they were there and available. In areas with limited supply chain infrastructure there is very much a network effect when it comes to machines that need a pretty substantial supply chain. It would have been the S10 war or the Ranger war had GM or Ford been the dominant manufacturer in that region. Toyota does not make cars that are magically immune to the laws of physics. They degrade with use like everything else and eventually suffer mechanical failure.