Yes...I agree that Isuzu will probably not be around in the American market much longer. I've posted on that before.
The small Isuzu truck you are referring to was called the P'up. It was sold in the American market in the 80's and early 90's.
After Isuzu dropped its own I-Mark sedan here in the US, a buisness deal was arranged with Honda where rebadged Honda Civics would be sold in Japan as Isuzu I-Marks and rebadged Isuzu Rodeos and Troopers would be sold as Honda Passports and Acura SLX's.

I agree with you that I don't think it was a very good idea...the poor reliability and rather old mechanicals of the Rodeo didn't do the Passport any good, and the Acura SLX, of course, suffered from instability and criticism from Consumer Reports in the Trooper flip-over tests, despite the Trooper's outstanding reliability. This hurt sales significantly......the SLX was a sales flop to begin with..... and eventually led to the demise of both models.

Another thing that led to Isuzu's demise was their delay in converting their SUV's from part-time 4WD to the full-time systems with torque-on-demand and center differentials that are becoming more and more the norm. I pointed this out numerous times to Isuzu personnel at auto shows, but the company dragged their feet for years...too long. That is one reason why the Axiom never sold.

 

I remember that i-Mark sedan. Also labeled as a Geo for a very short period? Isuzu's North American headquarters is here in SoCal, specifically Cerritos off the 91 Freeway. Such a small facility, they Hyundai North American HQ up the 405 from me here in Orange County makes them look like peanuts in comparison.

 

No...the Geo you are referring to was called the Storm. It was not based on the Isuzu-designed I-Mark sedan but on the Isuzu Impulse, a rather odd, low-slung wedge-shaped sport coupe with buttons mounted on pods on either side of the steering column. Like most Isuzu automobiles of the period, it was not successful in the American market.
The Geo Storm was based on the Impulse's engine, drivetrain, and chassis, but, however, did not share the body or interior. It was much more conventionally shaped and styled inside and out. It was quite popular....and handily outsold the Impulse by a wide margin.

http://www.robietherobot.com/storm/default.htm

 

I cannot lie, when I was a kid, I really liked the Isuzu Stylus. Tuned by Lotus

 

I never drove a Stylus....so I'll take your word for it. I would have liked to have seen this "tuning" by Colin Chapman's boys.

In general, however, based on my test-drives of the I-Mark and Impulse, I'd have to say that Isuzu by themselves had no idea how to design car suspensions. They combined somewhat mediocre handling with a rock-hard firmness that you could feel driving over a cigarette butt. It was like the shocks had no fluid at all in them and were just welded on to the struts.

As you note from one of my former posts, Izusu finally gave up on car designs of their own and started selling rebadged Civics.

Anyhow, sorry...we kinda got off topic...which was Honda trucks. I guess we got on Isuzu with the Honda-Isuzu SUV comparisons.

 

The i-mark's brother was the Chevy Spectrum later and for a very short time called the Geo Spectrum back in the late 80's, remember this? I know about the Impulse/Storm.

 

It always makes me laugh when people submit a picture of a beater.

If the guy took some pride in his car - it wouldn't be funny. But this car has clearly not been washed in several years and various items have bumped/crashed into it in several locations.



M.

 

Yes...you're right. I had almost forgotten about the Spectrum. It was a short, choppy-shaped compact.....which reminds me.......a friend of mine is driving an old, worn-out one that I'm afraid is going to leave her stranded.....I've got to help her replace it soon.

 

Yeah, whip.....this is not the best of sites. I just posted it to illustrate the basic relationship between the two cars.
.
I don't have a lot of the computer skills you guys have pasting, scanning, and posting good pictures....especially like 1SICK, Dave, AmethySC, and Flip.

 

Yeah man - the Lotus Elan M100 turbo from around that time was pretty sweet ...



M.

 

To clarify - the picture I posted earlier (of the beater) is NOT the site's featured car (not the site-owner's car). It's just somebody who uploaded to the gallery on that site. It just struck me as funny; especially the "mods" that guy has done to his car.

I wasn't trying to criticise you at all. I apologize if you thought that was my intention.

As for the Impulse - before I moved, my neighbor had a 1991 Isuzu Impulse (RS turbo) like the one pictured below.

It's a pretty cool car.



M.

 

I cannot believe I used to want this