2001 Isuzu Rodeo Sport S V6 Sport Utility 2-door 3.2l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Future Classic | 1990-1993 Geo Storm and Isuzu Impulse

You don't see a lot of Geo-branded cars on the road these days, despite the fact that the General Motors' captive-import brand was actually pretty successful for around a decade. Perhaps the most recognizable vehicle to roll into Geo showrooms was the Prizm, which basically amounted to a rebadged Toyota Corolla built in California (which means General Motors was competing against its own Chevy Cavalier in the compact sedan market). And then there were the Geo Metro sub-compact, known for years as the most fuel-efficient vehicle you could buy in the United States, and the spunky Geo Tracker SUV that carried on for several years wearing Chevrolet badges after Geo's demise. Those are all interesting vehicles, but for this article we're going to focus in on the sporty Storm model. Like the other Geo vehicles, the Storm was sort of a joint venture, in this case with Isuzu, the Japanese automaker best known for making SUVs and big commercial trucks. Back in the day, though, Isuzu had some legitimately intriguing little cars in its showrooms. The Storm was based heavily on the second-generation Isuzu Impulse (known as the Piazza in other markets). And, well, you see even fewer Isuzus on the road these days than Geos. MotorWeek | Retro Review: '90 Geo Storm GSi Why are the Geo Storm and Isuzu Impulse future classics? They may never actually be "classics" in the same way a Ford Mustang or Chevy Camaro may be, but they are still interesting cars. And for potential buyers of a certain age, memories of gawking at sleek-looking Geo Storms everywhere you looked mean the nostalgia factor is high. If nothing else, we're pretty sure a nicely kept Storm or Impulse would draw a certain crowd at a local car show. While the Storm was way more popular with American buyers in the 1990s, the rarity of the Impulse means it's probably the more desirable option if future collectibility is a factor. What is the ideal example of the Geo Storm or Isuzu Impulse? The most valuable version of the duo is surely the rare Isuzu Impulse RS (the silver car above) with all-wheel drive and a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that spun out 160 horsepower and 150 pound-feet of torque. According to reports, only about 600 of these machines were sold in the States — complete with "Handling by Lotus" badging (General Motors held sizable stakes in both brands at the time) — which means they aren't very easy to find for sale.

Junkyard Gem: 1990 Isuzu Pickup, Zombie Response Edition

Isuzu-built pickups first went on sale in North America for the 1972 model year, but with Chevrolet LUV badges. Elsewhere, they were known as the Isuzu KB or Isuzu Faster, But eventually they got Isuzu badges in America, and were named the Isuzu P'up in the early 1980s. Later, they became simply known as the Isuzu Pickup (following Toyota's lead after the US-market Hilux became just the Toyota Truck) starting when the third-generation Faster debuted for 1988. Here's one of those trucks, found in a Denver self-service boneyard last Halloween. I see a lot of zombie-themed decor on junkyard vehicles, mostly just a single decal here or there (often combined with snowboarding and/or cannabis-themed stickers), but someone went above and beyond in the zombification of this Isuzu. This truck started life with a coat of dark blue paint, but that's just too cheerful when you're out hunting down the undead. Now it has a thick coat of flat black and "Toxic Waste Green" stickers everywhere. It appears that you can buy this sticker set on Amazon for under $30 right now. Remember when you'd see these Metal Mulisha stickers all over? In case you're looking for some Get Up Stand Up Light Roast coffee, Marley Coffee has you covered. Someone should write a doctoral dissertation about the stickers found on vehicles in Denver car graveyards. The engine is the 2.6-liter Isuzu straight-four that went into so many Amigos and Rodeos over the years. You should have four-wheel drive and a manual transmission when pursuing zombies across the wastelands of eastern Colorado, especially in the winter, and this truck has both. There's no telling how many miles were on it at the end, because some junkyard shopper nabbed the instrument cluster. While four-wheel-drive small pickups are useful even at age 32, the rust plus the manual transmission (plus the Zombie Appearance Package) would have made this one a tough sell for its final owner. When you have Isuzus of the late 1980s and early 1990s, you have Joe Isuzu! Did you know Joe Isuzu was a phone phreaker? The Isuzu Pickup was slightly cheaper than the Toyota Truck, if you considered only the stripped-down base versions. The only things scarier than Isuzu trucks are Isuzu trucks on sale!

Isuzu truck concepts include honeycombed ‘toaster on wheels’

Isuzu took to its hometown auto show to highlight its work in developing next-generation transport trucks, showing eight vehicles and four powertrain systems at the 45th Tokyo Motor Show. The most notable of the bunch are a pair of concepts: the FD-SI, a light-duty delivery truck designed around principles found in the insect kingdom, and the Elf EV, an all-electric version of its light-duty workhorse featuring a large-capacity battery with rapid-charging capability. From a design perspective, the FD-SI will get all the attention — much of it probably of the bemused sort. In truth, it looks like a futuristic toaster on wheels, a rolling box structure fitted with honeycomb patterns on the side panels and a glass cab windshield that seems borrowed from a heavy-duty construction crane. It turns out the honeycomb motif is no mere design whim; Isuzu says its designers focused on the "group intelligence" of insects and tried to apply that principle to the delivery vehicle. So the honeycomb exterior is replicated in the cargo space as hexagonal tube-shaped boxes, which the automaker says is a good compromise between strength and storage space. Inside the cab, the driver controls and seat have all been centralized, with the steering wheel retractable, to encourage smoother operability and more comfortable living space for the driver. "We want to support the drivers, the front-line people of "Transport," with unconventional ideas," Isuzu says. The Elf EV, on the other hand, is a zero-emissions, low-vibration delivery truck powered by a lithium-ion battery that'll take the vehicle at least 100 km, or 62 miles, on a single normal or fast-charge. It sports a 4x2, rear-wheel drive transmission with independent suspension in the front and leaf suspension in the rear. Here's a quick list of Isuzu's other Tokyo offerings: A 6x6 all-wheel-drive truck, featuring single wheels on all axles, built for rough terrain such as areas hit by major natural disasters. 80th anniversary editions of the Giga heavy-duty truck, geared with a remote monitoring system to transmit vehicle data for remote analysis to ensure safe driving; the Forward medium-duty truck, which boasts 10 percent higher fuel economy than its 2015 version; and the internal-combustion version of the Elf light-duty truck, which is sold in the U.S. as the N-Series.