1997 Isuzu Oasis S Mini Passenger Van 5-door 2.2l on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 2005 Isuzu Ascender

We know the GMT360 platform best as the basis for the Chevrolet Trailblazer and GMC Envoy, but there were four additional trucks in the GMT360 family: the 2002-2004 Oldsmobile Bravada, the 2004-2007 Buick Rainier, the 2005-2009 Saab 9-7X, and the 2003-2008 Isuzu Ascender. All these trucks were more or less the same, but the Isuzu is by far the rarest; I searched for a junkyard Ascender for months before I found this one in Arizona. Exact production figures are tough to find, and some will tell you that the Saab 9-7X is even more rare. In wrecking yards, though, I see SaaBlazers pretty regularly, but it has been like pulling teeth to find an Ascender. Perhaps the Saab name adds more value than the Isuzu name, when you're searching for a used SUV. Isuzu dealerships in the United States sold Ascenders until the fateful day in 2009 when the company packed up and left the country. Had the Daewoo brand stuck around in the United States past 2002, we might have seen a Daewoo-badged GMT360 as well. Ascenders were built in Ohio and Oklahoma. This one, photographed in Phoenix, came from the latter plant. Most of the GMT360s could be had with various flavors of V8 engines as optional equipment, but nearly all of these trucks came with the Vortec 4200 4.2-liter straight-six. My 1941 Plymouth project car is getting one of these engines. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. "When it comes to power and space and value, three out of three is not bad." Featured Gallery Junked 2005 Isuzu Ascender View 20 Photos Auto News Isuzu ascender

Junkyard Gem: 1998 Isuzu Oasis

When I'm crawling through a big self-service wrecking yard (as I do at least once a week) in search of interesting discarded vehicles, the top of my "look for" list always includes weird and obscure examples of badge engineering, the weirder and more obscure the better. So far the Nissan-made Suzuki Equator has eluded me, but I have managed to shoot such junkyard badge-engineering oddities as the Mitsubishi Precis (Hyundai Excel), Acura SLX (Isuzu Trooper), Saab 9-2X (Subaru Impreza) and Saturn Astra (Opel Astra). Isuzu's dire need for a minivan in the late 1990s led to a deal with Honda to sell the first-generation Odyssey as the Oasis (even as the Trooper became the Honda Passport). Few bought the Oasis, but I found one in a Denver yard a few months back. Pure Honda throughout, down to the VTEC badges on the engine. This is the 2.3-liter F23 four, rated at 150 horsepower for 1998. Sold new in Denver, will be crushed in Denver. Though Americans bought many a Geo or Chevy built by Isuzu during the 1980s and 1990s (not to mention the big-selling Isuzu-made Chevy LUV truck of the 1970s), the Isuzu brand never really caught on over here. By 2009, Isuzu was gone. The first-generation Odyssey was well-made and efficient, but it was designed for the Japanese home market and thus was too small for most American van shoppers in 1998 (most of whom were moving to SUVs around that time, anyway). You could fit a lot of people and gear in this small-footprint machine, but that was more important in crowded Japanese cities than in sprawling American suburbia. Collectible? Not at all. But an interesting piece of automotive history. I can't find any Oasis ads online, so let's watch a JDM commercial for the first-gen Odyssey, featuring the Addams Family. Featured Gallery Junked 1998 Isuzu Oasis LS View 17 Photos Auto News Isuzu Automotive History

Honda and Isuzu announce hydrogen partnership for heavy-duty trucks

TOKYO — Japan's Honda and Isuzu on Wednesday said they would jointly research the use of hydrogen fuel cells to power heavy-duty trucks, looking to expand fuel cell use by applying the zero-emission technology to larger vehicles. As part of a two-year deal, Isuzu will test Honda's fuel cell powertrain, which was designed for passenger cars, in Isuzu's commercial trucks, the companies said, which could pave the way for using the technology in a wider range of vehicles. Automakers are looking to develop more electric vehicles (EVs) to comply with tightening global emissions regulations. Many see battery-powered EVs as a solution for passenger cars in urban settings, but a growing number see hydrogen fuel cells as an effective way to power trucks, buses and other big vehicles. "Although we have done extensive R&D into passenger FCVs (fuel cell vehicles), we have not been able to study how best to apply the technology to commercial vehicles," a Honda spokesman told reporters at a briefing. "This partnership will allow us to do that." Fuel cell vehicles generate their own electricity using hydrogen stored in onboard tanks. This enables them to travel longer distances and refuel more quickly than battery EVs, while using less costly energy storage systems. "We think that FCV technology is well suited for heavier trucks which travel longer distances, and this partnership will enable us to examine this further," an Isuzu spokeswoman said, adding that the truck maker was also developing various lower-carbon powertrains including battery-electric technology for shorter-distance vehicles. With its Clarity Fuel Cell sedan, Honda is one of a handful of automakers which have developed and marketed fuel cell-powered passenger cars. Light- and medium-sized truck specialist Isuzu has for years has focused on diesel engine technology and has yet to market fully electric vehicles. But a price tag starting around $70,000 for the Clarity and scant hydrogen fueling infrastructure globally, Honda has seen limited take-up of that model and other FCVs since they began marketing them around 2015. In 2018 Honda sold just 654 Clarity FCVs, which are available only in Japan and the United States through leasing programs, compared with Honda's total annual global sales of 5.23 million cars.