1998 Isuzu Rodeo Ls -- 75,ooo Miles --- Sharp Suv -- 2wd on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Junkyard Gem: 1984 Isuzu P'up

General Motors, wishing to sell a small pickup to compete with the likes of the Toyota Hilux and Nissan 521, began importing the Isuzu Faster for the 1972 model year, equipping it with Chevrolet LUV badges. Ford brought over the Mazda Proceed as the Courier the same year, while Chrysler turned to Mitsubishi to provide the Plymouth Arrow Truck and Dodge Ram 50 a bit later on. Once GM introduced the all-Detroit S-10 for the 1982 model year, however, the LUV's reign ended. Fortunately for fans of the Light Utility Vehicle, Isuzu began selling these trucks under its own badging here in 1981. This truck was called the P'up, and sales continued through 1987. Here's one of those P'ups, found in a Denver boneyard last month. This truck has the long-bed option. The purple paint and black stripes appear to be non-factory items, as the engine-compartment paint is silver. Under the hood, we see the 1.9-liter G200Z engine, as used in the Impulse and early Trooper. It had 86 horsepower on tap, which made this truck quite a bit zippier than the version with the 58-horse diesel (several decades back, I had a job that involved driving a diesel P'up and I can state from experience that the oil-burning P'up was an agonizingly slow machine). Still, this truck must have been on the poky side, what with its (optional) three-speed automatic transmission. What's this— air conditioning in a compact pickup? That was still something of a blasphemous idea in the middle 1980s. Someone installed a functional cold-air induction system involving an aftermarket air cleaner protruding from the hood, above the carburetor. Let's hope there was a filter element in here, because it doesn't do a carb any good to suck in bugs and dirt (not to mention filling with water while parked outdoors during rainstorms). This is by far the most common sticker found on vehicles in Denver-area wrecking yards. The Incredibles Empire appears to get mightier with each passing day, though I see plenty of stickers from other cannabis-related businesses in these yards. Fox Street Wellness is still around, though under a new name. What better vehicle for picking up a bag of Girl Scout Cookies weed ("best reserved for experienced cannabis consumers") than a purple P'up with hood-mounted air cleaner? Today, the Purple P'up's final parking spot is just a few miles to the north of this dispensary.

GM recalling 316k vehicles due to headlamp faults

General Motors has announced a recall covering 316,357 vehicles globally, due to the possibility of sporadic or permanent failure of the low-beam headlamps. 273,182 of these vehicles are in the United States, while the remaining affected units are in Canada, Mexico, and elsewhere. This recall includes the 2006-09 Buick LaCrosse (pictured above), 2006-07 Chevy TrailBlazer and TrailBlazer EXT, 2006-07 GMC Envoy and 2006 GMC Envoy XL, 2006-07 Buick Rainier, 2006-08 Saab 9-7X, and 2006-08 Isuzu Ascender. In an email sent to Autoblog, General Motors explains that if the headlamp driver modules are not functioning correctly, "the low-beam headlamps and daytime running lamps could intermittently or permanently fail to illuminate." GM states that this problem does not affect things like high-beams, turn signals, marker lamps, or foglamps. As of this writing, GM states it "has not been able to confirm whether the HDMs in these vehicles caused any vehicle accidents." The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been notified, but the recall has not yet posted to the government agency's website. Scroll down to read the full details in GM's email. General Motors is recalling 273,182 Buick LaCrosse sedans and Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, Saab and Isuzu midsize SUVs in the U.S. for possible intermittent or permanent loss of low beam headlamps. Affected models are: 2006-2009 Buick LaCrosse sedans; 2006-2007 Chevrolet TrailBlazer and 2006 TrailBlazer EXT; 2006-2007 GMC Envoy and 2006 Envoy XL; 2006-2007 Buick Rainier; 2006-2008 Saab 9-7X and 2006-2008 Isuzu Ascender midsize SUVs. If the headlamp driver modules is not operating correctly, the low-beam headlamps and daytime running lamps could intermittently or permanently fail to illuminate. This condition does not affect the high-beam headlamps, marker lamps, turn signals, or fog lamps. GM has not been able to confirm whether the HDMs in these vehicles caused any vehicle accidents. The total population, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico and exports from North America is 316,357. The NHTSA was sent the Part 573 information for this recall on November 25. It has not yet posted to the NHTSA website. Featured Gallery 2008 Buick LaCrosse CXS News Source: General Motors Recalls Buick Chevrolet GM GMC Isuzu Saab SUV Sedan chevy trailblazer buick rainier isuzu ascender

Junkyard Gem: 1997 Acura SLX

When I'm prowling wrecking yards, I'm always on the lookout for obscure examples of badge engineering, and the weirder they are, the better I like them. While I haven't managed to spot a junked Suzuki Equator yet, I have photographed such rarities as the Saab 9-2x and Isuzu Ascender. A few weeks ago, I encountered one of the real oddities of the Honda-Isuzu dealmaking of the 1990s: a 1997 Acura SLX, a luxed-up Isuzu Trooper that sold very poorly and is now mostly forgotten today. Plenty of Acura SUVs designed and built entirely by Honda roll out of American showrooms today, but the 1990s SUV boom caught Honda by surprise. The first MDX wasn't ready until the 2001 model year, so Honda made a deal to take Isuzu Troopers, apply wood and leather inside and Acura badges outside, and cash in on North Americans' increasing disdain for minivans, sedans, and station wagons. Americans were very familiar with the Trooper, which was sold here from the middle 1980s until the 2002 model year, when the Chevrolet Trailblazer-based Ascender went on sale. The Isuzu name stuck around on these shores until 2008. The SLX was a decent enough truck, but there was no disguising its proletariat Trooper roots from status-conscious SUV shoppers who wanted to look more oligarchic while conquering a half-inch of snow in the mall parking lot. It didn't help that the 1997 Trooper L listed at $27,800 and the SLX Premium cost $38,300 (that's about $44,200 and $60,900 in inflation-adjusted 2018 bucks). SLX sales started off weak and plummeted after that. After 1999, the SLX was done. I spent years trying to find one in California and Colorado wrecking yards, but the few that were sold seemed to be sturdy enough to stay alive for a couple of decades. Finally, this high-mile '97 appeared in a Denver yard. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.