1995 Isuzu Rodeo S Sport Utility 4-door V6, 4 Whee Drive, In Excellent Condition on 2040-cars

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Could this Isuzu Mysterious be an affordable 90s gem?

The Isuzu Rodeo holds a special place in rad car fans’ hearts, as it was the basis for another beloved off-roader, the original Honda Passport. The five-door Isuzu SUV lasted here for several years before being discontinued in the early 2000s, but the automaker sold funky two-door body styles in other markets, and one of the now-legal imports has made its way to Cars & Bids. Though our version had the somewhat mundane “Rodeo” title, the SUV was known as the “MU” or Mysterious Utility. This Japanese-market version comes with a 2.8-liter turbodiesel and a five-speed manual transmission. This one has around 121,000 miles and looks in decent shape. Interestingly, the two-door MU almost has a Mitsubishi Pajero Evo vibe, with its beefy fender flares and cropped, lifted body. Amazingly, the auctionÂ’s statement that the SUV is barely modified is accurate, as its only upgrades include a new stereo and those funky gold wheels. The Mysterious has drawn several comments, mainly from curious observers asking questions about a vehicle theyÂ’ve never seen. One wondered whether the MysteriousÂ’ top is removable, which unfortunately is not the case. Some versions, including the Isuzu Amigo, which we got, came with a removable soft top. One commenter noted that the tops donÂ’t age well, so the hardtop is likely the best choice for a 31-year-old imported SUV.   Though many JDM vehicles from this era are sometimes exceedingly difficult to import and equally expensive, the Mysterious sits at just $3,500 halfway through its auction. ItÂ’s got all the hallmarks to be a Radwood-ready bargain, too. The bright red paint and gold accents give it just enough flash, and versions of the diesel engine are still in production in China, so it might be somewhat reasonable to find parts. Related Video Isuzu Auctions Used Car Buying SUV

16 things I learned about the Isuzu VehiCROSS

There are plenty of cars I remember existing, but actually know very little about due to the passage of time or just not particularly caring when they were new. Take the Isuzu VehiCROSS, which I fondly recall as this wackadoo off-roader from the late 1990s and early 2000s. But honestly, that's about it. So, since I've got a little extra time kicking about, I decided to fall into the rabbit hole labeled Isuzu VehiCROSS for an hour to see how much I could find out about this SUV (or "sport/utility" in 1999 parlance) that shared labeling with the watch I wore in 1999. Enjoy. 1) The VehiCROSS was not based on the Rodeo, as I always assumed, but rather the Trooper RS. Oh, so that bigger, boxier Isuzu they turned into an Acura? No, no, no. The RS was the two-door Trooper, and specifically the second-generation two-door Trooper, which I just discovered was a thing. And what a gawky, dorky, that-has-to-be-Photoshopped thing it was. Apparently, the Trooper RS was sold in the United States from 1993 to 1995, and in very small numbers. That is not surprising. 2) It was probably obvious, but the VehiCROSS was based on a concept car. Specifically, a concept car shown at the 1993 Tokyo auto show.  3) The quick turnaround from concept to its Japanese market introduction for 1997 was the result of some innovative manufacturing methods at the time (it arrived in the United States in 1999). According to the Motor Trend first drive, "There would be no time-consuming clinics, no 'courtroom drama' with the finance department, and to oversee the project, a 'Zip Team' consisting of 15-20 members was given the task of developing the vehicle in about half the normal time." Among its accomplishments, the team came up with a way to more quickly and cheaply produce the VehiCROSS' unique body pieces. Again according to Motor Trend, Isuzu used carbon stamping dies inside of the conventional cast iron dies. Though the carbon could be used far fewer times and result in a reduced overall capacity, they cost one-third to one-half as much and could be made in about six weeks – the cast iron ones would take four months and run about $1.5 million in 1990s dollars. Isuzu estimated they'd only be able to produce 2,400 VehiCROSSes per year until the carbon dies wore out. Then that would be it. According to sales data on Wikipedia, Isuzu managed to sell 2,005 in the U.S. alone in year 1 and 4,153 in total. In Japan, there were 1,805 sold in total.

Junkyard Gem: 2000 Honda Passport 4WD

The suits at American Honda Motor Company must have spent the bulk of the 1990s tearing out their hair in frustration as their rivals raked in big money from the sales of ever-more-profitable SUVs, even as American car shoppers lost interest in sedans and hatchbacks. Oh, sure, the Civic-based CR-V appeared here for the 1997 model year and sold well enough, but the lack of a larger SUV pained Honda more with each passing year. With the Acura MDX and Honda Pilot not ready for showrooms until the 2001 and 2002 model years, respectively, some stopgap had to be found. Isuzu stepped up and made a deal with Honda: the Rodeo would get Honda badges and become the Passport, while the Trooper would show up in Acura showrooms with SLX badges (for the 1994 and 1995 model years, respectively). Here's one of those Passports, found in a Denver-area self-service yard. Things got even weirder in the Isuzu/Honda world around the turn of the century, with the Honda Odyssey getting Isuzu badges and being sold as the Oasis. Fast-forward to 2009, and the only Isuzu-badged vehicles available new here were rebadged Chevrolets: the I-Series pickup (Chevy Colorado) and the Ascender (Chevy Trailblazer). The Passport name has some interesting American Honda history, stretching back to the first Honda vehicle sold here (and the biggest-selling motor vehicle in human history): the Super Cub. American Honda Motor Company couldn't use the Super Cub name on our shores, because Piper Aircraft had been selling a small plane called the Super Cub since 1949, so the motorcycle was called the Honda 50 over here. Eventually, this bike got a 70cc engine and became the Honda C70 Passport, sales of which continued through the middle 1980s. That means the Passports sitting in your local Honda dealership right now got their name from a one-cylinder motorcycle. General Motors has a Passport connection as well; when GM created the Geo brand to sell rebadged Isuzus, Suzukis, and Toyotas in the United States, it created a marque called Passport to sell the Daewoo LeMans as the Optima in Canada (all the other vehicles sold by Passport dealers were Isuzus). So, Honda's need to offer SUVs in its American dealerships led to an arrangement with GM-connected Isuzu to sell these trucks with a model name bearing links to both companies. So much history in the junkyard! Just as Geo-badged Toyota Corollas (mostly) got Delco radios, so did the Passport get Honda radios.