Auto blog

GM, Isuzu shacking up on global midsize pickup development

General Motors and Isuzu might not be financial partners anymore, but it would seem that all those years working together still leaves a strong bond between them to work on new vehicles. Their latest collaboration is co-developing a next-generation midsize pickup to launch at a still-unannounced point in the future. Potential buyers of the upcoming Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon have no reason to fear their purchase becoming obsolete, though, because there are no plans to sell these jointly created models in North America. As part of the deal, GM and Isuzu have already agreed to share components across the trucks and purchase the parts together to get a better deal, according to Reuters. However, the actual manufacturing was agreed to be kept separate. The first inklings of this deal cropped up a year ago when the two automakers signed a memorandum of understanding to co-develop a new pickup. The future GM and Isuzu models are joining the mini-boom of midsize trucks that is about to hit around the world. Nissan already announced its latest Navara, and Toyota was spotted testing replacements for both the Hilux and Tacoma. Plus, Honda has hinted at a new Ridgeline sometime fairly soon in the US. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Mark Renders / Getty Images Plants/Manufacturing GM Isuzu Truck

Florida man found dead inside SUV covered in parking tickets

A woman in Fort Lauderdale, FL, got a nasty shock last month when she discovered a corpse sitting at the wheel of a heavily ticketed SUV parked near the Broward County Courthouse. According to the Sun Sentinel, Carolyn White was walking down a street in Fort Lauderdale when she spotted something strange. An Isuzu Axiom with deeply tinted windows was parked at the curb festooned with parking tickets. Curious to find out how someone could get that many parking tickets, she went to investigate. "I was being nosy," she told the Sentinel. "I never let the meter man catch me. I never got a parking ticket and I wanted to know why somebody else got caught. And that's what made me look inside." When she approached the vehicle, she discovered more than just a pile of tickets under the wipers. An elderly man was sitting in the driver's seat, slumped face down over the center console between the seats, clutching a credit card in a still hand. "Oh my God, please tell me this man is not dead," was White's first thought, she told the paper. Unfortunately, he was. The Broward County Medical Examiner stated the man in the SUV, Jacob Morpeau of Miami, had been dead for quite some time when White discovered him. Records show that the Isuzu was ticketed in that space numerous times between November 12 and November 15, including twice in the space of three minutes the morning Morpeau's body was discovered. "I can understand why the meter person probably didn't see him from the driver's side," said White. "He was underneath the steering wheel, his head was in the middle of the seat, between the two seats. But you could see him on the passenger's side. That's how I seen him, from the sidewalk." Fort Lauderdale city officials declined to comment on the incident, but an email from the City Clerk's office stated that the $160 dollars racked up while Morpeau sat dead at the wheel of his SUV would be dismissed due to "extenuating circumstances". News Source: Sun Sentinel Auto News Weird Car News Isuzu SUV parking ticket Florida Man

Junkyard Gem: 1986 Isuzu I-Mark Hatchback

Thanks to the long global reach of The General's tentacles, Americans looking for economy cars at GM dealerships during the middle 1980s could buy Suzukis (the Chevrolet Sprint), Opels (the Chevrolet Chevette), Daewoos (the Pontiac LeMans), and Isuzus (the Chevrolet Spectrum). Just as Mitsubishi sold Mirages in the United States while Chrysler continued to sell the Mirage's Colt sibling, Isuzu moved in with the new front-wheel-drive I-Mark to compete with its Spectrum twin. These cars weren't big sellers and they didn't last very long on the road, but I managed to find this '86 in a Denver, Colorado, self-service wrecking yard. The I-Mark was known as the Gemini in its Japanese homeland and in Europe; the front-wheel-drive second-generation Gemini debuted in 1985. This one didn't make it to 150,000 miles, unlike most of its Honda, Toyota, and Nissan competitors, but it was pretty cheap when new. The hatchback listed at $7,149 in 1986, dismayingly more than the stripped-down '86 Civic 1.3 hatchback ($5,479) but closer to the similarly equipped Civic DX hatchback ($6,699). If you were really brave that year, you could have purchased a new Hyundai Excel for a mere $4,995. This is the base engine, a 1.5-liter four rated at 70 horsepower. Believe it or not, an I-Mark Turbo was available a year later, and it boasted 110 horses. My favorite thing about 1980s Isuzus is the way the HVAC controls are labeled. You can choose between "wind in your long, feathered hair" and "wind on your high-heeled disco boots" settings here. This car is in very nice shape for a dated econo-commuter from a long-departed brand, considering that it survived for a good 20 years while being worth approximately scrap value. For the very strong owners of decade-old Chevy Vegas, the Isuzu I-Mark seemed like a wise choice. Some of the first appearances of the soon-to-be-legendary Joe Isuzu were in I-Mark ads. Priced at only $9!