Historiography: Joe Isuzu and His Namesake Automobiles

David Leisure was an actor that has been getting roles here and there in the 1980s. You probably saw him in Airplane!– one of the Hare Krishnas at the airport before all comedic heck broke loose. As the decade continued, Leisure found the role that would catapult him into stardom, as well as a cultural touchstone for a brand of Japanese automobiles that needed a larger presence in the USA market. 

The advertising agency for American Isuzu, Della Femina Travisano and Partners, hired Leisure to be a swarmy spokesperson named Joe Isuzu. His job was to tell lies about Isuzu’s products – as well creating hooks that would cause fits of laughter from viewers of these 30-second television advertisements that were aired between 1986 and 1990. 

Leisure is still with us at age 75. Isuzu has a small presence in the medium-duty commercial truck market in the USA, while selling SUVs and pickup trucks in several markets around the rest of the world. 

The commercials with Leisure as Joe Isuzu drew attention to the small lineup of cars and pickup trucks sold by American Isuzu. How did they get to that point?

Before 1980, no one really heard of Isuzu in North America. That is, if you count their compact car sold as an Opel/Isuzu through Buick dealers in the late 1970s. Still, it did provide an alternative brand full of value-oriented vehicles, leading to a pickup truck and SUV focused brand towards the end. 

Isuzu went into business in 1916 back in Japan. Although not named as such, they were born from a collaboration to build Wolseley automobiles from knocked-down kits for the Japanese and East Asia market. Trucks followed in 1927 and would become the backbone of their business since. 

By 1961, Isuzu produced their first automobile on their own – the Bellel. It was developed after years of collaboration with Wolseley, the Rootes Group and General Motors. They took what they learned from their collaborations into a four-door sedan and wagon that were on the larger side for the home market. It would predate another string of collaborations – this time in Japan with Subaru, Mitsubishi, and Nissan. 

The Bellel was followed by the 117 coupe and the Bellett sedan. They would form the basis of a line of sedans that would set the stage for GM acquiring a 34-percent stake of Isuzu in 1972. 

By the time, Isuzu was developing a smaller pickup truck that was rooted by its experience as a truck maker.  They had the expertise to combine efficient power with a sturdy frame – a formula that have been perfected by Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, and Mitsubishi by 1971. The difference would be how it would be integrated into GM to be sold elsewhere in the world where Isuzu does not have a presence. The KB/Faster pickup truck would be imported into North America as the Chevrolet LUV – or Light Utility Vehicle. It became the first Isuzu light-duty product to be sold stateside. Two generations of the LUV were offered into 1981. 

What followed was something very interesting that occurred within the GM’s development sphere. The idea was to create a “world car” – a compact that would be offered in various body types that would be sold everywhere GM had a presence. The T-Car would spawn many models based on the rear-drive platform. In 1974, Isuzu introduced their version of the global platform called the Gemini. 

In the fall of 1975, the Gemini was imported into the US as the Opel by Isuzu into Buick dealers. This was to replace the German imported Opel lineup that became too expensive to sell due to unfavorable currency exchange and higher production costs in (West) Germany. The Japanese imported Isuzu was seen as less expensive to meet the new regulations yet creating continuity for customers looking for an Opel. 

The truth is that it was an Opel – the latest generation of the Kadett to be exact. It was just built by Isuzu in Japan, but it sure looked exactly like the Kadett coupe of that era. 

At the same time, Chevrolet dealers received a locally built version of the same platform in the form of the Chevette. Canadian Pontiac dealers added this North American T-Body as the Acadian. While they share the same basic platform as the Opel by Isuzu/Buick Opel, they differed in design. The engines were almost exactly the same.  

Obviously, the Chevrolet sold much more than Buick’s captive import towards 1980. Customers were not convinced that it was a good replacement for an Opel in the USA. Neither was the automotive media. Yet, one could see the bright side as Isuzu was being used by GM in North America as filler vehicles to augment their lineups. 

However, there were some rumblings in Southern California to sell these two vehicles under the Isuzu brand. That would come to fruition in 1981 as American Isuzu established a retail and fixed operations network, starting with the West Coast. The LUV would become the P’up, while the Buick Opel would be sold as the I-Mark. 

The P’up was already fresh on the market. Offering both a gas and a diesel engine, the pickup truck was also attracting customers who were looking for the latter. Two things were aligned for the P’up towards carrying the brand in the USA. One, the diesel was a popular option for Americans looking for better fuel economy and a lower bill at the gas pump. The second was that Isuzu was known for its diesel engines. Their reputation for producing some of the best oil burners in the market would create a deeper relationship with GM that continues today. Whenever you see a Duramax diesel, remember that Isuzu co-developed it. 

The I-Mark’s challenge was to attract American buyers to a vehicle that is seven years old. It had an updated front end, larger rear taillamps, and a host of upgrades from the Buick Opel. It had one disadvantage as it continued to rear-drive. That would be fine if they concentrated on the Toyota Corolla. However, most every competitor in its class went to a front-drive format. At least it had a diesel engine option. That would be resolved by 1985 wth the introduction of the second-generation I-Mark. 

The Trooper II SUV arrived the next year into American showrooms. It had an interesting start, since they had to find a way to get it into the market in the two-door body style. The specifications were simple – a four-cylinder engine, a manual gearbox, and part-time four-wheel drive. Isuzu simply arrved at the ground floor of a segment that was about to explode with new entries in the early 1980s soon joined by new rivals from Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Ford, Dodge, and GM. 

In researching for this Historiography column, I consulted with a friend/colleague Adam Barrera to tap into his knowledge of brands and JDM vehicles. Not just because he owns a second-generation Impulse. He pointed out that due to the tie-in with GM, they able to leverage their partnership to produce the last batch of first-generation Trooper Its for the USA market in Taiwan through San Fu Motors. According to a Los Angeles Times article in 1991, they had to send production to Taiwan due to a shortage of production capacity in Japan, which would lead to lower proudtcon costs in the face of the rising Yen.

If there was one Isuzu model that would make jaws drop – it’s the Impulse. By 1983, the Piazza was stunning the auto show circuit with its Giorgetto Giugiaro worldwide. American Isuzu staffers knew that it would be an attraction addition to their growing number of showrooms. 

There was one issue. If you remove the Giugiaro skin and interior, you will find the T-Car platform. If you take some modern context, being rear drive should be desirable for enthusiasts. However, what was planted underneath its sleek hood was a 90-horsepower 2.0-liter naturally aspirated engine. Back then, it was adequate. No one expected a 140-horsepower monster to propel this sleek coupe, as you would a Mitsubishi Starion or a Toyota Celica Supra. 

To make the Impulse more desirable, a 140-horsepower 2.0-liter multi-port fuel injected turbocharged engine arrived. While it was seen as a contender in a growing market of sports coupes, sales were not as hot as its design. Partly due to its price, which was higher than most of its contemporaries, at least in the USA. 

Barrera added that the first-generation Impulse had a design feature that would appear in many different vehicles in the years to come. It was as the first car in the world with hidden drain channels that were embedded in the doors. All credit goes to Giugiaro, since we incorporated into the Asso di Fiori concept.

Another challenge came about for American Isuzu. You have to admit that GM had a knack for badge engineering. In this case, they needed lower priced smaller vehicles to entice consumers of affordable Japanese automobiles. It was as simple as slapping a Chevrolet Bowtie badge to an I-Mark and call it a Spectrum This only worked when there were a smaller number of Isuzu dealers located in metropolitan areas compared to a GM dealer in almost every county across the country. 

Isuzu’s vehicles were ripe for badge engineering into GM stores. In Canada, they created a separate dealer network to incorporate the I-Mark for sale there. First, it was called Passport, then Asuna. Chevrolet set off the Spectrum into the Geo brand by the end of the 1980s. Eventually, they would regain Chevrolet and Pontiac badges as the 1990s continued onward. 

In the meantime, Isuzu was losing sales. The refreshed lineup of the Stylus and the second-generation Impulse were augmented by a growing lineup of SUVs and a new generation Pickup truck. It was called the Pickup – honestly.

The two-door Amigo and four-door Rodeo helped regain some momentum at Isuzu dealers in the USA. With the arrival of the next generation Trooper, they would focus on these capable machines just as the SUV craze began to take hold on this market. The Rodeo received a 3.1-liter GM V6 in the early 1990s to help it compete in that segment. That would to its own V6 engine for later in the 1990s. 

The Trooper was more robust while being aimed upmarket. With six-cylinder power, the Isuzu was attracting new, more affluent customers that did not care about the badge up front. They wanted a very nice SUV to cart their children around. 

By this time, another collaboration came about. This time with Honda. They did not have any SUVs in their portfolio early in the 1990s and wanted to get in on the craze that had spread across the glove. They turned to badge engineering in order to access these SUV-hungry consumers. Honda started selling Rodeos as Passports, while Acura removed the Trooper badge for their SLX. 

They did not stop there. Isuzu did not have a minivan in their lineup. Honda took care of that by sending their first-generation Odyssey over to them to sell the Oasis. Both companies swapped models in various markets worldwide. 

Considering how impactful the design of the first-generation Impulse was for Isuzu, the company continued to experiment with eye-popping vehicles. A group of designers from around the world came up with the two-door 1997 VehiCROSS. Based on the Trooper RS, the design was to evoke a new point of view for SUV enthusiasts. It featured a Torque-on-Demand system that made switching into four-wheel drive easier – sort of forerunner to today’s AWD systems. 

As we scraped then surface on pop culture references, the VehiCROSS was a movie star. In "Mission to Mars," the futuristic-looking SUV played the part perfectly. Yet, it was never intended by sell in volumes. Part of it is due to being the first of its kind vehicle to utilize ceramic dies to :micro-produce" a true halo vehicle for Isuzu.

By 2001, Isuzu attempted to get into another SUV segment – the softroader. With the popularity of car-based vehicles, such as the Toyota Highlander, Isuzu introduced the Axiom. On paper, it looked like the right path towards getting into the segment. Then, you saw it. If you thought the VehiCROSS challenged your retinas, the Axiom’s sharp-edged lines hid an interesting truth, as it shared the body-on-frame format with the Rodeo they produced alongside of it in their Indiana facility. 

Did you know that the Axiom and the Rodeo were the first vehicles in the USA market that incorporated Gasoline Direct Injection? It was an innovation that everyone had incorapted into the internal combustion engines.

Isuzu’s last act in the USA was mainly at the hands of GM. Again, badge engineering was their saving grace in the 2000s. The Hombre pickup truck was an S-10 with some design elements from GM in Brazil. 

However, the most egregious vehicle ever introduced was the Ascender. Produced on the GMT360/370 platform, it was essentially a somewhat uniquely designed version of the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy, Oldsmobile Bravada, Buick Rainier, and Saab 9-7x. The Ascender would also be the only Isuzu sold in the USA with a V8 engine – ever. 

By 2008, Isuzu became a victim of the Global Economic Crisis. It could no longer sell their vehicles in North America through their own dealer network. Not to mention, GM was about to face its own reckoning with its own solution towards survival from the same financial fallout. The medium-duty commercial truck business continues here in the USA, steady as it goes.

Isuzu still sells pickup trucks and SUVs in other global markets. The D-Max and MU-X are seen as equals in places such as Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, and in parts of Africa. They also sell in Europe and Latin America. 

Would you have heard about Isuzu if Joe Izusu – er, David Leisure – told the truth about this lineup of cars, SUVs, and trucks? You are probably too young to remember the commercials and the vehicles that wore this brand. This is why this story is being told here. 

That story of Isuzu is still being told, through enthusiasts and members of the Isuzone community. They hold an annual gathering of Isuzu owners in Tennessee every year. In fact, Leisure has been invited go one of their gatherings. Maybe he might show up one year?

And, “if I’m lying, then…” maybe Isuzu never existed?

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Special thanks to Adam Barrera for the additional information incorporated into this story.

Cover photo by Randy Stern