By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

Even before the recent euthanization of Pontiac, I would have never expected to see a circa 1960s Chief Pontiac head logo sign still standing. However, as John Lee, the longrooffan, recently pointed out with these couple photos, one does, on West Colonial Drive in Orlando, Florida. Not only that, to Orlando residents, the McNamara Pontiac-Isuzu sign remains a treasured landmark, even though the dealership closed up in 2006. Continue reading at Hemmings…

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

Who would of ever thought that a lowly Isuzu Amigo could ever be considered awesome sleeper hotness? We didn’t see this one coming, but once we laid our eyes on it, we fell instantly in love. The sick bastard that decided to bolt a 450hp 383ci stroker into this little cute ‘ute should either be given an award or a straight jacket. We want to buy him beers.

From the photos shown on an ad at RacingJunk.com, the only initial judgement we have is on the exahust system which looks to be hanging really low and kind of awkward. We’re thinking that’s because an off the shelf header was used (not that there is one for this swap, but something that fit was shoehorned in) so a trip to the header shop would probably result in a cleaner job, and more sneaky approach to suprise unwitting victims.

One of the more interesting things mentioned in the ad is the fact that the body has been lowered three inches and “braced” to handle the massive power infusion.

Don’t get us wrong, the outside of the truck is still hideous. The graphics and half convertible top are enough to turn our stomach, but in our world, horsepower cures all evils. Just for a second imagine how awesome it would be to blow off “fast” stuff left and right with this thing.

We want it, bad!

Source — RacingJunk.com — Radical 1993 Isuzu Amigo

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

A couple of days ago, Jalopnik ran one of their “question of the day” features. It asked, “who is your favorite spokesperson?” Thus, the inspiration for a new series of posts on influential automotive spokepersons. So first up is one of the most memorable automotive ad men ever created. Meet Mr. Joe Isuzu himself, David Leisure.

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "Favorite Automobile Spokesperson: Meet Joe Isuzu, David Leisure" »

By John Coyle

Editor

After a burly week in Sin City covering SEMA, I have to say it’s nice to be home in cold, rainy Seattle. The other thing that’s nice? Getting back to CarDomain HQ and seeing what y’all have been up to! And there couldn’t have been a better video to welcome me home. Brad put together a great little clip about his Impulse, and it genuinely warmed my heart. I loved the music, because it made me think of Christine—"how’d you hurt your back Arine?—but that doesn’t mean I believe the Impulse is evil. Enjoy.

Things aren’t always bigger in Texas, but sometimes they have a lot more wheels. This 8-wheeler Isuzu minitruck, commissioned by Steve Francis as a promo vehicle for his detailing shop in Montgomery, TX, is being featured over at TruckinWeb. It’s been body-dropped and air-bagged, and the frame had to be custom-narrowed to accommodate three axles worth of 18" wheels in the rear. Powering the six rear wheels is a Chevy small block. See more pics below the jump!

ViaAutoMotto.

Continue reading ""If Godzilla Built An Isuzu…"" »

Two of my favorite imports, BMW and Subaru, just can’t seem to get it right lately when it comes to exterior styling. BMW is still working through the whole Bangle nightmare, and I personally have not quite recovered from the travesty that is the new Impreza/WRX/STI. Seriously, is it that hard to design a good looking car?

Maybe these manufacturers should just focus on what they are good at: building kick-ass cars. Maybe they should leave the exterior design to people who know what they are doing: Italians. No one ever decided not to buy an Italian car cause it was ugly. People decide not to buy Italian cars because they are too expensive, or because they are too fire prone. But Italians know how to design great looking cars.

Isuzu figured this out back in the 70s. When they wanted a new Impulse, they went to Giorgetto Giugiaro, and he penned something pretty cool. VW has gone to Giugiaro, too–he penned the first generation Scirocco. In the early 90s, Lexus went to Giugiaro for the GS 300, and Subaru went to him for the SVX. So what’s the deal now? Are BMW and Subaru too proud? Come on guys, make it easy on yourself and hire an Italian. You’ll end up with better looking cars, and you’ll sell more of ‘em, too.

Today, Isuzu announced they will no longer sell new passenger vehicles in the US market. Given how invisible they’ve been in that segment lately, this certainly isn’t a bombshell. But while older Troopers and Rodeos will probably vanish pretty quickly, don’t count on the ubiquitous N-Series trucks disappearing any time soon. Their ability to navigate tight spaces has made them a staple of urban centers, and Isuzu will continue to sell them here. Maybe the company would’ve had better luck with regular consumers if they’d stuck with good old Joe Isuzu?

Juan has done a lot of work to this little pickup, and I think it looks pretty awesome. I particularly like the frame/body color combo. Check out all the pics on his page! 

All through October, we’ll be giving away an awesome GoPro camera each day for the best video uploaded that day. Upload your coolest videos now and you might be the next to win!

I saw one of these Isuzus on the street the other day. I knew they were rare but I didn’t realize how rare. Turns out only 4,100 made it to the US in three model years. I was also surprised to learn it has a body-on-frame construction. We have 25 on CarDomain. I really like TDAWG’s (pictured below). You can learn lots more on the VehiCROSS here.