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Isuzu

Isuzu nowadays is known only for the SUVs and the trucks as it’s been a long period since we have seen an Isuzu car launch. It’s a common observation in the Auto Market that the company’s specialized lineup is driven greatly by the circumstance rather than the choice. The recent past has been a bit harsh on the company’s economical health. With scanty funds both for new investment in the products and marketing, the company is forcibly dependent on General Motors.

The company’s origin traces back to 1916 when Tokyo Ishikawajima, a ship building company in Japan, resolved to enter the world of automobile manufacturing to widen its business belt. The company grew with time and by 1918, it had a technical union with the Wolseley Motor Company, an England based company. And without much passage of time, the company launched its first licensed car – the A9 car. The C9 truck was also launched contemporarily. The company had a new name by the year 1949, “Isuzu”, which is a Japanese word meaning 50 bells.

In 1953, the company revealed Minx passenger car, the joint product of Isuzu with Rootes, again a UK based company. The company had a huge acceleration on the path of progress after the Second World War. The post war years brought it great heights in the world of automobiles. The transportation of clothes, food and other necessities relied heavily the company’s vehicles.

The automobile world witnessed launches such as passenger cars like the Florian, the Bellett, and the 117 Coupe, as well as trucks like the WASP, all of them during 1961. The company soon entered into collaboration with General Motors. Two years later, the duo released their first joint production in the form of Gemini.

Isuzu successfully entered the American markets by the 1980s. Its first product in the U.S. market was the Pup. In 1983 it introduced the Trooper, an SUV which was available in two doors and four doors models which was a sensational creation never witnessed before the market. In 1987, the company had its joint venture with Subaru. This union produced the Isuzu Rodeo and Isuzu Pickup in large numbers. The Isuzu cars such as the dated I-Mark sedan and the handsome, Italian-designed Impulse sport coupe have always been less popular than its trucks.

The company’s sales grew in the 1990s predominantly because of the dazzling Trooper, which was a great success for Isuzu in the American market. The trooper’s size had now been increased and so was the luxury that it could provide. Trooper played a crucial role in popularizing the SUV category of Automobiles. Isuzu had tough times later in this decade and grew economically weak. Thus by 1999, GM became the major share holder of the partnership.

The sales of the Isuzu Rodeo and the Trooper fell abruptly with the advent of the new millennium. The Rodeo was no longer there in the 2004 lineup. It is only a matter of time that today only a truck and an SUV are all which constitutes the Isuzu lineup both of which are a derivation of General Motors Products.