Due to a change in board policy (nothing implied there; I know at least one of the moderators didn't know about it, either), you can only edit threads "x" number of days into the past. Since I was a headline changer when I updated the news thread, I had to start a new one.

Plus, with just one thread, moderators won't have a string of threads they have to review and think about deleting when it gets a couple years old.

Welcome to the generically titled Isuzu -- the company -- thread in 4x4 Isuzu Talk. Same thread number. Same thread title. But I'll add news every now and then, and encourage others as well.

Wow, this thead is a great idea! Whoever came up with it is a pure genius! I hope someday I'm worthy enough to bask in his presence.

Allow me to humbly submit the first story.
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Isuzu will skip '06 Detroit auto show
By Kathy Jackson, Automotive News / September 26, 2005

LOS ANGELES -- Isuzu Motors America Inc. says it will skip the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Company spokesman Chip Letzgus says Detroit is not a strong market for Isuzu, so the company is adding five auto shows next year where sales are better: Knoxville, Tenn.; Raleigh, N.C.; San Antonio; Albuquerque, N.M.; and Sacramento, Calif.

Isuzu sells only two models in the United States, an SUV and a pickup. Both are variants of General Motors models.

Basking in your won presence? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

Oh, so that's what the kids are calling it these days!

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />


<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

That might have been funnier had I spelled 'own' correctly, eh? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/butwiggle.gif" alt="" />

Isuzu CEO: N.A. nears a 'major turning point'

By James B. Treece
Automotive News / November 21, 2005

TOKYO -- Isuzu Motors Ltd.'s profits are down, but CEO Yoshinori Ida isn't worried. He says the decline is part of his plan to refocus the company on the more profitable parts of its business.

For example, Isuzu's North American revenue shrank 31 percent in the fiscal first half, which ended Sept. 30, to $604.1 million, the company reported last week.

That was mostly because Isuzu stopped selling SUVs. But operating profit there surged two and a half times, to 3.74 billion yen, or $33.1 million at current exchange rates, from $13.2 million a year earlier.

The results show that Isuzu's North American diesel operations are doing better than its SUV business used to do.

3 areas of change

The six months opened Isuzu's latest three-year restructuring plan, and Ida portrayed the results as a solid start.

"This year will be a major turning point for us," he said.

He cited three areas of change at Isuzu:

1. Product development efforts are paying off. Isuzu has introduced several products in Japan so far in 2005. More will come next year.

2. Investments in overseas operations are remaking Isuzu.

Isuzu used to be a maker of SUVs and other trucks that it exported from Japan. Now it is a commercial-vehicle and diesel-engine company with a global base.

It has diesel plants in Europe and the United States and an expanded factory complex in Thailand. It has bought several of its overseas sales arms.

As part of that shift, Isuzu's vehicle business increasingly is centered on Japan, Southeast Asia and China. Revenue from Southeast Asia was nearly three times larger than North American revenue in the latest six months.

3. Restructuring efforts are beginning to pay off. Ida predicts those changes will become more apparent over the next three years.

Indeed, profits fell because of higher capital spending and larger outlays for r&d, plus the cost of closing a factory in Kawasaki, Japan.

Total operating profit fell 12.9 percent to $334.6 million in the latest six months. Net income fell 27.4 percent to $229.9 million. Revenue rose 0.3 percent to $6.51 billion.

Sales collapsed

For the full year, Isuzu forecasts a slight gain in revenues and operating profits, but it predicts a drop in net profits.

Isuzu's light-vehicle sales in the United States collapsed 55.8 percent to 10,600 in the first 10 months of 2005.

But for the full calendar year Isuzu predicts a 3.6 percent rise in North American vehicle sales from 2004. Much of the gain will be from medium-duty commercial trucks.

Sounds to me like Ida is focusing on the South East Asian and commercial markets as opposed to the North American and consumer markets.

Doesn't bode well for us NAZU (North American Isuzu) lovers. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" />

We've speculated for a couple years that the Landwind is the new Chinese manufacturer for Isuzu China....especially given their exact clone looks of the Amigo and now the Rodeo.

We've also seen the crash test info on the LandWind version of the Rodeo, along with the pictures of how it crumpled.

Here's the scoop I just stumbled across. Remember that Isuzu's vehicles are sold in Europe under GM's Opel or Vauxall brand names, IIRC. Thus the GM reference. (yeah, my spelling stinks today)
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10155740/?pg=8#anc_TurkeyCars_2005
JiangLing Landwind 4x4
If you're a Chinese car maker with ambitions to flood Western markets with your products, it's not a good idea to score very low marks in road safety tests. The Chinese-built JiangLing Landwind 4x4 suffered an abjectly poor crash test performance in Germany, providing very poor protection to its driver and passengers in front, side or rear end impacts. It has since reportedly modified its design to address these problems, but reports also say the car maker may face legal action -- its SUV is strikingly similar to one GM sold in Europe.

General Motors has canceled an extensive re-engineering of the Chevrolet TrailBlazer and GMC Envoy for mid-2007.

The automaker will change the exterior and interior styling and probably push back the restyled vehicles' introduction to January 2008, say sources familiar with the vehicle program.

GM's decision reflects the sales nosedive of truck-based SUVs, the automaker's financial plight and the expectation that many SUV owners will shift to crossover vehicles that offer better fuel economy.

Combined U.S. sales of the TrailBlazer and Envoy this year through November were 319,591 units, down 16.4 percent from the year-ago period.

Other vehicles on the mid-sized SUV architecture are the Buick Rainier, which is scheduled to die after the 2007 model year; the Saab 9-7X; and the Isuzu Ascender.

Still to be decided is whether GM will continue to offer both standard and stretched versions of the TrailBlazer and Envoy, sources say.

The stretched versions are made primarily in the Oklahoma City plant, which GM plans to close next year.

Note to Isuzu Headquarters:

PLEASE END YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GM!!!

The end of the Ascender is a good start. I know this is wishful thinking. I have reluctantly come to the realization that my Rodeo will be my last Isuzu vehicle. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />