VX in April 2010 issue of Car and Driver

[dietz99vcross]

Not a very nice piece but still making the news. On page 30 they have a small article about "Concepts we wish were never built" It mentions the Pontiac Aztek and shows the Solstice Coupe and the Vehicross. About the concept vx "Upon its 1993 debut at the Tokyo auto show, we said it looked "fish-faced." That was enough for Isuzu - the Vehicross was put into production". Then about the real thing they say "Isuzu learns that no one wants a three-door suv that lloks like an escapee from the set of Battlestar Galactica. In three years fewer than 5000 are sold in the states. Bang, Bang, your'e dead."

[RabidPony]

God forbid a manufacturer not center the entire design of a vehicle around aesthetics or try to design something that doesn't look like every other car on the road.

[VX-157]

"Isuzu learns that no one wants a three-door suv that lloks like an escapee from the set of Battlestar Galactica.

As a geek i am going to take that as a compliment! on the drive home tonight instead of making vroom vroom sounds at my partner i am going to make lazer pew pew sounds

[Y33TREKker]

...Then about the real thing they say "Isuzu learns that no one wants a three-door suv that lloks like an escapee from the set of Battlestar Galactica....

Well in that case, C&D and their apparent cookie-cutter appreciation of style.

[rowhard]

I don't care, I love it, and I adore, just like my baby cakes Sandy

[WormGod]

But.... I *WANT* something that looks like it just escaped the set of Battlestar Galactica.

The writer of that article drives a '93 Cavalier, FWIW.

[Riff Raff]

What the Car & Driver folks failed to realize is that the primary reason fewer than 5000 units were built is solely because of the original "Ceramic Body Mold" for the VX production. These special Ceramic Body Molds deteriorate from usage and have a very limited production life of fewer than 5000 production units. Afterwhich; the mold is destroyed and the vehicle ceases production, just like the VX did (unless of course a new Ceramic Body Mold is made again -- unlikely).

Had the editors of Car & Driver done their homework beforehand, then they wouldn't have slanted the article that VX production ended because of poor sales-- but in fact VX production ended due to the limited life of the original Ceramic Body Mold. Sometimes, the editors of Car & Driver are Fupid Stools and get it wrong, and this time they did once again.

[Cobrajet]

... in fact VX production ended due to the limited life of the original Ceramic Body Mold.

Do you seriously think that Isuzu would have continued production of the VehiCROSS after 2001 considering it's three years sales history? How many were still sitting in the dealer showroom a year after production? They just weren't that popular, and we're the lucky ones who recognized it for what it was/is...AWESOME!!

[vt_maverick]

Slap a BMW emblem on the hood and the whole staff would have bought them.

C&D is ridiculous anyway. I let my subscription lapse years ago once I came to realize that nothing will ever top a BMW 3-series in their comparisons, and that every SUV, truck, wagon, moped, or other transportation appliance they test drive is expected to look and perform like a sports car or it's judged inferior. Take a look at their "5 Best Trucks" award winner reviews over the last several years and you'll see what I mean.

IMHO, Motor Trend, Automobile, and Road & Track are much better and less slanted publications.

[Offroad vx]

Vt Maverick hit the nail on the head. If the VX was any other brand it would have been the best auto ever! Has anybody test drove an FJ Cruiser? Those things are so simialr it's scary! Everybody loves them because they're a Toyota. Put an Isuzu emblem on and see the response!

[circmand]

if that Toy ota emblem is still going to bring the rave reviews anymore. Now that the industry magazines have been exposed as PR stooges for the car industry as opposed to a non partisan judge of it.

[Bee Sting]

Little Beast please oh please send your response to C&D as a letter to the editor. Again very well said.

[vt_maverick]

But I'll at least credit C&D for trying to be a little humble in publishing this list last year:

"Dishonorable Mention"
In conjunction with the 2009 10Best Cars list, Car and Driver issued a list of what it called "The 10 Most Embarrassing Award Winners in Automotive History", spotlighting cars previously honored by a major automotive magazine (including C&D itself) that, with the passage of time, it considered to be anything but award-worthy.[2]

Year Model Award(s)
1983 Renault Alliance Car and Driver 10Best Cars and
Motor Trend Car of the Year
2002 Ford Thunderbird Motor Trend Car of the Year
1971 Chevrolet Vega Motor Trend Car of the Year
1997 Cadillac Catera Automobile All-Stars
1985 Merkur XR4Ti Car and Driver 10Best Cars
1997 Chevrolet Malibu Motor Trend Car of the Year
1990 Lincoln Town Car Motor Trend Car of the Year
1980 Chevrolet Citation Motor Trend Car of the Year
1974 Ford Mustang II Motor Trend Car of the Year
1995 Ford Contour/Mercury Mystique Car and Driver 10Best Cars

[vt_maverick]

Well put Beast...

[VXR]

Well put Beast...

X2