how many are left?

[89Vette]

You're forgetting that Isuzu had a bad name for the Trooper rollovers. I think this was a major part of the Isuzu failure in America.

While the Isuzu's enjoyed moderate success in the 4x4 infancy, the Jeep/FORD market was able to capitalize.

You may point out (and rightly so) that the Ford's also had issue's with hwy rollovers. But, they were successful in pointing the finger at Bridgestone. So, they recovered.

Trooper had no scapegoat. The brand was damaged. Whether the lack of advertising or something else, I don't think they did enough to save the brand.

It could be that reliablity and/or fuel enonomy issues didn't help either. People tend to buy America unless their preferred vehicle class has a better foreign model in terms of reliability/economy ratings.

In my jaded view of things, I also think corporate giants would never pass up on the opportunity to continue making money on a product. OTOH, I don't know much about the mold method desribed here. At least not in terms of production costs and how profitable/costly the VX might have been. So, the issue of continued production might not be so clear.

I'd like to think of the VX as an under-advertised icon of the Isuzu era....as a vehicle worth more than the sum of it's parts. In the Chevrolet community, I'm sure they could manufacture and sell Corvettes for much less than they do. But, their goal is to create an icon...a legend...to boost the brand name of Chevrolet. In doing so, they can make money for the brand without every car sold actually BEING a Corvette. Obviously, people have different needs for a vehicle.

In the case of a small 2-door "performance" 4x4, I'm not sure Isuzu was positioned as the brand people wanted to be associated with...especially being a foreign brand associated with the 4x4 rollover era. But, that doesn't mean the Vehicross couldn't have been something much bigger -- if the right advertising campaign had been in place.

I know the Isuzu brand name never was sold on me. I didn't by a VX because it was an Isuzu...I did so despite that. It's the first foreign vehicle I've owned since I was very young. Granted, it's made from some heavy Chevy heritage....but I never would have know that w/o coming to this forum.

[blacksambo]

Of course, it's called hedging a bet. Despite all their marketing bluster about cars becoming extinct and the VX taking over the world (not happening with 6,000 or so units), they said officially it was a proof of concept for a new manufacturing method using cheaper but shorter-lived ceramic stamps.

But if it flew off the dealers' lots, as opposed to languishing there for years in some cases, you can be certain they would have "intended" to make more of them.

-V

Never wanted to make more of them. They made 5K for FIA homologation production rally-entry purposes period. They won several stages of Paris Dakar rally before running out of basic parts and retiring. They also were the overall class winner of the Australian Safari Rally. As for languishing sales, the VX was $30K plus in the USA, with two semi-useless entry doors for the back seat. Of course they knew this fact. Families, unless they were rich stalwarts could not use them. It's also true that inspite of winnimg Japan Car of The Year in 97/98, only 600 could be sold there (120 million people live in Japan). It was an exclusive car right from the get go. It was for a select audience and never intended for mass consumption. The ceramic dies were for time saving production, strictly. Get it out there and race and win, over and out. Hope a few collector types grab a few, because we are not making any more. You'll notice Isuzu still makes most all parts available to us if we are willing to pay. Isuzu is the biggest diesel engine builder in the world, but still enjoy the VX halo effect because of its racing and award winning exploits. The VX continues to be good business for them. This web site attests to that fact.

[JoFotoz]

So..the Cliff notes.

I love my VX



Yup...

Jo

[Ldub]

But if it flew off the dealers' lots, as opposed to languishing there for years in some cases, you can be certain they would have "intended" to make more of them.

-V

Never wanted to make more of them. They made 5K for FIA homologation production rally-entry purposes period.

I think you missed the point being made.

[blacksambo]

What point is being missed???

[89Vette]

I think it's because you seemed to support V's point....

As for languishing sales, the VX was $30K plus in the USA, with two semi-useless entry doors for the back seat. Of course they knew this fact. Families, unless they were rich stalwarts could not use them. It's also true that inspite of winnimg Japan Car of The Year in 97/98, only 600 could be sold there (120 million people live in Japan). It was an exclusive car right from the get go. It was for a select audience and never intended for mass consumption.

Seems like both you and V feel the lack of higher sales were a result of the limited audience that would be interested...and probably due to the lack of common family leverage for a 2-dr with hindered back-seat entry. Combined with the price tag, that couldn't have helped.

If the demand were there, more would have been made.

The question is why was their a lack of demand. I think you answered it -- for you.

[Ldub]

What point is being missed???

I highlighted/underscored V's point, which you quoted, as clearly as I could...mebbe I should have increased the size of the font a little more...

If the demand were there, more would have been made.

BINGO!

[blacksambo]

Okay let's get something straight here. Isuzu bragged in their ads about the VX being hand assembled, for instance. Now does that sound like a car they really wanted to make lots of? You know in the twenty-first century, tens of thousands of hand assembled cars??? No, it defintely says limited production only on this model. Think about it, it's illegal to bait and switch, so you can't make VX's by hand for a while, advertise this salient fact and then start making thousands with robots and still claim to have the same car. That would be some other car , altogether. Also, they bragged about the limited use ceramic dies. Now does that sound like they could make a lot of them? Emphatically, no! They put the brakes on the VX production ceiling coming on to the market, period.

[Ldub]

Okay let's get something straight here. Isuzu bragged in their ads about the VX being hand assembled, for instance. Now does that sound like a car they really wanted to make lots of? You know in the twenty-first century, tens of thousands of hand assembled cars??? No, it defintely says limited production only on this model. Think about it, it's illegal to bait and switch, so you can't make VX's by hand for a while, advertise this salient fact and then start making thousands with robots and still claim to have the same car. That would be some other car , altogether. Also, they bragged about the limited use ceramic dies. Now does that sound like they could make a lot of them? Emphatically, no! They put the brakes on the VX production ceiling coming on to the market, period.

If they were flying off dealer lots as fast as they were being produced, you can bet a paycheck that they'd have produced more molds & continued on their merry way...mebbe by rebadging as VXII, or some other way...they'd have figured it out...that's how business does business...

If you wanna bang that tired old Isuzu drum to the exclusion of reality, that's your business...

Enjoy

Speaking of how business does business...I just discovered an expiration date on a bar of soap...

Do I believe that I'll get no bubbles the day after it expires?...NO

Do I believe that my pits will not get clean after expiry?...NO

Do I believe that they'd like me to believe that, & buy more soap?...YES

[blacksambo]

Well you obviously don't understand big business, you can't change you basic premise and expect to stay in business, for too long. First, you'll be sued, second you loose tremendous credibility with everybody especially the auto motive press (there is no bar soap press so you get a little more leeway here) because you've all too conveniently changed your tune, now that things look more opportunistic. Big business just doesn't operate that way, especially General Motors or Ford. They go off course in their messging, they get sued but good and the press damns them to death, they are big easy to hit targets. VX was hand assembeled, a major selling point, you just can't eventually work your way around that fact.

But more to the general point, large vehicle manufacturers do not try new models out for sales potential in miniscule numbers and then build thousands more the next year if it attracts sales. They launch new models on a large scale and hope for the best. I don't know of any hand-assembled trial level new model experiments in the big-player car industry in the past fifty years. We're talking about the age of mass production here, especially for General Motors. The VX was production-wise inachronistic, at best, and too terribly impractical for everyday use to ever be a sales volume contender. Face it you own an experimental vehicle, that destined for a limited elite audience . It wasn't supposed to win the popularity contest. If it could have, it would have been a failure at its intended purpose and would have never got off the initial drawing board.

[Ldub]

Always happy to agree to disagree....

Your beliefs are your own, as are mine.

[Ldub]

But more to the general point, large vehicle manufacturers do not try new models out for sales potential in miniscule numbers and then build thousands more the next year if it attracts sales. They launch new models on a large scale and hope for the best.

Nobody here ever claimed otherwise...

The point being discussed began with "IF"...it was hypothetical...

[bumblebee]

Watch this video and you'll never want to sell your VX. History of the vehiCross http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSkacZvcB7Q

[89Vette]

Well you obviously don't understand big business, you can't change you basic premise and expect to stay in business, for too long. First, you'll be sued, second you loose tremendous credibility with everybody especially the auto motive press (there is no bar soap press so you get a little more leeway here) because you've all too conveniently changed your tune, now that things look more opportunistic. Big business just doesn't operate that way, especially General Motors or Ford. They go off course in their messging, they get sued but good and the press damns them to death, they are big easy to hit targets. VX was hand assembeled, a major selling point, you just can't eventually work your way around that fact.

But more to the general point, large vehicle manufacturers do not try new models out for sales potential in miniscule numbers and then build thousands more the next year if it attracts sales. They launch new models on a large scale and hope for the best. I don't know of any hand-assembled trial level new model experiments in the big-player car industry in the past fifty years. We're talking about the age of mass production here, especially for General Motors. The VX was production-wise inachronistic, at best, and too terribly impractical for everyday use to ever be a sales volume contender. Face it you own an experimental vehicle, that destined for a limited elite audience . It wasn't supposed to win the popularity contest. If it could have, it would have been a failure at its intended purpose and would have never got off the initial drawing board.

Very well put! This is more the way I've view this icon of Isuzu...a prototype encouraged into production to promote the brand. I have to suspect it would have been lengthed (to accomodate 4-dr or at least better rear entry) if it were intended for large-scale production. Plus, the rear tire issue and the smallish cargo space also lend themselves MUCH MORE to the concept aspect of the platform vs. true intention for production.

I bought mine simply because it was intended to be conceptual. Concept vehicles aren't something the "average" person gets to buy everyday either!!!! Obviously, it wasn't intended to be "practical". But, it's real world performance in baja/off-road events prove it isn't just another "pretty face". Trying to extrapolate a concept run into production viability just seems a stretch to consider. More importantly, I've no idea why anyone would take this discussion there.

[Ldub]

Trying to extrapolate a concept run into production viability just seems a stretch to consider. More importantly, I've no idea why anyone would take this discussion there.

My original point, or hypothesis, if you would, was, (in a nutshell):

"I think they would have found a way to lengthen the production run (to make more), had there been a huge demand, & they were flying off the lots."

I then, was agreeable to disagreement...

Most of what's been said in reference to my opinion, has been extrapolation...

At least that's one word for it...

Oh...I forgot...

I mentioned soap too.