1997 Isuzu Rodeo No Reserve on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 1984 Isuzu P'up

General Motors, wishing to sell a small pickup to compete with the likes of the Toyota Hilux and Nissan 521, began importing the Isuzu Faster for the 1972 model year, equipping it with Chevrolet LUV badges. Ford brought over the Mazda Proceed as the Courier the same year, while Chrysler turned to Mitsubishi to provide the Plymouth Arrow Truck and Dodge Ram 50 a bit later on. Once GM introduced the all-Detroit S-10 for the 1982 model year, however, the LUV's reign ended. Fortunately for fans of the Light Utility Vehicle, Isuzu began selling these trucks under its own badging here in 1981. This truck was called the P'up, and sales continued through 1987. Here's one of those P'ups, found in a Denver boneyard last month. This truck has the long-bed option. The purple paint and black stripes appear to be non-factory items, as the engine-compartment paint is silver. Under the hood, we see the 1.9-liter G200Z engine, as used in the Impulse and early Trooper. It had 86 horsepower on tap, which made this truck quite a bit zippier than the version with the 58-horse diesel (several decades back, I had a job that involved driving a diesel P'up and I can state from experience that the oil-burning P'up was an agonizingly slow machine). Still, this truck must have been on the poky side, what with its (optional) three-speed automatic transmission. What's this— air conditioning in a compact pickup? That was still something of a blasphemous idea in the middle 1980s. Someone installed a functional cold-air induction system involving an aftermarket air cleaner protruding from the hood, above the carburetor. Let's hope there was a filter element in here, because it doesn't do a carb any good to suck in bugs and dirt (not to mention filling with water while parked outdoors during rainstorms). This is by far the most common sticker found on vehicles in Denver-area wrecking yards. The Incredibles Empire appears to get mightier with each passing day, though I see plenty of stickers from other cannabis-related businesses in these yards. Fox Street Wellness is still around, though under a new name. What better vehicle for picking up a bag of Girl Scout Cookies weed ("best reserved for experienced cannabis consumers") than a purple P'up with hood-mounted air cleaner? Today, the Purple P'up's final parking spot is just a few miles to the north of this dispensary.

GM recalls over 230,000 more Trailblazer-family SUVs over door electronics

Back in August, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced a recall on the General Motors GMT360 SUVs (Buick Rainier, Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy, Isuzu Ascender and Saab 9-7X) ranging from the 2005 to 2007 model years and the 2006 GMT370 SUVs (Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT and GMC Envoy XL) due to potential fires associated with the driver's door module. Initially limited to 250,000 units sold or registered in 20 Snow Belt states (and the District of Columbia), the recall has now been expanded to include an additional 193,000 of these SUVs in the US and, according to The Detroit News, 40,000 more sold outside the US, including Canada and Mexico.
Like the original recall, the issue is still a faulty driver's door module that can short out, which could lead to a fire. The Detroit News is reporting that, out of the 443,000 units being recalled, GM says that there were 58 fires that caused 11 minor injuries, and the expanded recall accounted for six fires and one injury. Despite the lower number of fires, the recall notice recommends that owners park their vehicles until the recall repairs has been performed.
On recalled units with functional modules, the repair consists of a protective coating being applied to the module, while vehicles with modules that are not working properly will have the driver's door module replaced. The official recall notice is posted below, and it includes contact information for customers of all five brands.

Junkyard Gem: 1980 Chevrolet LUV Mikado

During the 1970s and into the 1980s, each member of the Detroit Big Three imported Japanese small pickups and sold them with Ford (Mazda Proceed), Dodge/Plymouth (Mitsubishi Forte), or Chevrolet (Isuzu Faster) badges here. Ford developed the Ranger and killed the Courier for 1983 (though Americans could still buy the Mazda-badged version all the way through 1993), while The General axed the LUV after the S-10 debuted in the 1982 model year. Isuzu sold the same truck as the P'up through 1987, though, and we might as well follow up our recent P'up Junkyard Gem with its LUV predecessor. LUV stood for Light Utility Vehicle, and I've managed to spot a handful in the boneyards over the years. This one now resides in a yard in northeastern Colorado. The Mikado trim package included striped seat upholstery and a sporty steering wheel, plus these cool dash badges. As far as I can tell, no LUV Mikado advertising featured any Gilbert and Sullivan tunes. This one is fairly rusty for Front Range Colorado, and it has endured a bed swap from some other small truck. The engine is the 75-horse Isuzu 1.8-liter. Members of this engine family went into everything from Chevy Chevettes to Isuzu Troopers in the United States. Very unusually for a small pickup during the Malaise Era, this one has a luxurious automatic transmission. Acceleration must have been a leisurely affair in this truck. Air conditioning? Unheard of! Someone stuck every one of their lunchtime apple stickers on the driver's door. After 41 years of work, this truck is done. Come on strong in a LUV of your own!