2000 Isuzu Trooper S 4x4 5 Speed ... 69,053 Original Miles on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 2004 Isuzu Axiom

Though the final Isuzu-badged car sold in the United States was the 1993 Isuzu Stylus, Isuzu did very well selling trucks here during the remainder of the 1990s. Things still looked pretty good for Isuzu as the new century dawned, but by then everybody had upped their truck game and many of the competition's offerings made Isuzus seem old-fashioned. Isuzu cooked up a distinctive new body for the Rodeo chassis, arranged to have it built at Subaru's plant in Indiana, and called it the Axiom. You won't see many Axioms today, but I found this last-year-of-production example in an Oklahoma City car graveyard recently. As we all know, the decline and fall of Isuzu in North America accelerated quickly as the 2000s progressed. The VehiCROSS was interesting but just too weird and it got the axe after 2001. The increasingly antiquated Trooper held on through 2002, the Amigo (aka Rodeo Sport) through 2003, and that left just the Axiom and Rodeo to hang on by their fingernails into 2004. By 2005, the only new Isuzu-branded passenger vehicles sold in the United States were two rebadged Chevrolets: the Ascender (Trailblazer) and i-Series pickup (Colorado). In early 2009, Isuzu announced that it would be departing, presumably forever. You can still buy new Isuzu commercial trucks here, of course. The 2004 Axiom had MSRPs starting at $24,849 for the S trim level with rear-wheel-drive and going up to $30,499 for the upscale XS with all-wheel-drive. That's about $40,703 and $49,958 in 2023 dollars. Joe Isuzu was brought back after a decade of retirement to pitch the Axiom. Note that Joe's brag in this commercial is how much cheaper the Axiom was than the Volvo Cross Country. This truck is the cheap Axiom S 4x2, which still seems well-appointed. The 2004 Axiom's 3.5-liter V6 engine made 250 horsepower and 246 pound-feet, up from 230 horsepower and 230 pound-feet in the 2002-2003 Axioms. The power improvements were the result of the switch to gasoline direct injection fuel delivery for the '04 Axiom. Isuzu was so proud of the system that it applied these badges. The only transmission available was a four-speed automatic. The Axiom was introduced to the American public as the SPYMobile in the 2001 film "Spy Kids." The body and interior of this one appear to be nice enough for a 19-year-old vehicle, so we can assume that it showed up in this place as the result of expensive mechanical problems. We'll get to the Joe Isuzu ads in a moment.

Japan may aid carmakers facing U.S. tariff threat

TOKYO — Japan is considering giving carmakers fiscal support including tax breaks to offset the impact from trade frictions with the United States and a sales-tax hike planned for next year, government sources told Reuters on Wednesday. Going into a second round of trade talks with the United States on Sept. 21, Japan is hoping to avert steep tariffs on its car exports and fend off U.S. demands for a bilateral free trade agreement that could put it under pressure to open politically sensitive markets, like agriculture. "If the trade talks pile pressure on Japan's car exports, we would need to consider measures to support the auto industry," a ruling party official said on condition of anonymity because of sensitivity of the matter. The auto industry accounts for about 20 percent of Japan's overall output and around 60-70 percent of the country's trade surplus with the United States, making it vulnerable to U.S. action against Japanese exports. Japan's biggest automakers and components suppliers fear they could take a significant hit if Washington follows through on proposals to hike tariffs on autos and auto parts to 25 percent. Policymakers also worry that an increase in the sales tax from 8 percent to 10 percent planned for October 2019, could cause a slump in sales of big-ticket items such as cars and home. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has twice postponed the tax hike after the last increase from 5 percent in 2014 dealt a blow to private consumption, which accounts for about 60 percent of the economy. To prevent a pullback in demand after the tax hike, the government may consider large fiscal spending later when it draws up its budget for next year, government sources said. "One option may be to greatly reduce or abolish the automobile purchase tax," one of the government sources said. The government is also considering cuts in the automobile tax and automobile weight tax to help car buyers, the source added. Reporting by Izumi Nakagawa and Tetsushi KajimotoRelated Video: Image Credit: Getty Government/Legal Isuzu Mazda Mitsubishi Nissan Subaru Suzuki Toyota Trump Trump tariffs trade

Recharge Wrap-up: Minnesota first to require biodiesel, maglev in Israel, Toyota FCV in Aspen

A new Minnesota law that requires biodiesel blends goes into effect in just a few days, says KELO. Diesel drivers in Minnesota will be pumping soybeans into their tank beginning July 1. Every year, diesel will be sold as a B10 blend (ten percent biofuel) from April through August, and will scale back to a cold-hardy B5 blend from September through March. The biofuel largely comes from soybean crops grown within Minnesota, and the biodiesel industry pumps more than $900 million into the state economy every year. According to the National Biodiesel Board, using the B10 and B5 blends will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1,342,000,000 pounds every year. Minnesota is the first state to require diesel to be sold as a biofuel blend. In Japan, Isuzu Motors and Japanese biotech venture Euglena are teaming up to create biodiesel using algae, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. The goal is to create a new type of fuel that doesn't need to be mixed with light oil to be used in engines. "As long as we use light oil for diesel engines, emissions of carbon dioxide are inevitable," says Isuzu president Susumu Hosoi. Euglena has also been using algae to develop jet fuel with airline operator ANA Holdings. Isuzu and Euglena hope to have the new biodiesel developed by 2018. Aerial maglev transportation is coming to the campus of a defense contractor in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wired reports. The SkyTran personal rapid transit system uses small pods on an elevated magnetic track to move people from place to place. The pilot program will see SkyTran come to the corporate campus of Israel Aerospace Industries as soon as next year. The pods are hailed by phone, and carry passengers along the magnetic rail system at speeds of up to 44 miles per hour. The passive magnetic system levitates the pod attachment a centimeter above the rails, while a burst of electricity propels the pod forward. If the test at the campus goes well, SkyTran could spread to Tel Aviv at large, moving up to 12,000 people per track per hour with top speeds of 150 mph. The pre-production prototype of the Toyota FCV will make its North American debut at the 2014 Aspen Ideas Festival on Friday, June 27. The hydrogen car's finished exterior was revealed in Japan on Wednesday along with its nearly $70,000 price tag. It will go on sale in Japan by April of next year, and will come to Europe and California in the summer of 2015.