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GM recalling 250,000 SUVs over door electronics

After a door-fire investigation that dates back to February, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has officially announced a recall today that affects around 250,000 General Motors SUVs for a faulty driver's door module. The recall applies to the Buick Rainier, Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy, Isuzu Ascender and Saab 9-7X from the 2006 and 2007 model years, as well as the 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT and GMC Envoy XL for vehicles sold and/or registered in the Snow Belt.
Road salt use in these midwestern and northern states can lead to corrosion of the driver's door module on these GMT360 and GMT370 vehicles, which allows water to come in contact with the circuit board. If shorted out, the vehicle's power door locks and power windows will not work, and could possibly lead to overheating and, in some circumstances, a fire. No official word on how many total vehicles caught on fire, but back in June, 28 fires had been reported to the government agency. A fix for the problem is still being worked out, but all affected vehicle owners will be notified by GM.
Scroll down for the official NHTSA statement.

Isuzu truck concepts include honeycombed ‘toaster on wheels’

Isuzu took to its hometown auto show to highlight its work in developing next-generation transport trucks, showing eight vehicles and four powertrain systems at the 45th Tokyo Motor Show. The most notable of the bunch are a pair of concepts: the FD-SI, a light-duty delivery truck designed around principles found in the insect kingdom, and the Elf EV, an all-electric version of its light-duty workhorse featuring a large-capacity battery with rapid-charging capability. From a design perspective, the FD-SI will get all the attention — much of it probably of the bemused sort. In truth, it looks like a futuristic toaster on wheels, a rolling box structure fitted with honeycomb patterns on the side panels and a glass cab windshield that seems borrowed from a heavy-duty construction crane. It turns out the honeycomb motif is no mere design whim; Isuzu says its designers focused on the "group intelligence" of insects and tried to apply that principle to the delivery vehicle. So the honeycomb exterior is replicated in the cargo space as hexagonal tube-shaped boxes, which the automaker says is a good compromise between strength and storage space. Inside the cab, the driver controls and seat have all been centralized, with the steering wheel retractable, to encourage smoother operability and more comfortable living space for the driver. "We want to support the drivers, the front-line people of "Transport," with unconventional ideas," Isuzu says. The Elf EV, on the other hand, is a zero-emissions, low-vibration delivery truck powered by a lithium-ion battery that'll take the vehicle at least 100 km, or 62 miles, on a single normal or fast-charge. It sports a 4x2, rear-wheel drive transmission with independent suspension in the front and leaf suspension in the rear. Here's a quick list of Isuzu's other Tokyo offerings: A 6x6 all-wheel-drive truck, featuring single wheels on all axles, built for rough terrain such as areas hit by major natural disasters. 80th anniversary editions of the Giga heavy-duty truck, geared with a remote monitoring system to transmit vehicle data for remote analysis to ensure safe driving; the Forward medium-duty truck, which boasts 10 percent higher fuel economy than its 2015 version; and the internal-combustion version of the Elf light-duty truck, which is sold in the U.S. as the N-Series.

Junkyard Gem: 1990 Geo Storm GSi

General Motors created the Geo division in 1989, to sell rebadged Suzukis, Toyotas, and Isuzus in the United States. Most of these cars were snoresville econoboxes, but two Geo models got high-performance upgrades and GSi badging: the Prizm GSi (aka Toyota Corolla GT-S) and the Storm GSi (aka Isuzu Impulse). We saw a discarded Prizm GSi in this series last year, and now it's the Storm GSi's turn, with this '90 in a Phoenix self-service yard. The Storm GSi had a DOHC four-cylinder Isuzu engine making 130 horsepower, which was excellent for a 1990 car weighing a mere 2,392 pounds. The 2,174-pound 1990 Honda CRX Si had a mere 108 horsepower (and two seats), and it cost $11,130 versus the Storm GSi's just-slightly-higher $11,650 price tag. Of course, Isuzus never developed quite the reputation for reliability enjoyed by Hondas. This Isuzu notched up an impressive final mileage figure, though. The Storm sold for just the 1990 through 1993 model years, and the GSi still has a devoted following to this day. The interior is straight-up late-1980s-style Japanese-econobox stuff, with plenty of tough gray plastic. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Not long ago, Toyota and Honda were the last word in the world of sporty imports. But that was just the calm... before the Storm. Featured Gallery Junked 1990 Geo Storm GSi View 12 Photos Auto News Isuzu Automotive History Performance geo