Joe isuzu is in mourning. Isuzu has made it official; it is leaving the light-vehicle market in the United States. Isuzu said it will stop selling new vehicles here on January 31, 2009.

Isuzu Motors America said it is leaving because General Motors may discontinue the Ascender SUV and its small-pickup platform. Isuzu has 201 dealers and sells only two models - the five-seat Ascender, based on the Chevrolet TrailBlazer; and the i-series pickup, derived from GM's small-pickup platform.

Isuzu had the right ideas about SUVs for the U.S. market at the right time. In 1992 and 1993, the mid-size Rodeo was the top-selling import brand SUV nameplate with sales of 45,257 units. In 1993, it sold 48,903 units.

The brand's sales pace continued for much of the 1990s, but slowed dramatically after 2000 as more competition emerged in the segment.

Isuzu sales have slid from 103,937 in 1999 to 7,098 in 2007.

Isuzu also built a version of its top-selling Rodeo midsize SUV for Honda. That vehicle, the Honda Passport, was available from 1994-2002. It was Honda's first ever truck entry in the United States. From 1996-1999, Isuzu also built for Honda a luxury SUV called the Acura SLX. It was based on the Isuzu Trooper.

Isuzu will stay in the medium-duty truck business in the United States




Oh, who was Joe Isuzu?
Joe ranks among the most memorable auto pitchmen on TV. He, actor David Leisure, was a remarkably likable liar making outrageous claims about the Isuzu. Joe's job as slimy hawker wasn't to sell cars, but to familiarize consumers with the then-little-known Isuzu name.