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TCC readers, we laud your taste:
your favorite car review from January was also one of our favorite test cars in recent memory.
And yet you’re
pessimistic on gas prices? Maybe you’ll cheer up now that the
smart fortwo is on sale--even though the chances of
getting lucky in the back seat are approaching zero.
Autocar magazine tells us there’s a
new Rolls-Royce on the way. Since it’s based on the
BMW 7-Series, does that mean the uppercrust’s cut off?
We also saw the next
Lincoln MKZ and
Saturn Aura, and we likey.
Isuzu finally admitted that it
stopped selling cars in the U.S. back in 1998 and just forgot to tell anyone. (This part is not true.)
We got really bored one night and instead of writing a real review we wrote a
fake one with a bunch of Journey songs in the title. Blame the minibar. Those craisins are dangerous!
You might have missed
the birthday of the car. No, really, it’s okay, don’t go out of your way or anything. You know, some people keep a calendar for those things.
Richard Simmons clocks in on Sunday as the
least likely Super Bowl pitchman ever. Our satin shorts are at the cleaners, getting ready for the big day.
We’re not sure if an
$8 toll to drive in Manhattan is the way to fix the city’s traffic. Compared to our $10 bagel and cream cheese last visit, it is kind of a bargain, though.
And finally this week, with political season in full swing, irony has cut short its winter vacation: witness the
van full of illegals that rear-ended a Homeland Security vehicle in Arizona.
Posted in : 2008, Audi, Dodge, Isuzu, Lincoln, Saturn, The Week in Reverse, smart
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Isuzu's long battle to stay in the U.S. market ends next year, as the Japanese automaker announced today that it would stop selling new vehicles in the U.S. as of January 31, 2009.
Isuzu's withdrawal has been expected for years. In the early 1990s, the company sat at the forefront of the truck market with its Trooper sport-utility vehicle. But troubles in its home market--and a lack of cash to develop more sport-utes and crossovers like the ill-fated
Axiom from 2002--hamstrung the brand, which resorted to selling rebadged GM
pickups and sport-utes and halting all passenger-car sales as it tried to find its footing.
The
Wall Street Journal points out that in 2007,
Isuzu sold only 7906 vehicles here--roughly four days' worth of production for the
Ford F-Series
pickups.
The final death knell for
Isuzu likely came as GM declined to provide it with a replacement for the i290 and i370
pickup trucks, which are based on the
Chevrolet Colorado, and as GM is set to cancel the mid-size
SUVs like the
Chevrolet TrailBlazer that provided the clone donor for the
Isuzu Ascender.
"It has always been our intention to remain in the U.S. market," the
Journal quotes Terry Maloney, president of
Isuzu's North American operations. "However, we were unable to secure any commercially viable replacements for these vehicles."
It has inventory to sell for the year ahead, and
Isuzu is also promising to honor all warranties and roadside assistance programs.
Isuzu's departure isn't any surprise. But are there other automotive brands that don't serve a purpose? And as new-vehicle sales are expected to take a tumble again in 2008, which companies won't be able to weather the storm? Tell us in a comment below.
Isuzu to End Car Sales In North America in 2009 - WSJ.com
Posted in : 2008, Industry News, Isuzu
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