It’s crazy to think that an entire decade has passed since Isuzu stopped selling passenger vehicles in the United States. It’s a shame because SUVs dominate the current U.S. market, and Isuzu produced a lot of unique models during their time in the States – which ended right before the boom in crossover and SUV popularity. This 1999 Isuzu VehiCROSS that’s available here on eBay was once the company’s “halo” SUV, and this driver-quality example begs to show off its capabilities for its next owner.
This VehiCROSS is available in Fair Lawn, New Jersey with a clean title. Throughout the advertisement, the seller notes that the SUV has the potential to be a future collectible item, mentioning tidbits such as the fact this VehiCROSS was 1 of 1,021 in this particular color combination.
The exterior has some wear, but one can expect that from an SUV like this. Sadly, the seller does not provide pictures of its undercarriage, which would provide some peace of mind on an east coast vehicle such as this.
Inside the cabin, things seem to be completely original, but there aren’t too many photos provided. The front seats have some wear, but the rear ones look like they didn’t receive as much use. Additionally, the radio currently does not work, but as far as electrical issues go, that’s a pretty easy fix.
Under the hood, you’ll find a 3.5-liter V6 engine with a fresh timing belt, which pairs to an automatic transmission and a full-time 4-wheel-drive system. The engine has 132,670 miles on it, but the truck received a new transmission approximately 80,000 miles into its life. Despite this, the seller notes that the 4-wheel-drive system works well and that the truck is ready to go.
At the time of publication, bidding is at $2,000. Despite the seller’s best efforts, it’s hard to justify this particular VehiCROSS as a future collection piece, but I do think it would make an excellent driver. How do you feel about this distinct Isuzu?
I remember this one coming out. I never owned one but thought the snake 🐍 teeth front looked cool and performance was decent for a truck.
So i do think it has potential to be considered collectable but isn’t it always whats in the eye of the beholder?
I mean didn’t we just see a pinto listed for a collector? 😎
They made molds for the front end and fenders and stated once these special forms were to break it was to have stopped production.
“Sales were intentionally limited, with only 5,958 vehicles being produced between 1997 and 2001; 1,805 were produced for the domestic Japanese market and the remaining 4,153 sold in the United States. Japanese sales were limited by the fact that the exterior width dimensions were not in compliance with Japanese Government dimension regulations, and the engine displacement obligated Japanese drivers for higher levels of annual road tax. The vehicle had a base price of $28,900.[1]”
Besides going with the Joe Isuzu 😎 advertising
philosophy this car was built with gold
and diamonds hidden Inside each one and
they got one million miles per gallon 😎😏😄
And people laughed at the Gremlin and Pacer….ugly then and ugly now.And good luck finding parts.
Pretty much every part on this truck is shared with the trooper or the rodeo including the entire drive train, so I think you would be pretty lucky.
The original Mercedes-Benz SLK concept of 1994 had headlights like this, but Mercedes-Benz didn’t bring them to production and Isuzu did. I also seem to recall that the JDM VehiCROSS was the first production car with a rear view camera. I don’t think we got that feature here though.
Looks like they took design inspiration from a shoe.
i thought it was spawned by a catfish…
I own a black 99. It has never let me down. Great fun vehicle !!.It has 137 k on it.
I remember when these came out and I was picking up a new Pathfinder from a Nissan-Isuzu dealership and when I was to pick it up, they said they needed 1/2 hour to get the truck ready. I saw a new VehiCROSS on their lot and the salesman offered me the keys and I took it out for a long ride. It was a nice little unique SUV and a blast to drive, but I found it a bit smaller than I wanted and wasn’t sure on resale as Isuzu wasn’t the best.
My dad had a Chevy luv ( basically an isuzu truck) we drove the crap out of it and never had any problems..these were very tough vehicles
I have two proton and Ironman both over 230k still going
Loved these when they came out, although I don’t believe that they were ever offered here in Canada (I am sure I will be corrected if wrong :^) ) Very polarizing styling, but I appreciate anything that is “out of the box”.
You are correct Wayne, it’s another cool Japanese vehicle those of us living above the 49th parallel were deprived of.
I always liked the styling and look. Appeared “tough” and “utilitarian” to me, in a futuristic way. Wish it was made by Honda or Toyota. Orphans products/brands surely make for a lot of tears and dread when the inevitable thing breaks. Still, I like Opel GTs (had one in high school in the 70s), but they seem to have an avid supply chain.
The tooling was made from concrete, building in a limited capability from a production standpoint. Only so many parts were able to be made before the tooling was out of conformance. It was pretty innovative at the time and I personally have always wanted one. Having owned a trooper I know that these should be able to go almost anywhere.
I love the styling on this SUV but, unfortunately, it is far too small for me.
The Pontiac Aztec of the Isuzu fleet
I remember seeing a white one of these with black graphics on my daily commute back in the day.
I always wondered how the owner could see out of the back of it.
These, like the little Suzuki X90s, *WILL* be going up in value sooner than you think. Kids that grew up in the 90’s will remember these and want them. And as someone said: Some of these little oddballs would have fit in better today than when they were new. And still more fun than 90% of the Toyota/Honda jelly beans…
Ive owned one now for over 12 yrs, will never sell it. Not a day goes by where someone doesnt pay a nice compliment on it one way or another and want to know more about it. People love taking pics of it all the time too. And its cheap to own too :)