Isuzu is the only truck that scientists in Antarctica trust their lives with, here’s why

Pick-up trucks are synonymous with the Toyota Hilux, at least in this part of the world, where all pick-up trucks are colloquially known simply as a Hilux (or ‘Hailak’), just like all food containers in your house are Tupperwares, doesn’t matter if it’s actually a Sistema.

Similarly, it doesn’t matter if the subject in focus is actually an Isuzu D-Max, because to Malaysians, especially those living in Sabah and Sarawak, all trucks are ‘Hailaks.’

This is ironic because at the heart of every pick-up truck (or if you insist, ‘Hailak’) is a diesel engine, and no other car company can claim to understand diesel engines better than Isuzu.

Yes, Daimler may have a longer history with diesels (since 1923 in fact, 5K3 was the world’s first diesel-powered truck) but outside of Europe, Daimler’s representation in the diesel engine world is rather limited.

Few know that Isuzu is Japan's oldest car maker, since 1916. Even fewer know that Isuzu, the world’s biggest diesel engine manufacturer, having put nearly 30 million diesel engines on land and on sea since 1936, when Isuzu built Japan’s first air-cooled diesel engines. Yes, air-cooled.

Pre-Covid-19, Isuzu was making nearly 850,000 units of diesel engines of all kinds annually – not just for trucks, but also for ships and power generators. This is on top of the nearly 660,000 engines that went into Isuzu trucks, and not yet including Duramax engines made at Isuzu’s American joint venture with General Motors.

Well-read folks might know that every Isuzu, doesn’t matter if it’s a D-Max or a heavy duty truck like the Elf or Giga, wear a signature 6-hole grille in front.

The design signature is now less apparent on the latest D-Max’s stylized grille, but look hard enough and you will see it.

The 6-hole grille represents Isuzu’s presence in 6 of the 7 continents in the world. The only continent where Isuzu has no market presence in is Antarctica, except that Isuzu is wrong.

OK fine they are not wrong, but they are being modest, because Isuzu does exist in Antarctica. In fact Isuzu is the only vehicle / engine manufacturer that can boast of a continued presence in the South Pole, the coldest part of Earth, for more than 60 years.

Since 1956, Isuzu vehicles and diesel-powered electric generators have been supporting the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE) crew in the South Pole.

With temperatures dropping to as low as -80 degrees Celsius, limited telecommunication and thousands of kilometres away from the nearest convenience store or medical facility, these Isuzu diesel engines serve as their barrier between life and death.

These engines have to start at the first crank every time, and be able to work flawlessly with minimum maintenance, because in Antarctica, one doesn’t just walk out to do an oil change.

Once, a mechanic went out to do on-site maintenance on a snowmobile, only to be caught in a blizzard and couldn’t return to his base for nearly a week.

In 1958, the JARE expedition team was caught in a shifting ice and had to make an emergency evacuation, leaving behind 15 Sakhalin Husky dogs to die – it was something that deeply troubled the crew and is still discussed in Japan today, as there are not one, not two, but three memorials for the left-behind dogs across Japan.

In 1983, a Japanese film titled South Pole Story was made, chronicling the incident.

Considering the harsh operating conditions, there are a lot of things that can go wrong (and they often did). Of all the engine manufacturers in Japan, only Isuzu dared stepped forward to take up the responsibility.

The returns of such a venture are limited only to some public relations value but the risk of a mechanical failure with an Isuzu-powered generator or truck, leading to the death of Japan’s best and brightest scientific minds could bring a company down to its knees, literally, if you understand Japanese culture.

The last JARE expedition was made in 2017 and interestingly, as you can see from the photos, did not use the latest Isuzu model but the same aging vehicles that have been in used in Antarctica for decades! That speaks volumes of Isuzu engine’s reliability.

The research base is not occupied all the time and there are times when the base is left vacant for extended periods of time. The vehicles and generator engines are put away but when the next team arrives, these engines must be able to start with minimal maintenance.

We know what you are thinking, that these engines have been specially adapted for the Antarctica. Nope, we've confirmed this with Isuzu. The ability to start at first crank, regardless of extreme cold, is engineered into every Isuzu diesel engine, including the D-Max.

Over in the US, General Motors no longer bother to design their own diesel engines for their GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado pick-up trucks, because they realized that Isuzu could build better diesel engines at a lower price. So GM formed a joint venture with Isuzu.

The DMAX joint venture (not to be confused with D-Max the truck), which is 40 percent owned by Isuzu, designs and builds the Duramax engine, America’s most successful diesel engine, with over 2 million units sold since 2000.

Before, when GM was designing their own diesel engines, GM only had a 5 percent market share in the USA’s truck market. After Isuzu supplied them with Duramax engines, their market share has risen to 37 percent (as of 2020).

So how did Isuzu get so good at diesel engines?

Simple, unlike other manufacturers, Isuzu is not preoccupied by anything else other than trucks and diesel engines. All of Isuzu engineers’ waking hours are spent in perfecting diesel engines, building ever better trucks.

Trucks and diesel engines are Isuzu’s reason of existence, or as the Japanese call it, their ‘Ikigai.’ With such a background, they have little choice but to be better than anyone else right? Else they would make them a pretty shitty company.

It is for this exact reason, that Isuzu is a truck and diesel engine specialist, that more Thais prefer to buy a Isuzu D-Max than a Toyota Hilux, which previously ruled the market. As you know, Thailand is the world’s second biggest truck market after USA.

Also read: Thais prefer the Isuzu D-Max more than a Toyota Hilux, but can Isuzu win over Malaysians?

The latest D-Max matches a Hilux in every aspect, but is priced slightly lower. It's also equipped with enough comfort, convenience and safety features to shame many SUVs. So for Thai buyers, the decision is an easy one to make.

For the record, Isuzu once built cars too. The Isuzu 117 Coupe and the Isuzu Piazza, both styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro, were Isuzu’s finest creations. And who could forget Shiro Nakamura’s Isuzu Vehicross?

Their 1969 Bellet MX 1600 and 1989 4200R mid-engine concept cars were highlights of the respective years’ Tokyo Motor Show.

Also read: When Isuzu made sports cars – 117 Coupe, Piazza, Gemini

But a changing economic landscape after Japan’s Bubble Economy burst in the ‘90s forced Isuzu to scale back and focus on what it does best – trucks and diesel engines.

Had Japan’s bubble economy and the Plaza Accord agreement that triggered it taken a different course, who knows what else we might be driving today.  

Just like how Isuzu had to adapt to Japan’s changing economic conditions, so too must Isuzu change to meet the requirements of today’s truck buyers.

The concept of a lifestyle truck is not new but it’s now the centre of the pick-up truck market, rather than at the fringes.

As CO2 emissions standards (already enforced in Thailand) and safety regulations on commercial vehicles (Australia) are tightened, prices are bound to increase.

What used to be priced under RM 100k, is now breaching RM 140k. At that price, the truck better ride and drive like a Honda CR-V, while retaining the tough, go anywhere, carry anything capabilities.

This explains the big leap in styling direction and product concept of the latest Isuzu D-Max - from a workhorse to a fashionable truck that looks good enough to steal the beauty crown from the Ford Ranger.

Whether is it enough to dethrone the Toyota Hilux or not is a different thing altogether.

Before usurping the Hilux’s dominance, Isuzu must first win the psyche war. It needs to change the narrative, from Pick-Up Truck = Hilux to Pick-Up Truck = Diesel = Isuzu.