Few realize Isuzu’s pioneering work, and this is why you don’t hear much about them

Ask any random person to name three Japanese companies that best represent the pinnacle of automotive engineering, and you will find that few will mention Isuzu even if you were to expand the list to 5.

But Isuzu is the genesis, the starting point of Japan’s automotive industry. With a heritage that dates back to 1916, starting as a joint venture between a ship builder and a heavy engineer company - Tokyo Ishikawajima Shipbuilding and Engineering Co., Ltd. and Tokyo Gas and Electric Industrial Co. – Isuzu is Japan’s oldest car company.

For a while, Isuzu was also Japan’s largest vehicle manufacturer, but as sales of passenger cars – not a forte for the durable trucks-focused Isuzu – eclipsed commercial trucks and buses, Isuzu ceded position to Toyota and Nissan (Honda would only come much later).

Isuzu is also the only company in the world that can claim to build vehicles that can survive in all 7 continents. That’s right, although only 6 out of the 7 continents on our planet are habitable, Isuzu trucks are the only unmodified production vehicles operating in the Antarctica.

Not only that, Isuzu diesel engines also serve as power generators in the South Pole.

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

If Isuzu is so great, how come no one talks about it?

They did. A lot. But that was more than 50 years ago, and you if you live in a bubble of Western-dominated historical narratives, then you won’t hear of Isuzu that much because Isuzu’s best and brightest were concentrated on the Far East.

In the ‘60s, the Isuzu Bellet GT-R (yes Isuzu had its own GT-R) was credible rival to the ‘Hakosuka’ PGC10 Nissan Skyline GT-R.

Until today, the Isuzu Bellet GT-R is highly sought after and is seen in Japan as the intelligent man’s GT-R, because it’s less known to US buyers and therefore did not become a victim of the speculative bubble inflating prices of Japanese classic cars. Only 1,400 Isuzu Bellet GT-Rs were made so they are extremely rare today.

There was also a mid-engine Isuzu Bellet MX1600 that was presented at the 1969 Tokyo Motor Show, but the market was not ready for such a wild looking Isuzu and the car was never put into production.

What made into production however, was the Giugiaro-designed Isuzu 177 Coupe, still one of the most beautiful coupes of all time but being an Isuzu, it’s only appreciated by those in the know.

In the late ‘80s, right before Japan’s ‘bubble economy’ imploded, Isuzu made a 3.5-litre V12 Formula 1 engine, presented to Lotus, but narrowly lost the F1 engine supply deal to Honda.

History would’ve been very different if Aryton Senna endorsed an Isuzu instead of a Honda.

Isuzu also produced quite a few more very beautiful cars.

The Isuzu VehiCross, penned by Shiro Nakamura, who later went on to design the Nissan Cube, looks current today even though it went out of production more than 20 years ago.

Likewise the ‘Handling by Lotus’ 1980 Isuzu Piazza, also styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro, who designed the previous 117 Coupe.

In 1989, right before Japan’s economy collapsed, Isuzu presented the 4200R concept, powered by a 4.2-litre mid-mounted V8, with active suspension-assisted handling tuned by Lotus.

If the Honda NSX was supposed to celebrate the Aryton Senna partnership in F1, then the Isuzu 4200R was supposed to be a middle finger to Honda.

However just like the Bellet MX1600, it was never put into production, because Isuzu’s passenger car division was just too weak to support the product, which brings us to the next point.

Isuzu stopped making passenger cars, because Isuzu = 4x4 = Diesel

Isuzu is a company run by engineers and it lacks the marketing talent to compete in the frivolous world of passenger cars, evident by the fact that you don’t see a lot of sexy marketing coming out of Isuzu.

Even Volvo trucks made headlines with Jean-Claude Van Damme doing a gymnastic-split between two Volvo FM. But Isuzu, they are known for the Isuzu jingle, which is unknown outside of Japan.

Although Isuzu passenger cars weren’t any poorer than those produced by Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi or Honda, Isuzu simply lacked the sales channels necessary to handle passenger car sales.

Isuzu is a company whose heritage and forte centred on diesel engines and rough-use trucks. Isuzu built Japan’s self-developed truck (Sumida L), first bus (Sumida M), and the first air-cooled diesel engine.

Following the collapse of Japan’s ‘bubble economy’ in the early ‘90s, Isuzu stopped building its own passenger cars in 1993. The Isuzu Gemini, which was also supplied to GM’s Geo brand in the US, would be Isuzu’s last self-developed passenger car.

After that, Isuzu passenger cars were rebadged Honda Accord and Honda Domani.

This continued until the late ‘90s when the ’98 Asian Financial Crisis struck, which greatly affected Isuzu due to its reliance on Thailand. In 2001, Isuzu announced in that it is shutting down its passenger car business for good, to focus on what it does best – diesel engines and trucks.

But without passenger cars, the next generation of consumers don’t think of Isuzu as much anymore. Those in the know however, knew better.

When Toyota and GM couldn’t improve their diesel engines, who do they call?

Toyota is famed for its Toyota Hilux. It also counts heavy truck specialist Hino as its subsidiary. In theory, Toyota has all the know-how it needs to build ever better diesel engines, and doesn’t need any outside help.

In the early 2000s, Europe was tightening exhaust emission standards, including diesel engines, which at that time still dominated the European passenger car market.

Toyota engineers however, hit a wall and couldn’t bring emissions down any further. Hino weren’t of much help, since Hino knew next to nothing about small capacity diesel engines for passenger cars.

Toyota needed outside help and they knew there is only one other company who can built better diesel engines than them – Isuzu.

The small capacity diesel engines fitted on European market Toyota models were developed by Isuzu, which formed a capital alliance with Toyota in 2006.

The tie-up has since been dissolved, replaced by a three-way Toyota-Hino-Isuzu joint venture called Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation, focusing on developing the next generation commercial vehicles.

Over in the US in the late ‘90s, GM was falling behind Ford in the all-important heavy duty pick-up truck market. GM needed better diesel engines fast, so it turned to Isuzu.

In 1998, it formed the DMAX (short for Duramax, the name of GM’s diesel engine, not to be confused with the Isuzu D-Max) joint venture with Isuzu. GM would finance the manufacturing, Isuzu would design the engines.

With the new Isuzu-developed Duramax engines powering the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, GM’s increased its market share by more than 6 times, from less than 5 percent in the late ‘90s to nearly 40 percent today.

Closer to home, the Isuzu D-Max is probably the only the pick-up truck that is developed with assistance from the Japan Railway Technical Research Institute – the same people who developed Japan’s Shinkansen ‘bullet train.’

Why bother with Shinkansen-derived tech when the D-Max is not even developed for top speed. The aerodynamics know-how is less about attaining top speed, but lowering fuel consumption. It is no coincidence that the Isuzu D-Max is the most fuel efficient pick-up truck on sale in Malaysia.

The Shinkansen lab also studied on how to improve water dispersion for visibility is better in rain – something which is very relevant to users in this part of the world.

Pick-up trucks are tall and have a very big frontal surface area, which makes water dispersion more complex than regular passenger cars. D-Max drivers also often have to drive on poor roads on wet conditions, so it’s also a safety issue that Isuzu knows it needs to pay attention to.

Isuzu would know what local buyers need, because development for the Isuzu D-Max is done not in Japan, but Thailand, at the Isuzu Technical Center of Asia Co., Ltd. in Samutprakan.

Cars that are developed closest to the customers typically have an edge in meeting local user requirements. It’s also why the latest generation Isuzu D-Max is such a big leap over its predecessors, because it became clear to Isuzu that today’s pick-up truck users are no longer looking for a mere work horse vehicle.

It’s easier for a manufacturer who already makes the world’s best diesel engines to make a plush, comfortable pick-up truck than it is for a passenger car-focused company trying to do the opposite.

This is also why Mazda dumped Ford to partner with Isuzu, to build its latest generation Mazda BT-50.

Also read: Mazda BT-50: This is why Mazda chose the Isuzu D-Max over the Ford Ranger

Still, it’s going to take quite a while more before locals replace the colloquial word for pick-up trucks - ‘Hailak’ - with D-Max.