Love these retro reviews. For some reason, even mundane cars from the past, seem much more interesting than today's overweight, plastic jelly-bean 's of today. Maybe I'm just getting old lol
Except, the basic T-platform began way back in Brazil in the spring of 1973 with that country's Chevrolet Chevette, pre-dating the German Opel Kadett C by a good five months and our own (U.S.) Chevette by nearly three years. The first Isuzu Gemini came out in Japan in the fall of 1974 as a 1975 model, and it was Isuzu who would do the U.S. "Buick Opel" for Buick dealers from 1977 until 1980 (in 1976, it was called the "Opel/Isuzu"), and then sold the same car in the U.S. itself as the Isuzu I-Mark from 1981 until mid-1985. The Gemini/I-Mark's basic chassis got this sporty-looking body in 1982 in the form of the Piazza, which came to the U.S. in 1983 as the Impulse.
Ardhana Hariwidagdo, yes they can. Best on rainy roads, but I could hold the rear out fairly easily. On older tires tho, bought some new ones and it just wanted to stick when it was dry. Wish I still had it.
I used to drive an 88 non-turbo with open diff in NJ snowy winters. I was drifting this thing around every corner in the snow before the word "Drifting" became popular. It was the only way to drive this thing in the snow; sideways.
These cars were so beautiful. A coworker had a gold one and I was soooo jealous. I was just a kiddo so could not afford it..but still an awesome looking car to this day.
I am the VERY proud owner of an 86 Isuzu Piazza (the UK Version) it was my first car and it has never broken down once in its entire life, I push it hard, I drift, I race, I drive it daily, carry so much stuff in it, I weld steadicam rigs to it while filming when I was younger and it will not break down, it's so well designed that it will still drive perfectly fine till you get it home and give it some love, the body rusts in the usual places so I cut out the rust and weld thicker metal on there with a smile. I don't let anyone touch this car but me, I only use Mobil 1 fully synthetic, 10w40 / 15w50 / 5w30 it realy doesnt matter as long as its not 0w40. the 1 owner before me had never opened the bonnet himself, only Isuzu main dealer, this was and older chap but when he gave me the keys he had a tear in his eye and said he was so happy that it was going to someone that actually cared about these cars, 20 years later I went to his house to show him the now rust free car, he had motor neuron disease and hadn't been able to walk for years, but to his families shock he got out of that chair and walked to the window to look at the car. This Piazza jumps like a kangaroo at the lights and has AntiLag thanks to the I-TECH computerised turbo, its leaking engine oil, powersteering, gearbox fluids and fuel but it always gets me home and seems to repair itself overnight. I'm 40+ now and I still love this car. I'm slowly fixing all those Issues when the local garage lets me have some free time on the ramp in exchange for fixing their machines. Oh it also runs on 25% water (HHO) and gets 101Mpg motorway, when I can afford it I will make a 75% intelligent system. And currently looking for a donor electric motor to convert it to electric only and modernise the interior. I also have a Mitsubishi GTO Mk2 but I don't drive it.
Thomas Armstrong I don't remember if the US ever actually got the turbo, I thought it showed up FWD once. But it was an easy import, and still is. CA18DETs are crazy cheap now when you can still find them
well, I don't like Isuzu's, I think they are weird cars, but i can say this, in 1984 my grandpa got married and his wedding gift was a brand new Isuzu I-mark from his best friend, he drove that thing until 2004, I honestly thought the car was dead, well this all comes full circle because I spoke with the second owner of the car and unbelievably it's alive, it's been 33 years on the road, still rocking it's original carburetor, still matching numbers block, and still original trans( repaired but still original), and little Isuzu can still hit the road, I heard about the car a month ago, owner told me car has issues with the valve stem seals and it's burning a lot of oil, but if regular maintenance and just 3 to 2 big repair jobs kept that car on the road for 33 years I understand why they don't make them like that anymore, too durable, people can't make money of a Japanese 4 cylinder car that lasts over 30 years, I take my hat off to Isuzu, I'm no Isuzu fan, but they built one hell of car with the 84 I-mark.
I happen to have a 1982 I-Mark diesel. Love the shit out of that little thing. I've gone from the ground up on that car. Tires, suspension(can't find front springs, though), steering, brakes, rebuilt the transmission and rear torque tube and axle, all new seals, rebuilt the fuel distributor, glow plugs, etc. My record for the car so far on a 40/60 Biodiesel blend is 62 MPG. Patience, it takes, to drive it as I do, but man is it worth it. And if you want a laugh, top speed I've ever achieved in that car, downhill an 8% mountain grade at full throttle, was 93 MPH. As Charlton Heston once popularized, "You'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands."
The problem is not so much planned obsolencense as it is that consumers will not pay for over built cars. These sold poorly because of that. It was the same problem Mercedes/Saab and Volvo had in the 90s and Packard had in the 50s. Flashier cars from rivals sold better. Packards boring styling didn't help sales even though their tried and true engineering was good. Mercedes couldn't compete with flashy new Lexus (which was a truly good car). Volvo replaced boring cars with more flashy FWD cars and reliability went to the toilet. Saab offered too few extras for the price. Isuzu made well built small cars in a market where they are considered cheap (It was the same price as a mustang.)
I still have my 30 years old Ford Taurus 3.0, still hits the road anytime original engine and transmission. It depends on the use and maintenance. Some Ford 1929 are doing that also.
I love the 80's...and their rare looking cars! I mean I never remember seeing one of these on the streets when I was young, saw K cars, those mini vans, Diplomats, etc, etc.....sure is interesting to see what the 80's really had!
These retro reviews were the best idea in a long time! Thank you guys! It would be cool to include some retro reviews with the same car today "X" years later to see how it has stood the test of time! Once again thank you for these! And if you ever need an OEM 1999 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 to re-test you can use mine! It's the last 3000GT ever imported in the US and all original.
I had one of these briefly in high school. Such a random car it’s unreal how 80s that interior looked. Interesting car no doubt! I don’t miss it but this video is an awesome throwback!
Looks pretty fantastic in 2023, my grandma had a 88 turbo but she only kept cars for about a year, it was no different. It's the only car she ever had i really liked, bright red and everything.
I remember as a kid seeing that little Lotus badge on the Impulse which put this car in a whole other category for me knowing their engineering prowess. I just threw away all of my VHS tapes and one of them was a MotorWeek tape that reviewed a bunch of 90's supercars including the Lotus Esprit. Hope to see those retro reviews on here.
I remember reading Car & Driver's review of the Impulse Turbo when it first came out. I must have gone over that article 100 times and wanted one so badly I could taste it. Always thought the successor Impulse/Geo Storm was a poor replacement, more econobox than sports car and no longer in the same league as a Supra.
I had this car in white. I still miss it to this day. It got a lot of attention because you didn't see many on the road. It looks dated now but it was gorgeous back then. I loved everything about it except for winter driving. That thing was a death trap in snow!
The 80s gernerational migrational movement to manufacgturing vehicles primarily based upon front wheel drive chasis layouts is making driving rear wheel drive layouts somewhat akin to experiencing a consieur like driving experience. Today I see driving this low powered rear drive Isuzu Impulse as a rewarding driving experience, given its rear drive layout and styling. Motorweek, thanks for sharing this retro reivew.
I still have my 88 2.3L non turbo 5spd manual, red but with the other wheels with the cutouts on the outside which I bought new. I still drive it weekly. I can really attest to the over boosted steering. Sometimes it feels like you have your life in your hands at high freeway speeds, which is part of the fun of this beast. The other fun thing is I can do a U turn directly to the inside lane if I punch it just right.
90% of parts for this car are unique. I have 4 cars to keep 1 going as a daily driver. The impossible to find part was the shift lever ball, I had to make that. The steering rack mounts are incredibly expensive but I found an alternative that is reasonably priced. I think I bought the last of the brake parts for when I need them.
Love how I got here from the 'So you want a Mitsubishi Starion' video. Basically I figured the Starion's value would start to appreciate because of the video so I went to the wiki page to see what cars it apparently competed with (in the hope there would be something similar and RWD). Honestly I don't regret checking: I found this gem of a car in the end.
Also called Isuzu Piazza in the JDM and Holden Piazza in the Austrarian market. I lived in Japan. I love this car when i was kid. My momm already pass away. She said Isuzu Piazza is beatiful car.
I love the narrow, needle-nose like front fascia of the first gen Impulse. You just don't see styling like that anymore. It almost looks like a DeLorean!..well, a red DeLorean.
The Delorean is a POS.. The original Impulse design which never made production actually had the front come all the way to a point. I don't know if it was cooling problems or other considerations that led to the blunt by comparison front design.
My dad used to have one about one year ago and it was in relatively good condition, although it had some rust and scrapes. It worked pretty well for one year before it started having some problems. In the end he sold it to his friend because it was hard to maintain. But in general it was a pretty good weekend car. PS. We didn't have the turbo version.
I bought one of these (non-Turbo) new in 1984. Red w/gray interior. In spite of a few characteristic short-comings, it was still one my favorite vehicles I've owned. Since then, I have had 19 different vehicles of all types, ranging from Sports Cars to Mini Vans. Oddly, this is still the one I miss the most.
I bought one of these new back in May '84. Loaded, red w/gray mouse fur interior, it stickered at $11,380. Out of the few flaws, the worst being the 90 hp rating, if you weren't bent on winning every stop light 'challenge', it was a great car. I was "itchy" & traded it in on an '87 Camaro IROC. Since then, I've owned numerous cars of all classes & performance specs, but this one stands out as my Favorite 😎 O.A.T.
My mom had an 88 NA in 93. I wasn't old enough to drive, but we loved that car. When MB brought the C coupe over here in the early 2000's, the body reminded me of this. We need more affordable, small RWD cars.
Loved the looks of that car. Was going to test drive one but as soon as I sat in it my knees were literally resting on the dash. So little legroom for my 6'4" frame.
It's nice to see that the car didn't pirouette under hard braking in the brake test. That was one of the biggest criticisms here in Australia, when we used to have the Holden Piazza here. It appears that the Lotus tuning really works, although, generally, we have firmer suspension tastes than USA.
Love these throwbacks! I had a blue turbo. Absolutely loved it. Didn't care for the redesign bit they were great performers. Later upgraded to SVX because it reminded me of the Impulse.
Hasn't aged badly at all. Still can't believe it was unveiled in 1979 and that they were still making them in 1988. An Uncle of mine had one here in Australia. It was called the Holden Piazza and his had the digital cluster and it lit up like a Christmas tree!
My first new auto ~ Exact as this red one. Woulda been fun to play cat 'n mouse with one of those 5.0 Mustangs I liked. 127mph flat out for a mile+ at night..waiting for a deer to walk out. :-)
Late to the discussion (Which is usual) but you are right. Guigiaro (Ital design) gave body but the chassis was humble and cheap. Did you ever drive one of these in the way back?
True, but it was nearly triple the price of the original base 76 Chevette, lol. 16k in today's money is about $34,000. Keep in mind you also could have gotten a Mustang GT , or Iroc Z for about the same amount of money . Overpriced, and didn't sell that well .
Back when you had Panaromic windshields. And simple but attracting interiors and simple shapes but new to your aye everytme a new car came out. miss those 80s and 90s cars.
I drove one of these that a friend owned the first year they offered a digital dash. It is still the fastest I've ever driven a vehicle as I got it up to 151mph before backing off due to terrifying front end lift.
My dad bought one of these brand new in 89. In 2000 he parked it in my uncles garage and told me recently that its still in his name he said I can have it.
I owned an 88 and a 91. Loved these cars and wish i kept my 88 back in the day. They were prone to problems, one being the rear tranny seal on the 88/89 models going bad and you would lose your tranny fluid out the rear of the trans.
I had an asuna sunfire (one or two gens after this one) which was a badge engineered version of the car. We shoehorned a Chevy 2.8 multiport into it and it was awesome. Just never worked quite right but we were teens so
If the Impulse had these three items; Independent rear suspension, 200 HP engine, and wider tires.....it would have been the perfect coupe of its time!
I had an 87 Scirocco and a friend thought it was an Isuzu. Seeing that GM had some sway with Lotus and also Isuzu( some Geo cars were rebadged Isuzus, Toyotas and Suzukis), its no wonder the two got together.
Great looking car. I always found myself drawn to this eccentric little coupe. The Lotus badge didn't hurt either. In my mind, it never quite measured up to the prelude and I thought if I was going to spend that much money I would prefer the Honda.
The original Isuzu Piazza had twin rectangular headlamps, not quads like this version tested. The original had a semi pop up lids to fully expose the partially hidden headlamps. Quite cool. Looked very similar to the second gen VW Scirocco.
Ah, I remember the Isuzu Piazza, as it was called outside the U.S. 0-60 in 9.0 seconds for a Turbo 2.0 liter. Wow! I'd hate to see how slow the naturally aspirated models were. Times sure have changed.
I owned the 1989 Black turbo model. This was the last year sold in the U.S. with rear wheel drive. The 1990 model was front wheel drive with a new look. I personally didn't like the new model change, the 1990 Geo Storm was the better looking model between the two. I wonder how many of you out there remember the existence of the Geo Storm. I loved my Impulse Turbo, it was a fun car
Seem like a really cool car I have not seen one on the road in at least 10 years, Its got to be worth some money to collectors since they stopped making Izuzu cars are at least they did for a long time
I was 14yrs old and almost got my dad to buy me one of these in 96’ in central Mn. It was lowered a little and had a pearl, orange with purple paint job, leather sunroof and a 5speed. Still think about that car sometimes like did I miss out on something?
I had a 1st year one. Silver with dark blue interior. I loved it and those gimmicky pods where actually great. My 1st year had 2 major problems. It was not design to drive or stand up to winter temps. 2nd was that pokey 1.9L 4 cylinder. Slow even with the manual trany. I would guess that these may be worth some good money for restored one in the near future. They are so rare.
Jorge Bobe I think so, at least partially. Same goes for Suzuki as well. Both always had terrible distribution in the U.S. - very few dealerships, and they were always competing primarily with cheaper, re-badged versions of their own cars being sold at Chevy/Geo dealers. All of these companies had much less freedom to develop products under GM, since their ultimate purpose was to fit within a brand/model hierarchy rather than stand on their own. Case in point, the Saab NG900 - which GM brass in Detroit was supposedly furious with. The mothership allegedly wanted it to be little more than an Opel Ascona with "premium badges" that could be sold for good $$$ to stupid Americans.
Had this exact same car before they improved the handling which was crap on mine. It was really quick though with a beautiful interior with one of the 1st digital dashboards. Brand new it was $13K...!
This was my first car. I should have taken better care of it. I had no idea what I had. Nobody knew what anyone had in the 90s because the world changed so much since the 80s. We have a lot more perspective now because very little had changed stylistically in the last 20 years.
When there's only three negatives and one of them is an "overly detailed interior", you know you have an incredible car and a future classic.
Slow as balls, though, f-king hell. Was the turbo seized or…?
Big hair! Graphic equalizers & tape decks! Lovin' the 80s!
Take me back!!!
Love these retro reviews. For some reason, even mundane cars from the past, seem much more interesting than today's overweight, plastic jelly-bean
's of today. Maybe I'm just getting old lol
no, it's not you. you're on to something there....suv's can only be so "exciting" =\
Eric Horner totally agree!
The styling (exterior) is nearly timeless.
+MrGeeMan1980 I still would rock one of those today.
It looks cool, i wonder if it can drift (since the old impulse is an FR)
the front is beautiful, however the rear is mediocre and lets you know what it really is still
Ardhana Hariwidagdo I wouldn't drift something this rare
I love this car, and I still have it.
send me a current pic. Bdavis@mpt.org
+just folks very beautiful car...isuzu d-max truck owner but id trade for that styling anyday...
+MotorWeek Here's mine in Australia! 1986 mind you.
facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.758504247546724.1073741829.162107043853117&type=3
+Pandamonium Eli clean!
Thanks!! :D Good fun car!
STILL a good looking car
I think the generation after this looks much nicer. Unfortunately, they are incredibly rare in the United States.
Oh I saw one rusting away in a junk yard in Mt Airy of all places. Which is fitting since its near where the shows taped.
Wtf are you looking at?
@@benwilliams4035 80's quirkiness
I agree!
I looks like a cross between a Delorean and a AE86.
it's classic Giugiaro.
More like DeLorean and 928
You did it way before me, I commented, scrolled down and saw this comment and said "well darn"
Mk2 Scirocco
hachi roku
Extremely rare, especially the 91 Impulse RS turbo w/ AWD.
Poor Man’s Audi Quattro.
I really want one
I think something like 200 of them being sent to the USA, and most if not all were used in rally racing
That was one of my favorite foreign cars in the 80's.
one of the most beautiful "oriental" cars of the 80's.
Ya like its asian or from the orient.
Except, the basic T-platform began way back in Brazil in the spring of 1973 with that country's Chevrolet Chevette, pre-dating the German Opel Kadett C by a good five months and our own (U.S.) Chevette by nearly three years. The first Isuzu Gemini came out in Japan in the fall of 1974 as a 1975 model, and it was Isuzu who would do the U.S. "Buick Opel" for Buick dealers from 1977 until 1980 (in 1976, it was called the "Opel/Isuzu"), and then sold the same car in the U.S. itself as the Isuzu I-Mark from 1981 until mid-1985.
The Gemini/I-Mark's basic chassis got this sporty-looking body in 1982 in the form of the Piazza, which came to the U.S. in 1983 as the Impulse.
Wow, these were RWD?? Wouldn't have guessed that.
Timothy Horning It was a world platform. The Chevy Chevette used it too.
I wonder if this piazza can drift
Ardhana Hariwidagdo, yes they can. Best on rainy roads, but I could hold the rear out fairly easily. On older tires tho, bought some new ones and it just wanted to stick when it was dry. Wish I still had it.
I used to drive an 88 non-turbo with open diff in NJ snowy winters. I was drifting this thing around every corner in the snow before the word "Drifting" became popular. It was the only way to drive this thing in the snow; sideways.
Only the last Impulse turned into a FWD sissy, all the earlier ones were RWD, like a car should be. And most were manuals unlike cars of today.
These cars were so beautiful. A coworker had a gold one and I was soooo jealous. I was just a kiddo so could not afford it..but still an awesome looking car to this day.
I am the VERY proud owner of an 86 Isuzu Piazza (the UK Version) it was my first car and it has never broken down once in its entire life, I push it hard, I drift, I race, I drive it daily, carry so much stuff in it, I weld steadicam rigs to it while filming when I was younger and it will not break down, it's so well designed that it will still drive perfectly fine till you get it home and give it some love, the body rusts in the usual places so I cut out the rust and weld thicker metal on there with a smile. I don't let anyone touch this car but me, I only use Mobil 1 fully synthetic, 10w40 / 15w50 / 5w30 it realy doesnt matter as long as its not 0w40. the 1 owner before me had never opened the bonnet himself, only Isuzu main dealer, this was and older chap but when he gave me the keys he had a tear in his eye and said he was so happy that it was going to someone that actually cared about these cars, 20 years later I went to his house to show him the now rust free car, he had motor neuron disease and hadn't been able to walk for years, but to his families shock he got out of that chair and walked to the window to look at the car.
This Piazza jumps like a kangaroo at the lights and has AntiLag thanks to the I-TECH computerised turbo, its leaking engine oil, powersteering, gearbox fluids and fuel but it always gets me home and seems to repair itself overnight. I'm 40+ now and I still love this car. I'm slowly fixing all those Issues when the local garage lets me have some free time on the ramp in exchange for fixing their machines. Oh it also runs on 25% water (HHO) and gets 101Mpg motorway, when I can afford it I will make a 75% intelligent system.
And currently looking for a donor electric motor to convert it to electric only and modernise the interior.
I also have a Mitsubishi GTO Mk2 but I don't drive it.
Didn't realize these were RWD until he said it. Surprised they never had the cult following of the Corolla GTS.
Being portrayed as an unbeatable car in Initial D helped the AE86, noone knew what they were before that.
The truly pathetic output from that engine explains it. Nissan was getting 180hp from their 1.8 liter turbo...
Martin Espinoza In the US? The JDM Isuzu Piazza turbo had 180hp, US emissions regulations ruined it.
Thomas Armstrong I don't remember if the US ever actually got the turbo, I thought it showed up FWD once. But it was an easy import, and still is. CA18DETs are crazy cheap now when you can still find them
"no one knew what the AE86 is"
except people that know cars. very popular car in racing all over the world.
That hair 80s awesomeness!
well, I don't like Isuzu's, I think they are weird cars, but i can say this, in 1984 my grandpa got married and his wedding gift was a brand new Isuzu I-mark from his best friend, he drove that thing until 2004, I honestly thought the car was dead, well this all comes full circle because I spoke with the second owner of the car and unbelievably it's alive, it's been 33 years on the road, still rocking it's original carburetor, still matching numbers block, and still original trans( repaired but still original), and little Isuzu can still hit the road, I heard about the car a month ago, owner told me car has issues with the valve stem seals and it's burning a lot of oil, but if regular maintenance and just 3 to 2 big repair jobs kept that car on the road for 33 years I understand why they don't make them like that anymore, too durable, people can't make money of a Japanese 4 cylinder car that lasts over 30 years, I take my hat off to Isuzu, I'm no Isuzu fan, but they built one hell of car with the 84 I-mark.
I happen to have a 1982 I-Mark diesel. Love the shit out of that little thing. I've gone from the ground up on that car. Tires, suspension(can't find front springs, though), steering, brakes, rebuilt the transmission and rear torque tube and axle, all new seals, rebuilt the fuel distributor, glow plugs, etc.
My record for the car so far on a 40/60 Biodiesel blend is 62 MPG. Patience, it takes, to drive it as I do, but man is it worth it.
And if you want a laugh, top speed I've ever achieved in that car, downhill an 8% mountain grade at full throttle, was 93 MPH.
As Charlton Heston once popularized, "You'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands."
The problem is not so much planned obsolencense as it is that consumers will not pay for over built cars. These sold poorly because of that. It was the same problem Mercedes/Saab and Volvo had in the 90s and Packard had in the 50s. Flashier cars from rivals sold better. Packards boring styling didn't help sales even though their tried and true engineering was good. Mercedes couldn't compete with flashy new Lexus (which was a truly good car). Volvo replaced boring cars with more flashy FWD cars and reliability went to the toilet. Saab offered too few extras for the price. Isuzu made well built small cars in a market where they are considered cheap (It was the same price as a mustang.)
I still have my 30 years old Ford Taurus 3.0, still hits the road anytime original engine and transmission. It depends on the use and maintenance. Some Ford 1929 are doing that also.
The Black female model at the 4 minute mark was a beauty..looks like Rae Dawn Chong.
+tom11zz884 i wonder where she is now, i really don't recall seeing her in other episodes
Her hair is tremendous
Yeah, she's gorgeous!
I agree. She is gorgeous..wow
All I saw was hair
I love the 80's...and their rare looking cars! I mean I never remember seeing one of these on the streets when I was young, saw K cars, those mini vans, Diplomats, etc, etc.....sure is interesting to see what the 80's really had!
These retro reviews were the best idea in a long time! Thank you guys! It would be cool to include some retro reviews with the same car today "X" years later to see how it has stood the test of time! Once again thank you for these! And if you ever need an OEM 1999 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 to re-test you can use mine! It's the last 3000GT ever imported in the US and all original.
Wow! Her big 80s hair brought back some memories! Good times!
***** beat me to that comment! LOL =)
+WikdSeafood Just imagine what a jungle her bush is.
Long hair and shoulder pads! Lovely
@@oliverdelgado6952 what exactly makes shoulder pads lovely
My first high school car 😁 so awesome! A lot of memories 🤙🏼
I had one of these briefly in high school. Such a random car it’s unreal how 80s that interior looked. Interesting car no doubt! I don’t miss it but this video is an awesome throwback!
One of my personal favorite cars that my father owned when I was growing up. I loved that thing so much.
It looks just like Inspector Gadget's car, if memory serves. Except, I don't think this can morph into a van at the push of a button.
it be bad ass to swap the 2.3 ecoboost powertrain from the new mustang to this Isuzu impulse
Very cool looking Isuzu. I really liked this when I was a kid.
Growing up in the rural Midwest, seeing one of those was like seeing a UFO.
Looks pretty fantastic in 2023, my grandma had a 88 turbo but she only kept cars for about a year, it was no different. It's the only car she ever had i really liked, bright red and everything.
I remember as a kid seeing that little Lotus badge on the Impulse which put this car in a whole other category for me knowing their engineering prowess. I just threw away all of my VHS tapes and one of them was a MotorWeek tape that reviewed a bunch of 90's supercars including the Lotus Esprit. Hope to see those retro reviews on here.
I remember reading Car & Driver's review of the Impulse Turbo when it first came out. I must have gone over that article 100 times and wanted one so badly I could taste it. Always thought the successor Impulse/Geo Storm was a poor replacement, more econobox than sports car and no longer in the same league as a Supra.
I love MotorWeek retro! This car is good looking, especially the front fascia.
I had this car in white. I still miss it to this day. It got a lot of attention because you didn't see many on the road. It looks dated now but it was gorgeous back then. I loved everything about it except for winter driving. That thing was a death trap in snow!
The 80s gernerational migrational movement to manufacgturing vehicles primarily based upon front wheel drive chasis layouts is making driving rear wheel drive layouts somewhat akin to experiencing a consieur like driving experience. Today I see driving this low powered rear drive Isuzu Impulse as a rewarding driving experience, given its rear drive layout and styling. Motorweek, thanks for sharing this retro reivew.
I haven't seen one of these on the road for years. The Impulse was definitely underappreciated, especially the later one like the one in the video.
I still have my 88 2.3L non turbo 5spd manual, red but with the other wheels with the cutouts on the outside which I bought new. I still drive it weekly. I can really attest to the over boosted steering. Sometimes it feels like you have your life in your hands at high freeway speeds, which is part of the fun of this beast. The other fun thing is I can do a U turn directly to the inside lane if I punch it just right.
InsideOfMyOwnMind just curious, is it hard to find parts for these cars?
90% of parts for this car are unique. I have 4 cars to keep 1 going as a daily driver. The impossible to find part was the shift lever ball, I had to make that. The steering rack mounts are incredibly expensive but I found an alternative that is reasonably priced. I think I bought the last of the brake parts for when I need them.
Do you know if any of the turbos had limited slip or posi rearends?
Love how I got here from the 'So you want a Mitsubishi Starion' video. Basically I figured the Starion's value would start to appreciate because of the video so I went to the wiki page to see what cars it apparently competed with (in the hope there would be something similar and RWD).
Honestly I don't regret checking: I found this gem of a car in the end.
Also called Isuzu Piazza in the JDM and Holden Piazza in the Austrarian market.
I lived in Japan. I love this car when i was kid. My momm already pass away. She said Isuzu Piazza is beatiful car.
I had an 85 Turbo / intercooled model. Loved that car...wish I still had it.
Sharp looking car even now.
I love the narrow, needle-nose like front fascia of the first gen Impulse. You just don't see styling like that anymore. It almost looks like a DeLorean!..well, a red DeLorean.
And it's faster than a DeLorean. Lotus also helped engineer the DeLorean.
peculiarmadman Pause at 1:20 It does look like a DeLorean front end. LOL!
The Delorean is a POS.. The original Impulse design which never made production actually had the front come all the way to a point. I don't know if it was cooling problems or other considerations that led to the blunt by comparison front design.
InsideOfMyOwnMind plus RR drivetrain means bad handling n wgt stability....n just 130hp v6....
My dad used to have one about one year ago and it was in relatively good condition, although it had some rust and scrapes. It worked pretty well for one year before it started having some problems. In the end he sold it to his friend because it was hard to maintain. But in general it was a pretty good weekend car. PS. We didn't have the turbo version.
Should've used the same guy who managed to fit into the back of the Subaru XT6 you reviewed.
He was pure gold in the comic relief department!
I bought one of these (non-Turbo) new in 1984. Red w/gray interior. In spite of a few characteristic short-comings, it was still one my favorite vehicles I've owned. Since then, I have had 19 different vehicles of all types, ranging from Sports Cars to Mini Vans. Oddly, this is still the one I miss the most.
Same here. I had the e 85 non-Turbo blue one. I miss this car the most.
I bought one of these new back in May '84. Loaded, red w/gray mouse fur interior, it stickered at $11,380. Out of the few flaws, the worst being the 90 hp rating, if you weren't bent on winning every stop light 'challenge', it was a great car. I was "itchy" & traded it in on an '87 Camaro IROC. Since then, I've owned numerous cars of all classes & performance specs, but this one stands out as my Favorite 😎 O.A.T.
My mom had an 88 NA in 93. I wasn't old enough to drive, but we loved that car. When MB brought the C coupe over here in the early 2000's, the body reminded me of this. We need more affordable, small RWD cars.
Thank you !!! This was my childhood dreamcar.
One of my favorite looking cars of the 80's. Would love to find a clean used one.
Loved the looks of that car. Was going to test drive one but as soon as I sat in it my knees were literally resting on the dash. So little legroom for my 6'4" frame.
Had a white non turbo. Loved that car.Styling and features, like the on board computer were way ahead of the competition.
the pods and side door compartments were the coolest part of this car
It's nice to see that the car didn't pirouette under hard braking in the brake test. That was one of the biggest criticisms here in Australia, when we used to have the Holden Piazza here. It appears that the Lotus tuning really works, although, generally, we have firmer suspension tastes than USA.
The Impulse was my first car and I still reminisce about it.
Love these throwbacks! I had a blue turbo. Absolutely loved it. Didn't care for the redesign bit they were great performers. Later upgraded to SVX because it reminded me of the Impulse.
These were so cool, unfortunately never see them anymore.
Had a white '88 turbo. Damn I miss it. So many great memories.
Do you know if it had limied slip, or posi rear axle?
@@goratgo1970 limited slip
Glad to see a retro version of the front end showing up on the Hyundai Ioniq 5.
Hasn't aged badly at all. Still can't believe it was unveiled in 1979 and that they were still making them in 1988. An Uncle of mine had one here in Australia. It was called the Holden Piazza and his had the digital cluster and it lit up like a Christmas tree!
My first new auto ~ Exact as this red one. Woulda been fun to play cat 'n mouse with one of those 5.0 Mustangs I liked.
127mph flat out for a mile+ at night..waiting for a deer to walk out. :-)
The car became even more amazing, when you realize that this car derived from the Chevette...
Late to the discussion (Which is usual) but you are right. Guigiaro (Ital design) gave body but the chassis was humble and cheap. Did you ever drive one of these in the way back?
True, but it was nearly triple the price of the original base 76 Chevette, lol. 16k in today's money is about $34,000. Keep in mind you also could have gotten a Mustang GT , or Iroc Z for about the same amount of money . Overpriced, and didn't sell that well .
That was my favorite Impulse, because it was rwd. A friend of mine had an automatic '86 Impulse
Back when you had Panaromic windshields. And simple but attracting interiors and simple shapes but new to your aye everytme a new car came out. miss those 80s and 90s cars.
Had an '89 turbo. Loved it!
I drove one of these that a friend owned the first year they offered a digital dash. It is still the fastest I've ever driven a vehicle as I got it up to 151mph before backing off due to terrifying front end lift.
I drove one of these in 1989.. my buddy's older brother had one. Wow, it was fast.. at least if felt fast to me back then!
My dad bought one of these brand new in 89. In 2000 he parked it in my uncles garage and told me recently that its still in his name he said I can have it.
I owned an 88 and a 91. Loved these cars and wish i kept my 88 back in the day. They were prone to problems, one being the rear tranny seal on the 88/89 models going bad and you would lose your tranny fluid out the rear of the trans.
I had an asuna sunfire (one or two gens after this one) which was a badge engineered version of the car. We shoehorned a Chevy 2.8 multiport into it and it was awesome. Just never worked quite right but we were teens so
thanks for uploading, this is one of my dream cars =D
The front end looks like a Delorean.
+The Readers Corner yup, same designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro
I thought that also.
Giorgetto Giugiaro designed the Isuzu Impulse, VW Scirocco, and the Delorean DMC-12.
And VW Golf, Lotus Esprit, BMW M1, FSO Polonez, and many more.
I agree. Looks like a Delorean
If the Impulse had these three items; Independent rear suspension, 200 HP engine, and wider tires.....it would have been the perfect coupe of its time!
I had an 87 Scirocco and a friend thought it was an Isuzu.
Seeing that GM had some sway with Lotus and also Isuzu( some Geo cars were rebadged Isuzus, Toyotas and Suzukis), its no wonder the two got together.
Some sway? How about full control?
I had a gold 86 turbo; I LOVED it!
Great looking car. I always found myself drawn to this eccentric little coupe. The Lotus badge didn't hurt either. In my mind, it never quite measured up to the prelude and I thought if I was going to spend that much money I would prefer the Honda.
The original Isuzu Piazza had twin rectangular headlamps, not quads like this version tested. The original had a semi pop up lids to fully expose the partially hidden headlamps. Quite cool. Looked very similar to the second gen VW Scirocco.
Ah, I remember the Isuzu Piazza, as it was called outside the U.S.
0-60 in 9.0 seconds for a Turbo 2.0 liter. Wow!
I'd hate to see how slow the naturally aspirated models were. Times sure have changed.
Yup, a 2.0 liter turbo these days put out 200 plus HP. Big difference!
One of the better and more underrated Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3 starter cars! Very cool car
I owned the 1989 Black turbo model. This was the last year sold in the U.S. with rear wheel drive. The 1990 model was front wheel drive with a new look. I personally didn't like the new model change, the 1990 Geo Storm was the better looking model between the two. I wonder how many of you out there remember the existence of the Geo Storm. I loved my Impulse Turbo, it was a fun car
Do you know if it had limited slip or positraction rear end?
Seem like a really cool car I have not seen one on the road in at least 10 years, Its got to be worth some money to collectors since they stopped making Izuzu cars are at least they did for a long time
I was 14yrs old and almost got my dad to buy me one of these in 96’ in central Mn. It was lowered a little and had a pearl, orange with purple paint job, leather sunroof and a 5speed. Still think about that car sometimes like did I miss out on something?
I never thought I'd hear "Isuzu" and "Lotus" in the same... universe.
pretty cool little car, Isuzu used to make nice sports cars and such, I wish they would continue to
+◘ EXOSPHERE ◘ Except with a boosted 6VD1 in it.
My dad had one of these brand new! It was cherry red with tinted windows! I thought it was so cool back then! 😂
Gimme one of these! Rad as heck!!!
If I had money to collect cars one of these would be on the list after I bought several Fox Body Mustangs and a 1990 300ZX Twin Turbo.
Sold as a Holden Piazza in Australia - I have never seen one on the road!
OMG Where's Joe Isuzu (vaguely remember the commercial for this car featuring him)
first and only time I've seen rear seat recline adjustment (in a non-SUV)
The Isuzu Impulse are so underappreciated especially the later Lotus tuned models. They are very rare now.
I had a 1st year one. Silver with dark blue interior. I loved it and those gimmicky pods where actually great.
My 1st year had 2 major problems. It was not design to drive or stand up to winter temps. 2nd was that pokey 1.9L 4 cylinder. Slow even with the manual trany.
I would guess that these may be worth some good money for restored one in the near future. They are so rare.
I had one of these. The front strut tower rotted out and the front end slammed on the ground when I drove over a small hill. That was it for that car.
these always reminded me of the Porsche 944
It's a shame that Isuzu stopped building cars. I thought these were so cool when I was a kid (still do)!
+doctor zaius They still make cars, they just don't sell them in the US.
FlandersNed Isuzu hasn't built any proper cars since the early '90s. They only build trucks now, mostly medium and heavy duty trucks.
+doctor zaius they also make a dual cab flatbed and a seven seater SUV (the MU-X and the D-MAX.)
+doctor zaius Could it be GM destroy them,,just like they did with Saab?
Jorge Bobe I think so, at least partially. Same goes for Suzuki as well. Both always had terrible distribution in the U.S. - very few dealerships, and they were always competing primarily with cheaper, re-badged versions of their own cars being sold at Chevy/Geo dealers. All of these companies had much less freedom to develop products under GM, since their ultimate purpose was to fit within a brand/model hierarchy rather than stand on their own. Case in point, the Saab NG900 - which GM brass in Detroit was supposedly furious with. The mothership allegedly wanted it to be little more than an Opel Ascona with "premium badges" that could be sold for good $$$ to stupid Americans.
Had this exact same car before they improved the handling which was crap on mine. It was really quick though with a beautiful interior with one of the 1st digital dashboards. Brand new it was $13K...!
Its like the beautiful three way love child of the svo fox body mustang, vw sirracco, and corolla ae86, god I want one!!
don't forget the s12 nissans from the same era ;)
I had a neighbor who stuffed a 350 ci Chevy V8 in one of those. Insane burn outs!
Awesome lil cars I had an '88. Would eat brake pads & rotors like crazy... That lady needed all the head room she could get with that late 80's mane!
Trying to find out if any of the 88'-89' turbos had limited slip, or posi rear ends?
@@goratgo1970 7.62-inch ring-and-pinion with limited-slip Ratio: 3.90:1, All Impulse/Piazza Turbo models came with G80 LSR 10 bolt rears...
This car sounds a lot like an 80's equivalent to the Hyundai Veloster Turbo. Too bad the VT isnt rear drive and tuned by Lotus!
I've always had a soft spot for one of these...
@motorweek that autographed plate still up for grabs?
This was my first car. I should have taken better care of it. I had no idea what I had. Nobody knew what anyone had in the 90s because the world changed so much since the 80s. We have a lot more perspective now because very little had changed stylistically in the last 20 years.
Here's a MotorWeek Retro Review of the 1988 Isuzu Impulse Turbo.