Isuzu Closing Doors in U.S.

Isuzu began notifying its dealers Wednesday that next year the Japanese automaker will stop selling its entire lineup, including the midsize Ascender SUV derived from the Chevrolet Blazer and the midsize i-290 and i-370 pickup trucks derived from the Chevy Colorado.

One source said he wasn’t certain consumers would even notice, since Isuzu only sold 7,098 vehicles in the U.S. final year. Isuzu sells only SUVs and trucks here, no cars.

Sales will stop after Jan. 31, 2009, but service will not, the automaker said. Consumers who own an Isuzu SUV or truck will continue to be offered service and guarantee work, company spokesman Chip Letzgus said. He wouldn’t supply details on how that will work until all dealers have been told how the service program will work.   

There are 200 Isuzu dealers in the U.S., but only about a dozen are stand-alone Isuzu stores. The rest are duals with other grades, many Chevrolet, which is why those dealers can continue to service the vehicles; both

One Chicago Isuzu dealer said his store got a phone sign that AM
advising them of the action. He said his commerce has basically been
limited to service — rather than sales — for some date.

It doesn’t help that Chevrolet is expected to sell its own version of
the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook crossovers, called the
Traverse, for 2009. That car will cater to those who previously shopped
for the TrailBlazer SUV in Chevy’s lineup, thus taking absent Isuzu’s
source for its SUV.

There has been speculation that the slow-selling Chevy Colorado and GMC
Canyon midsize pickups’ days are numbered, though Chevy insists they
are still in the product cycle for at least three years.

Letzgus said Isuzu will continue to sell some commercial vehicles in the U.S.