Sale into the 90s

November 30, 2016 9:40 AM

First, a message from your friend, Joe Isuzu
posted by timshel (23 comments total)

Of the many Japanese car manufacturers dominating the domestic auto market in the 1980s, Isuzu wasn't the most recognizable. The company, which arrived in the U.S. in 1981, had an ad budget that was less than a tenth of Toyota’s. Even if there had been more money to spend, television spots for vehicles were notoriously cookie-cutter. There were always long shots of sedans on swerving roads, quiet cabins, and relaxed drivers. It was hard for consumers to tell one from another.

That all changed with Joe Isuzu, one of the most dishonest, unethical—and successful—car salesmen of all time.
posted by timshel at 9:53 AM on November 30, 2016 [1 favorite]

Joe Isuzu endorses Mitt Romney
posted by timshel at 9:59 AM on November 30, 2016

David Leisure also played "First Krishna" in "Airplane"
posted by chavenet at 10:04 AM on November 30, 2016 [12 favorites]

Can I kick the tires?

(Really, first?)
posted by humboldt32 at 10:19 AM on November 30, 2016 [1 favorite]

Funny how some of the most memorable sales campaigns were actually failures. "Not your father's Oldsmobile" is another one.
posted by octothorpe at 10:27 AM on November 30, 2016

For a mediocre product, they sure had memorable ads. I could picture the guy in my head before I watched the video. Well, my sample size is two people in my family that bought the truck.
posted by Bee'sWing at 10:32 AM on November 30, 2016

Pennu mele ikki bobo
posted by briank at 10:35 AM on November 30, 2016 [2 favorites]

My first car, not counting the Dodge Omni I bought from my mom, was a 4x4 Isuzu pickup truck. I loved it. It had these big fat tires and it really stood out from all the Toyota and Nissans that were big at the time. It was a stick shift, my first, and the first time I attempted to drive a stick was when the salesman took me for a test drive and lied to me, telling me I was a natural. I bought it right as I started my job as a field service PC tech so I had to learn to drive a stick while also learning to drive in downtown Boston. I got honked at a lot.

I financed it for four years. I dropped my final payment in the mail on a Friday morning and then totaled the truck that evening when I hit a moose in New Hampshire.

I miss that truck.
posted by bondcliff at 10:43 AM on November 30, 2016 [16 favorites]

Bummer bondcliff. But that's why I always get moose insurance from Joe.
posted by Flippervault at 10:46 AM on November 30, 2016 [2 favorites]

He told me the truck was moose proof.
posted by bondcliff at 11:08 AM on November 30, 2016 [16 favorites]

He told me the truck was moose proof.

That's what you heard. What he said is that it is mousse proof. Also impervious to all manner of puddings, parfaits, and sherbets.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 11:12 AM on November 30, 2016 [14 favorites]

and hair products.
posted by jonmc at 11:14 AM on November 30, 2016 [5 favorites]

I owned a Chevy Luv pickup, which was a rebadged Isuzu. It was so slow I wore a hole in the rubber floor mat with the accelerator pedal from always pushing it to the floor.
posted by tommasz at 11:41 AM on November 30, 2016 [1 favorite]

Ah, David Leisure -- I never forgot those ads, they were great. I wondered why he wasn't brought back. After a few years in the wilderness, the vague Nostalgia Fumes around him would have been very potent to Gen X buyers! :7)
posted by wenestvedt at 12:00 PM on November 30, 2016 [1 favorite]

They did bring him back around 2000 for a bit
posted by borkencode at 2:12 PM on November 30, 2016 [2 favorites]

He was on that show with Richard Mulligan and Kristy McNichol, too, wasn't he?
posted by jonmc at 4:59 PM on November 30, 2016

He was on that show with Richard Mulligan and Kristy McNichol, too, wasn't he?

That he was.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 5:22 PM on November 30, 2016

I would very much like to buy a new truck for $7k.
posted by sara is disenchanted at 5:22 PM on November 30, 2016

Empty Nest
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 5:23 PM on November 30, 2016

Loved those commercials.

Crazy Isuzu pickup story:

Husband bought a Isuzu diesel pickup for $100 in 1992. The fella advertised the engine was in a basket, since he'd pulled it due to some mechanical problem with seals apparently, but had never finished it, and just had put everything--the engine as well as numerous small parts in coffee cans--into the bed of the truck.

The interior was filthy, to boot. Apparently the people had used it as a rolling dining room for their small children. When we pulled out the seat, we found one of the stinky items was a slowly leaking baby bottle full of clotted formula. There was enough french fries to feed a soccer team, and the amount of sticky, partially-eaten candy stuck to the floor and seat equaled at least 2 years worth of Halloween stash.

So that was the summer's project, Mr. BlueHorse rebuilding the guts and putting on new shocks, and Mrs. BlueHorse ripping out carpet, headliner, and (literally) hosing out the little piglet. We haunted the junkyards and replaced the seat, put in a rear slider window, found an easy off/on topper shell for $25, etc. We put in less than $500 in parts and "upgrades" and then worked it like a borrowed mule. Took it camping in the back of beyond and pretended it was 4WD, hauled gravel, loaded it with 3/4 ton hay, etc. We flipped over the mileage indicator at least twice. Granted, Mr. BH does his due diligence in basic maintenance, but nothing serious, and the little bugger ran like a champ and owed us NOTHING.

Finally, in 1999, some fella pulled into the driveway and asked if we'd be willing to sell it. We looked at each other and told him no, since it was pretty useful to us. He then pulled out $$$$$ in cash. After choking a bit, Mr. BH was thinking about reaching for the lucre, when I told the fella we couldn't take less than $$$$$+. He said he'd have to go to the bank, pick up 2nd driver, and off he went. Mr. BH figured he'd never come back.

About 30 minutes later, all the paperwork was signed, and off went our little money maker.

AAA+++ Would purchase another.
posted by BlueHorse at 6:38 PM on November 30, 2016 [11 favorites]

He was in Airplane!, right?
posted by persona au gratin at 11:06 PM on November 30, 2016

Hilariously, the first commercial in the reel -- the one that shows the Impulse being "faster" than a bullet -- shows a complete, unfired round as the flying bullet, complete with the brass shell.
posted by uberchet at 9:38 AM on December 2, 2016

I feel like I've missed an Initial D reference.
posted by lucidium at 2:25 PM on December 2, 2016