USA Piazza/Impulse History

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Chris
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USA Piazza/Impulse History

Post by Chris »

The Isuzu Impulse was a small sporty 3-door hatchback sold from 1982 through 1992. The Impulse was originally a rear wheel drive car, but it made the switch to front wheel drive with the 1989 introduction of the second-generation Impulse. The second-generation Impulse was the basis for the more successful American Geo Storm, and the engine of the second-generation was shared with the modern Lotus Elan.

[edit]1982
The first Impulse was a 3-door hatchback based upon General Motors' T platform. Debuting in 1982, the Giugiaro-designed hatchback used either a 110 hp (82 kW) 127 ft.lbf (172 Nm) 2.3 L (2254 cc) I4 or a 2.0 L (1975 cm?) turbo engine which produced 140 hp (104 kW) and 133 ft.lbf (180 Nm). 5-speed manual and 4-speed automatic transmissions were available. The Impulse also received a special suspension tuned by Lotus for model years 1988 and 1989. The Impulse was also known as the Isuzu Piazza outside of the US, and badged as the Holden Piazza in Australia.

[edit]1989
The second-generation Impulse debuted in 1989 for the 1990 model year. It was a 2+2 design with semi-concealed headlights and was available with front wheel drive or all wheel drive with center and rear viscous differentials. The suspension was all-independent with MacPherson struts in front and a multi-link system in back. The Impulse used a DOHC 1.6 L (1588 cm?) I4 engine which produced 130 hp (97 kW) or, in turbo form, 160 hp (119 kW). Since the Impulse weighed just 2400 lb (1090 kg), the turbo engine and all wheel drive combined gave excellent performance.

General Motors, who owned nearly half of Isuzu, also owned Lotus Cars at the time. The Lotus Elan got the Impulse's engine, and in exchange, the Impulse got Lotus suspension tuning. This included a passive rear wheel steering system which adjusted the toe of the rear wheels with a clever bushing compression design.

The base 1.6 L engine was replaced with a stroked (by 11 mm to 90 mm) 1.8 L (1794 cm?) version in 1992. This larger powerplant was good for 140 hp (104 kW) and 125 ft.lbf (169 Nm). Sales remained poor, and the company dropped the model in 1992. The Impulse was also sold as the Geo Storm from 1990 to 1993.

Retrieved from "http://www.grohol.com/psypsych/Isuzu_Impulse"
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2009 | 1986 White Piazza 2.2L, Man, STi Turbo (SOLD)
2006 | 1986 Black Piazza Turbo Manual (SOLD)
2005 | 1986 White Piazza Turbo Auto (Pain in the ass)
2004 | 1986 White Piazza Manual Stock
2004 | 1986 Red Piazza Manual TO3, Haltech
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Post by Piazza_man »

I found this site to compliment Chris's comments re USA timeline:

http://www.isuzuperformance.com/isupage/hist/spot.html
IZU069
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Post by IZU069 »

LOL - IsuzuPage still exists! That site caused a stir here when legal action against it was interpreted to mean "they" were quashing all references to Isuzu passenger cars - even in Australia - but what do you expect with legal-eagle litols! Yet the expertise still stirs....
A bit like IsuzuPage - links and content haven't been updated for years...


Both articles are heavily USA based - nothing about exports to NZ in 1981, nor the DOHCs.
And certainly none of the GM-Isuzu infighting LOL!


But like any source, treat with caution. Most republished stuff has errors. Even "The Complete History of the Japanese Car" has errors, though it is probably one of the best Isuzu histories wrt accuracy etc (AFAIR).

Not that I recall all inaccuracies, nor care. I did once - I once even had the (re)sources - but now I'll just watch the new re-written history as it devolves.

Has anyone seen my wheel?
IZU069 - ISUZU means a lot to me.
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Post by IZU069 »

I just discussed the IsuzuPage site with another Isuzuan.
They said it was way out of date.

I missed the embarrassment factor - that out former-former PM is more up to date - he stopped rejecting "Global Warming"(sic) years ago.

(I didn't look at i.page's anti-GW stuff - I figured it's the usual "no temperature change since...", or "Icelandic volcanoes do more than...", or the "no proof" stuff.
I wonder if it has the classic "we have added no more than 1 part in 10,000 to CO2 concentration" - which is true, but is an admission that we have increased CO2 concentration by 50% (and now we have more than doubled it!). Yet another "fool the clever masses" quote.)


PS - I hope the locals are igniting the methane (Siberia etc)!
IZU069 - ISUZU means a lot to me.
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