Pity the poor Isuzu car branch. They tried everything. The sophisticated mid-ranger Bellett. The dependable taxicab Bellell. The sexy Italian-infused 117 Coupé, based on the quirky Florian. The GM world car Gemini, both in RWD and FWD flavours. Apart from that last one, nothing really sold that well. If it hadn’t been for their pickup trucks, buses and SUVs selling like the proverbial hotcakes (save for the VehiCross), Isuzu would be long gone by now.
Well, they did sell quite a few PA Neros, but not as Isuzu and not in Japan. North America received this car as the 1990-94 Geo Storm, distributed by GM in the US and Canada but built in Japan by Isuzu. They couldn’t churn them out fast enough, but not with an Isuzu badge.
I’m not exaggerating the car’s success: over 285,000 Geo Storms were sold in five years, just in the US and Canada. Perhaps that was to do with the marque more than anything else. To put that into perspective, the 2nd generation Isuzu Impulse (Gemini Coupé in Japan), which was the exact same car with a different nose and tail, sold a little over 16,000 units worldwide from 1990 to 1993.
Similarly, the Geo took North America by storm (ha ha), but its JDM equivalent, i.e. the Isuzu PA Nero we have here, was an absolute dud. Isuzu tabled on a very modest 300 units in monthly sales (including the weird hatchback/wagon), but even that turned out to have been overly ambitious: between May 1990 and January 1995, they sold just under 3000 – again, hatchback included.
This was in spite of tweaking the car to local tastes, including a softer suspension, and creating several variants. These included an Irmscher model that had a turbocharged 1.6 litre DOHC engine and 4WD, the 150J model (turbocharged 1.5 litre engine and 4WD) and a limited edition “Handling by Lotus” version. It was all to no avail, the Japanese public just didn’t bite.
What went wrong? Isuzu were caught between GM and GM’s Japanese buddies, i.e. the all-powerful importer Yanase. Instead of selling the PA Nero through Isuzu dealerships, GM had them distributed by the importer, even though they were domestically-made. To be fair, they had done that with some Piazzas in the recent past – those were called Piazza Nero and sold decently well. But this time, the Isuzu sports car was to be a Yanase exclusive. And few people heard of it because of that. Plus, the folks who frequented Yanase dealers were usually there shopping for Mercedes-Benzes, Volvos or Buicks. Not Isuzus.
The PA Nero / Impulse / Storm was a typical Pyrrhic victory for its maker. Domestically, it failed miserably, in large part because they were not allowed to sell it. It was an export success, but only under a different marque. In 1994, Isuzu gave up on their in-house car designs, only carrying on with Honda clones for the JDM and refocusing on trucks and SUVs globally. If it weren’t for bad luck, Isuzu’s long-suffering car branch would have had no luck at all.
Related posts:
Car Show Classic: 1991 Isuzu Impulse RS- Diesel? No Dude, Turbo!, by David Skinner
Curbside Classic: 1992 Geo Storm GSi – Storm Trooper, by PN
CC Outake: Getting Passed On The Right By A Geo Storm.. by Geraldo Solis
The Yanase-exclusive distribution is a bit of a misnomer if my understanding is correct in that this final generation of “Piazza” really was split into two from a marketing standpoint; Isuzu themselves sold the Gemini OZ coupe that was positioned lower in the hierarchy with available 1.5 SOHC fours and own distinct composite headlamp face unique from all the other variations (never seen outside of Japan), while Yanase sold the Pa Nero, which was initially 1.6 DOHC only. Shorty thereafter, the Pa Nero was supplemented with the Piazza Nero when the 1.8 liter 4XF1 became available (Piazza Nero shared the front end with the North American Impulse of four round semi-concealed lamps and the same unique greenhouse).
No doubt that Yanase connection was a problem, as Japan’s economy was headed straight towards the toilet as these cars were being introduced. Being known as a distributor for largely prestigious products when ostentatious associations were becoming side-eyed was not a good thing.
Regardless, I really like these little coupes. The “R” models with their 1.6 liter intercooled turbo fours and all-wheel drive are extremely compelling from a hooligan standpoint and I’ve actually come to find the styling has stood up to the test of time. Buzzbombs, sure, but fun ones.
A Geo Storm was under serious consideration when I was shopping for my ’90 Honda Civic SI. I thought that it was pretty nice, it seemed to lean towards being a cheaper Datsun Z clone. That’s what made my mind up. The Honda was excellent in it’s execution, the Geo had to cut corners to bring it in at their pricepoint. This showed in lots of little details. But not a bad effort.
There’s a JDM import Irmscher Gemini for sale on Craigslist, in Seattle. The seller spelled it “Irmsher”.
We have Isuzu 4x4s with Irmsher handling option and Lotus tuned suspensioin, it doesnt really help them, it might work better on a car
Isuzu tried all it could but underneath a Bellet is a series 3 Hillman Minx cleverly disguised and IRS but it was ancient when new,
They tried a GM J car and exported them new to NZ badged Holden Camira 2.0 injected but very very poor road holding, the one on Wiki went end for end over a 20 metre bank on a regular commute nobody hurt it was well built just a crap car,
Isuzu/Holden Geminis were tried alongside the Vauxhall Chevette in this market and sold poorly,
4x4s and trucks are Isuzu’s forte, passenger cars not so much.
I recall these also being sold as the (2nd gen) Isuzu Impulse in the US, though the Geo version was much more common. Also, weren’t these sold under yet another nameplate in Canada? I recall Asuna and Passport being brands there for a few years around this time but couldn’t tell you without looking which cars were sold under those brands, but I know they were cars GM imported.
Answering my own question – yes, these things were sold as the Asüna Sunfire in Canada (I’m not sure how the umlaut changes the pronunciation) – for one year only, 1993. The Asüna brand only existed for two years (92-93) due to low sales. These must be incredibly rare now.
The first generation Gemini suffered the same fate as this PA Nero in that it sold better in an overseas market under a different brand name.
It sold well in Australia as the Holden Gemini from 1975 – 1984 and is sought after today for its RWD layout and tweakable engine or having this replaced by the injected and turbocharged unit from a Piazza.
Totally unfamiliiar with this car. I knew it existed, but little else. Holden didn’t even try selling us this.
What a weird decision from GM that the full-fruit versions had to be sold via their import dealers, and the Isuzu only got to sell a base model. What kind of person would think that was a good idea?
Isuzu did, in fact, sell top of the range Gemini Irmscher R models (in all body styles) that mirrored these. Didn’t help sales much, but they were available.