Part 31: Isuzu Fargo


Not to be confused with the Fargo Trucks once sold by the Chrysler Corporation, the totally unrelated Isuzu Fargo was a Japanese market forward-control commercial van.  The Fargo was produced over two generations, from 1980 through 2001.

Despite its looks, this is not a kei-sized van, it's more of a mid-sized van.  The Fargo is roughly similar in size to the 1980s Volkswagen T3, otherwise known as the Vanagon in North America.  Personally, I never understood the fascination with kei-vans in the US.  If you really want to import a small, practical van, there are a plethora of options from Europe which, unlike the kei-vans, can be safely driven at Interstate speeds.  Plus, as long as you buy on the Continent, you won't end up having to sit on the wrong side of your newly imported van.

The first generation Fargo (shown above) was made from 1980 through 1995.  Like the 1980s Toyota Van (AKA LiteAce/Space Cruiser) and the Previa which followed it, the Isuzu Fargo had an inline four cylinder engine under the floor.  Upon launch, engine choices were 1.6 and 1.8 litre gasoline units or 1.8 and 2.0 litre diesels, sans turbocharger.  Turbodiesels became optional by 1984.  In September 1987, the naturally aspirated diesels were discontinued in the passenger models, leaving only turbodiesels for these noncommercial versions.  By 1991, a new 2.4 litre diesel replaced both the earlier diesel engines.  In August 1993, a 2.4-litre turbodiesel became standard.

The first generation Fargo was sold under a few different names in various parts of the world.  In Australia, it was called the Holden Shuttle.  Locally built versions in the UK were badged as the Bedford Midi, later to become the Vauxhall Midi.  On the European continent, you could have either an Isuzu Midi or a GME Midi if you bought yours from an Opel dealer.  And in Colombia, it was a Chevrolet WFR.

The short-lived second generation Isuzu Fargo was much lesser known, only being built from 1995 through 2001.  Rather than develop a new van in-house as before, Isuzu turned to Nissan to provide them with a badge engineered version of the Nissan Caravan/Urvan/Homy (E24 platform).  In 2001, the Fargo was replaced by the Isuzu Como, based on the new E25 platform Nissan Urvan.

So, considering this van was never going to be sold in the USA, why name it after North Dakota's most populous city?  Or perhaps someone at Isuzu was a fan of the Cohen Brothers film Fargo?  Oh wait, that wasn't released until 1996.  Oh well, if you do decide to import a Fargo from Japan, don't bother asking the dealer over there to remove the TruCoat.  They install that TruCoat at the factory, you know.  They can't take it off! 

I have a Tonale PHEV as a loaner.  It works decently as an EV when the battery has charge.  Zero battery it gets ~29 mpg which I'm not sure yet is good/bad/neutral for a smallish crossover

We had a PHEV Sorento for three weeks in New Zealand. It had a battle-tank thirst for petrol, at around US$6.80/gal, a CO2-pumping demon. I sure as hell wasn't going to plug the thing in anywhere, because... where?

But Europcar looks good by having them in the fleet, and they get a 30% tax discount on the NZ government's Road User Fee.

And then there were the lectures on global warming and the receding glaciers on the South Island.

Quote from: Morris Minor on May 07, 2024, 06:25:55 AMPHEVs are finding their way into corporate fleets and, as anyone who can walk on their hind legs would predict, their gas consumption is higher.
"Hmm, plug this thing in at home on my dime? Or use the company gas card? Which to choose?"

Employee/drivers don't make that decision on fleet purchases, executives do, right? It's been ~12 years and EVs still cost more, still have less range and still have longer refueling times. If you're an Amazon, have $80-100B cash in the bank, have at least a moderate streak of woke, have complete control over fleet routes, and don't capitalize your delivery in the same way as a FedEx/UPS/DHL (i.e., it's not a cost center per se), EVs may work for you (but there's very few of you).

Quote from: GoCougs on April 30, 2024, 02:15:47 PMYikes, looks worse for Ford than it first sounded: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fords-first-quarter-adjusted-profit-falls-2024-04-24/.

Delayed launches, refocus on hybrids; IOW:

Ford is grappling with what CEO Jim Farley called "a huge drag not just on Ford, but on our whole industry": electric vehicle production.

PHEVs are finding their way into corporate fleets and, as anyone who can walk on their hind legs would predict, their gas consumption is higher.
"Hmm, plug this thing in at home on my dime? Or use the company gas card? Which to choose?"

I have a friend who got a waymo ride the other day. She rated it 5/5, said it even navigated some interesting construction.

Part 31: Cadillac Fleetwood


The Fleetwood Metal Body company was an automobile coachbuilder formed on April 1, 1909.  Fleetwood produced bespoke bodies on chassis from Bentley, Cadillac, Daniels, Duesenberg, Fiat, Isotta Fraschini, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Packard, Pierce-Arrow, Rolls-Royce, SGV, and Stutz.  The company name was derived from Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, where the company was established.  Fleetwood, Pennsylvania was named after the coastal English town of Fleetwood in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, just a few miles up the coast from Blackpool.

Fisher Body Company, a division of General Motors, purchased Fleetwood Metal Body in September, 1925.  After the purchase by Fisher Body, Fleetwood produced car bodies exclusively for Cadillac.  Cadillac continued to use the Fleetwood name all the way through 1996 when GM discontinued the last of its rear-drive, body-on-frame passenger cars.  These last Fleetwoods shared a chassis with the Buick Roadmaster and the Chevrolet Caprice and Impala SS.

The largest and grandest of Cadillac sedans may only have an indirect connection to a small northern English town, but it's still a connection, regardless.  And this little seaside hamlet is perhaps the very last place I would look for a massive, 18-foot-long, rolling slab of Americana like a Cadillac Fleetwood.  Then again, one can never be certain.  I won't rule out the possibility there might be some peculiar local freak residing somewhere near the banks of the River Wyre, cruising the streets of his Lancashire village in his ridiculous aging Cadillac.  I'm imagining a sort of self-styled council estate Elvis, Brylcreem pompadour and all, with his Bettie Page look-alike girlfriend in the passenger seat.  That's the wonderful thing about England and, for that matter, Britain as a whole.  For whatever reason, that green and pleasant isle produces the world's greatest breed of oddball eccentrics!

L4NDO!!!!!

'Least you got it all set!