(first posted 4/5/2013) OK, I cheated. Given the way the car is sitting, I obviously didn’t find this CC parked street-side, and I did pose it for pictures. This truck used to belong to me, and I recently borrowed it as temporary transportation. I’ve always found the Rodeo’s history interesting, so I captured some images and fired up the word processor.
Don’t be fooled by the Honda badges. While Honda marketed a Rodeo variant, from 1994 to 2004, this example is a first-year (1991) Rodeo. Most of you will recognize from the front sheet metal that the Rodeo shared a platform with the Isuzu pickup, but with an added three inches of wheelbase to the regular cab chassis and, of course, a four-door SUV body.
Under hood, the base Rodeo came with a rather weak 2.6-liter Isuzu four-cylinder with 120 hp and 146 lb-ft of torque. Wisely, Isuzu did not offer this engine package in upper trim levels or on 4WD models, so most Rodeos came with a 3.1-liter V6. To further discourage four-cylinder purchases, an automatic transmission was available only with the V6, while four-cylinder models offered only a Borg-Warner T-5 manual.
The 60-degree pushrod V6 motor came from General Motors, but it wasn’t the 2.8-liter V6 used in the S-10 pickup. Instead, Isuzu used the 3.1-liter throttle body-injected version from the GM “Dustbuster” minivans. Despite its greater displacement and higher 165 lb-ft of torque, the V6 offered the same 120 hp as the four. In addition to the T-5 manual transmission offered in two-wheel drive versions, the V6 4 x 4 offered an Isuzu-designed five-speed manual; all automatic models used the GM-designed 4L30E.
Underneath, there was an independent torsion-bar front suspension plus recirculating ball steering to provide direction, while in the rear was a basic solid axle with leaf springs.
a genuine Honda Passport
All pretty standard stuff–so, then, what’s unique about the Rodeo? Well, at the time it was the only import SUV assembled in the USA; the only non-Honda product in the U.S. to wear a Honda badge; and the only vehicle in the Isuzu showroom (excluding medium duty trucks) that ever outsold a Toyota in their product segment.
What’s that, you say? Isuzu beat Toyota? Yes, indeed: For several years, the Rodeo outsold the 4-Runner in the small SUV segment. In fact, the Rodeo was the best-selling import nameplate SUV in 1992 and 1993, period. The combination of low price (thanks to a U.S. assembly plant), comparable features and a tough-truck reputation put Isuzu at the forefront of SUV sales.
Lots of interesting things were happening in Isuzu’s world in the early 1990s. GM’s experiment with Isuzus wearing the “Geo” nameplate was ending just as Isuzu light truck sales were picking up. Also, Isuzu’s automotive line was under-performing with no new product in the pipeline. Based on rising Rodeo sales and the booming SUV market (Explorer sales jumped from 250,059 units in 1991 to 402,663 in 1996), Isuzu announced it would cast its future focus on light trucks, and dropped all automotive product in 1993.
Honda Passport
Along the way, Isuzu found a new partner to provide a sales channel in the U.S. When the SUV boom launched, Honda was without any light truck platforms and needed to fill the gap. The Rodeo appeared to be the perfect fit, and in 1993 Honda rolled out their own version, the Passport. Rumor has it that Honda engineering helped Isuzu freshen the dashboard and mount airbags, but beyond badges and trim, the Passport and Rodeo matched up model for model.
Over time, the Rodeo received several mechanical upgrades. A new, Isuzu-designed V6 with increased displacement and overhead cams appeared in 1993. The engine used an unusual 75-degree vee, supposedly to make room for longer intake runners that increased engine torque versus a 60-degree V-6. A suspension upgrade replaced the rear leaf springs with a new coil spring suspension that improved ride quality to competitors’ levels.
gen2 Honda Passport
In 1989, the gen-two Rodeo and Passport arrived with new sheet metal and several changes. Among the most useful was increased rear overhang that allowed the spare-tire to be mounted under the body, thus creating more interior room and increasing grocery bag capacity.
But these fixes did not cover up the fact that the Rodeo rolled on an aging chassis and Isuzu lacked the resources to tool up a new truck. Sales peaked in 1999 and, with more and more CUV based competitors coming onto the scene, cratered by 2005. Once again changing direction, Isuzu brought out the Axiom (a Rodeo designed to look like a CUV), and then began selling rebadged Trailblazers and Colorado pickups before leaving the U.S. light-duty market entirely in 2009.
Those of you familiar with the Rodeo might notice that this truck has the early-model vent windows, but later model-year body trim parts. As I mentioned above, I owned this Rodeo for a number of years, and over time it became a bit of a franken-truck. In addition to adding the Honda badges, I replaced the 1991 front bumper with a 1993 bumper (I left on the 1991 grille). The wheels are alloys taken from a Chevy pickup, and I put on a rear-window visor from a newer model to get the CHMSL (Center High Mounted Stop Lamp).
Had no idea the auto trans was a GM hydramatic. Talk about under sized for that kind of vehicle. That explains why my brother in law went through two 4l30’s in less than 80K miles. I don’t think he was hard on it, he has a job that allows him to beat the life out of Pathers with lights on the roof on a daily basis, so he is pretty easy on his own equipment.
These were all over the place in central Indiana back in the day, or course the fact that they were built an hour up I-65 in Lafayette (a joint venture plant between Subaru and Isuzu) didn’t hurt.
These cars were half of a trade between Honda and Isuzu. Honda had no SUV, so it got the Rodeo (and renamed it Honda Passport). Isuzu had no minivan, so it got a clone of the 1st Generation Honda Odyssey (and renamed it the Isuzu Oasis). I have shots of both an early Oddity and an Oasis and plan to do something with them soon. Thank you for covering this half, as I was having trouble working up any passion for this one.
Hard to say which one got the better of the deal: Honda got the better seller, but was stuck servicing the more troublesome Isuzu/GM components. Isuzu got the mechanically fabulous early Oddy, but it was a slow seller. I think that this Rodeo represents Isuzu’s high water mark in the US.
If I remember correctly-the Passport cost more than the Rodeo and had a shorter warranty. Paying for the privilege of having the ‘H’ badge on the grille (and painted ‘D’ pillars).
These things folded like pancakes in accidents. In addition, what happened I don’t see the Isuzu or Hondas anywhere. Bet they would make nice, reliable used trucks.
As for the reliability, I had always understood that these Rodeos were decent but not great, and certainly not up to Toyota/Nissan standards. Of course, actual results may vary (as we saw with yesterday’s diesel Oldsmobile).
I still see a lot of them, and I’m likely to end up with one if I’m ever able to scrounge up the funds to buy the small to mid-sized SUV I want as a work truck. These and early Pathfinders dominate my search results when I check craigslist.
IMHO, I’d stick to the Pathfinders. I cross-shopped a couple Rodeos when a nice 4-point buck killed my 1990 Pathy. The Rodeos all uniformly felt cheap and rickety and weak-in-the-knees compared to the Nissan.
Not to bag on Isuzu–I got no axe to grind. But for my money, the Pathfinder beats a Rodeo 10 times out of 10. And these days, you can get a decent Hardbody Pathfinder for less than 4 grand.
But, knowing that was GM running gear under that Isuzu sheetmetal makes me wonder if a supercharged 3800 or 4.3 Vortec would swap in with little or no fuss. . .
I thought somthing was strange about your “Passport”, when the first generation came out the only way I could spot one over a Rodeo from a distance was the body color D pillars, while the Rodeos always had black D pillars.
Let’s not forget about the ultra-rare ’96-97 Acura SLX, which was a rebadged Isuzu Trooper. Has anyone spotted one recently?
I was thinking about that while reading this. I actually came across one on ebay last week, in excellent condition too. Haven’t seen one in person for a while though.
Here’s a picture for reference for anyone who cares:
I saw one in person a while ago. It’s entirely possible to see one and not even notice, unless the badge happens to catch the eye.
Here’s that SLX re-listed on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1996-Acura-SLX-4WD-Leather-Sunroof-No-Reserve-/271187324048?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item3f24062c90#ht_14686wt_1194
I remember when they debuted it or at least the commercial ran on tv. It was either thanksgiving or the Superbowl and no one around me was very impressed with the SLX. Honda does not always hit the bulls eye although that Trooper is supposed to be a decent 4X4. On par with a Montero or just a step below a Land Cruiser.
Was it the one with the “snow day” for everyone except for the kid whose parents owned an SLX? I vaguely remember that one, but can’t seem to find it anywhere.
Acura superfan Tyson Hugie acquired another SLX recently. You can follow its story here:
https://drivetofive.com/2019/06/10/certifiably-insane-acquiring-a-1996-radiant-red-acura-slx-premium/
Those S10 wheels seem to have the wrong offset for use on a Rodeo. Rodeos sold in huge numbers where I lived. They did a pretty serious vanishing act almost as soon as they left production. Either someone found an export market for them, or there were some real problems.
Those wheels were off a Silverado, not the S-10. The early Rodeo shared their rear axles with the S-10 (I believe it was the 7.5″ corporate unit), but the Rodeo used the same 6 lug bolt pattern as the GM full size pickups, compared to 5 bolts for the S-10.
I measured wheel off-set when I bought the Chevy wheels, and it was about the same as the Rodeo wheels, but I agree the truck would look better with about 2 more inches of track. If the offset had been too far out, the tires would have rubbed on the spring leaves.
The ’03-’05 Astro used those wheels too–they’re on mine. All S-10s have 5-lug rims.
I had a friend in college that had a 2WD Amigo. The engine blew up with under 4k miles on it. The dealer traded him a new 2WD Rodeo straight up for it. The Amigo was more fun, but the Rodeo was the nicer truck. He got some good mileage out of the Rodeo.
Honda did nothing to these other than supply badges. We have these in Holden and Isuzu badging mostly diesels the petrol engines both 4 & 6 are gas guzzling junk offering either dismal performance and economy. the Holden did come with a DOHC V6 but very few in NZ. Honda seem happy to rebadge anything that comes its way Isuzus, Landrovers, Mazda 626 wagons, all those wear Honda names for the JDM market and of course they turn up here as used cars and when they breakdown its a shitfight to get parts
“What’s that, you say? Isuzu beat Toyota? Yes, indeed: For several years, the Rodeo outsold the 4-Runner in the small SUV segment. In fact, the Rodeo was the best-selling import nameplate SUV in 1992 and 1993, period. The combination of low price (thanks to a U.S. assembly plant), comparable features and a tough-truck reputation put Isuzu at the forefront of SUV sales.”
I think another reason why Isuzu got so well-established in the SUV market in that era was that, similar to Jeep, they had a compact 4-door SUV which had been designed specifically as an 4-door SUV (the ’80s Trooper II) years before any of the big mainstream domestic or Japanese automakers did, making them attractive to the wave of consumers turning to these vehicles as family wagons. GM, Ford, Toyota, Nissan et al were all selling vehicles that came only as 2-doors and were obviously derived from designs intended first and foremost as compact pickups. Even after the big boys finally came around in the early ’90s, Jeep and Isuzu had built up a lot of goodwill as SUV specialists and continued to be very competitive in that segment.
These had serious rust problems in NJ.
…and everywhere else where salt was used regularly. There used to be a lot of them in Western New York, but they’re all gone now. I looked at a 1998, and by that time it had a much better ohc V6 with about 215 HP or so. But it drove and rode like the truck it was. I bought an Outback with no regrets.
everything has problems in NJ.
Isuzu really didn’t “continue to be very competitive”, since they ended up just selling rebadged GM trucks. Where are they now? Buh-bye
Honda Passports did sell on the badge alone, but some loyal Honda buyers were miffed when they finally found out it was not built by Honda. Old friend worked at Honda Finance call center around 2000-2002, and many would call in complaining of their Passports.
I hardly see them anymore, on salted Chicago streets.
I guess being a car buff, it’s hard to believe some people are that clueless, but there you go.
GM owned part of Isuzu so I’m not sure if “rebadged GM trucks” is the right term since they were co-developed, and I wonder whether Isuzu might have been in the drivers seat for the development, because the original Isuzu Wasp pickup from the late-1960’s apparently has quite a resemblance to the Rodeo frame-wise.
In Australia Holden only sold the SUV for a short time as the Holden Frontera, 3-door/4-cyl/manual from 95-99 and 5-door/V6/auto from 99-03. The Rodeo pickup has been sold from the early 80’s at least, always in long-box form as well as extra-cab and twin cab versions on the same wheelbase.
Since 2008 when GM & Isuzu split, Holden had to re-badge their pickup (formerly Rodeo) whilst Isuzu started bringing in their own version. This has carried through to the new model, where each company has their own front end sheetmetal and their own engines.
Had a 94, great vehicle for hauling, seats folded flat for a real truck like bed, but the emgine was fragile, lots of lifter noise from passenger side rear cylinder if it was afew drops low, when my daughter burned up the engine running it with no oil i discovered over 100 of these in north georgia waiting for an engine transplant. availability was especially bad because you had to have the exact model year engine because they changed so often and were not backwards compatible. finally had to sell it for scrap,
I dated a girl a few years back who drove a 5 speed Rodeo. Interesting woman she was.
I was driving a 67 VW Bus that you could see the road pass beneath you through the swiss cheese floors, no matter to her, she thought it was awesome.
Her next car (after we were finished) was an El Camino with a 454.She moved out of state but I spoke to her recently and she mentioned that she tried a “normal” car, a 05 Civic but got bored and now has a ’66 Mustang.
Interesting, she was.
The reciprocal agreement also provided for Honda to supply Isuzu with cars in the JDM.
Such as this Aska
Or this Gemini. FWIW, these replaced earlier forms of the Aska (late 80s) which were rebadged Subaru Legacies.
And the ’96-99 Isuzu Oasis, a rebadged first gen Honda Odyssey, which was sold here in the states. Crazy times.
was Isuzu not responsible for designing the GM Duramax diesel engines???
The Duramax four is in the ‘Holden” Colorado we get now.
I believe a number of Chinese manufacturers’ current designs use Rodeo centre-sections. The rear doors are a dead giveaway. Some look amateurish, but some are okay.
The Great Wall pickups definitely do. I wonder whether they have done anything about the early-90’s non-passenger car standards crash-worthiness that max referred to above…
It was rather not surprising to me that the 2G Chevrolet Blazer had strong resemblances to the 1G and 2G Isuzu Rodeo aka Chevrolet Frontera in The Philippines.
A much better photo montage compilation showing clearly how the 2G GMC Jimmy (Chevrolet Blazer) showing the design and size similarities between the 1G and 2G Isuzu Rodeo (Chevrolet Frontera).
Not seeing it to be honest. They’re both midsize BOF SUVs from a similar era… that’s about it.
I see what you see, Pedro.
I think they were also sold with an Opel/ Vauxhall badge.
Vauxhall Frontera in the UK. Britain’s worst new car for several years. Still sold well though.
Clarkson drove one of these in one of the last episodes with him on Top Gear (UK). It wasn’t very exciting, and got made fun of, but I kind of liked it.
The long wheelbase as shown is a Isuzu Wizard, the short wheelbase version was the Isuzu MU/Honda Jazz also sold under various GM badges, Isuzu since these ended production seem to concentrate on commercial vehicles only theirlatest offering here being a three or four axle heavy duty chassis cab with 460 hp.