This is the last Amigo in town, at least to my knowledge. And it’s looking like it might not be around much longer. It’s looking a bit grumpy too, the way it’s riding up on that bumper of the Subaru. Ok, it might be the Subaru’s fault, but this Amigo has a decidedly unfriendly vibe.
Part of that may have to do with the fact that it has no license plates.
It does look like it is still quite driveable.
But the rugs and other contents under that tarp covering the open back seat area are not likely to smell very friendly.
The Amigo was one of so many “shorty” compact SUVs, at a time when that was all the rage. Seems like an eternity ago.
Here’s a somewhat more in-depth write up on another Amigo, looking a bit more sociable.
I don’t know what year this one is or if there’s a way to tell other than the VIN. These seemed to have been the vehicle of choice for the gay community in Cincinnati back in the day. My partner at the time had a cobalt blue one, one of his male friends had a cobalt blue one, another a red one and a female couple we knew had one each, a sea green one and one in that pinkish coral color. My then partner’s was a 90 that we bought in 1992. It lived a short, rough life as he was pretty hard on vehicles. Between 1992-1995 he hit three deer with it and got in a collision with another car. Each time it was repaired. It met its fate in the fall of 1996, when he swerved to avoid a deer an lost control, running into a ditch and flipping it end over end. Miraculously, he survived with cuts and bruises and his left arm broken in six places. When I went to get his belongings out of it at the lot it was towed to, I couldn’t believe he wasn’t killed. There wasn’t a piece of glass left in it and the roof was completely crushed over the windshield area. Strangely enough, that canvas top stayed on.
1993 was the first year for the grille that dipped into the surrounding trim, the last year for vent windows, and the last year without a third brakelight.
I think.
I don’t wish to advance any stereotypes, but the feature Amigo is parked like it’s trying to do something to that Subaru.
Friendly, indeed…
Isuzu MU I havent seen one for a while, sold under every local GM flag all around the world OK Im now living in NZs largest city where off roaders really dont have much use but there are plenty of 4×4 vehicles in regular use here just not these it seems.
And even a non-GM flag: Just like the 4-door Rodeo was marketed as the Honda Passport in the US, the 2-door Amigo was sold as the Honda Jazz in Japan.
I still see 2nd gen Amigos around the north east but I don’t remember the last time I saw a first gen like this one. I always liked these they were roomy inside and drove and rode nicer then the wrangler of the same year. The people I knew who owned these and other Isuzu SUV’s seemed to generally like them and other then some auto transmission issues I gather they were pretty reliable. At various times I have considered an amigo as a fun summer car but never pulled the trigger.
The Amigo just didn’t have the charm of the Samuai or the Wranger. It tried to look more modern than the competition, but instead, ended up looking generic. There just isn’t enough character in it to warrant the care it needs. I hope it finds someone who is going to want it, instead of need it.
For a brief period in the nineties, there was a whole raft of these abbreviated, mostly Asian, car-based, two-door CUVs. A couple actually morphed into four-doors and are around to this day (RAV4, Kia Sportage). Besides the aforementioned Samurai, were its bigger brothers, the Sidekick, aka Geo Tracker. Then there was the Amigo and the quite forgettable Daihatsu Rocky.
Finally, even Land Rover got into the act, with a late entrant Freelander.
Only the RAV4 and Freelander were CUVs, though. The rest (including the first-gen Sportage) were BOF SUVs with the ride quality one would expect from such a short wheelbase truck.
With the dull green paint this one looks like it should be a technical with a rocket pod in the bed.
In the mid 90s one of our neighbors in Beaverton had an Amigo with a UK plate on it, presumably from military service. Oddly it was LHD and appeared to be a US model.
In addition to Honda, GM sold the Amigo/Rodeo as the Vauxhall Frontera and Holden Jackaroo. I know they were common in the UK, I have no idea how well the Holden version sold.
The Jackaroo was a rebranding of the Isuzu Trooper. They were a fairly common sight on the road back in the day but I can’t remember seeing one recently.
I liked these back in the day. I was coming out of two seater, and needed more room and four wheel drive. In the end, they looked too blobby, and awfully Spartan to be driven many hours every day.
I looked at all those many other options as mentioned by Rudiger, and I ended up with the 1992 Sidekick JLX 4 door wagon. It had all the power options, and a nice interior with comfortable seats.
Although a bit on the slow side, it was fun to drive with the 5-speed, and the new 1.6 liter 16-valve engine liked to rev.
It was the creature comforts that swayed me, and the addition of 4 doors clinched it.
Somehow I hadn’t realized just how rare Amigos have become. I still see them occasionally around here — there’s one that lives nearby that’s in decent condition… StreetView image is below.
I’ve never been a big fan of them though — just seemed like they were trying a bit too hard to be edgy.
My last year in college, my next door neighbor’s girlfriend used to come around in a new Amigo. I hadn’t really seen or thought of them since then, so seeing this one in such dilapidated equipment serves as a stark reminder that I’m old.
Well, I own the front half of one….
Haven’t seen one of these in forever, though the same style Rodeo isn’t totally gone from the roads here. But just a few days ago I saw a first-gen IsuzuTrooper, long wheelbase 2 door that is quite a rarity in fact I saw it twice in one day; it was quite clean and straight and motivating well under its own power. Sorry, no pictures. It was in fact quite a CC day, as we also spotted a Vixen motor home that was also operational.
I have a 93 and I’m still driving it but like to find one for parts
I Love My Amigo❤️