Nothing to see here, folks. The only real reason to feature these cars is their rarity, and because some tree-hugging greenie (among whom this writer counts himself!) who doesn’t want to shell out for a Prius or VW TDI will convert it to biodiesel. Anyhow, based on the same platform as the Chevrolet Chevette, Isuzu brought these lovely cars to the North American market. And in a bid to remain competitive against the contemporary VW diesel in a gas crisis climate, they fitted it with a diesel engine as well. Clothed in a fairly handsome coupe body, this 1981 Isuzu I-Mark Diesel Coupe is for sale in Hesperia, CA for $2000.
The body style does its best to recall Isuzu’s own 117 coupe, as well as some other cars like the Opel Manta. Since other Isuzu products were marketed as Buick-Opels by Isuzu (WTF marketing?), perhaps that similarity was intentional. Even the wheels look kind of sporty, and the car’s white paint works reasonably well. However, the real stake in the heart of this vehicle is the 61hp engine combined with a 3-speed automatic transmission.
Clean interior, sports steering wheel, bucket seats, extra gauges on the center console – what’s not to like? Oh right. Which brings us to the car below. Kids, raise your hand if you’re looking for a flesh-toned, diesel powered sedan.
Again, it’s surprising this is still alive. Given the condition, perhaps the best use for this vehicle is to donate its manual transmission to the coupe. Add in some reproduction period performance wheels and a fat exhaust, and you’ll have one sweet ride that will make people wonder at the next classic Japanese car show.
Tags: coupe, diesel, Feature, i-mark, isuzu, japanese, sedan
Rusty But Trusty 
November 9, 2013 at 2:14 pm |
I had one of these in the late 80’s; it was a red 4dr stickshift that I bought for $700 after I killed my 242GT. It was a really good car as basic transportation. It had adequate power drove okay and got 48 mpg when diesel was .90 cents a gallon. I could go to the beach and return for $2 which was kind of awesome. I haven’t seen one in years and I’d go check these out if they weren’t so far away.
March 26, 2014 at 11:23 pm |
These were amazing cars for reliability and longevity and have seen several with 1 million km’s on the original engine!! They came with the bulletproof Isuzu 4FB1 and a close ratio 5 speed with a fuel economy that would embarrass any car built today…and to top it off that was 30 odd year’s ago!! I would much rather drive a clapped out Isuzu i-mark diesel than the garbage manufacturer’s produce nowadays.
April 15, 2014 at 12:22 pm |
I am looking for a 1982 I mark diesel engine to be used for spare parts an will buy the whole car
July 28, 2014 at 12:24 pm |
have a 1984 I-mark 4 door auto 88,000 original miles good shape was my moms car
September 18, 2014 at 10:25 pm |
is it still for sale and where are you located?
November 26, 2014 at 11:43 am
still have car had a mechanic friend take off injector because it was leaking and had rebuilt now car wont run in Orlando florida cell 407-222-6237