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Whereas a lot has been written about Japanese financial system vehicles grabbing a share of the North American auto market within the Nineteen Seventies, it’s additionally necessary to acknowledge the affect imports had on home vans.
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Typically talking, the trucks coming from Detroit on the time had been comparatively giant and rugged. Whereas these rigs labored nice in agriculture, building, and utility roles, they had been usually overkill for small companies, hobbyists, and concrete supply routes.
Seeing a chance however missing a product, the Large Three appeared to Japan to shortly tackle a rising demand for small, economical vans.
Ford attached with Mazda to rebadge its B-series vans into the Ford Courier lineup and Dodge would finally calm down with Mitsubishi for the Mighty Max/Ram 50 twins.
Chevy referred to as Isuzu hoping for slightly compact truck love.
Provided that GM had simply purchased a 34 p.c stake in Isuzu in 1972, the Japanese automaker answered the cellphone and advised Chevy a couple of new mild truck it was creating. Referred to as the Isuzu Sooner, it was considerably smaller than the vans within the present Bowtie lineup. And higher nonetheless, because it was primarily based on a present Isuzu sedan, the brand new body-on-frame truck was prepared for manufacturing.
The Sooner was simply the mate Chevy was trying to find—but when it was going to elope to America, GM’s advertising and marketing of us felt the truck wanted a brand new identify.
Chevy chosen the acronym LUV, which stood for “Gentle Utility Automobile.” Freshly adorned with Bowtie badging, the LUV arrived on North American shores as a 1972 mannequin and technically turned the primary Isuzu-built car offered within the U.S.
For 1972, the Chevy LUV was powered by a 1.8L SOHC 4 banger good for 75 horsepower, which was sufficient giddayup to offer the LUV round a 1,200 pound payload capability. However the larger information was the engine’s gas financial system—north of 30 mpg freeway, which was a severe profit because the Nineteen Seventies fuel scarcity dawned.
After its inaugural 12 months, the Chevy LUV endured principally unchanged for 1973. In 1974 a extra upscale trim dubbed the “Mikado” was added to the admittedly austere mini truck and included a flashier inside.
In 1976, Chevy added an automated transmission to the choices sheet and gave the LUV entrance disc brakes. Minor beauty adjustments continued via the last decade and in 1978, you would go for an everyday mattress or lengthy mattress model.
In 1979 a 4×4 drivetrain possibility was out there, after which in 1981 the LUV spawned its second era.
As LUV endured via the Nineteen Seventies, Chevy determined to convey over the second era Isuzu Sooner when it debuted in 1981. Nonetheless offered as a LUV-badged captive import by Chevrolet, the brand new era introduced a contemporary look and a few extra refinement to the mini truck section.
The subsequent era LUV carried over the non-obligatory 4×4 drivetrain. A brand new Isuzu-sourced 2.2L four-cylinder diesel engine appeared on the choices sheet too. The brand new diesel engine gave the LUV an unimaginable 44 mpg freeway ranking.
However right here’s the place it begins to get actually fascinating: When the second-generation LUV pickup came visiting in 1981, so did its unique Isuzu-badged doppelganger—solely as a substitute of being referred to as the Isuzu Sooner, the truck’s identify modified to easily Isuzu “P’up.”
So sure, mini truck patrons in america might now select between a Chevy-branded LUV or its twin, the Isuzu P’up.
For some time, anyway…
Regardless of the LUV truck’s continued evolution, Normal Motors had quietly begun designing its personal in-house compact truck: the soon-to-be-christened S-Sequence.
So at the same time as Chevy sellers had been welcoming the aforementioned second-generation Chevy LUV onto their tons, they had been concurrently awaiting the heralded arrival of GM’s new home compact truck.
Fairly quickly, the S-Sequence, Isuzu, and Chevy shaped an ungainly LUV triangle.
It was clear Chevy and the LUV had been headed for a breakup. The second era Chevy LUV solely existed for 2 mannequin years, 1981 and 1982, after which the nameplate was shelved in favor of the Chevy S-10/GMC S-15 duo.
It wasn’t the tip of the Isuzu P’up although, because it was out there in america via 1987. And in international markets, the O.G. Isuzu Sooner nameplated caught round properly into the twenty first century.
The connection between Isuzu and GM continued too. Along with the standalone Isuzu marque within the U.S., the couple did loads of badge-sharing on automobiles just like the Geo Storm/Isuzu Impulse and Chevy Spectrum/Isuzu Gemini—heck, even the S-Sequence vans finally welcomed the GM-derived Isuzu Hombre into the household.
“The primary time I ever acquired on an airplane, was to go have a look at a truck that was in Kansas Metropolis,” recollects Summit Racing’s Jason Liss.
That truck was a Chevy LUV.
However not simply any Chevy LUV, the truck in Kansas Metropolis, Missouri was one of many uncommon second-generation fashions. If that wasn’t sufficient, it had the coveted 4×4 drivetrain mated to a four-speed guide and locking hubs.
And the pièce de résistance? The truck had the fuel-sipping Isuzu 2.2L diesel engine. *Chef’s Kiss*
“I ended up falling in love with it and road-tripped the truck again to Ohio,” explains Liss. (That’s a couple of 12 hour drive, by the way in which—in all probability longer, given the diesel’s modest 60ish horsepower.) “The earlier proprietor gave me some further provides, and despatched me on my approach,” he continues with a smile. “I might have flown again, however I actually, actually appreciated that truck.”
No, we are able to’t keep away from the cliché right here:
It was LUV at first sight.
But Jason’s LUV story is an elusive one for a lot of. These days, significantly within the Northern areas of america the place highway salt wreaks havoc on automotive sheetmetal, these vans are getting scarce. It’s additionally necessary to acknowledge that these import vans had been nonetheless vans and, as such, had been usually run laborious and put away moist. These elements imply that LUV vans are often fairly troublesome to search out in something near good situation.
However in the event you’re searching for LUV in all of the improper locations, attempt the monitor.
LUV vans are light-weight and have that all-important entrance engine-RWD format, which implies they’re an excellent basis for a lot of efficiency builds. And the engine bay is large enough to simply accept V8 swaps as properly, particularly of the LS variety.
They’re additionally common with the customized, patina, and present crowd too, which implies Chevy LUV vans are beginning to pop up in some excessive profile spots, together with occasions that host the Summit Racing Show Car Series.
So all advised, what started as a quick-fix resolution to handle a rising market has remodeled right into a welcome sight at automobile reveals and race tracks all around the nation—which makes the often-overlooked Isuzu captive import a captivating chapter in Chevy truck historical past.
<Lou Gramm Voice>
...And now you know what LUV is.
</Lou Gramm Voice>
Particular hat tip to Summit Racing’s Jason Liss for his contributions to this text.
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