The Isuzu Axiom was an SUV designed in Japan using a "knife blade" theme for its car-like styling. Built in Lafayette, Indiana, U.S. at the joint Subaru-Isuzu plant on the Rodeo platform. It jointly replaced the Trooper, but was itself replaced by the Isuzu Ascender for the 2005 model year. The name "Axiom" was determined by a naming contest held by Isuzu, and was won by Dr. Hakan Urey from Redmond, Washington, who suggested the name and won his own Axiom in 2001. The Axiom is available with a torque on demand four-wheel drive system, and a direct-injection engine was added in 2004, boosting power from 230 to 250 hp (172 to 186 kW). The Axiom's radical styling was too extreme for some although a surprising number of its design elements later found their way into SUVs from other manufacturers. Unfortunately, under the Axiom's cutting-edge body was the largely unchanged Rodeo chassis, which was judged to be crude by critics. The stylish body was also available only as a luxury entry which limited the sales market. The Axiom was discontinued in July 2004 after only three years of production, and the Lafayette plant became exclusively home to build just Subarus. It was retooled to build the Subaru B9 Tribeca. With the retirement of the Rodeo and Axiom, Isuzu, which once sold a complete line of cars, trucks and SUVs, no longer offered any Japanese-built consumer vehicles in the United States. The lineup now consists only of rebadged General Motors vehicles: a GMC Canyon pickup and GMC Envoy SUV.

Cultural references

This vehicle was featured in the Spy Kids movies.

References