Minneapolis Street Sighting: Isuzu i-Mark RS Turbo

Bringing the audience back to the discussion of Isuzu, I want to showcase the quirky side of the brand. Isuzu is well known for building trucks and SUVs for themselves, but also Acura, Holden, Honda, Opel, and Vauxhall to name a few. The brands cars on the other hand, are less well-known. In the 1980s, turbocharging was all the rage, and it was thought that to be a good driver's car, it needed forced induction, a plethora of badges, bodykit, and specific wheel and tire packages.
The Isuzu i-Mark, like its truck cousins, has been sold under a variety of names including the Chevrolet and Holden Gemini, the Chevrolet and Geo Spectrum, and finally, the Pontiac Sunburst. Like most other small-time Japanese brands, Isuzu's car-making longevity was short-lived. After the Isuzu Stylus was dropped in 1993, Isuzu turned all of their attention to trucks and SUVs. But, lest we not forget about their cars. I have always sort-of liked the i-Mark for whatever reason. I love the oh-so-1980s color coded wheels, and I love the sporty-but-not-garish bodykit, too.











I nearly crapped myself; a few years ago, I saw a hatchback, and got some shots of it. It wasn't parked, so I couldn't really feature it here. I know this isn't technically "on the street", but c'mon. How common are these? In this day and age? There weren't exactly common when new, as Isuzu didn't really have a good dealer network. I remember seeing the Chevrolet and Geo Spectrum quite a bit, but never an i-Mark, let alone an RS model.
On the surface, this littel four-door seems to be quite straight. Other than a tiny patch of rust on the panel between the rear plate and the taillights, this i-Mark appear fairly straight. Upon close inspection, it does look like it's had a repaint at some paint--the back, anyway. The front looks clean, and original. Yes, the emblems have lost their luster, but what do you expect with a near 25 year old sedan? I hope the owner enjoys this car, and from the radio stickers plastered in the rear glass, I'm sure he does. I only hope he knows what it is, though, and doesn't see it as "just a cheap old car".
If this were mine, I'd claybar it, and really get it to shine. I'd tint the side glass, and put a new exhaust on, and have myself a nice, if not unique daily driver.
Cars like this need to be saved, and it's up to enthusiasts to do so. The budget sporty sedan has gone the way of the dodo unfortunately, so now all car enthusiasts are left merely with relics from a much better time in affordable sporty motoring. We will never have the 1980s and their endless stream of performance cars back, but if more and more performance heroes get restored, a new class of cars may spark a new kind of enthusiast.