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This portion of the site is a tribute to my truck (I know, it sounds like a silly statement, but sometimes the truth can be a silly thing when stated as simple fact). I first encountered the VehiCROSS around 1997 while reading reviews of the upcoming 1999 model line-up. I don't remember the magazine, it was probably Car and Driver or Road and Track. I do remember being "blown away" by both the concept and the unusual styling and thinking that it will probably never be sold in the US (despite what the article stated, it seemed too surreal, too ahead-of-its-time, and too much a pipe-dream). At that point, I pretty much forgot about the truck, as I was more into small and sporty (and had the 4Runner for off-road, camping and the like). Also at the time, I was working a lot and didn't have much time to think about a new vehicle.
My next encounter occurred while driving past a nearby Isuzu dealership. They had this Ironman prominently displayed by the side of the road. I think I almost hit the car in front of me from rubber-necking! I did a quick U-turn and pulled into the lot. I got out of my car and walked straight over to the Ironman and just started staring and walking around the truck in amazement. I couldn't believe that it had actually made it into production, and that I was standing in front of one. A salesman came out and we started talking. I received all the promotional material and went home. At this point I was hooked but not yet obsessed.
The next year came and went. For the 2000 model line-up, a few changes were made to the model, but it pretty much retained the same look, features and performance. I was still not in a mind-set to purchase one, however I did turn up frequently at the various nearby Isuzu lots to look and talk to both the salesmen and the technicians working in the service departments. I found out about the new yellow body color (called Proton Yellow) and decided that this was what I wanted. I then found out that the initial shipment of Protons was small and that most were spoken for. Bummed, I put the purchase of a new truck once again out of my mind. If I couldn't get the color I wanted, perhaps this truck wasn't for me.
Some time in 2001 I was driving back from a Toyota parts store. I had just spent about $300 on parts for the old Camry wagon (200k miles and still going) and was thinking that it was getting stupid spending so much money on the thing. It was just waiting for something to happen to it that would cost me $1000+ to fix, and that the car was hardly worth that kind of money to dump into. Driving home, I spotted one of my favorite Isuzu dealerships (I had become a pest there) and thought, "I wonder if the new model year had come in?" Maybe they had a Proton VehiCROSS on the lot!
It turns out they had just sold their last VX the day before. Bummmer! I told them I was looking for a Proton... the one they just sold yesterday was a Proton! Plus, it was a "Brass Hat" (Isuzu term for demo - it had been driven by one of the sales managers) and had been sold discounted! Boy that sucked! Then to add insult to injury, they told me about their 0% financing with $0 down! Initially dejected, they told me they could find me something and I was then determined to buy one. They got me the paperwork for a search and pre-approval on the financing, but a Proton was no where to be find. After a few days of waiting, I was almost resigned to purchasing a burgandy model (called Foxfire Red Mica) when I get this call from my salesman. The guy who bought the Proton returned it for a new Ebony they had gotten during the week! Seemed his wife couldn't deal with the yellow... do I want to buy it? I rushed down after work and left with the VX. It ended up being one of the best auto transactions in my life and I have no regretted my decision since. The VX had a little less than 4000 miles and I've enjoyed every day I've owned it (putting an additional 30k since). Even today it turns heads and I get both questions and compliments on its appearance and styling.
I owned the VX almost a year when I found out about the VX web boards. I had brought my truck in for the first year service and there was this incredible Proton VX already waiting (owned by BigMike). It had all these modifications and accessories (wind-deflectors, Yakima basket, hitch)...I was blown away! I didn't even know anything was available, as my searches and inquiries had turned up zilch. Mike turned me on to the ClubVMag board, and from there I've modified the VX to its current state. For more information on the online forums that are available, see my VX links page. The other pages and links detail what is available for modifications, some instructions, what geeks like myself collect, and photos of my own and other VXes.
These pages were last updated on Marth 12th, 2008. Please check out the What's New Page for locations of new info and images!.
In 2007 I also started a VehiCROSS blog where I detail different items of interest regarding both my VX, new images, meets and other factoids that may be of interest to VehiCROSS fans - here's a link: My VX Blog.
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All images, captions and content are Copyright © 1997-2018 Isuzu Motors Corporation and/or John Eaton unless otherwise stated. If there are any comments or objections, please contact John Eaton, by clicking here.
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