Brad Shawger was like most other 18-year-olds looking for cheap transportation as his first car. Unlike most other 18-year-olds, he landed on an Isuzu Impulse. Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro (famous for the first-generation Volkswagen Golf and BMW M1, among many others), it was an important car stylistically, and quite a reach for the Japanese car manufacturer best known for making trucks.
The Impulse —a replacement for the handsome Isuzu 117 Coupe (also a Giugiaro design) that was never sold in the U.S.— owed its existence to the mundane Isuzu Gemini, itself an adaptation of the Opel Kadett, or General Motors’ T-car. Launched in South America in 1973, the T-car platform was first sold in the U.S. as the Chevrolet Chevette for the 1976 model year, and quickly became a huge seller for GM and Chevrolet.
How the Impulse came to be
The Impulse started out as the final ace in Giugiaro’s ’70s-production-based concept-car deck. The “Asso” (Ace) series started with 1973’s Audi 80-based Asso di Picche and 1976’s BMW 3-series-based Asso di Quadri preceding it. They were never produced. Small-scale Japanese car builder Isuzu, a former Giugiaro client, came calling for a replacement for the long-in-the-tooth, personal-luxury 117 coupe that had been in production since 1968. Italdesign was given free reign with the style —the only requirement was that the chassis was based on the Isuzu Gemini, a car sold here as both the Buick/ Opel from 1976-’80, and the rear-drive Isuzu I-Mark from 1981-on. The result was Asso di Fiori: the Ace of Clubs.
The clean wedge shape was largely unadorned, with flush glass and cleverly hidden seams. The hood wraps around atop the fenders and helps form a body-length character line; the A-pillar is rendered invisible by the leading edge of the full-framed door. Inside, the instrument cluster adjusted with the steering column, and featured a pair of pods, located within fingers’ reach from the steering wheel, that incorporated lights, wipers, and more. Launched at the 1979 Tokyo Motor Show, it caused such a stir that Isuzu management green-lit the design and fast-tracked its production.
The Impulse makes its way to the States
A few concessions were made for US federalization: the nose was raised slightly so that the headlights would be at legal height, the windshield was steepend by four degrees, and the whole package was enlarged an inch all around to accommodate American-sized buyers.
The production car was named Piazza. Assembly of the four-cylinder, rear-wheel-drive coupe began in September 1980 with varying trim levels available in Japan, Europe, and Australia. Both a five-speed manual and four-speed Aisin automatic transmissions were available. U.S. deliveries did not begin until the 1983 model year, where the stylish vehicle was re-named the Impulse. Cars featured everything as standard equipment, including air conditioning, power windows and door locks, four-wheel disc brakes, and some rad-looking “waffle” alloy wheels. The only option was a choice of manual or automatic transmission.
Stateside, all Impulses came standard with Isuzu’s 90-hp SOHC 1,994-cc inline four-cylinder engine with I-Tec fuel injection for the 1983 and ’84 model years; later, the engine was upgraded to a 110-hp 2,254-cc four-cylinder (for U.S. cars only). A 140-hp 1,994-cc MPFI turbo model was introduced for 1985; the turbo model was given the RS designation for 1987. The 1988 models received interior and exterior changes, most notably the addition of a rear spoiler and slimmer headlamps allowing for the elimination of the pop-up covers.
Remember Joe Isuzu?
The car was never a sales success. Even a clever ad campaign with character “Joe Isuzu” (played by actor David Leisure), a pathological liar who made outrageous and over-inflated claims about Isuzu cars, didn’t boost sales.
Isuzu gave it one last shot by sending the car to “finishing school” for the 1988-’89 model years. Impulses went to Lotus (then owned by General Motors) for suspension tuning and the all-important “Handling by Lotus” badges. Underneath it all, the Impulse remained a GM T-car—this, from a company best known for making small, economical trucks like the Chevy LUV. The final year for the rear-drive Impulse was 1989, though it re-appeared in front-wheel-drive form one year later as Isuzu’s version of the Chevrolet-sold Geo Storm. It’s estimated that some 13,000 first- and second-generation models were built for worldwide consumption.
A schoolboy’s crush
Brad, now 42, looks back to when he was 18. “My first cars were two VW Beetles, a 1969 and a ’71. I thought they were the coolest. The plan was to fix one up with the help of my dad, who was a diesel mechanic, and sell the other. I sold one car and needed something to drive while I worked on the other Beetle. Our neighbor had a car that was sitting under a tarp for a long time and my dad said, ‘Why don’t you ask him what he’s doing with that thing?’ So, I did. It had drivetrain issues, but $500 later it was sitting in my parents’ garage.” Brad was now the owner of a five-speed 1985 Isuzu Impulse, black with brown interior. “I quickly fell in love with that little car and had lots of fun through high school and college,” he adds.
Despite doing lots of work to his Impulse, including a paint job and an engine rebuild, it fell victim to four years of salt and Pennsylvania winters where Brad grew up. “The rear end went out and it rusted badly… and I was going away to school,” he says. “It sat behind my dad’s shed for a few years until he finally said it was time to get rid of it. Even in 2000, it was tough to get parts and I could not find the rear end pieces I needed. The heater core leaked, damaging the interior, which also housed a few mice. I stripped it down to save everything I could and put the parts in bins. There they sat in my dad’s shed for 20 years,” Brad laments. “I always hoped I could find another one day.” Turns out, this was one of the best things he could have done.
The search for another Impulse begins
“About 2020, I thought it was time to start looking for an Impulse. I hadn’t seen one in nearly 20 years. I got on forums and Facebook groups, including isuzone.org, where I found lots of great folks who were eager to help,” Brad says. “I had just missed a Florida car that was exactly what I was looking for, and shortly thereafter, I landed on a pair in Tennessee, which were in about as good of shape as the one I parted out, so I bought them both. At a minimum, I thought they would be good for parts. I still have them,” he adds. “I was able to find a bunch of stuff on clearance, too, on rockauto.com: a brake master cylinder for $1.25 and brake calipers for $10! I replaced everything I could on my gold 1985 and got it running, but it still needs a lot of body and interior work.”
In 2020 Brad moved to Maryland and parked the two cars in his friend’s backyard in Pittsburgh. Lo and behold, the car he missed out on previously reappeared on Facebook: a silver 1984 five-speed, one-owner, Florida car with 67,000 miles.
The right Impulse comes along
“The car ended up with a dealer in Ohio, and I stayed in touch with the guy. He said he wanted to hold onto it. In the summer of 2021, I was visiting my parents in Pennsylvania, and Ohio is just over the border. I conveniently brought my truck and trailer, paid the guy a visit, made a deal, and came home with the car! It had great documentation, including a detailed mechanic’s log going back to 2000 that has proven invaluable when working on it,” Brad says.
It was clear that the Impulse had been well-maintained and cared for, especially on the exterior. “There was some paint fade on the bumpers and everything rubber needed to be replaced, but it was obviously garage-kept. It came with the original Guigiaro waffle wheels. I saved those and put on a spare set that I had refinished from one of my other cars. There was some surface rust at the base of the rear window at the wiper arm and some minor dents and dings. I’ve had it repaired and the bumper painted, but otherwise, it is an original car,” Brad says. “When I take it to shows, reactions are mixed. Most people don’t know what it is. Others say ‘Wow, I’ve heard about these, but I’ve never actually seen one!’ A small percentage of people know the car and the history and get excited about it.”
Keeping the Impulse on the road
The biggest challenge in owning the Isuzu has been parts. “If I had not had my stash of parts, I would have been in big trouble. Some years ago, I bought [and installed] a brand-new muffler off the internet. Virtually everything on the car that could leak, did. Everything has now been updated and replaced —radiator core, hoses, gaskets, ball joints, shocks, clutch slave cylinder, fuel line, vacuum lines, and rebuilt master cylinder—to make it a dependable driver. I’ve gotten some parts from Japan —it took four months until they arrived!” Brad says. “I found an ’83-’85 parts book and spent many hours researching part numbers and bought many parts online,” he adds. The only thing Brad has not been able to find: a heater core —a common problem among all his Impulses.
Among Brad’s arsenal is a 2009 six-speed Dodge Challenger SRT8, a 1995 Jeep Cherokee five-speed manual that’s been lifted 6.5 inches with mud terrain tires, and a truck and trailer to haul his toys. “I don’t discriminate. I like all kinds of cars,” he says laughing. What’s next? Brad has his eye on a Mitsubishi Starion. Regardless of what he’s driving, Brad Shawger is an Isuzu guy who became immediately hooked —thanks to an “Impulse” buy years ago.
