Doylestown Auto Repair

Junkyard Gem: 1986 Isuzu I-Mark Hatchback

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Thanks to the long global reach of The General’s tentacles, Americans looking for economy cars at GM

dealerships

during the middle 1980s could buy

Suzukis

(the

Chevrolet Sprint

),

Opels

(the

Chevrolet Chevette

),

Daewoos

(the

Pontiac LeMans

), and

Isuzus

(the

Chevrolet Spectrum

). Just as

Mitsubishi

sold Mirages in the United States while

Chrysler

continued to sell the

Mirage’s

Colt sibling, Isuzu moved in with the new front-wheel-drive I-Mark to compete with its Spectrum twin. These cars weren’t big sellers and they didn’t last very long on the road, but I managed to find this ‘

86

in a Denver, Colorado, self-service wrecking yard.

Junked 1986 Isuzu I-Mark

The I-Mark was known as the Gemini in its Japanese homeland and in Europe;

the front-wheel-drive second-generation Gemini

debuted in 1985.

Junked 1986 Isuzu I-Mark

This one didn’t make it to 150,000 miles, unlike most of its

Honda

,

Toyota

, and

Nissan

competitors, but it was pretty cheap when new. The hatchback listed at $7,149 in 1986, dismayingly more than the stripped-down ’86

Civic

1.3 hatchback ($5,479) but closer to the similarly equipped Civic DX hatchback ($6,699). If you were really brave that year, you could have purchased a new

Hyundai

Excel for a mere $4,995.

Junked 1986 Isuzu I-Mark

This is the base engine, a 1.5-liter four rated at 70 horsepower. Believe it or not, an

I-Mark Turbo

was available a year later, and it boasted 110 horses.

Junked 1986 Isuzu I-Mark

My favorite thing about 1980s Isuzus is the way the HVAC controls are labeled. You can choose between “wind in your long, feathered hair” and “wind on your high-heeled disco boots” settings here.

Junked 1986 Isuzu I-Mark

This car is in very nice shape for a dated econo-commuter from a

long-departed brand

, considering that it survived for a good 20 years while being worth approximately scrap value.

For the very strong owners of decade-old

Chevy

Vegas, the Isuzu I-Mark seemed like a wise choice.

Some of the first appearances of the soon-to-be-legendary

Joe Isuzu

were in I-Mark ads. Priced at only $9!

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