Automotive

For $13,500, This 1999 Isuzu VehiCROSS Could Let You Pretend You’re Robert Downey Jr… Or Ozzy Osbourne


Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Isuzu is a special edition of a car that itself once was considered pretty special. Let’s decide if its price has you thinking, well isn’t that special.

France has made some wonderful cars over the years, and may still do for all I know. You see, we haven’t been able to sample the Gallic nation’s newest roadables for some time now, as the one thing that French car companies haven’t been able to make is a go of it here in the United States.

Lucky for us we still have cars around like yesterday’s 1988 Peugeot 505 SW Estate. That car rocked a turbo four and an immense wheelbase best measured in Gérard Depardieu noses. Sadly for its seller, it also came with a price tag that seemed a little too long after the comma, as 50.12% of you dunned it with a Crack Pipe loss. Ooh, so close.

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Of course, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and so we’re now moving on to see if today’s car can do better. And what better car to try than one that says I AM IRONMAN?


It’s interesting to think that different generations will likely have different impressions when one says Ironman. If you’re over a certain age the name probably makes you think of the dirge-metal asphalt-spreader of a song by that title, originally by Black Sabbath.

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If you’re far younger, or maybe a comic book geek—oops, sorry comic book geeks: graphic novel fan—then you probably picture the Marvel superhero famously portrayed by Robert Downey Jr in pretty much every loud movie from the past decade.

Somewhere in between those extremes are those throwing a physical fit because they consider the Ironman exclusively to be a grueling long distance triathlon.


Today’s 1999 Isuzu VehiCROSS is named for that last iteration of the Ironman name, and is s special edition of the rarer-than-poultry-pearly-whites trucklet.

The VehiCROSS was of course a Rodeo two door that was re-bodied to look like something out of Space 1999 or Ark II. The organic and very plastic fendery design came out of Isuzu’s Brussels-based design studio and was created by an international team of exterior and interior designers.

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Powering the VehiCROSS is Isuzu’s 215-horse 3.5-litre DOHC V6, while backing that up is an Aisin four-speed automatic and of course full-time all-wheel drive.


The Ironman edition received unique remote reservoir monotone shocks as well as Victory White paint, a hood insert decal, hatch and side decals, a Yakima roof rack, embroidered seats and floor mats, and Sony Xplod stereo speakers.

This one only has 111,000 miles on the clock, and looks—from the somewhat grainy pics at least—to be in decent shape. The seller claims that only 420 of these came to the U.S. in ’99 but I think that’s just the color and hence the Ironman edition will be even rarer.


In fact, this is an uber-rare edition of an already rare truck. Because of that, buying it demands a large number of things that are typically rare—well, in my wallet at least—which are dollars. That asking price is $13,500 and it’s now time for you all to weigh in on whether this truck seems worth that kind of cash.

What’s your take on this Ironman and that $13,500 price? Does that make you want to run, bike and swim to buy it as fast as you can? Or, is this one Ironman that’s not going to save the day?

You decide!

San Diego Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to jlantzy for the hookup!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your Kinja handle.

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