Isuzu History: 2000

The commencement of a new century was also the start of a brand-new millennium and Isuzu marked these new beginnings in Australia with a change in leadership, as the 4th IAL President and Managing Director, Shinichi Hoshino, took the reins in June 2000. Mr Hoshino, who began his career with Isuzu Motors Japan in 1969, brought a wealth of experience in light commercial product engineering, development and marketing to then role and said it was ‘fantastic’ to come to a country where Isuzu was already the number one truck brand. There were some significant changes throughout the year and although the light commercial vehicle component of the business transferred back to Holden, IAL made their intent within the heavy-duty space clear with the release of the GIGA EXY—a fully-sized prime mover that was customized to withstand the unique Australian operating conditions. With Isuzu’s ongoing promise for reliability, it’s heartening to look back and note there are still many GIGA EXYs in active service—many with more than one million kilometres on the odometer. Isuzu’s other key product releases in that year included FVR, FTR and high-powered FRRs. The quality of the engine was at the core of the popularity of these models. The 6HE1-TC engine that was used in FVR, FTR and high-powered FRRs was a very robust engine, and when matched with a 7-speed transmission, produced around 230 HP (169kW). For Isuzu’s loyal customers, it was a definite winner—just another way that Isuzu’s commitment to keep Australian industry moving across such a vast country was at the forefront of the trucking brand’s faultless image. [gallery columns="2" size="large" link="none" ids="eyJ1cmwiOiJcL3dwLWNvbnRlbnRcL3VwbG9hZHNcL0ZWWS1SZWQtMjEwMHgyMDIzLTc2OTk2ZWZiLTVlMjgtNDE0MS04NmU4LTA3OWUzNzVkMjUwNy5qcGciLCJ0aXRsZSI6IkZWWS1SZWQtMjEwMHgyMDIzLTc2OTk2ZWZiLTVlMjgtNDE0MS04NmU4LTA3OWUzNzVkMjUwNyIsImNhcHRpb24iOiIiLCJhbHQiOiIiLCJkZXNjcmlwdGlvbiI6IiJ9,eyJ1cmwiOiJcL3dwLWNvbnRlbnRcL3VwbG9hZHNcL0ZWWS0yMTAweDE1OTctOWE0MmM3YWMtY2M0Mi00MDU1LWI2NmMtMDZkNWE1MWE5ZmI1LmpwZyIsInRpdGxlIjoiRlZZLTIxMDB4MTU5Ny05YTQyYzdhYy1jYzQyLTQwNTUtYjY2Yy0wNmQ1YTUxYTlmYjUiLCJjYXB0aW9uIjoiIiwiYWx0IjoiIiwiZGVzY3JpcHRpb24iOiIifQ=="]

In this year

• Business owners and retailers across Australia dealt with the transmission from sales tax to the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) from July 1.
• In sporting news, Sydney was the host to the Olympic Games to worldwide acclaim, with the great Catherine Freeman stealing the world show to win gold in a stirring 400m performance that genuinely stopped a nation.