The Isuzu Hombre was a compact pickup truck that Isuzu sold in North America from 1996 to 2000. It was a rebadged Chevrolet S-10, the reverse of the arrangement that had earlier given General Motors the Isuzu-built Chevrolet LUV, and it was offered only in North America.
Isuzu Hombre at a glance
| Maker | Isuzu, built by General Motors |
|---|---|
| Production | 1996–2000 |
| Class | compact pickup |
| Based on | Chevrolet S-10 |
| Market | North America only |
| Predecessor in the US | Isuzu Pickup (Faster) |
| Replaced by | Isuzu i-Series, from 2004 |
| Body | regular and extended cab pickup |
The Hombre is described only briefly in the English Wikipedia article on the Chevrolet S-10, so this page is shorter than usual and based on one source.
History of the Isuzu Hombre
A badge in the other direction
When General Motors launched its own compact pickup in 1981, it had first sold the Isuzu KB as the Chevrolet LUV, but the 25 per cent chicken tax on imported light trucks made that arrangement expensive. GM therefore built the S-10 at home, using the 1.9-litre Isuzu four-cylinder as its base engine and Isuzu diesel and petrol fours in later years. By the mid-1990s the traffic had reversed: Isuzu had no American-built compact pickup of its own, and from 1996 it sold the S-10 as the Isuzu Hombre.
What the Hombre was
The Hombre was the Chevrolet S-10 with Isuzu badges, sold through Isuzu dealers in the United States and Canada between 1996 and 2000. Chevrolet and GMC versions of the same truck differed only in grille, tailgate and insignia, and the S-series also came as the S-10 Blazer and GMC Jimmy sport utility vehicles, though those were never sold as Isuzus.
After the Hombre
The S-series was replaced in North America in 2004 by the Chevrolet Colorado, the GMC Canyon and the Isuzu i-Series, which was itself a rebadged Colorado. By then Isuzu’s American passenger range was shrinking fast: the Hombre, the Rodeo, the Trooper and the Axiom all disappeared within a decade.
Design and features
- Badge-engineered: a Chevrolet S-10 with Isuzu badges and trim.
- North America only: never offered in Japan or Europe.
- Compact size: part of GM’s S-series, the first domestic compact pickup of the big three.
Isuzu Hombre versions
- Hombre (1996–2000): regular and extended cab versions of the S-10.
The Hombre followed the Faster and Rodeo in the American range and was replaced by the i-Series. More models are in the Isuzu collection.
Video: 1993 chevy S-10 vs. 1998 Isuzu Hombre
Video by Bryce Kraft on YouTube.
Sources
- Chevrolet S-10, English Wikipedia: the Hombre as a rebadged S-10, S-series history
