Introduce yourself here!

[kodiak]

You just purchased a new family member, congratulations!
Most of use had to fly and drive back, at least most of the next gen VXer’s did.

It was hard buying it without even hearing it run. They had alot of pics of it and it looked really clean. The dealer said it ran like a top

[OHVX'er]

I put a few pics up in the gallery. Maybe it was a members former truck. Would love to know a little history on it. Somebody put alot of extra's on her. Wouldn't let me show the interior pics, said I exceded my limit.
Can't wait for it to get here.

[kodiak]

Nice proton! Was that the one on eBay? Looks like its had some quality mods done to it.
I don’t know if I like the battery in the back thing but it does look sportier.

I put a few pics up in the gallery. Maybe it was a members former truck. Would love to know a little history on it. Somebody put alot of extra's on her. Wouldn't let me show the interior pics, said I exceded my limit.
Can't wait for it to get here.

[OHVX'er]

Yes it was the one on ebay. Couldn't find one local.

[Solitude]

Thats a very nice Proton, I was gonna go look at it the next time I was home (today).. congrats

[twistedsymphony]

Hello... I recently put a deposit on a 1999 Silver VX... I should be picking it up in a week or so (some minor repairs are getting done).

I believe I purchased it from a member here named Pete.

My Story:
The first time I saw a VX was at the mall in 1998. I was getting ready to buy my second car soon and I thought it looked AWESOME... unfortunately it was out of my budget and I ended up getting a new Cherokee Sport instead.

http://solid-orange.com/wp-content/u...9/jeepside.jpg

I owned the Cherokee for 3 years, then in 2002 the WRX had just been released I test drove one and I really liked it so I bought... I owned that car for 5 years.... it was very good to me, I dropped thousands into modifications and got into motorsports as well (Auto-X, TSD Rallys, etc.)

http://solid-orange.com/wp-content/u.../08/front2.jpg

After graduating college I decided that I really wanted a RWD sports car but I also needed a 4x4 for the winter months (up here in NH). I was enamored with lifted Toyotas so I bought a lifted 94 pickup and some time later I sold the WRX, after which I began my hunt for my light RWD car... and ended up buying TWO Nissan 240SXs (thats a long story for another day).

http://solid-orange.com/wp-content/u.../09/front1.jpg

After owning the black pickup for nearly a year (I bought it in 06) it started having engine problems, I also needed some money at the time, so with a very heavy heart I sold my pickup and financed a white 99 Tacoma last fall. It wasn't the same but it was a good little truck.

http://solid-orange.com/wp-content/u...coma_front.jpg

Then a couple of months ago a co-worker alerted me to Toyota's frame rust "program". If you're not familiar with this, apparently Toyota is buying back 95-00 Tacomas that have dangerous frame damage due to rust. So I brought my truck in and they gave me an offer I couldn't refuse. it would not only pay off my loan but give me enough to bank-roll a new truck outright.

I started looking at older Toyotas again, but the market was really crummy, lots of "project" vehicles but nothing as nice as the trucks I had owned in the past.

My re-introduction to the Vehicross
Then I saw a listing for Vehicross near me (~3hour drive) I remembered the one from the mall years ago and how cool I thought it was so I started doing research... I found this forum read through the Wikipedia article etc. I was getting really excited and the one for sale was a reasonable price as well. I called the owner and it sounded nice... BUT I still didn't have my check from Toyota so I had no money to buy it. Before I knew it the VX had dissappeared. I decided to stop teasing myself and just NOT LOOK for anything until I had money to buy (this was for a winter vehicle anyway so I was in no rush).

After getting my check from Toyota the market seemed bleak, all of the 94 and older Toyota pickups were picked over, and all of the 01 and newer Tacomas were going for big money. I test drove another Cherokee but I just didn't have any love for it... I considered a Nissan pickup but couldn't find any that weren't just rotted to garbage.

I eventually just threw a wanted ad up on Craigslist with the features I was looking for and some suggestions for vehicles I'd consider... I chuckled to myself when I added "Isuzu Vehicross" to the list of cars I would like to buy.

I had never driven or even sat in a VX before so I wasn't about to head across the country to buy a vehicle that I wasn't even sure that I'd actually like, no matter how good it looked on paper, I had pretty much abandoned the idea of owning one.

A stroke of luck
About 3 weeks later I get an email from Pete in response to my CL ad, he has a VX for sale and he's only an hours drive away. I fire off some questions and ask for pictures, get the VIN and everything looks great. I make an appointment to go test drive it that weekend.

I arrive and see it's kind of dirty and parked under a tree, the cladding is a bit faded , and the headlights are a little cloudy, but there isn't a spot of rust on the body, and the interior is in fantastic shape as well, a little rust on the underside and on a few parts in the engine bay but definitly good shape overall. A true diamond in the rough. It's got no plates and the state inspection sticker is from 2006 but even still the engine fired up immediately as if the thing was still warm.

I got in it and I felt right at home... the location of the controls the spacing between the door and the wheel, every thing just felt perfect... I took it down the road and less than a mile I knew I HAD TO HAVE IT... it just clicked... it was exactly what I wanted in nearly every way possible (I would have liked a 5 speed but I can live without it, might make an interesting conversion project next summer)

The brakes were a bit squishy and the muffler had a leak. Pete already had brake parts and said he was going to fix that stuff anyway so I made him an offer that included getting those things fixed gave him a deposit and now I'm anxiously awaiting picking it up.

My 1995 240sx summer sports car:
http://solid-orange.com/wp-content/u.../240sx_top.jpg

My new 1999 winter truck*:
http://solid-orange.com/wp-content/u...08/07/vx-7.jpg

*with the occasional off-road/camping excursion

[kodiak]

Nice, Welcome! You have an excellent taste in vehicles. The Cherokee is one of the best off road SUVs you can buy. They even have a class for it in the Baja 500. WRX, the car that was brought to the US because of the Playstation2 GT3 game. Very cool!

[nfpgasmask]

I took it down the road and less than a mile I knew I HAD TO HAVE IT... it just clicked... it was exactly what I wanted

I love hearing that. I felt exactly the same way. As soon as I sat down and took off it was a done deal. There were no other vehicles even being considered at that point. I had to have a VX.

Bart

[Girlybot]

I became obsessed with getting a VX around 2001; any time I saw them I thought, that little Japanese cockpit is exactly what a tiny girl like me needs. But god, who could afford to buy one new? Not me. Once they stopped making them and I was starting to see them show up for under 30 grand online, I patiently bided my time, and after a year of searching I finally found one that I could afford in early 2003. Literally as soon as the guy opened up the door and I smelled the interior and ran my hand over the seats I teared up. I had to have it.

Needless to say, I've had it ever since then and loved every minute of it. Whenever I see another one driving around town, I get so excited. It's like seeing a rare bird or a secret hand signal, you know? I realize that there are a lot of problems with VX's just from personal experience (that window! the key sticking in the ignition!), but then again, when it's your baby and you love it that means it's unconditional, flaws and all, right?

I don't know what I will do when mine finally dies on me. I've got 116k miles on it now, and when I get in the car, I do this little ritual where I pet the steering wheel and tell it how much I love it... lol I know, silly, but still.

I try not to gun it as much these days (but who hasn't let her rip on the highway, especially passing some guy in the slow lane?) but my ex drove it really hard and I'm trying to make it last as long as possible.

I'd give anything for Isuzu to make a new, improved version, but it won't happen. The closest thing I've seen is I believe the RX-7 has similar interior?

My friends call it the Big Shoe, because it looks like my favorite pair of ankle boots. I still think of my VX as my boyfriend, though. He's always there for me.

[twistedsymphony]

as long as you don't wreck it.. you can always rebuild it

The one I just bought has 114K on it (brand newish transmission and TOD though) and if it only lasts another 20-30K that's fine by me... a good excuse to swap in a better engine... an LS1 with a T-56 6-speed would be awesome (more power and better fuel economy too)...

I like taking a car and making it into something better than when I started.

Especially with rare cars like this you rebuild one that someone else left for dead and you feel like you're giving the breed a new lease on life and keeping them from going extinct.

I've got this winter blocked out to do an engine transplant on my 240sx but I think maybe next summer I'll tear apart the VX piece by piece and strip and refinish everything

[tom4bren]

Sounds like the addiction has reached epidemic proportions. Welcome newbies, we're looking forward to watching your mods & experiences.

Looky at me talkin like an old timer (I've only had mine for 1 1/2 years).

[LittleBeast]

The closest thing I've seen is I believe the RX-7 has similar interior?

Yes, my Mazda RX-8 has a two tone interior that looks as close to the VX interior as you can get in a car. Funny though the RX-8 is easier to get people into the back seat than the VX!!!!!

[SYNTHETICDARKNESS]

DON'T REALLY KNOW HOW TO TALK ABOUT MYSELF, BUT HERE I GO. I FIRST SEEN THE VX DOWN AROUND MY HOME TOWN AND WAS SO AMAZED BY THE LOOKS AND WE COULD NOT FIGURE OUT WHAT IT WAS. MY SCOOBY SVX TOOK A DUMP FOR THE SECOND TIME AND WE DECIDED TO GO LOOK FOR CARS AND THE FIRST LOT WE WENT TO THERE SHE WAS, SO WE TOOK HER FOR A TEST DRIVE AND FELL IN LOVE AND BOUGHT HER FOR ABOUT 7,500 AND HAD I BELIEVE ABOUT 108,000 AND NO FLAWS AT ALL. WELL I THINK THIS IS GOOD FOR NOW.

[don moore]

welcome to the world of wonder........VX WONDER

[twistedsymphony]

Those SVXs are pretty cool and pretty rare (only ~14K made IIRC)

It seems you have good taste in rare vehicles