Introduce yourself here!

[ZONER ZOID]

I finally got a VX ! The first time I saw it, I was in love. It was a concept vehicle at the '96 (I think) Phoenix Auto Show. But unlike other really cool, futuristic looking concepts I fell in love with, like the Ford Splash concept of '93 (no, not the little truck they stuck the name on a few years later) they were actually going to make this one!!! I HAD TO HAVE ONE! Unfortunatly, by the time they came out, my business, how should I say, stunk!! I came within 5 months of getting the last new 2001 in Arizona, and the price was only $23,800;eekp; Oh well, thats life. I finally found a mistreated 4 year old ('99) last month, owned buy a numbskull who's 3 year lease had run out, and I got it for a song. I am fixing him up slowly on a tight budget, But boy I love this beast! It handles like a sports car on road, and off road its like a Baja on steroids! (no, not that new Subaru truck thing) My License plate is " ZOID " I noticed a few of you have zoid in small caps. Is that your Lic. Plt. name also! I'm ZONER, and I hope to go on some trips with you other Arizonan's in the future. P.S. My Zoids bottom teeth just came in! If you see us on the road, give us a growl. Don't worry, my Zoid only bites tires off of lower off-road life forms. BCNU





>>> fixed the tail end of your post... WSG

BTW...'zoid is just a ranking stage here in VX land.. The more posts you have, you end up with a different title.

[SABR2TH]

My wife, Beth, and I had seen the VehiCROSS sometime back and had been blown away by it all the way around. There is just nothing else like it. She has been hankerin' for an SUV for some time now and this was our first pick, although we just didn't see it as possible or feasible. My car at the time ('87 Celica GT-S w/246,000 miles) was the oldest so I was the next up for a buy and a low mpg SUV couldn't be our first choice. Being a longtime Toyota/TRD enthusiast, I picked a '01 Celica GT-S w/Action Package (I'm big on loyalty) as my next and our primary car (by the by, a car I absolutely love, think is a thrill to drive, don't regret buying, and am probably overprotective of). We still salivated over the VX but just didn't see how we could do it. When we found out the VX was out of production, we were more than saddened. Beth was looking at possibly a 4-Runner, the Volvo SUV (used), or even, if she decided to go with just a car, a BMW 325 as the vehicle for her a few years down the road. This tells you what kind of class the VX beats out to us. This past Friday night as we headed up to East TN (Smoky MTN Area) to visit my family, our hearts skipped a beat as we saw a silver VX sitting on the lot of a used car dealer here in Huntsville. Being a loan officer at a local credit union, she knows the lots to trust and Russell's was one of them. We made a U-ey and checked it out. Other than worn Pirelli Scorpions, it was in great shape. She called on Saturday, got them down in price (which was definitely a great buy judging by NADA, Blue Book, and Internet sales) and Monday morning I showed up to test drive it and have it checked out by a friend of mine who is a mechanic. I loved it right from the start. It drives like a sport coupe with an attitude and I know of what I speak. As one example, her Cousin's X-Terra handles like a heavy on the Utility SUV comparatively (feels like its always about to tip over on corners, for one). The VX is heavy on the Sport and far beyond competent (from what I've read from you folks here) in the Utility. The VX drives (acceleration, speed, and handling) more like my Celica than any of the Jeeps, trucks, or SUV's I've driven throughout my life. After checking it out on the internet (here being one of my primary sites), I found no bad reviews of it and an ownership pool that makes up an exclusive, vociferously loyal club that vehemently loves this unique ride. This really is a concept car that delivers more than looks. The owners love its performance and reliability along with its whiplash looks. Needless to say, I bought it. My wife is thrilled as am I. Being able to get this and seeing her so happy has been an immeasurable blessing. This is the vehicle we would have chosen over all others, but thought that by the time we were in the market to buy a new vehicle, it would be long gone. I just love watching everyone else watch it. When we went to pick it up on the lot (I had closed the deal, had the keys, and the dealership was closed), two sets of people came up asking if we had bought it already just in the five minutes it took me to back it out of where they had it and get my wife set up in it. This machine gets attention! Oh, and as far as my handle here, when I first saw the VX, the front end struck me as being very aggressive and animalistic. My first thought was that it looked snake-like, like a viper or cobra, but I also realized that the snake thing and cars has too many highly visible links (oh, say, the Dodge Viper, and Mustang Cobra) already. But a snake just didn't quite fit for the VX anyway, and I came across something that brought it into focus for me when looking at the VX's front end - a SabreTooth Tiger. Hence I came up with SABR2TH for our personalized tag. And SABR2TH sure looks good sitting next to MIDKNYT, my dark blue Celica. They are both going to be well taken care of members of the family. As you may have noticed, once I get started I'm quite long winded. My apologies. Really, I'm basically pretty quiet, so don't worry, I won't be cluttering up the forums very much. Just had to share my enthusiasm and you did ask for our story. Have a great day all,

Mark

[Todd Adams]

I purchased my first Isuzu (a new Amigo) in 1992. My wife and I had owned many 4x4’s and had used them to explore southern Utah since the ‘70’s. I bought the Amigo at the time since it had all the necessary requirements like 4.56 to 1 gears, 31” tires stock, short wheel base etc. for the type of wheeling we did. I passed on the Jeep Wrangler since I have always been a non conformist.

When I saw the photos of the prototype Vehicross I was intrigued. When they came out I knew I had to have one. The first one I looked at had a dealer added value tag on it putting the price over 40K! I waited and waited. You know how people either love or hate the looks, well my wife Linda hates the looks so that was another obstacle I had to overcome.

Well I finally made a killer deal on a new VX and Linda “got used to the looks”. I have never regretted the purchase although some people don’t take the vehicle or me seriously until they come on a trail ride.

I am one of the founders of Moab ‘ZuZoo. Linda and I (she owns and drives a Jeep) lead trails during the largest 4x4event in the world, the Moab Easter Jeep Safari. I am President of the Utah 4-Wheel Drive Association and a Marshal at UROC ( www.uroc4x4.com ) as such you can imagine the VX has not remained stock.

Some of the modifications that are now on the VX include 33” BFG’s, hidden winch, 4” lift, ARB locker in the front with the rear coming soon.

Hope to see many of you on the VX only run in Moab.

Todd

[Andrey]

Hi,

I saw VX first in 97-98 Autoshow in Boston - they were saying it is a prototype and nobody knew if it will see the light of manufacturing line... but it did ! Boy, was I happy to get my hands on '99 Ironman in December '00. I love my car and take good care of it. Oil changes every 2,500 K miles (Semi-senthetic Qaker State 4x4), carwashes and polishing etc....
I hope to install sunroof and new wider and quiter tieres, but will have to ask you guyes/gals for advice.

Thanx !

[VXciter]

Hey all,

I'm the proud new owner of a 1999 Astral Silver VX, just picked it up today. Myself and my wife were in the market for an SUV as my corvette was getting to be impractical. We drove a few different SUV's and wern't really sold on them... then one day passing a Best Buy I saw a yellow VX pulling out, said to myself there is a nice SUV that I haven't looked into yet. Went on the internet, found a local Isuzu dealer that had a few and I walked out with this one.

So far I'm very impressed with it... Could use a little more ummph from a dead stop, but even that isn't anything to complain about.

I'll be posting soon.. I don't have an owners manual yet on the car and I'm wonder the ins and outs on the 4 WD system... and is synthetic motor oil ok to run in them.

Cya!

Jim

[orionblues]

Hey all. I'm Kevin, and just bought a '99 Silver VX. Saw it first about a year ago, and when it was time to buy a car, was looking for it first. Only owned one other car - a '90 Buick Century. At first, only found a 01 VX which was quickly bought, so almost settled for a Xterra. Wasn't impressed by all the negatives about it I saw on the web, so I kept looking, and behold! Found a '99. I wanted to be an automotive designer, even went to Center for Creative studies in Detroit to pursue automotive design degree, but bills came a knockin, so I settled for retail. But when I had the money, and wanted the most distinctive, the most aggresive car on the road today, could only think of the VX. Most other SUV's look like boats, are too boring, etc. Waiting for delivery tomorrow, can't wait to take it out. Planning to buy a camera I saw in the Sharper Image catalog, that has a small separate screen for the rear visibility problem (you try parallel parking that thing in a major city!). Love the Site!

Orionblues

[Spike]

- After flying from Philadelphia to Milwaukee
(via Atlanta - same departure and arrival times of a flight stopping in Chicago for almost $200 less) ...

- Renting a car and driving to Green Bay to make the transaction
(and having my friend drive that back to Milwaukee) ...

- I am now the happy owner of a 2000 IronMan

- We spent some time in Chicago on our way home to Philadelphia.

Stopped and ate at Demon Dogs, a 20 yr old establishment that is getting leveled in a few months due to city planning. It is owned and operate by the band manager for 'Chicago' There are pictures, instruments, gold and platium records and anything else you can think of plastered on the walls. They also have an endless loop of Chicago tunes playing over the sound system.

We survived being at the bottom of a 9 car pile up without a scratch (the amusing photo to be posted in the gallery in the near future)

Then I drove the VX into the garage inside the John Hancock tower - That would have been a great sight from the street since you go up a corkscrew ramp and then enter the side of the building on the 6th floor. Too bad I couldn't take it up to the top floor with me! That would have been one great photo as well!

- Then we stopped at the original Quaker Steak & Lube location in Sharon, PA (just east of the Ohio border)

They make the best wings I've ever had. (and are officially rated as one of the top 3 wing establishments in the US)
I have been craving them since I went to one of their other sites in Pittsburgh a couple yrs ago while on a business trip.

It was a 3 day blast of a trip.

Cant beat:
Buying a car that I had wanted to test drive since I first saw one on the 'land speed' TV commercial ...
Visiting some really unique landmarks in a city that has a strong pulse ...
... and then, of course, there are those wings!



Hope to see some of you out on the road!!!

Pat

[Larry]

I wanted one when they first came out but the price was way to high. Since then I almost missed the show.
I was able to compair a stock Ironman against my homebuilt Samurai with a V-6 with C-4 automatic, lockers both axles, 35 tires. We started at the bottom of a steep grade with loose gravel and hardpack. I slipped and spun most of the way to top.
The V Cross never spun a tire and went to the top like it was flat!
I have been looking for a year for the right one. Just found it today in Georgia, And it is being shipped to San Diego on Monday.
It has 6,400 miles and is Maroon in color with all black interior.
Now I have a 1989 Wrangler for sale. I paid to much at $20,500 which includes shipping here. I am a very happy owner.

[rx7tt95]

Well, let's see...I'm a photojournalist and business owner and thus pretty hard on cars due to the types of assignments and events I cover. I'm a sports car guy hands down. My current steed is a Viper eating (and pretty much anything else for that matter) third gen RX7. 2600lbs. and almost 500 rear wheel hp on pump gas. Although it makes a fine daily driver, it's forte' is pavement only and of course, it's an awesome track tool. I live in "God's waiting room", ie. Florida and I'm always nervous about being taken out by a Licoln Town Car (we sell more here than anywhere else in the world). When the VX came out, I had my eye on them but it wasn't until about a year and a half later that the opportunity presented itself.

I found an extremely low mileage 99 Ebony that had never been titled, important if you want the factory warranty. I managed to haggle them down about $2K as the dealer had purchased it, hoping to speculate on it's rarity. Needless to say that fell through and I picked it up at a decent price.

I was attracted to it's tank-like construction, body cladding, hey! look at me looks, and of course, it's performance. The fact that I could head down a dirt trail chasing brush fires or whatever else comes my way was a big pull. Remote resovoir front shocks, bike rack, Ironman mats, competent handling, it was all great. The warranty was also attractive as photojournalists are fairly hard on cars. I spent a lot of time lurking on the VX BBS gathering info about the car, it's quirks, strengths, and weaknesses. I'm a car guy and I have no problem putting up with a few "issues". I'm definitely not Joe-consumer and have always liked vehicles offering something a bit different. The first week we had the VX, someone rear-ended us in traffic. Getting out, the offending car had a caved-in hood and front grille in pieces. Not a scratch on the VX.

I've been away from the VX community for about a year, having participated in the old BBS sporadically. I have big plans over the next few months to modify my VX. It often takes a back seat to the RX7 but it's time has come so to speak. My only modification to date is an Injen intake.

Anyway, that's about it! This is a great resource and I'm very glad to have found it and the members who contribute here.

[Heraclid]

Hello everyone! I'm in Jacksonville, FL... anyone else nearby? I just traded in my 1995 Dodge Avenger ES and brought home a 1999 VehiCROSS in excellent shape and am very excited about it. It is Astral silver, and I immediately shined up the cladding with Son of a Gun and when I swung by the dealer the next day they clearly wished they'd used the right stuff on it because it made it look so much better. Even the hood insert came along nicely after two applications. I've had a passion for these things ever since I sat in one at a local car show several years ago. This is a dream come true! I really look forward to learning from everyone here and making new friends. Right now I'm gearing up to keep this thing in great shape. Got a little car vac, replaced the stock mats with some nice deep-dish rubber ones, put a steering wheel cover and seat covers in to help protect the leather in everyday driving. Also griping at the wife to get her stuff organized in the garage because this baby is gonna be garaged and not sit out and bake. :-) No eating or drinking allowed in it either. BTW, how easy is it to get a new orange plastic front turn signal cover? That's one little thing I do need to fix - it's cracked around the screws and loose on one side. Guess I'll call up an Isuzu dealer and find out - got it from a used car lot associated with a Lexus/Mercedes/Porsche dealership, as someone traded it in on a new Porsche.

>>> Move ya into this thread... WELCOME! WSG

[PBatt]

I first saw the VX while helping my wife’s cousin shop for a car. We were wondering around the dealership when I saw it. I thought it was wild. I thought maybe it wasn't for sale (a race car they brought in to look cool or something). Low and behold it had a price tag. At the time I was still driving my race truck and not in the market.

Two years later, I'm selling the truck and I had completely forgotten about the VX. I go back to "dealership row" and I see a white one (same color as my truck)! I guess it was meant to be.

I had come up with a wish list for my new vehicle-automatic, leather interior, FAST, 4 or all wheel drive, two doors and unique (people had been photographing my truck for years and there were knock offs everywhere!).

Low and behold the VX had everything I wanted.

I got about sixty thousand miles and no real problems to speak of!

[Yellow Patriot]

Hello,
I don't seem to know how to get started on your site. I signed in yesterday and thought that I posted a thread as a new comer, but I'm not sure what happened.
I have been viewing your site for about a year, I've had my proton VX for two years. It sure is a fun little car. It is a 2001 model that was bought to replace the wife's car but she didn't like all the attention it brings. So she's back to her T & C minivan
I was driving an older corvette (another fun car) but had to park it to use the new car. My oldest daughter has me tuning the Vette and maybe a paint job so she can drive it to school, UTEP student. She presently has a Wrangler Sahara. My younger daughter says that the VX will be her first car, she's ten going on sixteen. I don't agree with her because I really like my VX.
I'm a Product engineer on the Patriot Missile system at Ft. Bliss, Texas. Retired Army from Army Air Defense. I still consider FLA. my home, Winter Park. Will return upon my next retirement, can't wait.

[V-Twin hiCROSS]

Hello all,
I finally bought my VehiCross!! I have been searching for one for the past six months, but just hadn't found the perfect one. It is a 2000 Dragon Green beast. It has 24K miles and is in perfect condition. I knew the first time I drove one that I needed to have one. After much research, I decided it was the the effort to find an '00 or '01 because of the 18" rims and climate control. After 3 weeks of haggling with the dealer, she is mine. It took a little convincing for my wife, but she caved as soon as she rode in it. Now, she keeps asking when she is going to get to drive it for a day. Not yet Baby, maybe next month. Anyway, thanks for this extensive database of VX information, it made my searching much easier.
Neal

[gregory46]

Hi ! I'm New.
Ha Ha Ha.
I Bought My 1999 VX about 2years ago, then finally I joined this web-site.

[DigitalFrog]

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