When it comes to modern production cars and trucks, the fuel injection versus carburetor debate has long been settled, with electronically controlled fuel injection the industry standard for American-market vehicles for decades now. While many old-school car enthusiasts still enjoy the simplicity of carburetors, the auto industry has long since considered carburetors antiquated technology. So today, when people imagine a car or truck with a carbureted engine, they probably picture a ’50s atomic-age classic, a ’60s muscle car, or maybe a work truck from the 1970s.
The truth, however, is that carburetors stuck around for longer than you may think. Some manufacturers continued shipping carbureted engines well after electronic fuel injection became the norm — especially on their smaller, cheaper cars and trucks. So what, then, was the last carbureted pickup truck sold in America? Despite what some might expect, ot wasn’t a Ford, a Chevrolet, or even a Toyota. Instead, it was an Isuzu.
By the early 1990s, carburetors had all but disappeared from the American auto market. However, the inexpensive Isuzu Pickup, which competed against the likes of the Ford Ranger and Chevrolet S-10, used a carbureted engine through the 1994 model year, officially making it the last new carbureted vehicle sold in America.
The final years of the carburetor
We may commonly associate carburetors with older classics from the ’50s and ’60s, but carbs were still commonplace on many cars through the late 1980s. For example, buyers of the American 1986 Honda Civic had to spring for the “sport-injected” Civic Si for fuel injection. Otherwise, the Civic still had a carbureted engine. However, by the 1990s, the industry-wide phase-out of carbs in favor of fuel injection was nearly complete.
By that point, the performance, fuel efficiency, and reliability benefits of electronic fuel injection over carburetors had been proven. That reality, along with more stringent emissions laws and the introduction of the OBD II standard across the industry, would prove to be the final nail in the coffin for carbureted engines during the first few years of the ’90s.
The Subaru Justy and the Jeep Grand Wagoneer SUV were among the American-market vehicles that kept their carburetors longer than most, but the Isuzu Pickup outlasted both, sticking with a 2.3-liter carbureted four-cylinder engine in its base-model version through 1994. Also outdated by the standards of the mid-1990s was the four-pot’s paltry 96-hp rating, though buyers could upgrade to a larger 2.6-liter four-cylinder or a 3.1-liter V6. Both of these made 120 hp and had fuel injection as standard.
The strange history of Isuzu pickup trucks in America
Beyond the unique footnote of being the last carbureted vehicle sold in the U.S., Isuzu trucks had an interesting history in America. The brand was often overlooked in the small pickup market compared to larger Japanese automakers like Toyota, Nissan, and even Mazda.
In the U.S., Isuzu had a close relationship with General Motors, which resulted in products like the Isuzu-built Chevy LUV pickup of the 1970s. In 1996, not long after Isuzu retired its last carbureted model, Isuzu replaced its own pickup with a badge-engineered version of the Chevy S-10 called the Isuzu Hombre. Similarly, the Isuzu i-Series pickup from the 2000s was simply a rebadged version of the Chevy Colorado. Finally, in 2008, declining sales and economic turbulence prompted Isuzu to announce that it was leaving the U.S. auto market completely, though its commercial vehicle sales would continue.
While Isuzu-branded pickups have all but disappeared from American roads these days, the company still sells a popular truck called the D-Max in international markets. Don’t expect to find any carburetors under the hood of those turbodiesel-powered modern pickups, however.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
