No Trooper: Bedford
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RUMOURS that right-handdrive versions of Isuzu's 4x4 Trooper vehicle will be sold in the UK badged as a Bedford have been strongly denied by Bedford.
Produced in Japan at the Isuzu plant in which the General Motors Overseas Commercial Vehicle Corporation, Bedford's parent company, has a 34 per cent equity stake, the fourwheel-drive Trooper made its European debut at Geneva in 1982 and is produced in long and short-wheelbase versions powered by either four-cylinder petrol or diesel engines rated at 66kW (88bhp) and 46kW (61bhp) respectively.
Isuzu builds the KB26 and K841 pickups sold in the UK under the Bedford marque, and any attempts to introduce the Trooper, which would be unlikely to sell in large volumes, would have a detrimental effect on the 2,000 or so KB vehicles already imported into the UK and covered by the JAMA/ SMMT "understanding" which restricts the total number of Japanese built vehicles Bedford can sell in the country.
Following the success however of General Motors' S15 pick-up models in America General Motors Overseas Commercial Vehicle Corporation may consider importing S-Range vehicles into the UK under the Bedford marque as a way to avoid the import restrictions.
Introduced in late 1981 as a replacement for the Chevrolet LUV (the lzuzu built US equivalent of the Bedford KB series), the GMC S-15, along with other US-built models now accounts for over half of the growing US "compact" pick-up sector, previously dominated by Japanese imports.
Like many American-built vehicles, the one-ton payload S15 has a daunting list of options with five wheelbases offered — short and long wheelbase pickup, long wheelbase extended cab pick-up, chassis cab and a utility passenger or "Jimmy" variant.
Engine options include the choice of Chevrolet-built two and 2.8-litre petrol engines as well as Isuzu 1.9 litre petrol and 2.2 litre diesel units. The S-range represents a marked departure from the traditional American pick-up with its large, heavy cargo body and high displacement petrol engine, although interior trim levels are still overspecified compared to European and Japanese models. If imported into the UK, GM would have to rationalise vehicle options to suit the smaller market probably concentrating on a long wheelbase Isuzu-engined vehicle with an interior more suitable for the UK pick-up environment. Import of the S-Range (subject to type approval) would offer Bedford similar advantages to those enjoyed by Ford whose South African-built P100 pick-up is unaffected by the SMMT/ JAMA agreement, and it would be selling in a commercial vehicle market sectors which has shown significant growth over the past two years.
Although built for the US market the S-15's design criteria have a lot in common with current Japanese and European vehicles, and a UK spec pick-up badged as a Bedford could prove acceptable to UK buyers, unlike previous American commercial vehicles which have failed to make significant in roads into any British cv market sector.