Isuzu Defends Trooper in Rollover Tests
Stung by falling sales in the wake of criticism that its 1995-’96 Trooper utility vehicle may tip over in sharp turns, Isuzu executives rolled out engineering studies, videotapes and reports on Thursday in defense of their product.
“Consumers Union’s charges are not scientific or credible,” Terry Maloney, an Isuzu vice president, told a National Press Club news conference laced with frame-by-frame video footage and scientific talk of lateral acceleration.
“The Consumers Union report is meritless,” added Norihiko Oda, an Isuzu vice president for engineering.
But R. David Pittle, technical director for Consumers Union, responded: “The statements and documentation provided by Isuzu . . . were seriously flawed and just plain wrong. We stand firmly behind our test and results.”
On Aug. 20, the consumer group urged a recall of the popular Trooper and its cousin, Acura SLX, also made by Isuzu. The Yonkers, N.Y.-based consumer organization reported that in its tests, the vehicles tipped up high on two wheels during runs at 33 mph and nearly rolled over.
The nonprofit group termed the vehicles “not acceptable” and urged readers of its magazine not to buy them.
Trooper sales were down 35% last month. The impact of the report is hard to determine, though, because August is often a sluggish sales period and the announcement came late in the month.
Maloney said sales of other Isuzu vehicles have increased, yet he complained Thursday that the report tarnished Isuzu’s reputation.
Oda said Isuzu reviewed videotapes of the testing by Consumers Union to analyze the driving of the car and concluded that the testing was flawed and unrealistic because it allowed the driver--consciously or unconsciously--to affect the outcome.
Isuzu showed a frame-by-frame analysis of the video that, it asserted, showed the driver grossly oversteering the Trooper compared with other vehicles tested.
“The emergency handling test, like all our tests, is scientific, reliable, and entirely appropriate for the performance we are evaluating,” Pittle of Consumers Union said in a statement.
The Trooper was tested under the same conditions and by the same drivers as other cars evaluated, he said. “The reason the Trooper performed so poorly in our test is because the Trooper has an inherent propensity for rollover in emergency maneuvers.”
The last time the respected consumer magazine branded a vehicle unacceptable was 1988, when it found the fledgling Suzuki Samurai prone to tilt dangerously on some turns. Sales plummeted and Suzuki eventually withdrew the Samurai from the U.S. market. It is still in court seeking damages from Consumers Union.
