To dodge America's 25% 'chicken tax' on light trucks, the LUV was shipped in as a bare cab-chassis — a loophole that cut the tariff to just 4%.
Median 82 hp across 24 similar cars
Lead trim: 1.8 SOHC (US Chevrolet LUV, 75 hp) · up to 93 hp
Isuzu Faster / KB / LUVKB20/KB25 · 1972–1980
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Isuzu Faster / KB / LUV yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactTo dodge America's 25% 'chicken tax' on light trucks, the LUV was shipped in as a bare cab-chassis — a loophole that cut the tariff to just 4%.
The Isuzu Faster pickup introduced in Japan in 1972 as the KB20 (regular wheelbase) and KB25 (long), derived from the Isuzu Florian and replacing the Wasp. It was sold abroad as the Isuzu KB, Bedford KB and, through GM, as the Chevrolet LUV in North America and Australia (renamed Isuzu KB in 1977), with a ladder frame, a leaf-sprung live rear axle and A-arm independent front suspension; four-wheel drive (KB40) arrived in 1978 as the "Faster Rodeo" in Japan. In North America the only engine was a 1.8-litre SOHC four.
Collectors Spotted in the Isuzu Faster / KB / LUV Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Isuzu Faster / KB / LUV yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
4 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.6 G161 OHV (Japan, 84 PS) | 1972–1980 | Inline-4 | 83 hp | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1.6 SOHC (94 PS) | 1972–1980 | 1.6 L Inline-4 | 93 hp | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1.8 SOHC (US Chevrolet LUV, 75 hp) | 1972–1976 | 1.8 L Inline-4 | 75 hp | 88 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| 2.0 KBD diesel (62 PS) | 1972–1980 | 2.0 L Inline-4 | 61 hp | 83 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
The last carbureted new car sold in America wasn't a holdout sports car — it was this Isuzu pickup's 2.3-litre four, still running a carburetor into the 1994 model year.
Sold in the US as both the Chevrolet LUV and the Isuzu P'up, the two trucks were nearly identical — Isuzu's version mostly stood out by spelling its own name in giant block letters across the tailgate.
To dodge America's 25% 'chicken tax' on light trucks, the LUV was shipped in as a bare cab-chassis — a loophole that cut the tariff to just 4%.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
The GMT400 split the twins for good: 1988 was the year "C/K" became Chevrolet-only badging, while GMC's version of the very same truck became the Sierra.
GMC found 10 extra horsepower in the Sierra All Terrain X's 5.3L V8 with nothing more than a performance exhaust, no other changes needed to go from 355 to 365 hp.
This Sierra kept rolling off the line for a full extra year after its replacement arrived - badged "Classic" in 2007 just to tell the two generations apart on dealer lots.
When this GMT900 Sierra launched for 2007, GM kept selling the outgoing truck alongside it, badged "Classic," so buyers could choose old or new side by side on the same lot.
Toyota showed it as the T150 until Ford sued over the likeness to the F-150, and the production truck was renamed Tundra.
A Louisiana owner put over a million miles on his 2007 Tundra in eight years; Toyota gave him a new truck and took his apart to study it.
Toyota's Texas Tundra plant sits on land bought from the state's oldest working cattle ranch, and the 1794 Edition is named for the year that ranch was founded.
Its launch colours had pun names such as "Anti-Establish Mint" and "Freudian Gilt", sent to Lee Iacocca by a friend.