randii
4x4Wire.com Managing Editor Emeritus
Reged: 08/02/99
Posts: 9030
Loc: Fair Oaks, CA USA
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Quoting a bunch...
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There simply aren't enough vehicles out there and many fewer people that want the parts. Second problem is that people dont want to spend money.
Dallas, I disagree with the former (there's plenty of Isuzus out there, especially internationally!), and grudgingly agree with the latter. Potential market upside is fine, but manufactures have to consider the actual likelihood of sales, especially when they factor in what can be SUBSTANTIAL R&D costs... before you even think about production tooling.
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I beleive it is all just a matter of time. Eventually the demand for cheap products will grow. I think we are watching it right now. ... The aftermarket grows with it.
Koby, I hope you are right, but there's also a 'critical mass' of enthusiasts which flirts chicken-and-egg around a 'critical mass' of cheap, available vehicles. It is tough to suss out whether the aftermarket leads the enthusiasts to the vehicles, or whether the cheap vehicles lead the enthusiasts to the aftermarket... or whether, as we hope with Isuzus, the enthusiasts can lead the vehicles to the aftermarket vendors. We've had isolated success (ARB, CALMINI, Tera), but were those flukes to be discounted, or perhaps the template of a process to be modeled and replicated?
As for Pacesetter, I'll join Matt and MichaelW in the hopeful-but-not-optimistic column. I believe the market certainly exists, but that's a tough part to productionalize, even after you get past proving out the R&D -- which IIRC was a bone of contention with the Bob Land Racing headers.
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when companies start making good $$$ in a particular market sector, other companies take notice and try to jump in to get a "piece of the pie"
As noted above, I do think there are opportunities for success in the Isuzu aftermarket, but they must be carefully chosen. Matt references the upside, but the converse is true, as well... It is bad for a vendor to fund the R&D but fail to see net sales, making it less likely that they'll consider releasing other Isuzu products, but it is still worse if word gets out that Isuzu enthusiasts won't buy what is made.  Like it or not, the net results of our individual decisions weighs greatly upon how the aftermarket proceeds.
Aye, verily have I followed this tangent. 
Back on track -- I'd like to see upholstered soft-doors, much like early Broncos or Scouts, inset into fiberglass inserts to cover the exposed doorframes. 'Glass is itchy and a PITA to work with, but is friendlier to low-volume runs than are headers, CVs, and such.
I've got a small bundle of seed money for the molds for a few sets of 'glass (or plastic?) Amigo front fenders, hood, door inserts, and even a tailgate... and sooner or later am willing to make my own, if nobody steps forward. I'd much rather pay to get these done, since my production schedule moves apace with molasses running uphill on a glacier in an ice age, downstream of a woolly mammoth squat.
Randii (long in wind)
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