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Bar-B-Q at Raena’s. See info on front page.

due to the bias-belted tires. The cab volume was not big and air ventilation was only fair. Sales dropped to 88,447 units.LUV began receiving very little love from American buyers and fewer sales were spelling the ‘death knell’ for this vehicle.In 1981, Changes to the design of the LUV were very bland. Some writers for automotive magazines said, “The truck could not be more generic looking”. Sales continued to drop to 61,724 for the year.

In 1982, No major changes to the design of the truck occurred. As one might realize sales for that year dropped decisively to 22,304. GM’s Chevrolet introduced the S-10 and it took the place of the LUV in automotive showrooms. The LUV truck was said to be, “not too big, not too small”. A few unsold LUV trucks hung around for the 1983 selling season, but for all practical purposes the LUV truck was not a ‘seller’ in the U. S. As in many short-term affairs of the heart, there is that initial spark of excitement and then the love/LUV wanes. That is the story of the LUV truck in the U. S.; it waned into a memory and a few used vehicles.

Allan

San Diego, USA. 2007

Many thanks to Allan for his Isuzu article (Ed.)

I was curious to see the value of these trucks today and took a short bit of time to check the prices on the internet for LUV trucks in the U. S. today. Here is what I found:

1979-- 4X4 (New Tires) Listed 9/2005 $ 600.

1979-- 4X4 (W/ Camper) Listed 3/2006 $ 650.

1975-- (W/ 350 Engine/Tran) Listed 12/2006 $ 800.

1977-- (Project W/ Trailer) Listed 12/2006 $ 375.

1984-- (5 Speed) Listed 03/2007 $ 500.

1981-- (Diesel) Listed 03/2007 $ 2,050.

It seems from this data that the ‘old classic LUV truck’ is not an item to purchase for a long-term investment. It does not seem to be holding value, although I did not find many LUV trucks for sale. I wonder what happened to all those LUV trucks?

As in many short-term affairs of the heart, there is that initial spark of excitement and then the love/LUV wanes. That is the story of the LUV truck in the U. S.; it waned into a memory and a few used vehicles.

2007