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The Isuzu Aska was a nameplate used by Isuzu Motors Ltd. of Japan to denote their mid-size sedans from 1983 to 2002. Originally, the Aska was a version of GM's J-car produced by Isuzu, but later, after Isuzu pulled out of manufacturing passenger cars, the nameplate was applied to rebadged Subaru Legacies (1990 to 1993) and Honda Accords (1994 to 2002) sold through Isuzu's Japanese distribution network. The Aska replaced the Isuzu Florian in Isuzu's lineup and was discontinued in 2002 without a replacement, as Isuzu withdrew from the passenger car business completely. The name comes from the Japanese word, "Asuka", which is the old name of the Asuka Village in the Nara Prefecture of Japan. Because the name "Asuka" may be pronounced "Ashuka" in foreign countries, the "U" was taken away from the name, presenting the model as the "Aska". ==First generation (1983–1989)== The original Aska was developed as a part of GM's ''J-car'' program and was a welcome replacement for Isuzu's sorely dated Florian. Contrary to fellow J-cars from other GM divisions, the Aska only came in one body style, a four-door sedan (the station wagon body style on the Florian was always relatively unpopular). The Isuzu J car variant differed most notably in the rear styling from other J-car variants. From 1983 to 1984, the Aska was known as the "Florian Aska", before being renamed simply "Aska" in 1985. The car was launched in March 1983 with carburetted 1.8 and 2.0 litre gasoline engines and a diesel, going on sale a month later. In August 1983 the Turbodiesel followed, with . In October 1983, a turbocharged and fuel injected version of the 2.0 litre engine, which developed 150 PS, joined the lineup as the LJ Turbo. In November 1985 a version branded by the German tuner Irmscher (specializing in Opels, they cooperated with Isuzu on some other models as well), this version featured a distinictive body kit and became somewhat of a cult object among some car fans in Japan. In September 1984 the innovative (but ultimately unsuccessful) semi-automatic NAVi5 system became available for the naturally aspirated Aska 2.0.〔 〕 This was a manual transmission with an electronically operated clutch, long before Alfa Romeo's Selespeed. In March 1985 the diesel also became available with the NAVi5 transmission, and from September 1986 the LG Turbodiesel was also available with it. The Aska underwent a very subtle facelift in July 1985, which was also when the "Florian" portion of the car's name was dropped.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Isuzu Aska」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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