The
Isuzu Oasis was a
minivanMinivan is a type of van designed for personal use. Minivans are typically either two-box or one box designs for maximum interior volume – and are taller than a sedan, hatchback, or a station wagon....
produced as result of an agreement between
Isuzu, is a Japanese car, commercial vehicle and heavy truck manufacturing company, headquartered in Tokyo. In 2005, Isuzu became the world's largest manufacturer of medium to heavy duty trucks. It has assembly and manufacturing plants in the Japanese city of Fujisawa, as well as in the prefectures...
and
Hondais a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
from 1996 to 1999. It was the only minivan sold by Isuzu.
Under the agreement, Honda would purchase Isuzu Rodeo and
Isuzu TrooperThe Isuzu Trooper was a mid-size SUV produced by the Japanese automaker Isuzu between 1981 and 2005. It was exported worldwide as the Isuzu Bighorn, Isuzu Trooper, Isuzu Trooper II , Caribe 442, Acura SLX, Chevrolet Trooper, Subaru Bighorn, Honda Horizon, Opel/Vauxhall Monterey, Holden Jackaroo,...
vehicles to be sold as the
Honda PassportThe Honda Passport was a compact SUV produced by Isuzu, released in 1994, as Honda's first entry in the truck market for the United States. Built and designed solely by Isuzu, who sold it as the Rodeo, it was seen as a "quick fix" entry into the growing SUV market in the United States...
and Acura SLX, respectively. Meanwhile Isuzu would purchase
Honda OdysseyThe Honda Odyssey is a minivan manufactured by Japanese automaker Honda since 1994.The Odyssey had originally been conceived and engineered in Japan, in the wake of country's economic crisis of the 1990s – which in turn imposed severe constraints on the vehicle's size and overall concept,...
, the
Honda AscotThe Honda Ascot was an intermediate saloon car manufactured by Honda and marketed in Japan only from 1989 to 1997. There were two generations of the car, based on the contemporary Honda Accord and Honda Inspire, respectively...
and
Honda CivicThe Honda Civic is a line of subcompact and subsequently compact cars made and manufactured by Honda. The Civic, along with the Accord and Prelude, comprised Honda's vehicles sold in North America until the 1990s, when the model lineup was expanded...
vehicles to be sold as the Isuzu Oasis, the
Isuzu AskaThe 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 4-door sedan...
and
Isuzu GeminiGeneral Motors sought a replacement for their world car T-body Kadett / Gemini, and this time, instead of building one design on several continents, they decided to build a world car in one location and export it to several continents...
, respectively. Though the Oasis was essentially the same vehicle as the Odyssey with a lower sticker price and a better warranty, Honda's more prominent brand recognition propelled the Odyssey to greater sales. The Oasis was sold from the 1996 model year to the 1999 model year in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The Odyssey was redesigned for 1999, but Isuzu still sold the original body with minor changes all the way through 1999. Later Oasis models came with a 2.3L
VTECVTEC is a valvetrain system developed by Honda to improve the volumetric efficiency of a four-stroke internal combustion engine. The VTEC system uses two camshaft profiles and electronically selects between the profiles. It was invented by Honda R&D engineer Ikuo Kajitani, and was the first system...
engine similar to the engine found in the sixth-generation
Honda AccordThe Honda Accord is a series of compact, mid-size and full-size automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1976, and sold in a majority of automotive markets throughout the world....
.
Oasis vehicles were used as
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
taxisA taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
.