Isuzu Florian

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Isuzu Florian

Manufacturer	Isuzu
Production	1967-1983
Predecessor	Isuzu Bellel
Successor	Isuzu Aska
Class	Mid-size
Body style	4-door sedan 4-door station wagon
Engine	1.6 L PA20 I4 1.8 L PA30 I4 1.8 L PAD20 diesel I4 2.0 L C190 diesel I4
Transmission	3-speed manual 4-speed manual 3-speed automatic
Related	Isuzu 117 Coupe
Similar	Toyota Corona Nissan Bluebird

The Isuzu Florian was an intermediate car manufactured by Isuzu Motors Ltd. in Japan from 1967 to 1983. The Florian's body remained essentially the same through its unusually long lifecycle, being afforded only two moderate facelifts. Isuzu Florian is closely related to the Isuzu 117 Coupe, with which it shares the complete chassis.

The Florian was originally available as a 4-door sedan and a 4-door station wagon (the latter was later dropped). The Florian replaced the Isuzu Bellel and was in turn replaced by Isuzu Aska in the Isuzu lineup. There were only 145,836 Florians produced during the 15 years of the model's existence. However, the pickup derivative, the Isuzu KB, was widely exported through Isuzu's relationship with General Motors, sold in North America as the Chevrolet Luv and in Europe and Australia as the Bedford KB

[edit] Origins of the name

The Florian was not named after Saint Florian, but rather after the fictional Lipizzan white horse belonging to the Emperor of Austria, which is the focal character of Felix Salten's (the author of Bambi) 1934 novel "Florian - the Emperor's Stallion". In 1940, a movie based on the book was released, entitled simply Florian.