Obscure Hot Wheels Car of the Day: 1999 Isuzu VehiCROSS

  I love collecting Hot Wheels cars. I like to showcase some of my favorites from my enormous collection of cars. Today's obscure car is the 1999 Isuzu VehiCROSS. Now why is this car obscure? Well it's an obscure SUV in itself. The Isuzu VehiCROSS was unlike any other SUV in it's day. It was very unique and had features that weren't found on most SUV's. These features included a matte black resin shield on the hood of the VehiCROSS that was intended to reduce glare from the sun.

2000 First Editions

Another interesting feature of the VehiCROSS was a locking gas tank. How many new vehicles come with a locking gas tank?
 Here's a little production history for the VehiCROSS. In 1997 Isuzu debuted the VehiCROSS in Japan. They sold from 1997 to 1999 in Japan. It wasn't until 1999 when Isuzu debuted the VehiCROSS in the United States. They sold the VehiCROSS in limited numbers from 1999 to 2001. 1,805 were sold in Japan and 4,153 were sold here in the US.
  When the VehiCROSS debuted here in the USA in 1999, it got a lot of buzz from the automotive world. So It made sense for Mattel to get the Isuzu license so they could produce the VehiCROSS for the Hot Wheels line. So in 2000 the 1999 Isuzu VehiCROSS debuted in the Hot Wheels 2000 First Editions series. It was released in Astral Silver Metallic paint for the First Edition release.

The Tiki Torchers version

  Onto the obscurity factor. The 1999 Isuzu VehiCROSS was released only 4 times in total. The first 3 releases were in regular VehiCROSS color schemes. The second release came in 2001. This time it was painted in Proton Yellow. In 2002 the third one was released in Foxfire Red Mica. The 4th one is often forgotten. The fourth one is unlike the other 3 VehiCROSS's that Hot Wheels released. The 4th one was released in a 5 pack from 2004 called Tiki Torchers. The 5 pack release features different wheels than the previous 3 had. For the Tiki Torchers release it had the Off Road 5 Spoke Wheels or OR5SP's.
   Fun Fact about the Tiki Torchers version, it was used as a background vehicle in Robot Chicken. They actually use Hot Wheels cars depicting traffic scenarios. So Robot Chicken doesn't always use action figures. You got to keep an eye out for the Hot Wheels cars seen in the background.

  So the 1999 Isuzu VehiCROSS was never seen again after the Tiki Torchers 5 pack. It's likely that Mattel lost the Isuzu license and never bothered to renew it. It's a shame because the Isuzu VehiCROSS would make a great car for their Car Culture Japan Historics series. The VehiCROSS has a cult following among off roaders. Some day it might be a future collectible.