User:Bravada/Isuzu Florian

The Isuzu Florian was an intermediate car manufactured by the Isuzu Motors Ltd. in Japan from 1968 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 replaced by Isuzu Aska in the Isuzu lineup. There were only 145,836 Florians produced during the 15 years of the model's existence.

Origins of the name
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".

1967-71
The Florian stems from the 117 Coupe concept that debuted at the 1966 Tokyo Motor Show. It was essentially a more mundane sedan and wagon version of the "exclusive" coupe, designed to compete with models like the Nissan Bluebird. The original Florian differed from the concept by having a different fascia with two squarish headlights.

Originally, the base version was powered by an 1.6-litre OHV engine from the Bellet, but the engine was upgraded to SOHC in 1969. The original 3-speed manual transmission was replaced by a 4-speed after the first model year. To rival Bluebird's "SSS" model, in 1969 Isuzu introduced Florian TS ("Touring Sports"), which was later fitted with the 1.8-litre DOHC engine from the 117. Optional was a four-headlight blacked-out fascia from the 117.

1971-77
For the 1971 model year (that started in October 1970 for the Florian), it received a whole new fascia with quad round headlights sitting inside square plastic frames and a more formal grille. A few other changes required by new Japanese laws were also made. A 1.8-litre diesel engine joined the lineup, and in 1973 the 1.6-litre was dropped.

During this generation's production run, the wagon was dropped, due to the growing popularity of Isuzu's light trucks as commercial vehicles.

1977-83
For 1977, the Florian was facelifted in the ornate "classic" style resembling the contemporary Mitsubishi Debonair, along with very similar rectangular quad headlights. The 1.8-litre remained the sole petroleum engine, later joined by Isuzu's new 2.0 diesel. Since 1980, the diesel was also available with an automatic.