This past weekend, I realized that one of the bulbs in my Mustang’s fog lamp array was burned out. While I was out running errands, I stopped by an auto parts store where the guy working behind the counter grabbed the bulbs I would need to replace them. I decided to go ahead and do both fog lights at the same time because if one had worn out, the other would probably soon follow.
I got home and assembled my tools, then got to work. Here’s how you change the fog light bulbs on a Mustang. Step one is to pop the hood of the car.
Step 2 involves removal of some plastic anchor bolts that hold the cowl in place over the area where the grille meets up with the engine bay and hood. You’ll have to unfasten this piece of plastic to access the area where the fog lights reside.
It helps to use this special tool that looks like a heavy-duty two-prong cocktail fork that’s been flattened on the end. You’ll break far fewer of those plastic anchor bolts by using the right tool as opposed to just picking at it with a flathead screwdriver. The tool costs around $10 and can be found at most auto parts stores.
So, now we have the plastic cover removed, but there isn't room enough to reach back behind the grille and grab the fog light sockets.
We’re going to have to tilt the grille ahead. To do that, you’ll need a 10mm wrench to unfasten the bolts on either side of the grille. In addition to that, along each side of the grille, there are plastic clips that snap the grille into place next to the small body pillar on either side of it. These things are a huge pain to get to let loose, but the plastics are flexible enough (if it’s not too cold out when you’re doing this) that you can get them freed up without snapping off any bits and parts. I had a picture of these clips, but it didn't turn out well.
So, here we have one end of the grille unfastened at the top and side. It’s still affixed along the bottom, but there’s ample flexibility to tilt it forward far enough to reach back behind it.
When we reach behind the tilted grille, we see the back side of the fog light enclosure and the socket.
You grab the socket that’s attached to the back of the enclosure and give it a twist to align the tabs with the negative spaces along the socket’s collar, then pull it free, lift it up so you can see what you’re doing now that it’s detached from the enclosure, and voila, we’re almost there!
Except that we’re not. As bad luck would have it, the kid at the auto parts store sold me the wrong bulbs (apparently when he looked them up in his computer, he read the wrong line or something). This is a misstep I discovered while trying to fit a new bulb into the socket -it didn't match up. I wasn't going to reassemble the whole works just so I could go through all these steps again, so I shoved the pieces back into place, put the plastic cowl inside my car, gathered my tools and the various anchors and bolts I’d removed from the vehicle, and drove back to the auto parts store to exchange the bulbs.
Bad luck again, because this auto parts store didn't have the right bulbs. They did, however, show some in stock at another of their stores that was just a couple miles away, so I drove there to make the exchange.
I got the right bulbs, and they even had to refund about $10 to me because the bulbs I really needed were cheaper than the first set they sold me. I wasn't about to drive home to try again, on the off chance that these bulbs were incorrect also, so I set up shop in the parking lot at O’Reilly.
I changed the bulbs out with no problem now that I had the ones I needed. Just pop them into place in the socket, then position it back behind the enclosure, align the tabs, and twist them back into place all snug and secure. Do a quick check to make sure the lights are working (they were) before moving on to the next step.
After snapping the grille back into its plastic clips along the sides, I put the bolts back into place along the body pillars in the fascia.
Then, the plastic cowl goes back in place and is secured with the plastic anchors (if you lose one or two somewhere along the way like I did, you can buy more at the auto parts store for a few dollars). Then, you’re all done.
Now, for today’s vehicle profile. It’s a good thing that the first place I went to didn't have the right bulbs, or I wouldn't have ended up at the second store, where I spotted today’s little rig. I present to you, the Isuzu VehiCROSS.
I've always found these to be interesting little SUVs…. Actually, one could argue that they are the original crossover vehicle. It used to be that Isuzu had a whole lineup of vehicles from cars to trucks, to SUVs…. And of course, they built big trucks and diesel engines for those big trucks and various other applications as well. General Motors bought into Isuzu, and eventually owned a controlling portion of the brand. That’s where things started to go wrong. Isuzu never did have the big bucks to spend on updating and developing their vehicles and marketing like some other brands did. Considering what they had to work with, they did about as well as they could for about as long as they could before withdrawing from the US marketplace in 2009. General Motors more or less put Isuzu in a stranglehold in terms of investment in the brand’s products and development, and that’s ultimately what killed it. Isuzu went from having cars and compact trucks and SUVs to specializing in SUVs exclusively. It worked okay for a little while, when SUVs had their heyday, but then, the lack of development, diversity, and investment caught up with the brand and started to sink the ship.
The VehiCROSS is interesting not just for its looks and capabilities, but also because I think it is a vehicle that could have saved the brand, or at least kept it afloat for a bit longer. VehiCROSS sales were never huge, and the production numbers were tiny in the grand scheme of things, but the idea of this vehicle, and the direction it pointed toward in the marketplace was one that would later prove to be an important segment -crossovers. Had Isuzu shifted their focus from SUVs just a slight bit and broke more ground with the notion of crossovers, they might have cornered the market on what is now one of the hottest segments in the auto industry and perhaps garnered the proper attention and care they needed from their controlling investor, GM.
An SUV is typically a wagon body mounted on a truck frame or some derived version of a truck frame. A crossover is typically a wagon mounted on a car chassis. Both will often feature 4x4 or AWD, but an SUV is usually heftier and less efficient, but also more capable when it comes to off road applications or towing/hauling. A crossover can do those things to a lesser extent, but does so more efficiently where fuel is concerned, and generally has a more car-like ride and feel to it than an SUV. The VehiCROSS wasn't exactly based on a car chassis. It shared many parts in common with the Isuzu Trooper, in fact, but it did point the way toward what we see bustling about on the streets and roadways now; the compact crossover.
The VehiCROSS was a presence in the US auto market from 1999-2001, and in Japan, where Isuzu is based, from 1997-1999. It was a vehicle before its time. Its styling was considered futuristic over 10 years ago, and that same term can still be applied to the vehicle today. All VehiCROSSes were 2 door vehicles with an aggressive outward appearance. This one that I spotted in the O’Reilly parking lot has been outfitted with a lift kit, aftermarket rims and tires, and some minor alterations. The grille of the VehiCROSS typically displays what can best be described as fangs. On today’s vehicle, the fangs have been removed along with the Isuzu nameplate for a more custom look, but you can see the vertical structure pieces in the grille where the fangs had been. Designers included some distinct but not overdone strakes along the doors of the vehicle to add an interesting element to its side profile. The VehiCROSS also featured extensive lower body cladding, all done in black plastic. Normally, I shun unpainted plastic cladding on a vehicle, but the VehiCROSS wears it well, as though it donned a special outfit to handle its off-road duties. The black body cladding is coordinated with a matching black hood insert, which is just enough to tie the whole look together.
The VehiCROSS was not just some pretty, mean-looking little rig. It was a serious off road contender. All the models sold for the US market featured a 3.5L V6 with 215 HP and 230 lb-ft of torque. That was coupled with a 4 speed automatic transmission and a 4WD/AWD system that was primarily driven by the rear wheels. This system was computer controlled and featured 12 different sensors to detect loss of traction and direct torque to wheels that could get control and propel the vehicle properly. On top of this, the VehiCROSS also featured a low gear with a locking differential for off road driving. Other goodies included vented disc brakes front and back and Recaro seats.
Brand new, a VehiCROSS had a starting MSRP of around $29,000. These days, most of the specimens you’ll find will be priced between $7,000-$10,000 depending on miles and condition (and most of the ones that fall in this range have between 90-130K miles on their odometers). A glance at completed listings on Ebay displays an average selling price of around $6,000, but you’re taking your chances there and usually there’s some shipping or traveling costs involved with actually getting the vehicle you've bought without first seeing it or test driving it in person into your possession. Still, for SUVs over 10 years old, most of which have over 100,000 miles ticked away on their odometers, that’s not a bad residual value.
If you can find a VehiCROSS that runs strong and is in good shape, I’d say it’s not a bad deal to consider spending $8,000-$10,000 on one. I predict these vehicles will have collectible value that will increase over time. The styling and capabilities alone might justify my standpoint on this issue, but there’s also the matter of scarcity. Just under 6,000 VehiCROSS’s were ever made, and just over 4,000 of them were for the US market. In the past decade or so, it’s fair to say that at least a few of them have been wrecked or totaled, so the number will dwindle. It’s uncommon to see these vehicles, and it will only get more uncommon as time passes. Parts shouldn't be too hard to come by for now, given how many are shared in common with the trooper, but Isuzu’s withdraw from the US market may mean that in the future, it’s not going to be easy to find pieces needed for repair -and when repair costs go up, more people throw in the towel with their vehicles and send them off to the scrap yard or part them out, which means a bigger dearth of VehiCROSS crossovers available to choose from for those seeking such a vehicle. Personally, I would love to have one in my garage, and if the opportunity strikes just right when I cross paths with one that’s for sale, I would definitely consider buying it.
I believe quite a few less than 5000 actually produced due to the molds for bodt panels being ceramic instead of the usuall steel stamping.
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