Back when SUVs were first becoming hot, Isuzu had a winner in the Trooper.

But other manufacturers caught on, and at this point the conventional SUV segment is well pasts its peak. Isuzu’s sales peaked at 103,937 back in 1999, and totaled only 7,098 last year.

Few people were probably aware they were still here.

Well, as of January 31, 2009, they won’t be.

Who’s next? For years I’ve been saying that both Isuzu’s and Mitsubishi’s days in the U.S. car market were limited. But Mitsubishi has refused to give up, and now has a couple of moderately strong products. Meanwhile, Subaru is proving adept at botching just about every recent redesign. If they do the same with the next Legacy / Outback, they could be the next to go.