American Isuzu Motors Announces Executive-Level Appointments

    CERRITOS, Calif., April 23 American Isuzu Motors Inc. (AIMI) today announced the appointment of Tomoyuki
(Tommy) Akamatsu to Senior Vice President, Chief Knowledge Officer and
Shinichi (Sid) Hirose to Senior Vice President, COO, Power Train Division.
Mr. Akamatsu will be based at AIMI's headquarters in Cerritos, and Mr. Hirose
will relocate to the Power Train Division in Novi, Mich.
    Mr. Akamatsu will be responsible for various aspects of human resources,
corporate strategic planning, administration and communications.  He brings to
AIMI 13 years experience with Itochu Corporation spanning multiple supervisory
levels, including Manager, Automobile America Section; Manager, Automobile
Parts Department and Representative, Naibori Liaison office.  Mr. Akamatsu
holds a Master's Degree from Waseda University Law School in Tokyo.
    Mr. Hirose has served AIMI for six years as Senior Vice President and
Corporate Secretary.  In addition to his ongoing commitment to the Power Train
Division, he was instrumental in developing AIMI's corporate values such as
product quality, vision and teamwork that are still in use today.
Additionally, he is credited with improving business communications and team
concepts, and implementing human resources and administrative changes
resulting in increased customer focus.
    Before joining AIMI, Mr. Hirose was Vice President and General Manager,
Detroit branch, for Hochu International Inc. from 1992-1995.  He holds a
degree in mechanical engineering from Musashi Institute of Technology in
Tokyo.
    "With these two appointments, we now enjoy an immediate corporate
strengthening in these critical areas," said AIMI President Yasuyuki (Sonny)
Sudo.  "We look forward to applying Mr. Hirose's expertise to the Power Train
Division, and benefiting from Mr. Akamatsu's wealth of industry knowledge.
These assignments will go a long way in ensuring AIMI's long-term future."