It’s not everyday that I look at a picture of a car I find on the internet and sincerely have no clue as to what I’m looking at. I might have trouble with pre-1950 cars, but that’s a generational gap issue. If it’s been built after 1960, I’m usually good for knowing at least something about it. So when a picture of an SUV that looked like it came from 1990 crossed my desk, I spent a good bit of time trying to figure it out. It kind of looked like an Isuzu Trooper with a bodykit, or maybe a Range Rover knock-off. Wrong on all accounts, what I was looking at was a LaForza, an Italian SUV with an American heart and one of the most horrifying end-stories I’ve ever seen.
The LaForza started life in 1984 as the Rayton-Fissore Magnum 4×4, an SUV that was itself derived from the Iveco VM 90 military vehicle. Parts were raided from Fiat’s catalog (those taillights are the same as the Fiat Uno). The four-wheel drive was borrowed from the Iveco Daily and the 2.5L turbo diesel from Sofim being the initial offering, while four-cylinder gas engines from Abarth and a V6 from Alfa Romeo found their way in to the SUV. By 1988 those engines had been replaced, with a VM Motori diesel replacing the Sofim unit and BMW inline six cylinders taking over for a gas engine. At some point around 1989 the Magnum was slated for an American market and was modified to accept a 5.0L Ford, AOD auto and a New Process 229 transfer case. The resulting combination was dubbed LaForza.
The LaForza could be viewed as a early entrant to the luxury SUV market, but in truth this thing was an overpriced wanna-be Range Rover and it was outclassed in many regards. The 5.0 that was initially used was the 175hp version used in the early Fox Mustangs, and even with the 225hp version used in the later Mustang GT’s, it’s power was never something to behold. To say that it bombed would be kind…nobody knew what it was or what it was trying to be, and the price couldn’t be justified on a newcomer that didn’t have a better pedigree. Ten years later, you could still buy them new: either the $85,000 late-model with a blown 5.0 under the hood (rumors say that 6.0L GM engines were used, but I couldn’t confirm that), or the 1989-90 version with the 225hp engine for $35K brand new from a stockpile of older trucks that hadn’t been finished.
LaForza’s end didn’t come because they were trying to hawk a nearly twenty-year-old SUV as something special, however. No, the end came in a much more dramatic fashion: in 1999 an employee of LaForza Automotive had been arrested and was subsequently convicted of murdering and dismembering his wife. The phrase “any press is good press” sure as hell didn’t apply here, because the negative connection was the absolute last thing that LaForza needed. Somehow the company managed to soldier on until they finally closed up shop in 2003.
“in 1999 an employee of LaForza Automotive had been arrested and was subsequently convicted of murdering and dismembering his wife.”
Those Italians are such romantics…
I remember seeing these at the NY auto show. Thought it was ugly then and still.
A friend of mine sold these back in the day . You ever read the reviews of those pos ? Put together with popsicle sticks .. Elmers Glue and a hope and a prayer that the damn thing’d last till the warranty wore off . Which .. they never did . Hell …. most of them barely made it off the dealers lots before breaking down . Hell … most of them didn’t even make it TO the dealers lots intact .
Truly … one of the worst … if not THE worst Italian/American hybrids ever conceived … by man or beast .. 😉
Add to that, La Forza final assembly was done here in San Diego/North County at a 60,000 sq. ft. facility in Escondido. I used to stick my head in the building now and then, including just after production ended. A couple at Gail’s work had one and liked it enough, but it was always a struggle for the company with cheap Explorers to compete against.
I had to work on one of these things after a customer brought one into the shop I worked at in Seattle. It had the 5.0 and the AOD in it. Aside from those best thing about it was… um… well… well the leather seats were ok I guess.
I was test driving it looking for what the customer described as “shutting off while driving” when I heard a clunk and had no forward motion. Something broke in the transfer case and the owner decided they did not want to fix it because they had already sunk too much money into what they called “vehicular mistake”.
Do you guys know much about La Forza SUV’s other that “somebody said something” that he heard from somebody that owns a screw driver and a wrench so he must be an expert.
So far, I drove at least 270,000 miles in two La Forza SUV’s. These La Forza SUV’s are literally built as like as tanks. I plan to drive my beautiful one for many more years, keeping my fingers crossed and I’m in snowy cold Buffalo area believe it or not where cars don’t last half as long. The only thing I would change on mine is maybe to put a more efficient engine down the road, will see.
Right now on my Pearl White La Forza, I have to replace front discs, current ones are almost gone after 24years and waiting for a warmer day so I can do it on the driveway. It really was a good choice to upgrade La Forza’s with thicker larger vented discs that are used on racing cars, these discs are a higher grade material and they don’t bend like they do on all the other cars. I didn’t know the part number for my discs so I went to a factory that manufacturers discs for many Nort American cars. Engineers were happy to see me, my puzzle was making their day more interesting but after using a file to try to file some filings off of the disc I brought, the engineers looked at each other and sent me away telling me that this kind of high quality casted material isn’t being made for any mass produced cars. I guess that’s why the discs lasted 24years.
There was a crack in the headlight from a flying rocks on highway about 10years ago, had to get another one but this is a normal wear and tear.
Also I had to rebuild the NewProcess transfer case about 4years ago as I didn’t realize that the drive-shaft running from the transfer case to the rear axle wasn’t turning straight thus had to be rebuilt. I could kind of tell the SUV was a bit noisier on the highway but I didn’t clue in about the drive-shaft until the vibration broke the aluminum casted transfer case. This wasn’t a big deal, mechanic I got on that occasion was knowledgeable and didn’t complain, the whole housing on the transfer case was broken and so many little pins missing but my guy combined parts from my transfer case with one I found at a wrecker, we rebuilt it in less than 3h and put it up on the truck in my driveway again.
I heard from other owners that they get dinged $3K for this job that the garage claims it needs expertise of 3people and that is so not fair.
A couple of years earlier, one of the sensors on La Forza Ford 5.0 engine was gone, we figured out later on the second day that the faulty sensor was cutting out the fuel supply as this sensor was tricking the computer into thinking that the engine was getting flooded by fuel but in fact there was no fuel going in so the truck wouldn’t start. It took 4 or maybe 5h over 2days for my guy to figure it out and here is how he did it efficiently the second day: he placed a Ford breakout box with every wire marked, placed it directly between the computer under the dash and the wiring harness, now he was able to manually check the voltage reading to nominal voltage values on every sensor going to the computer and the computer was still plugged in and I was trying to start the engine. Quickly he realized one of the sensors related to the fuel injection flow had very low voltage reading off the chart and this whole job took about an hour on the second day. If I didn’t have a competent guy, I would be out thousands of dollars and my confidence in La Forza would be shaken by all the expert mechanics telling me about all the bad things they needed to replace. I simply wouldn’t know better, wouldn’t have any choice and would have to pay. Troubleshooting an engine by swapping parts one by one can be very expensive, I bet these kinds of things happen to many of you but I stick with La Forza’s and with a good mechanic, there is no worries.
It probably helped that this La Forza truck has ’91 Mustang 5.0l engine with MassAir Flow but it didn’t help that it has a factory installed twin-screw ’91 KenneBell supercharger. I bet if I took this La Forza to the garage of the mechanic that posted the note just above, experts at that shop would help me resolve all the additional problems by swapping half of the engine parts or maybe removing the supercharger or similar. And it would be totally normal to pay $4-5K for all the “necessary work”.
I can see why somebody would want to walk away from any car when each garage dings you $4000-5000 for a $100 job, who could sustain this. Good mechanic should say “I know nothing about engine basics that can’t be fully monitored and displayed on engine scan”, if a mechanic tells you this then you should trust him more than all the other ones combined!
Also at some point, I had to replace a Fuel Pressure Regulator as well, after 20years the membrane in the regulator is gone. And believe it or not, this was the hardest and it took longest to do. It was because of the Supercharger that sits on the top of the engine, I had to get a different Fuel Pressure Regulator that is a quarter of an inch lower profile and going back and forth and trying different ones, this took over a week.
Also had lose windshield wipers that needed some parts tigtened, this took 2days to remove and put back as the Supercharger was in the way.
I’m in Buffalo area for a half of the year, it probably doesn’t snow anywhere else as much as it snows here. I’m happy to have this truck when we get buried in snow, I’m generally very active and like to enjoy the snow and La Forza loves snow.
In terms of the truck’s body, the front hood needed body work. The front and the sides of the hood are designed with small channels for salt and water to hide underneath and it rusts after 10-15 years. Also, had to apply Uretine glue to all 4 corners of the moon roof base tray on the roof, extreme cold freezes water into ice and gradually expands ice that was caught in the four corners and it pushed the plastic drain channels slightly away, channels that take any water that comes down through the moon roof. My La Forza doesn’t sleep in garage, would like to see what other car or SUV is built in the way to last as long as mine do. This resolved water leaking in the trunk area.
I don’t recall doing any other work, I tend to do more mechanical stuff on my 8year old Convertible BMW, I have to change a gasket underneath oil filter housing every few years, bad design.
I might post another reply here in 5years if I chose to put a more efficient engine, until then I would like to drive an original LA Forza as it came out from the factory.
Some of us might have different views, I do camera work and I always buy the best and most reliable equipment, it is not worth loosing a client over a few thousands or maybe few hundreds of dollars savings on cheaper gear. I need something reliable when working in the field, I need the gear that I can count on. The same approach to the cars would be by buying a new car every 7years or less because the cars are built like a crap and aren’t reliable past that point. But I can tell you with my La Forza experience, this doesn’t appeal to me.
Another thing is that I’m blessed to have a young knowledgeable mechanic that understands how the engines function and does ta good job for me. I don’t know if I would have to money to keep any La Forza on the road if I had to go from garage to garage to solve each minor problem.
So, the way I see it, I could buy a new car every 7years so it stays reliable on the road or have a reliable La Forza that is also a beautiful stylish eye catcher. We are all different but that’s me, that’s how I think and why I own Laforza SUV’s since year 2000. And when I drive it fast, cops let me go after we chat for 10min about the car, it really is a conversation opener.
If you red so far, give yourself a pad on the back as you deserve it. Hope you got better informed.
Stojan
I own a pearl white 1989 LaForza and It is the best 4×4 i have ever owned.
I’ve work for the state park & rec as a ranger and my job was to patrolled Red Rock Canyon in California with several 4x4s. Nothing compares to the ability of this vehicle. It climbs like a tank and off road it feels like one too. And on the freeway, it is the most comfortable 4×4 i have ever driven. The turning radius at 29 feet is amazing and compares to a sports car.
Yes, parts are expensive and hard to find, but if you know how to work on vehicles, it’s like any other car.
This vehicle for being 26 years old now and in mint condition, i have no complaints, it was well worth the price.