VIVA LD500

The VIVA Warrior (or LD500) was a compact pick-up made by VIVA Automobiles from 1989 to 1999 and was VIVA's very first car.

1st gen (1990-1999)
As VAM got bankrupt, development of the Warrior started instantly after the announcement of the revival but with other name. The Warrior was inspired on the Toyota Hilux. As in Venezuela pick-up trucks sold a bit more than normal cars, like sedans and wagons, the development of the first car of VIVA was to be a Pick-up truck. In 1989 was announced VIVA Automobiles, and at the same time, the Warrior/LD500, that from it's launch was only single-cab. In 1991, VIVA started operations in Europe, and sold the Warrior under the LD500 designation. In Europe, it was first sold in Germany, France, and Spain. In 1992, It received a quad cab variant, that featured a really longer wheelbase. In 1996, it recieved a facelift, involving even more modern design. In 1998, it was starting to get really poor sales, and in 1999, it got a new generation codenamed VG1, which eventually became the second generation LD500. The Warrior was also sold in USA and UK as the VIVA ExtraCargo LD500. In China, it's still produced; the platform was sold to the related to VIVA (and fictional) Jinlong China Auto and many start-up brands have used the platform of the LD500 a lot.

Trivia

 * This car is also called as a VIVA Warrior in some markets.
 * It is one of the longest lived VIVA's ever.
 * In China, it has proved to be really popular, and many copies of it have been created for the past years.