1987 Samurai, Sport Utility 2-door 1.3l, Hard Top on 2040-cars

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Suzuki Jimny is the classic Defender homage Land Rover should be building

Lake District, U.K. – The Land Rover Defender is to Brits what the F-150 is to Americans. Or rather it was, before it got too expensive and the farmers all switched to Japanese pick-ups. The Defender was effectively put out to pasture, relegated to being a lifestyle trinket. And Land Rover's endless prevarication over replacing the Defender can be partly attributed to this dilemma: Should it be in the original's mold, a fix-it-with-hammers rugged utility vehicle? Or should it concede that market and instead become a premium premium-priced Mercedes G-Class rival? Meanwhile, while Land Rover had dithered, others have capitalized – not least Suzuki's Jimny, which nails the seemingly conflicting demands of the new Defender's brief in one cute, pint-sized package So too is the Jimny priced at a level buyers in markets where it is offered can chalk up as a discretionary purchase. Dating back to the early 1970s, the Jimny has a heritage of its own to draw upon. But this lo-fi remix of traditional 4x4 tech and functionally slick styling has scored a bullseye for both utility users and the hipster brigade, both of whom place great value in authenticity. True, U.S. buyers won't have the option of the Jimny as they will the Defender, no matter how many emails Suzuki receives. But it's interesting to explore how it pulls the rug from underneath Land Rover, right here on the British stalwart's home soil. To demonstrate this we've travelled to the Lake District, a picturesque region on England's northwest coast with classic countryside vistas. Outside of the U.K., mountains topping out a little over 3,000 feet sound little to write home about – but, like the Jimny, modest size and ruggedness aren't mutually exclusive and there are trails here to test any street-spec off-roader. Competing pressures for access and a popular backlash against mechanized vehicles in the countryside mean tight controls for recreational drivers though, with many once-popular trails now closed to traffic. Those that remain accessible carry severe restrictions, our chosen route over Gatescarth Pass rarely opened to traffic and, when it is, limited to 4x4s with wheelbases of 100 inches or less. A Wrangler would just scrape through but these remain a rare sight in the U.K., and the limit is arguably skewed to favor the home team: the 90-inch, short-wheelbase Defenders that remain a staple for the quaintly English pursuit of 'green-laning'.

New investor allows Suzuki to fend off VW

After years of legal wrangling, the long-soured partnership between Volkswagen and Suzuki looks finally to be coming out of arbitration, according to Bloomberg. As a sign of the Japanese brand's improved fortunes, hedge fund Third Point LLC recently bought an undisclosed stake in the company. The investor reported seeing a major opportunity in the successful Maruti Suzuki business in India. As an investment, the only major problem that Third Point found with Suzuki was its legal battle with VW. "The company's greatest asset is its low-cost manufacturing process for vehicles for the emerging market consumer," the fund said in a letter, according to Bloomberg. Third Point reportedly also wants a seat on Suzuki's board, despite being a minority shareholder. The alliance between Suzuki and VW goes back to late 2009. In the deal, the Japanese brand was meant to get access to cutting-edge tech, and the German firm got a helping hand towards better establishing itself in India and Southeast Asia. Things didn't go as planned, though. Less than two years later, Suzuki's boss publicly derided the deal. Eventually, the allegations started going back and forth, and the two have been working out a way to untangle practically ever since. Among the biggest issue has been how to get back the 19.9 percent stake that VW purchased. According to Bloomberg, the arbitration is now technically over. With the divorce nearly final, the two sides are just waiting on a decision on how to split things up. Suzuki may even just buy VW's stake to get the shares back.

Suzuki Kizashi recalled due to pesky spiders

Spiders seem to love the fuel tanks of Japanese sedans. Mazda had to recall its Mazda6 twice for arachnid webs blocking their car's vent lines. Now, the Suzuki Kizashi is also being called in because spiders can block the car's evaporative canister vent hose, a condition which could cause excessive negative pressure in the tank, eventually leading to a crack and fuel leak. The campaign covers about 19,249 examples of the 2010-2013 model year Kizashi built from October 2009 through July 2012.
According to the automaker's defect notice released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the first report of a spiderweb blocking a vent line was in 2011. It began monitoring field data and found six more incidents from 2011 to 2013. In 2014, there was one more case, and with further investigation, Suzuki decided to initiate a recall. There are no reports of accidents or injuries of the webs causing accidents or injuries in the US.
In a similar move to Mazda, Suzuki is replacing the evaporative canister vent line with one that has a filter in place to keep the spiders out. Also, if the lines are obstructed by webs in a specific vehicle, the fuel tank will also get swapped. Scroll down to read the full recall announcement from NHTSA.