1994 Suzuki Samurai Jl Sport Utility 2-door 1.3l Factory A/c 4x4 Jeep on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 2008 Suzuki Reno

Next time you're hosting a car-trivia night at your local junkyard/bar (hey, such places exist), you might try to stump your guests with a really tough one: What was the last US-market car to be designed entirely by Daewoo prior to the GM takeover? Sure, Americans could buy the Daewoo-badged Lanos, Nubira, and Leganza for a few years in the early 2000s, and the Verona was really just a slightly updated Leganza with Suzuki badges pasted on. The Chevy Aveo/Pontiac G3 was the descendant of the Lanos, but that special Daewoo sauce had been diluted by other GM flavors by the time it hit our shores. I say the answer is the Daewoo Lacetti — yes, that Lacetti — which was sold in the United States as the Suzuki Forenza (in sedan form) and Suzuki Reno (as a hatchback). Here's an example of one of the very last Renos you could buy here, found in a car graveyard near Denver, Colorado. The South Korea-built Reno never made much of an impression on the reviewers at this — or, I'm pretty sure, any — publication, despite having been styled by Giugiaro, though it was very reasonably priced during its 2005-2008 American sales run. My only experience driving the Reno comes from the time I rented one in South Carolina for just $9.98 a day. For that price, I thought it was a perfectly serviceable transportation appliance. Suzuki had been building cars for GM since the first Cultus hit American showrooms as the 1985 Chevrolet Sprint, and ties between the two companies became stronger as the 20th century became the 21st. They joined forces to buy bankrupt Daewoo in 2004, with American Suzuki selling the hastily-rebadged Nubira starting the next year. After a bit of excitement over the promising Suzuki Kizashi, American Suzuki filed for bankruptcy in 2012 and ceased selling cars here the following year. Don't feel too bad for Suzuki, though — in Japan, the company has had years of smash sales success with the Hustler, and of course Suzuki motorcycles and ATVs remain popular here. How much was this little Daewoo when new? With the base five-speed manual transmission, the MSRP on the base '08 Reno was $13,839, or about $19,425 in 2022 dollars. However, this car has the automatic transmission, an $1,100 option ($1,545 now).  You did get air conditioning and an AM/FM stereo in the base '08 Reno. This car has the optional CD player with AUX input. Honda had VTEC and Daewoo had D-TEC.

Suzuki Jimny gets confused by American guardrails

The reborn Suzuki Jimny 4x4 has faced some crosswinds in the time it's been on the market: It earned only three stars in its Euro NCAP test due to a badly-inflating driver airbag and troubles with pedestrian protection. The automatic emergency braking function also had some issues in NCAP testing, but now the Jimny's AEB system is facing an another problem — it appears to be confused by guardrails. Two German-market Jimnys had been shipped to Los Angeles for the World Car of the Year testing, Australian journalists found that on some corners of the California test route, the AEB was seemingly triggered by a guardrail in a curve in the road. The problem was found with both Jimnys, and Suzuki's Jimny chief engineer was present to look into the matter; later, Suzuki engineers were able to replicate the glitch with these particular vehicles on the same road. While U.S. sales of the Jimny are extremely unlikely, test data acquired on American roads still seems to be highly valuable for Suzuki, as tests in Japan could not replicate the problem. It appears the road condition, tilt angle, curve aspects and vehicle speed all conspired to puzzle the AEB system, which is now being evaluated for a software or calibration change. The jerky correction by the electronic stability program, audible on the CarAdvice video, happened at 45-55 mph, which is not overly fast for even the narrow and tall Jimny — it is possible that the AEB mistook the guardrail for another car. Suzuki stated: "There is a possibility that the (stability control) is instantaneously switched on (by) reacting to the vehicle sway when departing the S-shaped curve — and then consecutively switches on because the vehicle is circling the curve at high speeds. [...] The intervention of the stability control may give a sense of discomfort to the driver but is not an event that would disturb the vehicle's direction of movement." The driver safety assists are a good addition to the Jimny, of course, given that the 1980s second-generation truck was the subject of a beef between Consumer Reports and Suzuki North America due to its reported tippiness in corners. Related Video:

Toyota, Honda, Nissan and more collaborating to increase fuel efficiency

Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Daihatsu have announced an alliance that will see a push to improve fuel economy from both gas-powered and diesel-powered engines by as much as 30 percent before the end of the decade.
The newly assembled Research Association of Automotive Internal Combustion Engines put the roughly $20-million project together, with the Japanese government committing to half the cost while the eight manufacturers will chip in the rest.
According to Automotive News, the automakers will team up and share basic research on internal-combustion engines in a bid to cut costs. Eventually, the results of the research will find its way into a production vehicle, although it's unclear just when we'll see the fruits of this partnership on the road.