1994 Suzuki Samurai Jl 4x4 on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 1990 Suzuki Sidekick Convertible

When General Motors decided to create the Geo brand in 1989, for vehicles designed and/or built by Isuzu, Toyota, and Suzuki (strangely, the Daewoo-built LeMans kept its Pontiac badges even as the Corolla-based Chevy Nova became the Geo Prizm), the only Geo truck was the Tracker. The Tracker (later a Chevrolet) was really a Suzuki Escudo aka Vitara, and Suzuki decided to sell these trucks in North America with Sidekick badges. Here's one of those early Sidekicks, photographed in a Denver self-service yard with period-correct aftermarket wheels. The first-generation Tracker and Sidekick were sold here for the 1989 through 1998 model years, after which the Tracker name lived on for a few more years on the second-generation truck and Suzuki ditched the Sidekick name in favor of Vitara and Grand Vitara. Suzuki kept selling Grand Vitaras here until the very end (which came in 2013). This is the first Sidekick I've documented in the Junkyard Gems series, because they never sold as well as their Tracker siblings and have become quite rare. Power came from this 1.6-liter G16 engine, a bored-and-stroked version of the engines used in such machines as the Suzuki Samurai and (four-cylinder) Geo Metro. Carburetors were nearly extinct on new vehicles in the United States by 1990, but you could still buy a few throwbacks that didn't have EFI. Might as well brag a bit with a badge like this one! You could get the '90 Sidekick with a five-speed manual or a three-speed automatic, with your choice of rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive. This one has the five-speed and 4WD. American Sidekick shoppers had their choice of a two-door hardtop or convertible version; this one is the convertible. It's equipped with exquisitely 1990s spoked wheels, complete with the stretched narrow-tire treatment. The brightly-painted interior trim pieces suggest more of a mid-2000s influence. Just over 150,000 total miles on the odometer. Leaf springs? No, the Sidekick got modern coils. In the Sidekick's homeland, the TV commercials went for a North African look. Related video:

Suzuki previews e-Survivor concept, the cutest ute yet

If you've ever thought of Suzuki as a whimsical manufacturer of small or smallish vehicles, you're going to like what the manufacturer plans to show at the upcoming 45 th Tokyo Motor Show. The e-Survivor Concept reimagines the classic Suzuki jeep as an all-electric vehicle, and it's filled with interesting styling cues both retro and futuristic. The e-Survivor is not only lightweight in construction, it also looks like it, with vestigial wheelarches and see-through doors. The electric motors are housed in the wheels, leaving the ladder-frame construction able to be as skinny as possible. The dashboard houses large screens showing infotainment controls, navigation settings and the vehicle itself, and there are rear-view cameras in place of mirrors. According to the manufacturer, the e-Survivor is a compact SUV of "the next age," which could even hint of an electric 4x4 being the way for Suzuki to survive in this century — or in its second century: the company is 100 years old in 2020, and its concepts show what Suzuki sees beyond that. Perhaps something from the e-Survivor will make production after 2020; independent wheel-mounted electric motors would certainly suit a small, light SUV. Other exhibits are the "tall miniwagon" Spacia Concept, the XBEE crossover available in several different guises, the friendly-looking Carry Open-Air Market Concept and a "neo-retro styled" SV650X bike. Related Video:

Junkyard Gem: 1985 Chevrolet Sprint

For in the 1985 model year, General Motors began selling Chevrolet-badged Suzuki Cultus hatchbacks in California. Sales of the cheap three-cylinder econobox in the rest of North America followed soon after (with the Canadian version known as the Pontiac Firefly), and did pretty well considering the crash in gasoline prices during the middle 1980s. Starting in 1988, the facelifted Sprint became the Geo (and, later on, Chevrolet) Metro. Here's one of the very first Cultuses sold on our shores, found in a San Francisco Bay Area car graveyard. Amazingly, the primitive rear-wheel-drive Chevrolet Chevette remained available all the way through 1987, competing with the thriftier front-wheel-drive Sprint in the same showrooms. For 1988, Pontiac started selling a rebadged Daewoo LeMans, so the Sprint/Metro never lacked for intra-corporate competition. Inside, you'll find the same stuff most mid-1980s Japanese econoboxes got: tough cloth upholstery and long-wearing hard plastics. Suzuki quality in 1985 wasn't quite up to Honda or Toyota levels, but you weren't paying Honda or Toyota prices for the Sprint. MSRP on this car started at $4,949, or about $12,000 in 2020 dollars. The cheapest possible 1985 Chevette cost $5,340, while a new no-frills Ford Escort would set you back $5,620. Subaru, however, could have put you in a punitively unappointed base-model Leone hatchback for just 40 bucks more than the Sprint that year. I think I'd have sprung the extra for a $5,348 Toyota Tercel, a $5,195 Mazda GLC, or— best cheap-commuter deal of all that year— the $5,399 Honda Civic 1300 hatchback. I was 19 years old and driving a Competition Orange 1968 Mercury Cyclone that year, and I recall feeling pity for Chevy Sprint drivers, new-car smell or not. Still, these weren't bad cars for the price, though a Sprint with an automatic transmission was a real character-builder. Got three cylinders and uses 'em all! 48 horsepower from this hemi-headed SOHC 1-liter. The Turbo Sprint — yes, such a car existed — had a howling 70 horsepower. The hood-latch release is a rectangular button that resembles a badge. 1985 Chevy Sprint Commercial The highest-mileage, lowest-priced car you can buy. 1985 holden barina commercial The Australian-market version was the Holden Barina, and the TV ads featured the Road Runner. 1983 SUZUKI CULTUS Ad In its homeland, this car got screaming guitars and a drive through New York City for its TV commercials.