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Junkyard Gem: 2005 Suzuki Aerio SX Suzuki Works Techno

Americans started buying new Suzuki cars with the debut of the 1985 Chevrolet Sprint and continued doing so through the era of the Geo/Chevrolet Metro and Tracker. Sales of the Samurai mini-SUV took off during the late 1980s, and the Swift sibling to the Metro became available here starting in 1989. The Suzuki American dream— at least the part involving four-wheeled, highway-legal vehicles— came crashing down in 2012, but the 2000s gave American Suzuki fans some interesting-yet-affordable machinery. We got the Kizashi (the side marker lights of which make great jack-O-lantern eyes) and the Suzuki Works Techno package for the Reno and the Aerio in 2005. I found a Reno SWT in California a few months back and figured that would be the first and last Suzuki Works Techno car I ever saw, but then this Aerio appeared in a Colorado car graveyard not long after that. The first two Fast & Furious movies proved to be a tremendous cultural influence on youthful car buyers, and Suzuki created the SWT package to cash in on the hunger for "carbon fiber" and "horsepower" in an affordable package. You didn't get anything that made the car go faster when you checked the SWT box, but you did get alloy wheels and "carbon fiber-styled" stuff all over the place, including the license-plate frame. The SX was the top-of-the-line Aerio in 2005, selling for (well, asking for) $15,449 with front-wheel-drive. That's about $20,900 in 2020 dollars. The hatchback version had some minivan/CUV-ness to its shape. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. In most of the world outside of Japan and North America, this car had Liana badging. Perhaps the most famous Aerio/Liana of all time was the original Reasonably Priced Car on Top Gear UK, a 2002 Liana saloon. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Nobohiro "Monster" Tajima drove a modified-beyond-recognition Aerio hatchback up Pikes Peak in 2001, but it got knocked out by mechanical woes. We can't say what knocked out this Aerio, but it wouldn't have been the interior scent— not with three "Relax" Car-Freshner Little Trees on the job. Sadly, the Relax scent is no longer available. Whatever happened, it involved the car breaking down on a Colorado highway and getting the dreaded "red tag" from the CSP. I see quite a few of these tags on junkyard inmates.

Which automaker's 84-year-old CEO is making investors nervous?

We haven't heard much about Suzuki since it decided to leave the US market in 2012, but things are going well for the little automaker these days with the recent announcement of record annual profits. It would seem that investors should be ecstatic, but they are starting to question the man at the helm. Company president and chairman Osamu Suzuki is now 84 years old and is guaranteed at least one more year as the leader, but shareholders want to know who is taking his place when the inevitable happens.
We're not being ageist, here. As long as the Suzuki can run the company to the satisfaction of investors, he absolutely deserves the top spot. According to Bloomberg, the issue making shareholders so edgy is that the business doesn't have a transition plan in place. The president obviously isn't a young man, and folks are worried that if something happens suddenly, there could be chaos deciding a successor and a free-falling stock price.
Suzuki's tenure at the company is somewhat astounding. He married the granddaughter of the founder and took her name because the family had no male heirs. In world where many people hope to retire as soon as possible, he's worked for the same automaker for the last 50 years, including stints as company president from 1978 to 2000 and 2008 to the present. Investors aren't questioning the president's ability as a business leader; they just want a clearer understanding of the automaker's future direction.

Lucky Australians get super-limited Suzuki Jimny Heritage Edition

Every time the Suzuki Jimny comes up, people in the U.S. throw around phrases like “forbidden fruit” and words like “unobtanium.” Still, the automakerÂ’s newest off-roader may be impossible to get, even for people in markets where itÂ’s sold. The new Jimny Heritage Edition will soon be available in Australia, but its super-limited numbers will make it one of the rarest pint-sized off-roaders yet. Suzuki said it would only build 300 of the retro-inspired Jimnys. The companyÂ’s Australian website shows four colorways, including green, white, grey, and black, each accented by red and orange graphics and red mudflaps. Heritage decals and a unique cargo tray round out the look. The Heritage Edition gets the same 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine that the standard Jimny and Jimny Lite get, which produces around 100 horsepower and 96 pound-feet of torque. Suzuki offers a four-speed automatic transmission in other variants, but the Heritage comes exclusively with a five-speed manual gearbox. The JimnyÂ’s ultra-compact size, short wheelbase, and almost nonexistent front and rear overhangs make it a surprisingly capable off-roader. Utility vehicles have ballooned in size here in the States, and while we never got the Jimny, we did get oddities like the Geo/Chevy Tracker before the market went wild on luxo-barge SUVs. The Heritage Edition builds on the GLX trim, the most “luxurious” variant, if you can call it that. The trim gets a seven-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, navigation, LED headlights, a rearview camera, fog lights, and even some advanced driver aids. Though small and somewhat basic, the Jimny Heritage Edition can be upgraded with several options and accessories. Suzuki offers skid plates, cargo accessories, premium speakers, and even an $1,800 (AUD) 15-inch wheel kit. Pricing starts at AUD 33,490, or $22,591, a few thousand more than the base Jimny. White is the only standard paint color, however, so lucky buyers will have to shell out an additional $695 for one of the other hues. Related Video