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So is the case with Honda... Honda cars were first sold only through Honda Motorcycle franchises through the 1960's and even 1970/71.
Suzuki best market and for a time.. the only US market was Hawaii. GM also sold re-badged Suzuki's under the GEO name.
I own one of Consumer Reports worst cars of all time... a Suzuki Samurai. I've had it for many years and continue to be amazed at how rugged and dependable it is. There really isn't anything like it on the American market... true low gear transfer case with rugged frame construction in a small, go anywhere package.
I mostly use mine to move heavy trailers around the yard and to transport diesel fuel for construction equipment.
Long past thread however, ...I had one of the first Suzuki's " jeeps", 2 cycle,3 cylinder back in the late 70s, loved it. ( very slow ). I now am thinking about a Samurai for off roading on my property two tracks up here in the U.P. Haven't found any anywhere close...still looking.
There was a reason Henry Ford was so sucessful with the Model T, it was the first car the people who made then could afford to own. Today its all very complicated, cars, credit cards, forclosures, personal economy in general.... Maybe its time to return to cars we can pay cash for, can get fixed anywhere, can be recycled, cause their worth doing..... The Samurai was very light, simple, and today is demanding high prices. All that for a vehicle thats been out of production for 20 years. reason ?...all of the above, plus , a new 4 wheeler with a cab ( not street legal ether), will set you back 9,000, if you are licky, and still do less than a Samurai.
The Sidekick (Geo Tracker) wasn't as popular because it got bigger, softer, and less capable. They can still be modded to be decent, but not as easily as the Samurai.
Another Suzuki that should have done better (and got sold quite a bit in it's Geo form) was the Cultus/Swift. Maybe if the Geo version had been sold in the GTi form like the swift did, things woudl have been better. The GTi version was a very fun little car. Very agile, with excellent sport seats and a willing, revvy 1.3 liter twincam engine that no other Geo or Swift got.
I had one almost identical to the one in the picture. 45 mpg, and a real blast to autocross. It's too bad we didnt' get the new one, as I hear is's also a lot of fun to drive...
They really should line up their cars with their sport bike offerings and sell them on excitment, not try to be Accord or Corolla competitors.
Man, again, Drover is a wealth of closed mindedness.
Well guess what Chumley: the market apparently agrees with me, and as a result the death watch is on for Suzuki Auto USA. Maybe the Kizashi can rescue it if Suzuki can manage a halfway decent marketing campaign for it. We'll see. Its current cult following notwithstanding, the Samurai was a decidedly inglorious introduction into the U.S. car market and consequently Suzuki was never quite able to gain its footing here.
we are Americans.... we give preference to Ford, dodge.... we never even think about Suzuki.... we generally select the our country made automobiles.. suzuki where stands dont knw
Small car marks have trouble gaining market share unless, what they offer is truly better or offers a better value than the rest. To my knowledge Suzuki never fulfilled those criteria. However, their motorcycles are bad ass, in that market, they offer a truly world class product at a great price.
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