1988 Suzuki Samurai Jx Sport Utility 2-door 1.3l on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 2005 Suzuki Verona

The ways of the far-flung GM Empire could be mysterious, a couple of decades back, especially when Daewoo and/or Suzuki were involved. After The General's (relative) success selling the Daewoo LeMans with Pontiac badges here, Daewoo decided to bring three models to the United States with its own badging: the Lanos, Nubira and Leganza. Unfortunately for that effort, Daewoo's CEO fled South Korea to evade embezzlement and fraud charges just as the first models hit American showrooms in 1999, and the company went bankrupt soon after. The last year for the trio of Daewoo-badged models here was 2002… but we weren't done with those cars yet! Today's Junkyard Gem is an example of the next-generation Leganza, found in a Denver-area self-service wrecking yard recently. GM began selling Suzuki cars in North America with the Chevrolet Sprint (aka Suzuki Cultus) in 1985. The following year, Suzuki began importing the Jimny with Suzuki Samurai badging. Many Suzukis followed over the next quarter-century, with Chevrolet, Geo and Suzuki branding applied along the way. Since GM bought all of Daewoo's car-building operations during the chaos of the early 2000s, it made sense to keep selling the descendants of the three Daewoo models that had been offered here. They'd have made sense as Geos, but the Geo brand got the axe after 1997. Saturn? For Opels, sure, but not Daewoos. Isuzu had gone all-truck here after the final Styluses and Storms left the showrooms as 1993 models (though the Honda Odyssey was sold here with Isuzu emblems), so that was out. So, Chevrolet and Suzuki got the honors. The next-generation Daewoo Lanos subcompact became the Chevrolet Aveo, the next-generation Daewoo Nubira compact became the Suzuki Reno, and the next-generation Daewoo Leganza midsize sedan became the Suzuki Verona. The Verona was available for just the 2004 through 2006 model years. Note that the dealership decal features the Pets.com Sock Puppet. That's because the now-defunct 1-800-Bar-None company bought the rights to the Sock Puppet in 2002 (two years after Pets.com went kerblooey as the highest-profile casualty of the Dot-Com Crash) and used it in their advertising. All Leganzas had four-cylinder engines driving the front wheels, but the Verona got this very unusual longitudinally-mounted straight-six rig. It thus joins the Volvo S80 in the elite club for this powertrain setup.

Suzuki previews new S-Cross compact CUV ahead of Paris debut

Despite having one heck of a lackluster presence here in the United States, Suzuki still manages to do well in other markets. That in mind, the automaker continually releases new products and concept cars at international auto shows that aren't destined for U.S. consumption, but this might not be one of those times.
The aging SX4 crossover is in need of replacement, and if Suzuki is still committed to selling passenger cars in the States, something fresh like this S-Cross concept could be just the ticket. Suzuki has, after all, confirmed that the S-Cross will eventually make its way into production.
We have no other details to divulge about the S-Cross, except that it's a small crossover concept and that it will make its public debut at the Paris Motor Show in September. Suzuki says that the S-Cross has a "Emotion x Quality x Aerodynamics" design theme that uses "distinctive dynamic lines that start on the front bumper, sweep across the doors, and continue to the rear of the body." No offense, Suzuki, but we've heard that before.

Suzuki's next Jimny won't veer too far from The Way Of The Samurai

Suzuki might be gone as an automaker in the US, but the brand is still driving along in other parts of the world. In fact, it even has new products in the pipeline and among them is a replacement for the venerable Jimny compact SUV (better known as the Samurai in America). The last all-new Jimny hit the market back in 1998, but the little SUVs have grown quite a cult following, especially in the UK. Farmers love them because the compact vehicles can go just about anywhere, thanks to a relatively high ground clearance, small size and four-wheel drive. With the new generation due in 2017, according to Top Gear, that's nearly 20 years of hard work for this off-roader. Though, Suzuki refreshed the Jimny slightly for the 2013 model year (pictured above) across the pond with a revised front end. Don't expect the future iteration to go soft, though. Unlike the similarly long-lived Land Rover Defender, which is rumored to be a bit friendlier in its next generation, Suzuki wants keep the model's abilities as capable as possible, while adding some modern assistance systems. "The next Jimny will be an evolution. It will follow the same recipe. When you see it you'll know it's a Jimny," said the automaker's UK sales boss Dale Wyatt to Top Gear. "If you were a sheep farmer in the Scottish hills you'd see the car is perfect; no argument to change it." If all these promises about the future come true, we might get to hear about the Jimny driving around the world or pulling a huge truck out of the snow for many years to come.