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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.

Junkyard Gem: 1993 Suzuki Swift GT

General Motors sold rebaged versions of the Suzuki Cultus in the United States, first as the 1984-1988 Chevrolet Sprint, then as the 1989-1997 Geo Metro, and finally as the 1998-2001 Chevrolet Metro. Meanwhile, Suzuki sold the Cultus on these shores as the Swift. Three-cylinder Metros were miserably slow and admirably fuel-efficient, but it was possible to buy the same car with a yowling 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine making 100 horsepower: the Swift GT. Here's a very rare example, found in a Colorado self-service wrecking yard. These cars weighed only about 1,800 pounds, so they were nearly as quick as the more powerful but heavier Honda Del Sol Si and Nissan Sentra SE-R ... and much cheaper. At $10,149 (about $17,400 in inflation-adjusted 2017 dollars), the Swift GT looked like a steal next to the $12,455 Sentra SE-R and the $16,070 Del Sol Si. However, the Hyundai Scoupe Turbo, priced at a mere $10,999, looked like the best deal of all in 1993. This one has lived a hard life, with body damage, faded interior, and rust in the usual spots. 175,303 miles, most of them probably spent above 5,000 rpm. Perhaps some Metro owner will grab the running gear and seats, in order to create a Geo sleeper... but we doubt it. Another piece of obscure automotive history, bound for the crusher. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Suzuki USA wasn't pushing Swift advertising very hard in 1993, so we'll go to the car's homeland for a TV ad for the regular Cultus hatchback. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The earlier version of the Cultus GTi (factory-hot-rod counterpart to the U.S.-market Chevrolet Sprint) got some ads full of fire and Pet Shop Boys in its homeland.

Suzuki demand in US rises after bankruptcy

Following word that Suzuki is ceasing car sales in America, it appears that demand for the Japanese automaker's wares have increased. According to The Detroit News, American Suzuki Motor Corp. will import an additional 2,500 vehicles to quench demand that has jumped since the company announced that it was filing for bankruptcy and ending sales in America.
Dealers recently informed their sales personnel that no more vehicles would be produced and that this was the final push. With heavy incentives and a seven-year warranty as value-adds, November sales for Suzuki rose in November some 22 percent, up to 2,224 vehicles. December sales also rose, but neither month's gains outweigh the long-term losses for the automaker. While Suzuki will sell roughly 22,000 cars this year in the US, it was selling about 120,000 annually before 2008.
As it stands, Suzuki will sell off the rest of its vehicle inventory, including the 2,500 additional units, and dealers will continue to provide parts an warranty work. With all of this negative news for the automaker, it's impressive to see an interest in Suzuki vehicles even with the imminent shuttering of its North American car sales.