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Suzuki Jimny Black Bison is real, looks ready to stomp on other off-roaders

The internet darling Suzuki Jimny strikes again, except this time it's considerably less cute in the Wald Black Bison getup. We drove the little SUV late last year and found it to be good, rollicking fun, but this modified version looks like the little ute's foil. Mechanically, the Jimny Black Bison is similar to the normal Jimny. This means it has a 1.5-liter four-cylinder that makes all of 99 horsepower and 95 pound-feet of torque. Yep, that probably wouldn't fly in the U.S. The G-Wagen appearance absolutely would, though. A lift and side-exit exhaust appear to be the most obvious modifications we can see from the photos. The exhaust looks like a page straight out of AMG's playbook for the G-Wagen. Wald has added more than a few extra body parts to make this off-roader look unique. It starts with the aggressive tire and wheel setup, which in turn requires the huge fenders. This gives the Jimny its super aggressive stance you see here. A new front and rear bumper, plus grille, ensure it doesn't look disjointed as a whole. If you like lights, you have plenty of them to choose from here. Additional LEDs are mounted in the lower bumper area, and a couple banks of roof lights are equipped to light the trail ahead. The hood has two massive nostrils that surely aren't necessary for the little engine underneath, but we recognize the commitment to the theme. Finally, there's a roof spoiler that extends higher than any roof spoiler needs to from a car with a top speed of 90 mph. We imagine all the extra bits lower the top speed even further on the Black Bison. No word yet on availability of the Suzuki Jimny Black Bison edition. This vehicle was revealed at the Osaka Auto Messe by Wald, so it's not an official Suzuki vehicle by any means. It would be neat to see the full conversion kit offered to Suzuki owners, but individual sale of the parts is the most likely scenario. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Junkyard Gem: 1991 Geo Metro LSi Convertible

Beginning in 1985, General Motors brought over Suzuki Cultuses and sold them here with Chevrolet Sprint badges, which Americans bought in surprisingly large numbers (considering the crash in fuel prices around that time). When the time came for The General to launch a separate brand selling rebadged Japanese machines— Geo— the second-generation Cultus became the Geo Metro. Sporting a fuel-sipping three-cylinder engine, the Metro mostly sold to penny-pinchers interested only in cheap commutingÂ… but GM decided to make a fun convertible version, anyway. Here's one of those cars, finally retired near Denver at age 30. The 1991 Metro hierarchy started with the El Cheapo base and XFi models, at $6,795 (about $13,810 today), then moved up to the better-equipped LSi. The LSi hatchback coupe cost $7,795 ($15,840 in 2021), while the LSi convertible stood at the top of the Metro pyramid at $9,740 ($19,795 now). Believe it or not, Ford managed to undercut the 1991 Metro with its Mazda-built Festiva, priced at $6,620 in its cheapest form. You could buy a Suzuki-badged version of this car, known as the Swift, and the Swift GT had a screaming four-cylinder engine. 1995 and later Metros also had the option of a four-banger, but a 1.0-liter three-cylinder was the only engine available in the 1991 Geo Metro. If you wanted to get close to 60 highway miles per gallon, the Metro XFi had a specially-tuned 1.0 that delivered, though it sent a mere 49 horsepower to the front wheels (the last new car available in the United States with under 50 horsepower— including highway-legal EVs— was the 1993 Metro XFi, by the way). The engine in today's Junkyard Gem was rated at 55 horses. A five-speed manual transmission was standard equipment in every 1991 Metro, though a thoroughly miserable three-speed slushbox could be had for $465 extra (about $945 today). Because most Metro buyers wanted fuel economy first and foremost, automatic Metros are rare (though I have managed to find one in a boneyard). How many total miles? The five-digit odometer means we'll never know. The 1991 Metro convertible came from Japan, but all the others sold here that year were built in Canada. Today, that plant builds the Chevy Equinox. A new convertible for less than 10 grand was a steal in 1991, when a new Mercury Capri convertible cost $12,588.

Suzuki has to take out $45M loan just to shutter US dealers

Bloomberg reports American Suzuki is set to borrow up to $45 million to to close its automotive dealerships and freshen up its it motorcycle and marine business. Suzuki Motor Corporation will loan American Suzuki the funds at three percent below the London Interbank offered rate in order to offer dealer owners a cash payment in exchange for voluntarily abandoning franchise agreements. The company's 216 dealers have 10 days to make a decision on the matter. Under the plan, Suzuki would give dealer owners half of what they're owed in one lump sum, and the dealers would then be able to pursue the remaining debt through the company's bankruptcy procedure.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Scott C. Clarkson granted American Suzuki interim authority to borrow the funds, but Bloomberg reports the company will likely return to court in a few weeks to seek up to $100 million. According to Richard Pachulski, a lawyer for Suzuki America, the automaker may owe its dealers somewhere around $50 million.