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Junkyard Gem: 1990 Suzuki Sidekick Convertible

When General Motors decided to create the Geo brand in 1989, for vehicles designed and/or built by Isuzu, Toyota, and Suzuki (strangely, the Daewoo-built LeMans kept its Pontiac badges even as the Corolla-based Chevy Nova became the Geo Prizm), the only Geo truck was the Tracker. The Tracker (later a Chevrolet) was really a Suzuki Escudo aka Vitara, and Suzuki decided to sell these trucks in North America with Sidekick badges. Here's one of those early Sidekicks, photographed in a Denver self-service yard with period-correct aftermarket wheels. The first-generation Tracker and Sidekick were sold here for the 1989 through 1998 model years, after which the Tracker name lived on for a few more years on the second-generation truck and Suzuki ditched the Sidekick name in favor of Vitara and Grand Vitara. Suzuki kept selling Grand Vitaras here until the very end (which came in 2013). This is the first Sidekick I've documented in the Junkyard Gems series, because they never sold as well as their Tracker siblings and have become quite rare. Power came from this 1.6-liter G16 engine, a bored-and-stroked version of the engines used in such machines as the Suzuki Samurai and (four-cylinder) Geo Metro. Carburetors were nearly extinct on new vehicles in the United States by 1990, but you could still buy a few throwbacks that didn't have EFI. Might as well brag a bit with a badge like this one! You could get the '90 Sidekick with a five-speed manual or a three-speed automatic, with your choice of rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive. This one has the five-speed and 4WD. American Sidekick shoppers had their choice of a two-door hardtop or convertible version; this one is the convertible. It's equipped with exquisitely 1990s spoked wheels, complete with the stretched narrow-tire treatment. The brightly-painted interior trim pieces suggest more of a mid-2000s influence. Just over 150,000 total miles on the odometer. Leaf springs? No, the Sidekick got modern coils. In the Sidekick's homeland, the TV commercials went for a North African look. Related video:

Suzuki Vitara shows its face ahead of Paris debut

The death of Suzuki's American automotive operations can be chalked up to many, many things. One thing it cannot be blamed on, however, is the arguable goodness of its products. The company's criminally underrated offerings included the Kizashi sedan, the SX4 compact and your author's personal favorite, the Grand Vitara.
The GV rode on a radically different version of General Motors' Theta platform, which underpins the American manufacturer's current crop of crossovers, like the Chevrolet Equinox. What made the Grand Vitara special, though, was that it wasn't just another run-of-the-mill CUV. Buying the cheapest model meant living with rear-wheel drive rather than the Theta's typical front drive. Spend a bit of money, though, and you'd end up with an honest-to-goodness off-roader, sporting selectable four-wheel drive complete with low-range gearbox. It also comfortably sat five, was reasonably efficient and was quite handsome. We aren't totally sure how it turned into this.
This, of course, being the new Vitara (it replaces the Escudo, the vehicle Americans know as the Grand Vitara), and it will make its global debut at October's Paris Motor Show, which has ditched its four-wheel-drive system for a part-time all-wheel-drive system called Allgrip.

Suzuki shows electric coupe that's also a wagon, autonomous van and Hustler Concept in Tokyo

Update: More photos and details of these Suzuki concepts have surfaced since their official reveal at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show. Turns out, the Waku Spo coupe can also be a wagon. We love it. When you swap in the wagon rear end, the rear seat slides back and automatically reclines. All of a sudden, the sporty coupe has turned into a somewhat roomy wagon kei car. Its interior features a fully digital dash that will actually simulate wood grain on the passenger side when in the Normal drive mode. When sport mode is selected, the "wood grain" transforms into a massive screen of dials and vehicle information. The Suzuki Hanare is the van pictured in the gallery and further below. Its drive wheels feature in-wheel electric motors, and the interior is all about customization. The folks in Suzuki's press photos look happy to be hanging out by their Hanares, and we think we'd be pretty happy too. One of the vans has a bar; the other has a massive screen with a map, and the middle van is full of storage for outdoor activity supplies. Lastly, Suzuki showed us the Hustler Concept. It's essentially just a Hustler made to look like an off-road kei car. We're picking up the Jimny vibes Suzuki is laying down. It's wonderfully boxy and features a bevy of neat accessories. Suzuki is celebrating its 100th anniversary at this year's Tokyo Motor Show. To mark the occasion, the company has created two unique concepts that look to the past for style, and the future for powertrain and use cases. One is called the Waku Spo, and the other is the Hanare. The Waku Spo is pictured above, and it's a plug-in hybrid with styling rooted in '60s Japanese cars. It's simple and squared off save for the wide fender flares and charming round headlights. There are dashes of chrome trim around the car and two-tone paint. The fender-mounted rearview cameras are a high-tech twist on a classic Japanese car feature. But if this design doesn't appeal to you, Suzuki says body and interior parts can be quickly switched out so each driver can have a car that's personalized to their tastes. While the Waku Spo is a more traditional, driver-oriented car, the Hanare is more of an autonomous pod. According to Suzuki, Hanare translates to "cottage" and the theme of the van is to be your home away from home. It's meant to be a mobile room to do whatever you want. It also looks like it's intended to be private and secluded, as the only windows are slender pieces that wrap around the roof.