SNOT-POUNDING

[WESHOOT2]

I decided the other day (while sailing down a pot-holed wash-boarded dirt back road at 80 MPH) that, while it's simply that I've been lucky, these Kizashis are one tough rugged reliable durable automobile.

At least in my 193,023 2-Kizashi-miles experience.

Yeah.




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[KuroNekko]

Yeah, I agree. I've written this many times, but my first car was a 1998 Suzuki Sidekick JX 4x4 SUV. That thing was underpowered with a 1.6 liter engine making only 98 HP. However, it was reliable and very durable. I offroaded the shit out of that thing when I was living on a mountain with the excellent trails around that descended the mountain into the high desert. It took me on trails where the only other vehicles were Toyota Tacomas and Jeep Wranglers of which many were modified. The Suzuki wasn't as capable in terms of ground clearance and wheel articulation, but it really soldiered through the rough stuff while being very reliable and economical. Some weekends, I'd offroad it all day long to discover all the little trails I didn't know about.
My friend had a Suzuki Samurai and we were often offroading in that too. Not a problem for the old Sammy either.

Over a decade later, when I discovered the Kizashi and did my research on it to learn it was a 100% made in Japan Suzuki product, I just knew it was well built like my Sidekick. The plus side was that this wasn't a spartan economy truck but a relatively upscale sedan and the finest thing Suzuki ever made. However, it's apparent to me that Suzuki still instilled its durability DNA in the Kizashi. While I don't put it through the unpaved road abuse you do, I'm in the opposite kind of daily use rigor; urban commuter car in horrid traffic.

I recently read a one-liner about brands like Suzuki and thought it applied quite well:
"Inexpensive and built to stay that way."

[Ronzuki]

"Inexpensive and built to stay that way."

And that's exactly what I'm going to miss the most about the brand being gone.

Snot-pounding...yeah, pretty much describes what goes on with a 25 year old Samurai when it gets taken out and beat on in the rocks (and an occasional tree).

[KuroNekko]

Nice photos! That's Suzuki 4x4 porn status right there. I never got into rock crawling given the area I offroaded was more of the Southern California high desert, but my stock Sidekick did deliver a good amount of fun and adventure. If I still had a vehicle like this, I'd spend the money to upgrade it.

[WESHOOT2]

My Suzuki-ness started with a new 1977 GS750.
I rode it like I drive my cars.

And my first motorcycle-mechanic gig was at a Suzuki / Moto Guzzi / Puch dealer.

I am not a brand loyalist, instead using logic and reasoning to make my most-illogically-and-unreasonably-used vehicle choices.
'Cause they're pricey, ay?


The terrain in the above photos looks familiar, except my Kizashi-traverses are not quite so radical.
Close, though.





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ps that "inexpensive..." line was used in the mid-seventies in Subaru ads

[Ronzuki]

Just to exemplify Suzuki out of the box toughness, that Samurai is sporting 100% stock original front and rear axle assemblies sans the deep rims and 32" tires and rear locker (new OE shaft bearings and seals installed w/locker). Shafts, R&P, bearings, brake system, lock-out hubs all 97,000 mile original OE parts. T-case is original and just re-geared w/ new Suzuki OE bearings and seals added at install. Aftermarket drag link, After-market drive shafts (much larger & heavier), a stock 1980 Celica Power steering box and pump out of a mid-west salvage yard donor. Trans, engine, paint...everything else mechanical/electrical is OE stock as it gets abused to this day since @2001. Neon seats for my back comfort, a donor Samurai A/C compressor converted for on-board compressed air supply and armor (homemade bumpers, rock rails and diff caps) are the only comfort/convenience adders.

The 'inexpensive' line was a mantra for just about all Japanese autos back then...until more recently that is.

[KuroNekko]

ps that "inexpensive..." line was used in the mid-seventies in Subaru ads

Sounds about right. I knew it was for another brand but I think it characterizes brands like Scion, Suzuki, Subaru, and Mitsubishi quite well.

It does seem that getting a motorcycle would probably be the best way to satisfy my craving for a fun adventure vehicle while also keeping something like the Kizashi for its own inherent qualities. Plus, Suzukis are still sold as motorcycles and ATVs. It's starting to dawn on me that maybe a motorcycle is the ideal 2nd vehicle. I've been thinking about getting a motorcycle license for a while.

[WESHOOT2]

While my personal preference is to ride a motorcycle, I no longer have sufficient skeletal structural integrity, nor the maturity.

One killed me in 1984.
Wheelchairs suck.

[Ronzuki]

No chance in hell I'd pilot a cycle in this day and age of seemingly endless inattentive drivers. The license in my back pocket is all that remains of my 2-wheeled days. That and the still fresh memories of my old man having instant retirement imposed upon him after being T-boned when I was a teenager.

Crash bar on the CB500 saved his leg, however, his ankle was smashed into 30+ pieces from cracking the cast crank cover. Nothing really left to even put a cast on even if they could've. He was thrown about 25 yards down the highway and the landing dislocated his shoulder so bad they had to knock him out at the hospital to reset it. That was 1980 when a car's radio was considered an unsafe distraction. My, how we've progressed.

[Sluggo]

Cell Phones and texting have caused me to just about give up riding. Every young girl I see driving is texting as they wander lane to lane down the road.
I may still do an early morning mountain run but I no longer ride where traffic is involved.