Posts from ‘Suzuki’
Classic Car Ads: Cheap Cars of 1983
Cheap Cars of 1983
Affordability is a relative thing. But odds are, if a manufacturer is sharing the price of a product in advertising, the thing being sold is probably a good deal. Of course, in the case of automobiles, the listed base price is subject to any number of asterisks and fine-print notations—especially back in the Eighties, before regulators were paying especially close attention to auto ads.
1987 Suzuki Samurai
Sometime in the middle of the Eighties, Americans developed an appetite—albeit a modest one—for pint-sized sport-utility vehicles with legitimate off-road capability. Early on the scene were the Suzuki Samurai and the Daihatsu Rocky. Few people actually recall Daihatsu’s brief flirtation with the U.S. market—briefly, Daihatsu sold cars Stateside between 1988 and 1992. Only two models were ever offered here: the aforementioned Rocky, and a subcompact car dubbed Charade.
Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast
Whether you drive a car, need a car, or just occasionally bum a ride with friends, you’ve come to the right place. Join the editors of Consumer Guide Automotive as they break down everything that’s going on in the auto world. New-car reviews, shopping tips, driving green, electric cars, classic cars, and plenty of great guests. This is the Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast.
1974 Renault 17 Gordini
I’ll be frank: I collect car ads in different folders with the intention of finding a sufficient number of similar ads to create a blog-post gallery. The ads shared here? Well, I’m having the blog-post equivalent of a fire sale. I love these ads, but I can’t really see them becoming part of any article with anything like a coherent theme.
1985 Buick Riviera Convertible
While styling, performance, and rarity have been the traditional tickets to collectibility, vehicles that offer features—styling or otherwise—that are monuments to their era or simply aren’t likely to reappear also have a shot. It’s why we believe cars of the Fifties are so treasured today; their chrome, tall fins, and sheer mass so perfectly characterized the jet-aged optimism of the time, and it’s almost certain their likes will ever be seen again.
1962 Oldsmobile F-85 Cutlass
Americans have now enjoyed the services of the automobile for well over a century. It’s hard to imagine another development that did so much to shape the country as we now know it. But at just over 100 years of service, the car has nothing on football.
What Was The Pontiac Firefly?
Most Americans have never heard of the Firefly, but Canadian consumers might well have considered purchasing one of these subcompact Pontiacs. A 1987 “Base” is shown.
Pontiac of Canada was well known for selling gently tweaked variations of Chevy products for exclusive distribution north of the border. The 1976-1987 Pontiac Acadian for example, was actually a retrimmed Chevrolet Chevette.
10 Best-Selling Cars in Japan
2018 Honda N-Box
On a per-person basis, Americans buy more new cars than do the Japanese. In 2017, for example, American buyers snatched up roughly 17.3 million cars and light trucks. That works out to approximately one car for every 18 U.S. residents.
1981 DeLorean DMC-12
The American auto market place tempts many a foreign car builder, and for good reason–Americans buy a lot of cars, and well-equipped cars at that. Margins on cars sold in China, for example, are about half that for vehicles sold here in the States.
The Geos of 1992
1992 Geo lineup
General Motors wasn’t having an easy time getting the buying public to take its small-car offerings seriously in the 1980s. Its J-Car lineup, launched for the 1982 model year, provided all five retail-car divisions—including Cadillac—a modern entry into the subcompact arena. Sadly, the little front-drivers were plagued by quality issues and often dismissed by younger shoppers.
