So, I know I'm not the only one that gets asked if i'm scared of rolling over when i corner in my samurai...then told to be carefull because they had recieved such bad reviews and were so prone to rollover...I knew they had to be wrong as i whip around corners at 20--30 mph all the time..THEY ARE WRONG! a recent article i believe in car and driver stated that suzuki corp is sueing consumer reports because apparently when the gave the samurai its roll over ratings the test that they conducted were rigged and a federal appeals court just acknowledged it....just thought you guys might find that interesting. they are suing in losses incured because of drastic sales drop immediatly after the "failing" report card

re post that has been talked about 1 millllllliiiiooon times.

Face it, Samurais' do fall over alot more readily than Taurus'. The test may have been rigged, but that really doesn't change anything. My brother followed me on a back road ride once, he pulled my over to say that I bicycled on almost every turn. Even though I knew that, I kept my narrow, short Sammi because it was NARROW & SHORT. If road-holding is your bag, buy a car. If I am willing to risk life for better 4-wheelin', it is MY choice. The problem was not with the test, but the idiots that tried to drive their short & narrow like it was a car. When their stupidity bit them in the ass, they sued. There are warnings on snow-blowers not to use them on the roof and on blow-driers not to use them in the tub. It is for these people that Consumer Reports exists. MIKE

I don't think he disputes the fact that these things are tippy, that's a given with anything with a high centre of gravity. But compared to other SUV's and such, the Samurai did get a bad rap. I remember reading that the Bronco (now Explorer) was in fact the worst of them all but kept hush, hush for various reasons. Water under the bridge at this point b/c whatever happens now won't change peoples perseption of a samurai. Whatever the case, I do agree that "to each his own" when it comes to buying/driving a car/truck, but that can't be the case. There's always someone who's too happy to sue when shit goes wrong and companies need to protect themselves.

Cheers.
Steve

The advantage is obviously to us because now we can purchase one for offroad at a more then bitchin price.

Maybe the results of the lawsuit will help bring Samurais back to the American market. That'd be cool.:D

Originally posted by jones
Maybe the results of the lawsuit will help bring Samurais back to the American market. That'd be cool.:D

Yeah, thats exactly the kind of result of the lawsuit I am hoping for...if it can clear the sammy of a bad rap sheet, then maybe suzuki will bring it back <savors the thought of a new rust free sammy, out the box with a new suzuki 2.0 efi engine>

You know, Toyota people have been trying for YEARS to get the SWB land cruisers back into the US. Same for the Land Rover people with the Defender 90's. IIRC, a certain Detroit based company that make a short wheel based, 2 door, 4 wheel drive vehicle that seems to be all the rage, lobbyed congress back during the early 80's to impose an import tax on all 4 wheel drive, short wheel base, 2 door vehicles. This tax, also coincides about, with the demise of the FJ40 land cruiser,and the Suzuki Samurai.

IIRC, this tax is also the reason why the Defender 90 was SO EXTREMELY over priced, but the Jeep Wrangler still has a HUGE market share and popularity, and is still relatively cheap.

Neither the LAnd Cruiser, NOR the Defender 90 had as bad of a rap sheet as the Suzuki Samurai, but both were discontinued in the NA market. The D90 was removed, primarily, because of the stiffened safety standards imposed in 1998, and Land Rover NA couldn't justify modifying a vehicle sold world wide for the North American market. I suspect that teh same thing would happen with the Jimney (the current iteration of the Samurai). Also, the fact of the matter is, the NA market IS NOT interested in a vehicle that has solid front and rear axles, with a spartan interior that will sell for more than $25,000. The comfort of the vehicle and road handlign characteristics of a leather equiped, IFS SUV will sell better, and do better in Consumer Reports tests than a SFA SUV with a vinyl or cloth interior.

My question for you folks, is are you willing to pay upwards of $30,000 for these vehicles?

The Suzuki Vitara/Chevy Tracker gets around these taxes, because they are assembled in the US in a factory owned by chevrolet. Supposedly, Toyota is going to be assembling their FJ Cruiser abortion in a factory in indiana or in california. ALso, the FJ Cruiser, the Suzuki Vitara/Chevy Tracker are vehicle SPECIFICALLY designed for the North American market.

Flame on.

Where is the dead horse GIF when you need it?

Funny thing is...... when the tv show aired way back when and they did the tests, most people never give it any thought, but, at the end of the show the samurai drove away on 2 wheels. Sorry but with open diffs front and rear, as they came from the factory, its just not possible to drive for any distance on 2 wheels.

I own an Isuzu Trooper AND a Samurai. I threw a Hoover vaccum they rated a best buy in the dumpster after a year bec is was a POS that broke all the time.

Consumer reports are :rainbow: :rainbow: :rainbow: Eco morons with an agenda.

Originally posted by Shrock
I own an Isuzu Trooper AND a Samurai. I threw a Hoover vaccum they rated a best buy in the dumpster after a year bec is was a POS that broke all the time.

Consumer reports are :rainbow: :rainbow: :rainbow: Eco morons with an agenda.

I can't stand Consumer Reports. They actually gave my Tacoma a bad rating because it drove like a truck.

Originally posted by Shrock
Consumer reports are :rainbow: :rainbow: :rainbow: Eco morons with an agenda.

My thoughts as well.:)

I remember the scam well...back in 1987....money was changing hands.

I never realized how many great vehicles were out there that we never see at home until I got here (Kuwait). There are some awesome Landcruisers here, with pickup beds and foldaway hard cabs. I drove one of the new Samurais a couple weeks ago, felt like mine, just with a lot more power. I love the new grills, blinkers are small round lights next to the headlights. Even Mitsubishi and Nissan have decent vehicles over here. The Mitsu Pajero is a lot of fun in the sand, especially the Io. Was eyeing their axles. About the same size as a Sammy and already set up for coils. It's a shame we can't get ahold of these back home. If I could, I'd load one in a conex when we redeploy for home. I really like those small LC's - and they have axles that would look great under my tintop. Maybe I'll find one wrecked on the interstate and grab the axles. They don't recover vehicles here, they wreck them, they leave them behind.