Who would buy the Jimny if it was available in the US?

[Techun]

I got to drive one on a rural greek island. It was amazing. So underpowered but with 4lo you could go up the big hills.

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[About Time]

Probably not a Samurai, but I would take a Feroza or Rocky again. Get stuck in this and you can have your dogs pull you out.

 

[The Bronze]

Sure they are underpowered. Even with a 1.6, 4.88s and a 6.5:1 tcase, my Samurai is WOT @ 4500-5000 RPMs for an hour to get to the wheeling. But once it is on the trail, it is so easy to wheel. Tippy? Yep, rolled mine last year in Moab. These are getting expensive and hard to find. I have a spare behind the house and a rock-crawler version being built in the shop. Keeping me busy so I don’t have to keep looking for emails!

 

[timhood]

During the time period, this report was everywhere, as I recall it. I personally never read nor followed Consumer Reports, but it made the national nightly news. Everyone from my insurance agent to friends all said, "your 4x4 will roll".. It became "group think" really quickly.

I don't remember the Audi, but I probably didn't notice because I didn't own one.

I did notice my insurance rates skyrocket.

For what it's worth, that is how I remember it.

Yes, the Samurai definitely made the news for a cycle.

60 Minutes had crying mothers talking about how the car accelerated on its own and ran over their children. A massive stake to the heart. Audi had Ralph Nader on it's back, labeling it a "killer car." Years and hundreds of multi-million dollar lawsuits ensued. But Audi managed to survive this near-death experience in part by refuting false claims as well as remedying the situation that lead to them.

The whole reason why you have to put your foot on the brake in order to shift from park to reverse or drive is because of this unintended acceleration issue. It's also the main reason why the Audi 5000 disappeared and was renamed the Audi 100/200. This whole video is interesting, but the pertinent parts being here:

 

[jay-rod427]

Having my first car was a Samurai I'd def like to pick one up again someday.

Gutless turd, but fun to offroad. Barely bigger than stock BFG AT's if I had a $1 for every full size something on 35's+ I pulled out of some situation I'd have had a few tanks of gas back then. LOL I never got it stuck more than someone walk up and just push on it with their hands a little to get going again.

 

[Montana Bronco]

Would I buy a Jimny ?

Depends, how many cupholders does it have ?

 

[BrentC]

I had a 1989 Sierra (Australian Samurai) with a 1.3l distributor/carbed motor back when I lived in Australia. That was one of the best off-roaders I’ve ever owned. I ran it stock with summer tires and went everywhere the big toys went. As for tipping, I slipped into a hole on a trail up near Wisemans Ferry and stopped sliding sideways when the passenger side’s wheels hit the bottom of the hole. I was suspended in my seatbelt looking down at my wife, who was looking at a wall of water just at the window/soft top bottom. It didn’t tip or roll, and I drove into the waterhole and out without a hiccup.

The only obstacles which I couldn’t make were long dunes where I simply powered out.

Top speed was 60 mph if I had a tailwind!

 

[AcesandEights]

... Tippy? Yep, rolled mine last year in Moab.

I've had a few friends with Samurais and have always wanted one, but they got stupid expensive. When I was a member of a 4wheel drive club, we used to love sending the Sammies in first. They could cut trail like no other vehicle, and when they got stuck, you just gave them a shove!

Talk about tippy! I never thought the Samurai was that big of an issue.
" After analysis of SUV crashes of the Suzuki Samurai, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a formal study of the Ford Bronco II in 1989.[10] There were 43 Bronco II rollover fatalities in 1987, compared with eight for the Samurai, ...[11] " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Bronco_II

 

[j_anderson]

I thought you were asking about the Jimmy.

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