Do you have some time to kill? Well, then perhaps you can watch a solid half hour of Japanese Suzuki TV spots, ranging from 1978 to 2000, ranging from sincere to zany and selling everything from scooters to off-roaders. Michael Jackson even makes an appearance in some of them. These commercials make me regret losing Suzuki in our market even more.
With ads like these, you can see why Suzuki is the third best-selling marque in Japan, behind Toyota and Honda, and ahead of Nissan, Mazda, Subaru, and Mitsubishi. Alas, they left the US market in 2012.
Always fun to watch American stars moonlighting in Japanese ads. I was wondering if Bill Murray did any before making Lost In Translation.
Now where did I see that Brute IV for sale in a yard recently? Coalmont, TN? Any takers? Want me to investigate?
Brute IV? Sorry for my ignorance, but what’s ‘at?
A Suzuki Samurai predecessor with a 360cc 2-stroke engine. See Motor Trend August 1971.
Just looked it up – turns out I had seen them before, but it was when I looked up the Jimny.
ME LIKELY! 🙂
* LIKEY*
(Typing with a hammer again…)
Just watched ALL the ads.
First off, don’t care who you are, it is simply IMPOSSIBLE to look “badass” on a scooter.
The “superbikes” ad had me thinking though: could be a fun race to watch – 40 guys on scooters around Watkins Glen, or similar. I’d watch that on TV.
Anybody else notice the tires on the first couple of Jimny ads? Same as military Jeeps back in the ’40s-’50s. Interesting…
Never saw the roll-up back window in any Mighty Boy pix; ads a definite utility to it. A hatch could be even better. Maybe something like the Pulsars with the interchangeable roofs…
See the AWD model? Yeah, me too, but WEEEEEEEE never get them! Not from Toyota, not from Nissan, not form Mitsubishi’ not from ANYBODY! C’mon; we get snow, and these would be GREAT little runners!