Internet Goes Wild For New Suzuki Jimny, We Say Chevy Needs To Build A Rival
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Suzuki exited the U.S. market years ago, and that’s a shame because, like the rest of the internet, we quite like how the fourth-generation Jimny SUV looks.
The Japanese automaker pulled the wraps off of the new Jimny on Monday and lit a fire under enthusiasts. It looks part G-Wagen, but decidedly Japanese; there is a ladder-frame chassis and beam axles on both ends; and a long travel suspension coupled with excellent departure angles will make the Jimny incredibly capable.
So, Chevrolet, can we get something like this? Sure we have the 2018 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 to fulfill some of our off-road desires, but nothing affordable and nearly bulletproof like the Jimny. And as the market continues its shift toward SUVs, and off-roading goes mainstream, an Americanized Jimny sounds like a surefire success. How many Wranglers does Jeep sell yearly? And this pseudo product would be even cheaper.
Or, GM could certainly stoke the flames of its Suzuki dealing of yore. Anything to get this cutesy, pint-sized off-roader on our shores.
Alas, we’ll likely never see something quite like the Jimny from any GM brand, but we surely hope Chevrolet jumps aboard the off-roading wagon sooner rather than later. We may not agree with Ford’s decision to drop its passenger cars in the U.S. for just trucks and SUVs, but GM’s crosstown rival does have some promising off-roaders coming in the very near future.
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Would the Jimny even be up to the American Safety Standards?
Hell and no. it looks like any crash above 5mph would be fatal. I’m not a pearl clutching safety nanny, but I just don’t get the appeal of a 13hp toy jeep made from tin foil……but everyones “gotta have it” (BS), I do love that some want this are of the same people that throw a temper tantrum because the Cruze doesn’t have platinum covered windshield washers……
I want it
Same model as the one shown above just dark green instead.
No power seats
No power windows
The 1.4T from the Cruze would be perfect
Or better yet, the diesel from the cruze. And make it a GMC.
This is ground we have covered in the past several times.
GM has looked at this for around a decade plus and just has not made the move. Well the Suzuki is not the real issue the coming Ford sub Bronco is the problem. With the market as it is now it could be the Mustang of this decade.
GM underestimated the Mustang and got left behind till the Camaro could get to market. GM lost a lot of sales in that time span.
The Wrangler is the new convertible for this generation and a low priced model could do well.
GM had the Tracker years ago that was a better Suzuki. It did really well even though it was a rust bucket. Even today off roaders are still looking for good examples.
The key here is this vehicle could do well globally. That is key as you get a vehicle that sells globally you get everyone’s attention on the board.
GM could sell 250K units here and that many or more globally. Holden and other markets in Africa, Far east and South America would all welcome it.
It looks better than a Kia Soul, but I guess anything looks better than that!
Everyone on the internet “wants” everything, but they seldom can afford or are willing to actually pony up the cash, i.e, most people on the internet are full of s**t, so yea, the limp wrists at Jalopnik in NYC like it, but most of them don’t even own cars…..doesn’t mean that there is a real market for it….its also doubtful that this 3 word skateboard could survive anything more than a door ding……
It’s all about how they price it and how they market it. Far too often GM imports unique vehicles but they don’t market it properly or at all and charge too much
Ah, I get it, so all it has to do is cost $3000 and have the interior of a Phantom….that you can still wash out with a hose. got it…….
Calm down.
And no, the interior of the currently announced model is great. Looks good and rugged with all the right knobs and switches/toggles. Keep it simple.
Have a starting price Around $18-20k, max it out at $30k. Keeps it well in check under the 2dr Wrangler which is $28-40k.
Dip their toes in the water, Trax Activ, more height/better suspension with a removable roof panel to gauge the demand…
Everyone please calm down!
GM will build a boring crossover to rival this vehicle and give it a cool name from the past that actually was an icon and everything will be ok!!
GMC shoulda had a Jeep Wrangler rival decades ago.
a nice basic vehicle like that without a lot of unnecessary bells + whistles aka JUNK could be sold at a reasonable price. todays tanks aka trucks are oversized + overpriced + as gas goes up costly to operate!!! not everyone wants whats out there, getting a manual tranny with a decent engine hard enough i bought a nice preowned Frontier V-6 with a 6 spd manual as GM offered NOTHING similar at a decent price!!!
Doesn’t GM own Suzuki? If they don’t now, they used to.
GM had a stake in Suzuki. That ended in the mid 2000s.
No. GM had a long technical standing partnership and alliance with Suzuki going back decades. After GM’s bankruptcy, they sold their remaining stake in Suzuki, and in 2011 GM bought Suzuki’s share of the CAMI plant, thus killing their partnership.
If there is any remaining technical partnership or current jointly-developed technology between GM and Suzuki, I’m not aware of it.
I think the only reason the new Jimny is shown here on GMA is because in another universe this would have been the basis of a new Chevy Tracker.
I love Suzuki, owned an SX4(underrated car). Why couldn’t GM work out a deal to rebadge this or simply sell this as a Suzuki in GM dealerships?! Would be awesome with a good little Suzuki FI engine, manual trans and coil springs with solid axles. Make it happen!
This rival should of been called “blazer” and not that CUV that was unveiled today.
GM rebirth the Blazer as a cuv and the competition in off road vehicle is here, branco jeep….. so GM will just be out whereas it has the capacities to be the number one contender. Gm could be present with at least three body on frame SUV a large TrailBlaze, a midsize Blazer and a compact or subcompact one, but still absent until all automakers will enter that segment.
Agreed! Chevy needs to build an off road capable body on frame SUV to take on the Jeep Wrangler, Ford Bronco and Toyota 4runner. If that ends up happening, it will most likely be based on the Chevy Colorado. As far as name goes, GM may have screwed up by using the Blazer name on the midsized crossover but they can always name this SUV the Colorado Blazer or even the Trailblazer.