🏎 Max Finds a TRUE Automotive Swiss Army Knife

Gm. AND HAPPY FRIDAY.

Before we get rolling, I have to admit something…

It was a tactical error having my only car be 40 years old, littered with electrical shenanigans, and leaks oil at an ALARMING rate.

IN MY DEFENSE only about half the electrical issues are my fault.

So with that in mind, this week I’ve been thinking that maybe we need to add something a little more reliable to the garage.

Something that is a true “do-anything” car, to fill all the gaps the 911 may be leaving in terms of… uhh... functional transportation.

Readers, I have found the PERFECT car.

HERE IT IS: A 1996 Suzuki Carry Truck

• 🌏️ Driven around the world: 0.5x

• 📺️ Clip to Get the Vibes Right: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrN9joOAjYR/?igshid=MTIyMzRjYmRlZg== 

• 🏇 Can beat 42 horses in a fight

• 💰️ Predicted Price: $10,360

• 📆 Auction Ends: May 16th, 2023

You may not believe it (YET), but this Suzuki makes the C-Suite at Big SUV quake in their damn boots.

They don’t want you to know that you don’t need a big ass V8 SUV or truck to feel like you’ve covered all your automotive bases.

…okay, admittedly, you probably can’t safely fit a car seat in this one. Maybe you can strap them into the truck bed somehow, though I imagine that’s only legal in certain states.

One of you get back to me on the legality of that, because if this thing can haul kids too, Big SUV is done for & you can short sell Ford stock NOW (not financial advice lol - not sure if I actually need to say that but I always see people online that are definitely giving very specific financial advice caveat that at the end).

Back to the point though…

What Makes The Suzuki Carry Truck (and other Kei Cars) So Cool?

• It’s small in stature & RICH in Japanese culture

• It is truly an AUTOMOTIVE SWISS ARMY KNIFE

• It is A THIRD the cost of any non-kei competitor

It’s Small in Stature & RICH in Japanese Culture

Okay firstly, yes, those are absolutely all different brands that named their cars the exact same thing.

I guess this was before we invented boujee car names, like the “BMW Individual M760Li xDrive Model V12 Excellence THE NEXT 100 YEARS” or the “Ferrari LaFerrari” (translated: “the Ferrari The Ferrari”). Yes those model names are both very real. No, I’m not shitting you. No, I have no idea why either company thought those were good ideas.

In any case, with the origins of the Kei car being rooted in 5 brands sharing the same model name, I guess it makes sense that Suzuki went for the very straightforward “Carry Truck”.

That’s what it does; it carries you, sometimes other things, and its a truck. Similarly, all the above cars had 360cc engines and as such IT JUST MADE SENSE to name them ALL the 360.

But what are the origins of the Kei car? And WTF does Kei car even mean?

WELL, back in 1949, Japan was in full recovery mode.

Most of the populace didn’t have the money for a standard sized car. They had money for a motorcycle, but their government was seeing the economic prosperity that the automotive industry was creating in other parts of the world.

SO, the Japanese government told manufacturers to build cheap cars with an engine displacement of 360cc or less.

To accommodate the smaller engines (and thus, less power), Japanese manufactures made the cars quuuuiiiiiiite small. This is where the name comes from: Kei car translates effectively to ‘light vehicle’.

Like, these things are truly TINY compared to modern cars:

For buyers, owning one would mean cheaper taxes (due to government incentives), great fuel economy, and high practicality in tight urban environments.

And since 1949, the concept of Kei cars has remained largely unchanged, except for periodic updates in engine displacement (this Suzuki was during the 660cc era) and car dimensions.

These days, Kei cars STILL account for over 1/3 of domestic car sales in Japan, and have been gaining massive amounts of popularity here in the US.

Why’s that, you ask?

Well…

The Suzuki Carry Truck is an Automotive SWISS ARMY KNIFE

Seriously, in Japan & elsewhere in the world (where tight roads are more common), Kei cars are VERY popular as commercial vehicles.

They can haul whatever you need,

Parallel park so easily even THIS PERSON would have an easy time with it,

Are reliable AF,

And get great fuel economy!

Still not convinced? Maybe you’re the type of car person that needs a little more excitement than this 660cc BEAST seems to offer?

Fair. SO, unlike last episode’s Ferrari Testarossa, you have FULL creative license to go absolutely ape-shit making this Carry Truck your own.

Suzuki is not going to cease & desist your ass for modifying your own car, like an aforementioned Maranello based Italian automaker… might.

Here’s some unsolicited inspiration for your Suzuki Carry Truck mods:

• Option 1: DRIFT TRUCK

Too ‘in your face’? Okay… What about something even more practical…

• Option 2: PLOW BOI

^ This one is un-hateable. It plows snow, has a manual transmission, in-cabin heat, AND a truck bed. Utility incarnate.

Regardless…

• Option 3: HOT HAULER

and finally…

OPTION 4: TEA SHOP ON WHEELS

Not sure how everything inside this one doesn’t shatter every time it drives, or how it doesn’t tip over taking a turn.

It has big ‘Jeremy Clarkson in his Leaning Tower of Citroën’ energy.

The sky light is a nice touch though.

Back to option 2 though, the plow boi.

Why?

Well, I want to paint a quick picture as to how much of a bargain these things actually are, compared to what people would generally use as a smaller plow vehicle that has a closed cabin and whatnot.

So I googled ‘enclosed side by side for plowing snow’ and came to THIS link.

As you can see, the top result is a Polaris Ranger XP 1000 which STARTS AT TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS.

As a reminder, this Suzuki is going to be BARELY across the five figure mark.

But WAIT.

Would you like luxury features on your plow vehicle like…

ohhhhh I don’t know…

WINDOWS AND HEAT?

That’s gonna be an extra $8K.

So, for barely more than the price of Polaris’s (presumably gold plated) windows and HVAC system, you can get THIS ENTIRE KEI TRUCK.

No brainer, right?

Oh! Remember…

MaxFindsCars.com is not, technically, free! By subscribing, dear reader, you have agreed to tell your friends about it!

In fact, I believe the contract specifically stated you had to subscribe 100 of your closest friends, colleagues, enemies, exes, priests, pets, & sugar mommas. I’ll have to check the fine print to be sure, but you may as well get started spreading the word in the meantime.

That's a wrap for today. New Editions come out every Monday and Friday! While you wait, go out and drive! And if you want more, be sure to follow Max’s Twitter (@maxjzin)

Advertise with MaxFindsCars to get your brand in front of the Who's Who of the automotive industry. The Dearest Readers of MaxFindsCars are the elite of the elite who are always looking for their next interesting car, product, or tool. Get in touch today.

I WANT REVIEWS WITH EITHER ‘AIRLINE THAT DELAYED YOUR FLIGHT’ OR ‘COFFEE SHOP WHERE YOU’RE TRYING TO HIT ON THE BARISTA’ ENERGY

LIKE THIS ONE

OR THIS ONE