SUZUKI SAMURAI

Samurai

The Samurai was introduced to North America in 1985 as a 1986 model. It had a 4-cylinder 1.3 liter engine that produced 63hp and was available as a convertible and a hardtop. The Samurai was priced at $6200 and 47,000 were sold in the first year alone.

The 1988.5 model Samurai was revised with the addition of fuel injection and it then produced 66hp. The revision also included softer suspension settings and a larger anti-sway bar to reduce body roll. The Samurai was withdrawn from the United States market in 1995 due to low sales. The disputed 1988 rollover report by Consumer Reports (see below) was recognized as the cause.

1996

The Samurai continued for sale outside the United States, with a substantial update in 1996. This included a coil spring suspension, though the live axles were retained. The rest of the truck was redesigned as well, with new seats, dashboard, steering wheel, and doors joining a "macho" exterior.

Not all SJ models were updated however, with the original narrow SJ410 still in production in some areas. Even though the Jimny replaced the SJ in most markets after 1998, the SJ remains in production today.

Consumers Union and the Suzuki Samurai Lawsuit

Suzuki alleges in its product disparagement lawsuit against Consumers Union (CU) that CU rigged the tests for its "Not Acceptable" rating of the Suzuki Samurai in the spring of 1988 and then exploited that false evaluation for financial gain.

Suzuki filed suit in April 1996 after CU repeated and sought to further capitalize on its unfounded claims. Specifically, in its 60th anniversary issue, published in January 1996, Consumer Reports magazine singled out the Suzuki Samurai as the prime example of a "Not Acceptable" safety hazard that the magazine prides itself on exposing. CU bragged to its readers that its tests showed "the Suzuki Samurai easily rolls over in turns." Suzuki has challenged these statements - and similar ones made around 1996 -and contends that CU knew they were false when published.

The case was dismissed by the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, California, in May 2000 and Suzuki appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The issue before the Ninth Circuit is whether enough evidence exists to take this case to a jury on the issue of whether CU acted with actual malice when it republished its Samurai statements, i.e., whether it made the statements with knowledge of falsity or with a reckless disregard of the truth.