What's Wrong With This Picture: Smaller, Lighter, Weirder, Suzukier Edition

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

The Tokyo Auto Show is coming, which means it’s time for Japan’s automakers to roll out their weirdest, quirkiest, most Japanese designs. An electric city car apparently inspired by a CD player? Check. A 1,600 lb, super-efficient compact? Actually, the Regina Concept (above) almost looks more French than Japanese to my eyes. Finally, the Swift EV Hybrid rounds out Suzuki’s Tokyo-bound lineup. What does it all say about Suzuki’s future? One theory is that here may be an electrified Swift on the market at some point. Another holds that in the future, humans will be replaced by compact discs.

To be perfectly honest, as with so many Japanese cultural artifacts and phenomena, I’m completely baffled. Luckily our East-West relations expert Bertel Schmitt will be on hand at the Tokyo Auto Show to help us figure it all out.






Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Advo Advo on Nov 09, 2011

    I'd like to see an actual 3D mockup of the Regina. It has potential as a cute car that certain market segments would go for in Europe and Asia. The angle of the green paint at the bottom may look better if it was less steep. I think it would look better if it went from the same height at the rear to the height of the wheel axle (mid-wheel height) just behind the front wheels.

  • 406driver 406driver on Nov 10, 2011

    A strange love-child from an affair between Citroen and Chevrolet. Can't be inspired by the Citroen Ami 6, though, as that car has backward sloping rear glass. It is a straight rip-off of the original DS at (the rear). The front is straight off a Corvair.

  • Canam23 I had a 2014 GS350 that I bought with 30K miles and the certified unlimited four year warranty. After four and a half years I had 150K miles on it and sold it to Carmax when I moved to France a little over two years ago. As you can see I ran up a lot of work miles in that time and the Lexus was always quick, comfortable and solid, no issues at all. It was driving pretty much the same as new when I let it go and, and, this is why it's a Lexus, the interior still looked new. I bought it for 30K and sold it for 16K making it the most economical car I've ever owned. I really miss it, if you have to drive a lot, as I did in my job, it is the perfect car. Some may argue the Camry or Accord would foot that bill, but I say nay nay, you really want the comfort and rear wheel drive of the Lexus. Keep it forever Corey, you won't regret it.
  • SCE to AUX "...if there’s enough demand"If they are only offered as electric to begin with, how will Stellantis gauge demand - unhappy customers demonstrating at the dealers with torches and pitchforks?What a great way to add cost and reduce competitiveness, by making a propulsion-agnostic platform with a hundred built-in compromises.
  • FreedMike Awfully nice car.
  • Cprescott So is this going to lie and tell you that they have quality products at affordable costs that won't get recalled?
  • SCE to AUX So they might continue gigacasting 3 pieces instead of 1. Tesla does gigacasting as a business advantage, so they aren't abandoning it. They probably ran into some tech challenge related to integrating 3 pieces into 1, so 3 will do.Meanwhile Toyota and several Chinese mfrs are adopting gigacasting because of Tesla.
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