Only spotted ONE Kizashi in a week in Southern California

[KuroNekko]

I was in Southern California all of last week so I wasn't posting much. I visited friends and family before my brother's wedding out there.
I was mostly in Orange and LA County during my trip and I spotted a grand total of ONE Kizashi there. It was in downtown Orange. It was a black Kizashi, but I don't recall if it was a Sport model or not. I think it was a 2010 GTS or SLS model.

It's a shame these cars are so rare everywhere. So Cal is well known as a sea of Accords and Camrys. Interestingly, I saw more new Mazda6s there than the East Coast while the East Coast has more Hyundai Sonatas.

On my trip, I even spotted a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti and a 458 Italia, two Audi R8s, two RR Phantoms, among other high-end cars, but only one Kizashi. Seeing exotics in Orange County, CA is not rare and I've seen a Carrera GT (yes, the car that killed the actor from The Fast and the Furious) and even a Bugatti Veyron driving around years ago when I was in school there.
In Newport Beach, it's rarer to see a Kizashi than a Ferrari or Lambo. I suggest we claim our cars are rarer than exotics!

[SamirD]

It reminds me of the 1993 Nissan Altima SEs. There were only a handful of these made right at the end of 93, and they came obd1, had an engine so quiet that you couldn't hear it standing next to it, had a lsd from the factory on the auto with abs package. The quality of these cars was just like the Kizashi. Once they took off, the quality kept dropping each year as features were removed and turned cheaper. By the time the generation was over in 1997, the metal door handles and rubber plunger switches had been replaced by raw plastic and a key-only door locking system.

Every so often I see a 93 SE running around and remind myself that the person driving it probably doesn't even know what they have. At least with the Kizashi, the owners hopefully do.

[sx4rocious]

does anyone really have any acurate sales numbers? I'd be rather curious.....

[SamirD]

does anyone really have any acurate sales numbers? I'd be rather curious.....

Do we have any production numbers?

[Moto]

Suzuki quite releasing their US sales numbers toward the end.
I came up with this based on sales data that used to be available on the Suzuki website.
http://www.kizashiclub.com/forum/viewto ... =13&t=1986

[SamirD]

Interesting numbers. How does that compare with other 'rare' cars?

[Moto]

It isn't all that rare.

Rare enough to become a cult car. Probably not rare enough that anyone will ever collect it.

I drive a saab 92x aero. They only made about 11000 and around 4000 of the aero. The subaru impreza/wrx that the car is identical to other than body panels still sells for more even-thought the saabaru is a nicer car.

All that said if you keep you car in great shape for 20 years the value will probably start going back up. The bottom looks like it is falling out a little right now. I might even grab a kizashi if it keeps falling like it is. I have always really liked the car and the mileage on my cars is getting high.

[SamirD]

That's why put rare in quotes. I think you definited it perfectly with the term 'cult car'.

I always wondered which model of the Saab was the Subaru twin. I'd like to pick one of these up as well. I know they were really nice as the Subaru guys would always take interior trim pieces from the Saab.

[KuroNekko]

That's why put rare in quotes. I think you definited it perfectly with the term 'cult car'.

I'm going to have to disagree. A cult car to me is one that has a fanatical following, whether it be a popular well-known car or a rare car.
To me, cult cars include the Corvette, VW bus, BMW 2002, Mitsu Lan Evo, etc.
The Kizashi has no where this level of followers or dedicated fan base. We sure like the car here, but there are no meets or events for the car like these cult guys do.

I consider the Kizashi a rare car because they did not sell many. Even if the stats may look like they sold enough to not consider it rare, those numbers are puny compared to the segment competition. Heck, Toyota sold more Camrys in ONE DAY than Suzuki could sell of the Kizashi in a whole month.
The fact that you can go months without seeing another Kizashi is a sign of how rare it is too. Quite frankly, I see more VW bus' from the 1960's and 1970's than I do of other Kizashis.

[SamirD]

I guess we'd have to define 'cult' first.

To me a cult car is one that has a passionate following, whether large or not. I love DeLoreans and want to own one someday. To me, that's a cult car. As is a 440 Charger that's done up like the General Lee. Or a Pontiac Trans Am made to look like KITT from Knight Rider. And the Fiero, another one that has a small but loyal following. I still see more of those than Kizashis.