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This Nash Metropolitan Is Really A Suzuki Samurai

This Nash Metropolitan Is Really A Suzuki Samurai

Yahoo06-06-2025

Read the full story on Backfire News
People sure are getting creative with body swaps these days, but this Nash Metropolitan on a Suzuki Samurai is unexpectedly cool. Laugh all you want, we know the Jeep bandwagon will, but the Samurai is a respectable rig that won't break the bank. And showing up Wranglers in your Nash Metropolitan-bodied rig would be absolutely hilarious.We never really thought about the fact the Suzuki Samurai is of similar size to a Nash, but now that we do it's not surprising in the least. Back in the day, Nash was making economy cars when people didn't care about fuel consumption and such. They were weird and lacked broad market appeal.
The Samurai was similarly mocked back in the late 80s and early 90s. Sure, they weren't fast and they looked like little toys, but it's like people don't realize the original jeeps (before they were a brand name) were made to be small, lightweight, and maneuverable.
There are a lot of cool details about this build, like the fact it has a removable fiberglass top so you can enjoy open-air off-roading just like the Jeeps (but the doors say on). There is of course a roll cage, just in case things get a little tipsy.
The turquoise and white paint is actually Raptor bed liner, so it can take a beating and not get all scratched up. That same stuff has been applied to the roll cage and the interior surfaces.
Even better, the guy who built this has a tow bar and light so it can be towed to a trailhead. We imagine it's not really great on the interstate, but most good off-roaders aren't built for highway cruising anyway.
According to the seller, who has this listed on Facebook Marketplace, this rig has won all kind of awards at car shows and has been in parades and such. If you're in the market for a unique off-roader, this could be it.
Plus, at $14,500 you're not going to find many cheaper options that aren't riddled with problems.
Check out this off-roader's listing here.
Images via Ed-Faith Westendorf/Facebook Marketplace

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Yet the Escalade gains a huge advantage with the third or both rows folded. Lincoln's split gate protects a loose Veuve Clicquot bottle from rolling to its doom as the liftgate opens, and its Cargo Tailgate Manager can serve as a shelf, a canape table mounted above the tailgate, or a tailgate-partying backrest. Had we headed north with every seat belt clicked, the three people sentenced to the way back would grouse loudest in the Cadillac, which offers the least leg- and shoulder room and is the fussiest to climb in and out of; its captain's chairs dump and fold, while the others' lean and slide forward. The Navigator wins the middle-row decadence prize for duplicating most of the front amenities, while Jeep ranks best for third-row space and accessibility. Northbound Friday and southbound Sunday summer traffic is thick on this artery, and Level 2-plus driver assistance can mean the difference between arriving frazzled or fresh. There were no surprises here: Cadillac's Super Cruise remains way out front, unilaterally executing lane changes around slower traffic (even passing the odd left-lane bandit on the right). It even surprised us by functioning on several larger Leelanau County two-lane roads. Lincoln's BlueCruise and Jeep's Active Driving Assist make the driver signal before changing lanes, and neither works on many (if any) two-lane roads. Ford/Lincoln are yet to adopt a camera or capacitive-touch-based hands-on-wheel sensors, so the Navigator annoyingly demands periodic steering wheel wiggling. Lincoln's interior noise levels were also deemed the loudest. The Jeep was least permissive of even brief glances at the mirrors, nagging the driver to pay attention and threatening to disengage. Had we been relocating our ski boats, the Jeep's 9,810-pound towing capacity bests the others by a half ton, while the Navigator's trailer-reversing aids earn points for making execs who seldom tow look like pros. Long-Haul Comfort/Infotainment As noted, all three flagships offer massage functionality, multispeaker name-branded audio systems, and screens aplenty, but which kept us most engaged and invigorated? Picking a winner among the massaging seats isn't easy, as each offers five programs at three intensity levels. All feel great, and sadly they all automatically switch off after 20 minutes. If screen images of the massaging elements are to be believed, Cadillac has a few more of them, so maybe … it's the winner? All that said, two of our judges were unable to get comfortable in the Lincoln's seat despite 24-way adjustability. 'It always ended up feeling like an overstuffed chair with a devil's forked tongue licking my thighs,' one of them said. Another said of the audio features: 'The Jeep's McIntosh sound system trounces Lincoln's Revel audio and Cadillac's AKG system. It delivers all the depth you'd expect with a couple dozen speakers even when you're listening to relatively low-fi satellite radio.' Still, Lincoln's Revel Ultima ranked a close second, and we were left wondering if some speakers were offline on the distant-third-place AKG system. After finding the app button that turns on the Jeep's passenger screen (a touch activates the Cadillac's), we discovered that with no active video subscriptions and no portable players with HDMI output, there was little for our passengers to do with either passenger screen but surf the internet or watch YouTube reels. We recognize their main value might be letting a front adult passenger control what plays on each rear screen—something that's trickier when kiddos use brought-in tablets. As for what the driver's looking at, positioning of the Cadillac's largest-in-test screen means the steering wheel obscures much of it, and there are fewer options for what to view. Even the standard gauge view is peculiar with horizontal hockey-stick graphs for speedometer and tachometer above a linear fuel gauge. What look like diagonal lens flares serve as indicator lines (and without demarcations, the speedo one is useless). That said, Cadillac's head-up display was the one most visible through polarized sunglasses. Jeep offers the most options for what appears on the main instrument cluster. Cadillac and Jeep offer a night vision 'deer cam' view of the road ahead. One human sense only the Lincoln can stimulate on demand is the olfactory, with a digital scent dispenser in the armrest offering a choice of three aromas, none of which seemed cloying or department-store-perfume-aisle repulsive in any way. Our favorite was Mystic Forest. Up North on the Fun Roads Spec chart scrutinizers might get the idea the Navigator is the Nürburgringer of this bunch. It is the lightest, and on our flat, featureless black lake it laid down the best lateral grip and figure-eight numbers along with the second-best braking and acceleration results. But out in the curves, as the only contestant without air springs, it trails the other two in ride comfort with lumpy and noisy impacts and busy body motions—it's simultaneously too soft and too firm. Our judges found themselves making small course corrections in sweeping turns as the Navigator ran out of compliance and took a set, and its absurdly slow 20.7:1 steering requires abundant flailing to parallel park. The combination of air springs and adaptive dampers eliminated this phased cornering situation on the others. Cadillac's hyperaggressive stability control thwarted our test team's efforts at laying down impressive track numbers, but we can attest our Sport Platinum test car felt more sure-footed on lightly traveled county roads. It might even have taken top honors in ride quality in one of the Luxury trims or on the base 22-inch wheels. (This one wore $1,800 worth of 24s.) As configured, however, the Grand Wagoneer grabbed the brass ring of ride supremacy with a body structure rigid enough to eliminate secondary body shake and a general feeling of 'there is a layer of cream cheese between the road and the Jeep,' as one of our drivers described it. The Jeep's engine feels every bit as impressive as its spec chart implies, delivering on its 18–27-percent weight-to-power advantage every time you crack the throttle, accompanied by what sounds like the muffled cries of a BMW imprisoned in the engine room. Speaking of noise, the Navigator EcoBoost's native V-6 dialog gets translated into V-8ese by the radio speakers, while the Cadillac's natural V-8 gets a lot of exhaust whoosh overlaid as both twin-turbo sixes run away from it. We lamented the fact the Cadillac's chassis and the Jeep's engine deserve one another, and we'd be willing to sacrifice some speed for the V-8's aural character—an ideal match for the Escalade's brash, menacing mien. Valet Forecourt Presence At the end of a long day of driving, photographing, and filming these jumbos, we pitted to dine where the vacationing/summering auto execs do—at Blu in Glen Arbor. Parked here, the Cadillac looks most impressive from every angle—a crisply faceted unified sculpture. Lincoln's glider-wing light signatures easily identify it, and its front-3/4 view is appealing, but the rear styling elements seem less cohesive. Overall, the Navigator seems to hover above its wheels more than the others. The Grand Wagoneer is better at looking like a well-proportioned big Jeep than it is at looking six-figure expensive—perhaps an impossible task for any vehicle whose identical twin sells for $62,000. Lincoln, meanwhile, deserves credit for offering a Rejuvenate mode: A driver arriving early at Blu could have enjoyed a curated 5–10-minute program of massage, Zen music, and scent, coordinated with screen imagery and ambient lighting designed to relax and then reinvigorate. Bottom Line These three luxury SUVs are frankly all fabulous, and in this class the Detroit Three execs can legitimately claim supremacy over all their offshore competitors. The Lincoln might be the best choice for trailering novices, tailgate partiers, and folks who end up waiting in their car for a kid's extracurricular events to end, but in this contest its ride quality, interior materials, noise levels, and rear exterior design land it in third. The Jeep's Rolls-Royce ride, stout powertrain, and stupendous sound system keep it in second place despite feeling the least extrovertedly fancy in terms of interior and exterior design and overall brand reputation. So despite legitimate nits to be picked with its big screen's functionality and despite its third-place finish in every performance category but braking (hey, pony up for the V-series or IQ variants if you're always in a hurry), the Escalade performed all its intended functions superbly while looking, feeling, and telling the world it was priced way more than $5,000 above the others. Just maybe spring for the 40-speaker AKG? 3rd Place: 2025 Lincoln Navigator Pros Pampering spa features Clever tailgate Best second-row thrones Cons Ride quality isn't the best Front comfort Road and faux-engine noise Verdict: The best Navigator ever comes within an air-ride suspension and a few more interior spiffs of the winner's circle. 2nd Place: 2025 Jeep Grand Wagoneer Pros Rolls-Royce ride quality Hemi-worthy I-6 power Stupendous McIntosh sound Cons Looks like a cheaper Jeep Yestertech dash Nagging hands-free drive mode Verdict: Jeep arrived at this party with all the right credentials but looking like it didn't quite know what to wear. 1st Place: 2025 Cadillac Escalade Pros Linen- and wood-lined interior feels special Power doors Super(ior) Cruise Cons Secondary ride shake Heavy 24-inch wheels Big-screen utilization Verdict: The king of Interstate 75 remains the perennial moving target its crosstown rivals must continue to aim at.

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