Re:Trivial question about Jimny Gen4 model name

I have seen the model JB74V here and there. Just wondering if this is referring to the "van/commercial" vehicle since the normal wagon variant is JB74W. Or is it just a reference to the VIN. 

I suspect people are "making it up" based on the VIN Number having a V in it.

For the Jimny the real identity is in the "Model Code" on the VIN Plate.

 

For reference we are now up to "Type 3" although the UK only got Type 1. My Jimny Van is a Type 1 even though parts of the world had moved to type 2 (a few minor cosmetic tweeks)
 

So where did the name "Jimny" come from

I've seen a few suggestions and none can be confirmed as true, but it's fun to speculate.

1) Jeep but Mini = Jimny 
2) Originally intended to be called the 'Jimmy' after some Suzuki executive visited Scotland, but linguistics errors arose in translation and they ended up calling it the 'Jimny". 
3) Named after that Disney small, smart and reliable character - Jiminy Cricket.

Any others?

Was it ever marketed as " Suzuki Rhino", that would explain the fat unicorn badge on the back?

 

My own theory is that it is simply a pleasing phonetic name in Japanese ie. doesnt mean anything but sounds nice

Could be.

l suppose we are lucky it's not called a "Bongo Friendee" like my friend's imported Japanese day van.

There is nothing in my Boys Book of Suzuki 4x4 about it, but several theories on t'interweb as above.

I've never found Jimny written in Kanji, which would tell us what it means, only katakana ジムニー  which are phonetic characters for Ji mu ni.

There are pictures of one with 侍の字孫 on the side which means Samuai's grandson, and it isn't official Suzuki .

侍 = samuari    の = of    字孫 (together) = grandchildren.

 

Here's an off the wall theory I heard about the Jimny name...
In 1970 GMC released the Jimmy in the US.
In 1970 Suzuki released the Jimny in the US.
Anyone know the US release dates for the Jimny model?

crash486 JB74W

In 1985 Suzuki introduced the first SJ series in the U.S. but it was badged the Samurai. It never came in as a Jimny. A few years later they began selling the Sidekick/Vitara.

Aside from the official Suzuki Corp imports, there was a independent company (can no longer remember their name) that tried selling some LJs. That was the 1970ish time frame. Very short-lived and unsuccessful. As they were never officially intended for the U.S. market, they may have had the Jimny label.

www.lj10.com/lj_history/

The LJ10.com website has a short write up on the history of LJ sales in the US - it identifies the importer as Intercontinental Equipment Corporation and it doesn't look like they were "unsuccessful".

One of the things that has puzzled me is I've seen a picture of the chassis plate on an SJ410 that proclaims the vehicle to be compliant with US emission requirements and I haven't been able to figure out who would have been responsible for ensuring such compliance.

Would it be Suzuki when they did the homologation?

Why would Suzuki homolgate a vehicle that they weren't building for sale in the US market? That is what is puzzling me - I suspect the label may have been altered in some way.