Suzuki Alto 9th generation (HA37S/97S)

For the ninth-generation Alto, for which the company president said he wanted to "perfect the geta," Suzuki took geta to mean something you can slip on right away for a quick outing and go anywhere in. The key point was "not raising the price," but it could not be like zori, which wear out and become unusable. He thought it important that it be a practical geta that can go anywhere, even if the ground is dirty.

Because the platform stayed the same, they worked from the early stages of engineering and design to raise rigidity. The condition was "without spending money," and the engineers would say "how can we do that?", but he could never tell them to make a cheap car that doesn't matter. The "470,000 yen" that always comes up in the company is not simply about price; it is a keyword for looking back at what was thought and done when the first Alto was launched at 470,000 yen, a way of checking whether the car has what people really want and what it doesn't need.

Takenaka defined the basis of the Alto as a car for customers who want low price and low fuel consumption along with peace of mind and safety, and on top of that aimed to make it "drive without any sense of discomfort." Before the update, the body felt a little soft, as if it twisted. To raise rigidity, structural adhesive was used around the door openings, including the back door, and damping adhesive around the floor, and the power steering was retuned. He describes the ideal kei car as "a car that doesn't make you think 'huh?' or 'hmm?' when you drive it."