Daewoo Damas

The Daewoo Damas is a microvan produced by South Korean automaker GM Daewoo since 1991 as a rebadged Suzuki Carry. It is currently in its second generation and is available in van and pickup body styles, the latter of which is marketed as the Daewoo Labo.

In some export markets, the Daewoo Damas was known as the Daewoo Attivo, and since GM's takeover of Daewoo, it has been known in some markets, such as Central America, as the Chevrolet CMV for the passenger van and Chevrolet CMP for the pickup truck.

The Damas and Labo come with a SOHC LPG-powered 0.8-litre engine.

The Damas microvan is available as a 7-seat coach, 5-seat coach, or 2-seat cargo van styles and comes with various options based on DLX (dexlue) and SUPER models. The Labos is also available in STD (standard), DLX (dexlue), and SUPER models. Two main choices of the Labos body type are the cube van and the drop-side pickup truck. The pickup has an optional electric tailgate lift.

The Damas is the predominant form of public transport in Uzbekistan – so much so that other busses, such as Mercedes microbuses, are called Big Damsa. In Damas Marshrutkas, generally far more than 7 passengers are crammed.

Both the Damas and Labos are only available with a manual transmission. Air conditioning is optional. But a 0.8-litre engine hasn't sufficient power to both carry cargo swiftly, and deliver cold air from the aircon unit at the same time without struggling. The engine struggles and shakes (potentially leading to a stall) if you try both. However, for its purpose, the car is excellent, reliable, durable and nippy around town (and outskirts, as long as speeds over 100km/h (62 mph) are not required - beyond which the top speed can be exceeded, but uncomfortably

Suzuki Carry

The Suzuki Carry is a kei truck produced by the Japanese automaker Suzuki. The microvan version was originally called the Carry van until 1982 when the van was renamed as the (Japanese: Suzuki Every). In Japan, the Carry and Every are Kei cars but Suzuki Every Landy, the bigger exported version of Every had a longer hood for safety purposes and a larger 1.3-liter 82 hp (61 kW) 4-cylinder engine. They are given different names and sold in several countries.

The Carry truck and Every van compete with the Honda Acty truck and the Honda Vamos van, the Subaru Sambar truck and van, and the Daihatsu Atrai truck and van in Japan.

The Carry was constructed with a ladder frame architecture. The van version was a five-door, with dual sliding rear side doors; available as rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive.

Early models (1960-1970s) had a 360 or 450(export model) cc 2-cylinder, 2-stroke engine mounted horizontally underneath the load area. The starter and generator were combined and mounted directly on the front of the crankshaft. Later models had an 550, 660 and 800(export model) cc 3-cylinder, 4-stroke engines unconventionally mounted beneath the cab.

In 1976 the ST20K was released.The "K" referred to the "trucklike" nature of the vehicle in that it had 3 drop sides as opposed to the utility version which had only a tailgate and formed sides. It had a 3 cylinder 539 cc water cooled 2 stroke engine and a carrying capacity of 350 kg (772 lb).

Interestingly, early Suzuki Carrys are popularly called "Half Loafs" in South Africa, referring to "half a loaf of bread" (still a staple of many South Africans). In Cape Town and Durban, many of these little vans are seen painted in bright yellow with green artwork and a chopped-off open rear end. These are part of large fleets of privately owned public transport vehicles which fit between normal taxis and city buses. You'd literally hop in at the back, pass the driver (always within arm's length!) a Rand or two, and simply jump off at your destination. Unsurprisingly, these vehicles are known as "Half Loaf Taxis".