Asuna Parts

A Passport to the World?

In the late 1980s, General Motors started exploring a new strategy in the captive import market.  A captive import is an imported car that a domestic car maker makes-over cosmetically and sells as its own brand.  This is an example of what’s sometimes derisively called "badge engineering."  In theory, captive import arrangements help both car companies.  The domestic company can fill holes in its line up without high development costs, and the import brand gets to sell its cars to a new market through an established dealer network.  In practice, though, captive imports don’t always sell.  Often buyers who want the kind of cars that foreign makes excel at don’t shop at domestic dealers and die-hard domestic fans might feel dubious about a car built overseas. 

Asüna was one of several attempts GM made to enter the captive import market in Canada.  Before introducing Asuna, GM was selling imported Isuzus and Suzukis as Geos.  GM also tried to open dedicated captive import dealerships called Passport dealerships.  Passport dealerships sold Isuzus, Suzukis, and Saabs, as well as the Daewoo LeMans rebadged as the Passport Optima.  The Passport Optima only lasted from 1988 to 1991. 

Try, Try Again

After the Passport, GM made another attempt at a dedicated captive import brand in Canada.  It created the Asüna marque.  Starting in 1992, Asuna sold three models: the Sunfire, a rebadged Isuzu Piazza; the Sunrunner, based on the Suzuki Samurai; and the SE sedan and GT hatchback, both based on our old friend, the Daewoo LeMans. 

The Sunfire was a front-wheel drive hatchback with a small four-cylinder engine, a 1.6-liter with or without turbo, or a 1.8L.  The Sunrunner was essentially the same as its Samurai counterpart, although it came standard with the features that Suzuki reserved for the higher trims, like air conditioning, chrome wheels, and a rear windshield wiper.  The SE and GT were a sedan and a wagon respectively, both with front-wheel drive and engines ranging from 1.5 to 2.0-liters. 

The End of the Experiment

In addition to facing the problems all captive imports face, Asuna had to compete with cars identical to its own.  GM was selling the Isuzu Impulse and Geo Storm, on the same platform as the Sunfire, the Samurai and the Geo Tracker on the same platform as the Sunrunner, and the Pontiac LeMans on the same platform as the SE and GT.  Without an established brand name and competing against identical cars, Asüna was never able to post great sales results.  GM folded Asüna in 1994.  Pontiac took up the Sunfire and Sunrunner names, and continued to sell the LeMans.  

Need Asuna Parts?

While Asuna’s time was short lived, the love you have for your Asuna is as strong as anyone’s love for their vehicle. So, if you are in need of a replacement part for your Asuna automobile, you've come to the right place. At 1A Auto, we get you the right auto parts for your Asuna, at a great discount. You'll find a selection of new, high quality aftermarket Asuna auto parts, including brake pads, fuel filters, gas caps, serpentine belts and more.

Our product development team spends over 8,000 hours a year researching the best auto parts, and they are carefully selected by our trained engineers so you can rest assured that you are getting the correct, high quality part you need for your car, at a discount price. If we wouldn't put the part in our own cars, we won't sell them to anyone else. A new aftermarket replacement Asuna part from 1A Auto will save you 30-50% on average over a comparable new OEM replacement Asuna part that you would get at a dealership, and our new aftermarket Asuna parts are also extremely durable and reliable, lasting at least 2-3 times longer on average than used OEM Asuna parts. Don't overpay for Asuna car parts and save yourself from a lot of potential headaches by shopping at 1A Auto.

You can shop for all of your Asuna parts online and buy safely and securely right here on our website, or you can call our customer service toll free at 888-844-3393 if you have any questions about any of our parts, or to buy over the phone. With over 150 years combined experience, 1A Auto's customer service representatives are the most qualified to answer your questions about all of our new, aftermarket replacement Asuna car parts. Our representatives answer 99.9% of phone calls in less than one minute and emails are responded to within the hour because we know you depend on your vehicle and need answers quickly to get your cherished Asuna back in working order again. We also know you want your part fast for the same reason; 98% of in stock Asuna auto parts ship from our warehouse within one business day so that you can get back on the road in no time, and all ground shipping in the continental US is completely free. And, in the unlikely case that you are unhappy with your Asuna car part for any reason, 1A Auto also offers the only No Hassle return policy for unused items in the industry. Simply put, our competitors can't beat the 1A Advantage. Don't just take it from us - take it from over 50,000 satisfied customers!

Look no further than 1A Auto for your aftermarket, original equipment (OE) replacement Asuna auto parts and get your vehicle the new parts it needs today from car enthusiasts just like you!