The history of Suzuki four-wheel drive cars began in the latter half of the 1960s, when Suzuki bought a Steyr-Puch Haflinger to study with the intent of building a kei class off-road vehicle.[2] A better opportunity presented itself in 1968, when Suzuki was able to buy bankrupt Japanese automaker Hope Motor Company, which had introduced a small off-road vehicle called the HopeStar ON360. The tiny Hope company had been unable to enter series production and only about 45 were manufactured.[2] The first Suzuki-branded four-wheel drive, the LJ10 (Light Jeep 10), was introduced in 1970.