The Problem With Better Call Saul's Loveable Star Car

"Blake Noble" (blake-noble) 02/11/2015 at 12:15 • Filed to: Better Call Saul, Pedantic Ranting, Suzuki Esteem

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We're only two episodes in, and already AMC's new Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul is turning out to be brilliant television. However — and I'm really sorry to have to do this — I'm going to have to call out the show on a questionable car choice.

Before we set off, I should caution you to tread lightly: this article may contain spoilers.

Set in the year 2002, six years before the events of Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul follows the transformation of downtrodden public defender James "Jimmy" Morgan McGill into the sleazebag criminal lawyer known as Saul Goodman. When we first meet Jimmy McGill, we see him defending three boys on trial; the trial ending with McGill failing to get the trio off the hook. It's after the trial is over, and he leaves court, we see him heading for his car: a decrepit and grungy Suzuki Esteem sedan.

McGill's old Suzuki wears a coat of heavily oxidized yellow paint, save for one dull red passenger-side door. Every body panel is scuffed and scarred, and the exhaust pipe pours a deathly black smoke when the tired engine decides to start. But in spite of the Suzuki's overwhelming aura of shittiness, there's a plucky quality about it. You just can't help but to like the little turd.

Much like how the fern green Pontiac Aztek perfectly fit a pre-Hisenberg Walter White on Breaking Bad , that old Suzuki really fits James McGill like a well tailored glove. On the other hand though — and here's where I take issue — it absolutely does not fit the show's setting .

Remember how I mentioned the series is set in 2002? Well judging by the grille and a few other details, McGill's Suzuki was built between 1995 and 1998. In fact, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! are stating the Esteem in Better Call Saul is a 1998 model. That would make the car only four-years old at the start of the series.

Maybe I'm just being pedantic — and maybe not, considering Jalopnik also briefly !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! — but I have to seriously wonder how a four-year old used car winds up looking like its almost pushing 25 and 250,000 miles. I'm not saying it's impossible, but think about it. It doesn't add up.

It's interesting to note a similar discrepancy happened later during Breaking Bad 's run. After Walter White had completely shed his tired, middle-aged skin and morphed into the mighty meth kingpin Hisenberg, he purchased himself a brand-new Chrysler 300C SRT8. From 2012. In roughly the year 2009.

Don't get me wrong. The crew behind both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul do an excellent job of selecting the right cars for the characters they create. But if this and Walter White's Chrysler 300 proves anything, it's that they aren't as unerring as folks claim.

So the Suzuki Esteem on Better Call Saul wasn't exactly the best choice in the end. What would've been a better pick then? Well, the series has already started, so there's no going back to change things. But I suppose I'll share my alternate pick anyway.

According to Esquire , series creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! The reason why they chose it is simple: the Suzuki's proud, quirky name conflicts with its indifferent, conservative image. It's irony on wheels, a joke.

While the Esteem fits old Jimmy McGill so well, it isn't just because it's a Suzuki Esteem. It's because the car's personality is a reflection of McGill's — the car is an extension of the character. The car could've been a Chevrolet Cavalier or an Eagle Summit as long as it fit McGill's oppressed yet somehow dauntless nature.

So, if Gilligan and company wanted an irony-flavored econobox that could be properly shitty in the context of the show's setting, there is only one alternative: a beat-to-hell 1986 Hyundai Excel.

Image credits: AMC, Hyundai

Biggus Dickus (RevsBro) > Blake Noble 02/11/2015 at 12:30

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My favorite is still Pinkmans tercel.

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > Blake Noble 02/11/2015 at 12:39

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I think a better car would have been a Celebrity. It would have been aged more appropriately given the timeframe the show takes place in.

Blake Noble > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! 02/11/2015 at 12:41

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Didn't think of the Celebrity. Nice choice!

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Blake Noble 02/11/2015 at 13:22

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For a four-year old car, it does look rough, for sure. I'd say it stretches the bounds of "realism" for sure, but I think it's intentional.

Personally? I LOVE the 1967 Bonneville featured in the second episode. Now that is nice.

Clay...Bill Clay > Blake Noble 02/11/2015 at 13:25

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My alternate nominations:

Plymouth Colt Visa/Mitsubishi Expo LRV

mid-90s Chevy Corsica with 3-speed auto

a Tempo would work too, but there is something especially sad about the shallow upscale image of the Mercury Topaz, especially the desperate "sportiness" of the coupe

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Blake Noble 02/11/2015 at 13:28

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To be fair, some of the shittier 4 year old cars here in Florida have fading, peeling paint.

Jonee > Blake Noble 02/11/2015 at 13:41

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I was thinking the same thing. How'd that car get so trashed in just a few years? The show likes that it says "Esteem" is the thing. It's a funny visual gag with that name.

It's like on Freaks and Geeks where one character drove this Gremlin that somehow aged 25 years in like 5 or 6.

T5Killer > Blake Noble 02/11/2015 at 14:42

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Being a native New Mexican I have no problems with the choice of car. There are some pretty new cars out here that are looking rough! And it being a cheap cheap brand the possibility of its previous owners beating it in a few years is pretty high.

ranwhenparked > Blake Noble 02/11/2015 at 17:42

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Didn't even think about the Excel - that would have been a good choice. Except that by 2002, they were already nearly extinct, and they might not have been able to find one anywhere for production.

A Ford Aspire would have worked too, came out in '93 and became worthless after a year or two, so a 9-year old one could have easily been that bad in '02.