These were very popular here in Oz, and there's still a fair few kicking around. When I was a kid the neighbours had a predecessor, an LJ50, which was even smaller, lighter and had a 500cc 2 stroke engine. There was a later version with an 800 cc engine too, IIRC. The neighbours' kids used to drive it down to the bus stop (about 7 miles away) to go to school, and we'd go bush in it too. Tiny, but near unstoppable.
The one you call "Samurai" was called "Sierra" here, and they are still fairly popular for off-roaders. For a long while they were also popular for delivering newspapers, given the low running costs and the ease with which you could toss a paper from the drivers seat on the open versions. Popular farm buggies as well. A mate of mine has one on his farm for a shooting buggy. A good little jigger for that, so long as you aren't tall. Slow and bloody noisy on the highway though, every one of them that I've driven, even as they upped the power on them over the years.
