Suzuki cars

Suzuki XL7 Ceases Production (For Now)

Suzuki has stopped production of its North America only XL7 at the CAMI Ingersoll, Ontario plant it shares with General Motors. The suspension is indefinite, but will almost certainly last through the rest of the year. "It is an America-specific model," says Suzuki spokesman Hideo Kojima. "But since the subprime loan problem, that segment has been hit the hardest. So we decided to suspend it."

CAMI produced 12,407 XL7s last year, but this year has only popped out four (that’s right, four) XL7s through Sunday, May 10.

Suzuki Kizashi: I’m not dead yet!

Turns out Suzuki was just doing a Monty Python impression with the Kizashi sedan. Yesterday we reported that the car had been killed off, but instead the Kizashi is saying, “See you in New York, suckers!”

In an interview today with the Automotive News, Jeff Holland, spokesman for American Suzuki Motor Corp., confirmed the Kizashi. "The production version will debut at this year’s New York auto show in April."

While everyday sedans are usually not TopSpeed material, the Kizashi just has a cool and aggressive look that is refreshingly sporty for a segment that sometimes does duty as company cars. A 3.5-liter V6 engine wouldn’t hurt either.

In more good news it seems the Kizashi isn’t the only new Suzuki scheduled for the 2010 model year. The company may be poised for a good comeback in the U.S. as the Swift hatchback will also be arriving on these shores. While the small Swift may not seem like an exciting car at first glance, it provides a lot of cheap fun.

Suzuki Kizashi DOA

One of the cars we were looking forward to crowding the mid-manger parking lot was the Suzuki Kizashi. The designs we’ve seen were a fresh and aggressive approach to the family sedan, and a rumored 3.5-liter V6 was also helped wet our appetites. But that seems to be all over now. A Reuters report is now indicating that Suzuki will halt all investment on the car, despite the almost production-ready versions we’ve spied.

Suzuki has been making a significant comeback in Europe with its Swift hatchback. But the Swift has stayed off our shores due to a mixture of American’s little love for small hatches, and the last Swift we had was also sold as the image-crushing Geo Metro. Instead, the Kizashi was supposed to be Suzuki’s chance at real credibility in America. Now all we’re left with is wondering what the word “Vitara” means.

Suzuki Kizashi - new spy shot

This is the most exciting car to come from Suzuki in a while. The Kizashi is an attractive sedan that we have high hopes will be a part of the carmaker’s U.S. lineup. From this spy shot we can see the production version will keep many of the styling cues shown by the recent Kizashi 3 concept car. The production car will likely top out with a 3.5-liter V6 unit, while the rest of the cars will come with four-cylinder engines in both gas and diesel versions (although likely gas only for the U.S.)

Suzuki has close ties with General Motors. GM currently owns only about three percent of the company, but they have many joint production agreements. If the Kizashi is as much of a winner as it looks, GM may want to try and do some of its infamous rebadging to get its hands on a good/cheap sedan. Buick Kizashi anyone?

2009 Suzuki Alto

A new small car unveiled at the Paris Auto Show: the Alto — the fifth and smallest member of its acclaimed lineup of world strategic models. The new Alto combines eye-catching style and easy urban mobility with great performance in terms of fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions, thereby meeting the lifestyle needs of today’s motorists and the pressing global need for environmental compatibility.

The Alto is powered by a 1.0 liter petrol engine developing 68 hp at 6,000 rpm and 90 Nm of torque at 4,800 rpm mated to a choice between a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic gearbox. Fuel consumption is low at 62.7 mpg on the combined cycle and CO2 emissions are just 103g/km.

Suzuki aims to achieve annual sales of 60,000 units in Europe following a sales launch in spring 2009.

Suzuki Kizashi drawings

We first had three different concepts, then heavily camouflaged spy shots and now this latest drawing give us a pretty good idea of how the 2010 KIzashi will look like (just pretend its a coloring book).

The Kizashi will be built in three different body versions: a wagon, crossover and sedan. The last one, showed in the drawings was previewed by the Kizashi 3 Concept unveiled at the New York Auto Show.

The base version will be powered by a 2.5-liter 150-horsepower four-cylinder engine, but there will also be a 3.6-liter 300-horsepower DOHC V-6 version. A 2.0-liter turbodiesel will be available in many markets.

The 2010 Kizashi will be priced from around $21,000 and should finally provide Suzuki with an appealing mid-sized world car.

Suzuki Kizashi spy shot

Suzuki’s new Kizashi was caught testing in the California Desert. First unveiled as a concept at the 2008 New York Auto Show, the Kizashi is now preparing to enter production.

The base version will be powered by a 2.5-liter 150-horsepower four-cylinder engine, but there will also be a 3.6-liter 300-horsepower DOHC V-6 version. A 2.0-liter turbodiesel will be available in many markets, expect USA.

The car will be about 183 inches long, slightly shorter than a Camry at 189 inches, but riding on a longer wheelbase for more interior volume. As Suzuki has had a long tradition offering station wagons as well as all-wheel drive, expect a sedan, a sport wagon, and a true crossover to round out the line up.

Suzuki Alto to be revealed at the Paris Auto Show

Suzuki will unveil at the Paris Auto Show its new Alto. This car is based on the A-Star concept revealed in March at the Geneva Auto Show.

Although Suzuki did not reveal any details on the new Alto, we can tell you that under the hood there will be a newly developed 1.0-liter aluminum engine with CO2 emission under 110 grams per kilometer. The new engine is said to be compliant with the new strict Euro-5 emission standards.

2008 Suzuki Swift Sport “N’Style Rally” Edition

In order to increase the sales of their Swift model, Suzuki released another special edition based on the small vehicle. The Suzuki Swift Sport “N’Style Rally” Edition is a tribute brought to the Japanese carmaker’s “Group N” Junior Championship Rally car and will be built in a limited edition of just 500 units, each at a price of €17,900.

Painted in black and covered with Suzuki Motorsport’s logos, each unit comes with a 1.6 liter engine capable of developing 125 hp but also with a new body kit consisting in a front lip spoiler, new side skirts and a rear wing.

Suzuki will skip 2009 Detroit auto show

Suzuki has announced it will skip the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit because the space it was offered didn’t fit its needs, the company and show organizers said Wednesday. First auto maker that announced it will skip the show was Porsche.

Suzuki’s acknowledgement that Cobo Center isn’t big enough is the first confirmation by an automaker that the convention center doesn’t fit carmakers’ needs.

"From a Suzuki standpoint they were in need of space — more than they were allocated," said Rod Alberts, executive director of the NAIAS. "There’s a need for additional space at Cobo. It’s time for some expansion."

Jeff Holland, a Suzuki spokesman, said the space and location that the company was offered didn’t fit its display needs, adding that Suzuki’s plans for more active displays couldn’t be accommodated. Suzuki plans to introduce three new products in the next 18 months, and other cities better fit their marketing needs, he said.

"It’s recognizing that we can’t be everywhere and recognizing that opportunities are better in shows in other parts of the country," said David Boldt, product public relations manager for Suzuki.