Suzuki is getting in on the free gas bandwagon that Hyundai kicked off this year by launching a "Free Gas for Summer" promotion on all SX4s sold between now and August 31st. Of course, it pays to read the fine print – what the purchaser really gets is a pre-paid credit card loaded up with $270 for the SX4 Sedan or $290 for the slightly less fuel efficient SX4 Crossover.

Whether or not this incentive is really "free gas for summer" depends on how much you plan to drive over the next three months or so. Still, it's a relatively pain-free way for Suzuki to advertise "Free Gas!" and it's still a few hundred bucks off the running costs of the car.

Along with the aforementioned sales promotion, Suzuki has also announced that it's offering $2,000 in customer cash off the price of any SX4 sold with a manual transmission, which we found to be a willing partner in eking out the most performance from the little runabout and much more desirable than the four-speed slushbox when we tested it last year.



Photos Copyright ©2008 Jeremy Korzeniewski / Weblogs, Inc.

Hear about those reports last week of a potential tie-up between Suzuki and Volkswagen for microcar development? Osamu Suzuki, chief executive at the automaker that bear his name, heard the same rumors that we did, and they apparently came as news to him. Though Suzuki falls short of denying outright that any potential deal could be struck, he told the Chunichi Shimbun daily (via Reuters):

So far there's been absolutely no contact (with Volkswagen). Lately, we've been the victim of a lot of rumors (of equity tie-ups and cooperation deals).

Suzuki sells more mini cars – albeit tiny 660cc Kei urban runabouts – in Japan than any other automaker not named Toyota, yet it has a limited footprint in most other markets. Thus, it's not surprising that rumors of impending partnerships are common. In this case, though, it would seem that reports of a potential 10% stake by VW are at least a bit premature.


[Source: Reuters]

According to reports from Reuters and Manager Magazin in Germany, Volkswagen is keen to purchase a 10% stake in Suzuki in order to cooperate on future small cars for emerging markets. In its home market of Japan, Suzuki is the second-largest automaker behind Toyota and dominates the tiny Kei car market alongside Toyota-owned Daihatsu.

These miniature 660cc vehicles are extremely popular in Japan's dense urban settings and Volkswagen reportedly believes this class of automobile holds great promise for emerging markets. In India, for example, Tata Motors has seen a great deal of success with its diminutive Nano, which is billed as the cheapest car in the world.

Suzuki already enjoys a measure of success in Tata's home turf, where its Maruti Suzuki subsidiary offers the Alto, which has been the best-selling automobile in India since 2004. At this time, both Suzuki and Volkswagen are declining comment, but VW chairman Ferdinand Piech has praised the Japanese automaker numerous times in the past.



[Source: Retuers]

J.D. Power and Associates has released its 2009 Initial Quality Study (IQS) and Lexus has taken the top spot away from Porsche, the initial quality leader for the past three years. The annual J.D. Power study measures IQS based on problems reported per 100 vehicles (PP100) -- a lower score means a lower rate of problem incidences and higher quality.

This year, the industry average is 108 PP100, demonstrating a steady improvement from 118 PP100 in 2008, and 125 PP100 in 2007. In addition to the marked improvement by the industry overall, many brands continued to perform well in 2009. Following Lexus and Porsche is Cadillac (which moves from 10th rank position in 2008 to third in 2009), Hyundai (jumping from 13th rank position in 2008 to 4th in 2009) and Honda (up from 7th in 2008 to 5th in 2009). Infiniti, second in last year's study, drops to 11th overall, while Suzuki posts the largest improvement in ranking, moving from 32nd place in 2008 to 9th in 2009. The complete J.D. Power press release and charts can be found after the jump and in the gallery below.




[Source: J.D. Power and Associates]

Spy shots of the upcoming Suzuki Kizashi are becoming rather common as the mid-size sedan gets ready to launch later this year, but what we've yet to see – what we've needed to see – is a shot of what's inside. Thanks to Autoblog reader Curtis Lewis, we finally have our first glimpse of the Kizashi's interior, and we've got to say, it's looking good.

While the design is hardly revolutionary, the materials appear to take a solid step above and beyond Suzuki's current offerings, with some tasteful wood and aluminum trim. The center stack is rather straightforward, but everything appears more fluid and refined compared to what we've seen in the past. The steering wheel is reasonably sized (not to big and not to small), complete with redundant controls for the stereo and possibly Bluetooth integration, and the seats have a fair amount of bolstering to compliment the leather surfaces.

The exterior hasn't changed much since the last batch of spy shots, and although it isn't nearly as swoopy and aggressive as the Kizashi 3 concept that we saw at the New York Auto Show, we're still encouraged by the sculpted haunches, angular trunk, stretched taillights and integrated exhaust tips. Too bad the front fascia looks like a Neon when coated in camo. Expect the Kizashi to debut in production form this December with a choice of a 2.5-liter inline four driving the front wheels or 3.6-liter V6 sending approximately 300 hp through all four.

While they might lack the comedic punch of their seasoned British co-frères, the presenters at Top Gear Australia don't seem to have any electric car "issues". Indeed, in a recent episode they even held their own battery-powered build-off. Presenters Warren Brown and Steve Pizzati each took a car of their choosing, stripped out all the combustive components and inserted a rough and (mostly) ready electric drivetrain, before meeting up on a racetrack to compete for bragging rights.

Realizing that a decent electric vehicle shouldn't be too heavy, Pizzati decided to go with the featherweight Suzuki MightyBoy while his competitor settled on that great Australian classic, the HZ Holden Kingswood. This hulking station wagon weighs in somewhere between the QEII and the state of New Hampshire. While we won't tell you which conversion won straight out, we will throw out the hint that the triumphant strains of "Football meat pies kangaroos electric cars" could be heard coming from the passenger compartment of the conquering contestant. Follow the jump for the segment in two parts – as well as a bonus video of a very nice MightyBoy conversion.


[Source: YouTube]

With the global economy in shambles, classic car collectors have been looking to something more affordable: namely, motorcycles. That's why, for example, Pebble Beach is opening up its concours to two-wheelers for the first time this year. Unfortunately for racing enthusiasts, championship-winning steeds seldom pop up for grabs. The factories and riders themselves tend to hang onto them. But here's one notable exception: the Suzuki 500 XR40 with which legendary rider Franco Uncini won the 1982 MotoGP World Championship.

Uncini's racing career was characterized by a checkered past filled with checkered flags. The Italian rider competed for Ducati, Harley-Davidson and Yamaha before finally filling the saddle at Suzuki,with which he won his first and only world title in 1982, the last Italian to win the MotoGP championship until Valentino Rossi began his reign in 2001. A devastating crash the following year put Uncini into a coma and ended his career in 1985. Today he acts as a safety representative for the series, riding around in that hot new BMW X6 M pace car we reported on earlier. He'll be on hand personally to supervise the auction of his championship-winning ride on May 18 when it goes under the hammer at the COYS auction in Monte Carlo together with 15 other historically-significant motorbikes. Uncini's bike is expected to fetch as much as €350,000, or nearly half a million dollars. Click on the thumbnails below to view the machine in high resolution.




[Source: COYS]

According to Automotive News, Suzuki has elected to halt production of its only North American-built model, the slow-selling three-row XL7 crossover. Blaming the nation's subprime loan crisis, Suzuki spokesman Hideo Kojima has confirmed that no additional examples of the America-only model will roll off out of General Motors' CAMI joint-venture facility in Ingersoll, Ontario. The plant is still operational, however, continuing to produce other GM vehicles for the remainder of the model year.

Given GM's dire financial state, you might expect for Suzuki to be worried about the future of the their arrangement, but apparently that isn't so. AN quotes CEO Osamu Suzuki as saying: "The possibility that CAMI would be forced into closure or a production stop is 120 percent impossible... it is a central pillar in the reconstruction plan, so I am not worried about it."

So while there may be a paucity of new kabuki-faced XL7s headed out onto North America's roads, Suzuki apparently believes that their joint venture with GM will find a way to carry on.

[Source: Automotive News, sub req'd]

With Fiat preparing to join forces with Chrysler, Opel, Saab and General Motors Latin America, the Italian auto group is expanding its home base to the United States, Germany, Sweden and South America. So what's it missing? Japan. The latest rumors out of Automotive News Europe could go a long way towards addressing that omission, as the trade organ is reporting that Fiat CEO and merger mastermind Sergio Marchionne may be preparing to bring Suzuki into the fold as well.

The main contributing factor to this turn of the rumormill, though, is the presence of Suzuki's factory in Hungary, where the Japanese automaker builds the Sedici (twin to the Suzuki SX4 Crossover) for Fiat and the Agila for Opel. However, Marchionne insist these are pure speculation, dismissing the reports as "nonsense." Marchionne arguably already has more on his plate than he can chew at the moment, but the scuttlebutt probably isn't entirely without merit.

[Source: Automotive News Europe – subs. req'd]

It's only been four months since Suzuki announced it was leaving the World Rally Championship, but reports are already surfacing about its comeback. Suzuki's decision came amidst a whole slew of similar announcements, primarily from Japanese automakers, to cancel their racing programs. Honda pulled out of F1, Subaru out of the WRC, Mitsubishi out of rally raids... even Kawasaki dropped their motorbike team. But while Honda is undoubtedly kicking itself for leaving the grand prix scene one season too early, it could be Suzuki that gets back into the race first.

The reports come from the mouth of Urmo Aava, one of Suzuki's most valued rally drivers. Since the Japanese carmaker withdrew from the top-level series, he's been helping the junior team with set-up for the Suzuki Swift S1600, but the planned switch next season to the more production-car-based S2000 formula in the top-tier WRC could open the door to more automakers like Suzuki coming back to the fold, or entering for the first time. Like the one which Suzuki was campaigning until last season (pictured above), the new car would be based on the SX4, but cost less to campaign. For his part, Aava realizes he'd need to bring in his own sponsorship cash to make it happen, but if it does, Suzuki could be kickin' gravel and jumping hills by 2011. Thanks to Eralp for the tip!



[Source: RallyBuzz]