Well MMarhsall, myself and others have said this for years now...

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...308029971/1018

 

you don't say???

I never understood suzuki. There's nothing in their line-up that I find interesting-worst was their vehicross

 

That will make it even more of a bargain. It's already, along wth the Subaru Impreza, one of the cheapest AWD vehicles available in America.

 

Wrong company, friend.....the Vehicross was an Isuzu product.

 

Suzuki's main problem is actually not their products, but the lack of U.S. auto dealerships. Yes, that's what I've been saying for some time now.

 

Yup, you can't sell cars without dealerships. I live right by Suzuki's Southern California HQ and the nearest dealer is at least 15 miles away.

 

Thank you Mmarshall.
I was too hasty-I'm thinking that's the next company to join suzuki

 

I think they are in the middle of a fatal death spiral. I know where the Land Rover, Mitsu, Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, Lotus dealers are in my area. But I have no idea where any Suzuki dealers are. With no visibility to their products and no where to service them, fewer people will buy them. When fewer people buy them, the dealerships eventually close. And the vicious cycle continues.

 

I honestly didn't know either, had to look it up (where Suzuki dealers are)

 

suzuki only has nice motorcycles going for them. the suzuki hayabusa.

one of the suzuki dealerships in the vancouver area is closing down.

 

There are two Suzuki dealers here and they have a ton of used luxury cars on their lots vs new Suzukis.

 

Only one truly viable/competive model in the US Suzuki product line doesn't help. I only know of one dealership in San Jose, CA.

 

I assume you're referring to the Kizashi? That car, of course, got some hype in the auto press....much of it, IMO, deserved.

But that doesn't mean that the rest of the Suzuki line is necessarily second-rate. I do agree that they are presently uncompetitive, but that is not necessarily because of the product........it's simply because few people are going to the very spare dealer-network to actually look at them. The AWD SX-4, for example, undercuts the AWD Subaru Impreza in price, and, unlike the Impreza, offers a 3-position FWD/AWD/AWD Lock switch. And the Vitara, unlike most of its Cute-Ute competition, offers a more-rugged frame for true off-roading.

Have you gone there to see any of its products first-hand?


I do agree, though, that, in the past, part of it was Suzuki's fault. The rather mediocre Esteem, years ago, did not compete well against Corollas and Civics because its road manners (I test-drove one) couldn't compare, though it had a good price. The Swift, also rebadged as the Chevy/Geo Metro, was super-economical, but its structure was flimsy/lightweight and, in a crash, it was a rolling coffin. The Samurai was crude and a joke.....a rollover just waiting to happen. The Sidekick/Tracker was only a moderate improvement over the Samurai. Earlier Vitaras were rugged off-road, but had an overly-bouncy ride like a Jeep Wrangler (that has been tamed in the latest versions). And, for a while, in the years between the Esteem and the new Kizashi, Suzuki neglected the design of its own American market sedans/couple, using Korean-Daewoo designs like the Verona, Forenza, and Reno instead. Even the bargain SX-4 is a joint Suzuki-Fiat design. But that, of course, is the Suzuki of the past, not the present.

 

Yes, I am referring to the Kizashi as the only competitive offering. The SX-4 is too ugly and too slow to sell well, therefore it sells poorly. As I said, only one competitive product in product line, sadly. See the CAR SALES thread for updates on Suzuki US sales, with Kizashi as the only bright spot, despite dealer network.

Yes, I've seen the products first hand at car shows and at the SJ dealership, snoozers except for Kizashi.

 

In our side of the fence, the Swift is doing quite well. Celerio seems to be holding against the Hyundai i10 in the budget car category. Grand Vitara is quite strong too

Then when they brought the SX-4 Aero (the sedan version), a lot of my countrymen thought it was boring and ugly-***. I thought that it looked okay but yeah, most people I know thought otherwise.

Then just a few weeks ago, the crossover hatchback version was launched here which caused excitement for local Suzuki fans until........it was revealed that our version only comes in 1.6 liter engine and FWD with 4-speed auto.

I do hope though that we get a CVT gearbox with paddle shift when the facelift version gets released here.