Kizashi Club

A recent Yahoo article was posted regarding an originally Forbes article on "11 New Cars to Avoid".
As you may have guessed from my posting of it, it included the Kizashi along with the Grand Vitara and the SX4.
Other cars included 3 Jeeps, a Dodge, a Volvo, 2 Nissans, and the Smart car.

It was interesting to see basically all Suzuki's on there, especially the Kizashi.
The article goes to reference Consumer Reports and J.D. Power on their opinions and ratings on the cars.

The article states this for the Kizashi:

"This modest midsize sedan is reasonably likeable, though it’s overshadowed by most other models in its segment. It will soon be orphaned along with the rest of the Suzuki line as the brand winds down its U.S. auto operations. J.D. Power gives it low grades for initial quality and long-term reliability, while Consumer Reports faults the Kizashi’s four-cylinder powertrain for being, “rather leisurely…the CVT (transmission) makes the engine work hard and noisily to keep up the pace.” "

Interesting piece given what CR and J.D. Powers claim and I call biased bullshit.
Why? Let's examine the facts, straight from CR and J.D. Power themselves.

I own a copy of Consumer Reports' 2012 New Car Ratings and Reviews.
In there, they did not "recommend" the Kizashi, but gave it a score of 82 points. That's higher than the following "Recommended" cars: Ford Fusion (76), Honda Accord (80), Kia Optima (81), Mazda6 (73), and Volvo S60 (77) for comparison purposes.
CR also rated the comparable Subaru Legacy a 83 and gave it the coveted "Recommended" rating.
Interesting that CR seems to think the Kizashi is lacking yet it is only 1 measly point away from their acclaimed Legacy of their beloved Subaru brand (which also has a sluggish CVT).

If that is not bias, I don't know what is. The only logical explanation is that they did not have reliability data on the car to recommend it. But wait, that never stops them from singing praise of new, untested Toyota models.

Also in my magazine, CR gave the SX4 a "Recommended" rating also adding that it had "above average reliability", but the SX4 also made it into the article among the cars to avoid. Hmm. How do you explain that other than negative brand bias after the bankruptcy?

J.D. Power is even more of a joke. As the quote states for the Kizashi, "J.D. Power gives it low grades for initial quality and long-term reliability".
Is this the same J.D. Power that awarded the Kizashi "J.D. Power and Associates' 2011 Automotive Performance Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study Award"?

So, according to J.D. Power, the car can win awards from them yet still have low quality and poor reliability? Wait, the Kizashi has low grades for long-term reliability when it's only been in the market for 3 years!? All J.D. Power can provide in terms of data is a bubble rating of 2 out of 5 for "predicted reliability". Hmm, predictions are not data. I thought these guys did research, not faulty fortune telling.

Interestingly, the only thing that happened regarding the Kizashi and J.D. Power in the last year was that Suzuki stopped paying J.D. Power for surveys regarding their cars. All of a sudden, J.D. Power reverses their findings and claims the Kizashi is a poor choice. The bias from the money trail is so obvious it should be embarrassing for them. If you want a side of bullshit with a plate of bias, J.D. Power is your go-to source.

You can read the ridiculous article for yourselves here. I have already lambasted the idiocy and bias of CR and J.D. Power in the Yahoo comments. What they say about the Wrangler is also ridiculous. Did they expect Jeep to make some kind of cushy sedan with it?

http://autos.yahoo.com/news/11-new-cars ... 14797.html

For many years -- since 2002 -- I have read Consumer Reports' articles on the XL-7 and Grand Vitara. No matter what the model, and despite all changes, they've basically all said the same thing. They all talk about the suspension, for example, as being like "rubbery." (Whatever that means.) I think the senior editorial staff just looks to see if the requisite amount of snootiness is incorporated into the juniors copycat review, then gives it a pass. Would be surprised if anyone actually drove the vehicles.

Why get all worked up over it?

KuroNekko wrote: Interestingly, the only thing that happened regarding the Kizashi and J.D. Power in the last year was that Suzuki stopped paying J.D. Power for surveys regarding their cars. All of a sudden, J.D. Power reverses their findings and claims the Kizashi is a poor choice. The bias from the money trail is so obvious it should be embarrassing for them. If you want a side of bullshit with a plate of bias, J.D. Power is your go-to source.

ding, ding, ding......doesn't matter that it's all bias and BS contrived by money however, the uniformed masses believe anything the 'authorities' have to say about anything.

CR is a worthless rag run by criminals. JD Power is apparently no better. Ron's butt survey says... get in the car(s) and drive it, then let your own butt decided.

murcod wrote:Why get all worked up over it?

to educate the masses that read these posts here and elsewhere. The more their lies and true colors are exposed, the more worthless their biased opinions become, and hopefully, they cease to exist along with their money driven dis-information.

CR better stay with Vacume and coffee machine rating. period.

I read that drivel. Worthless spam. Amazing how the Wrangler is a top 10 vehicle in terms of resale value, yet it is a "car to avoid". Really?

murcod wrote:Why get all worked up over it?

Murcod,

Well, let's first consider the biggest factor. Suzuki is leaving the US. Americans like myself can no longer look forward to their products. A lot of that has to do with the fact that Suzuki could not sell cars in the last couple of years in the US. A lot of that has to do with the fact that they got a lot of negative reviews by publications like Consumer Reports and J.D. Power.
The reason why I am all worked up is because CR and J.D. Power are very inconsistent and obviously biased. Their bias has given Suzuki and few other brands so much unfair negative press that consumers truly believe they are inferior cars.
CR and J.D. Power trumpet themselves as research agencies with minimal bias, but upon close examination, you see that their conclusions are mere opinions and often unfair.
I have reviewed CR's publications for about a decade in their vehicle reliability ratings and recommendations. I don't really care for their opinions, but I would occasionally pick up a CR magazine to see how reliable certain vehicles were.

I think my example of how the Kizashi rated compared to favored cars like the Subaru Legacy shows some bias. Consumer Reports recommends just about every Subaru model and praises them as an excellent brand, but of course, same with Toyota. The Legacy is essentially the flag ship for Subaru and CR rated it rather high. Yet, the Kizashi scored 1 point lower than it. This would logically mean that the Kizashi must be very good. Despite CR's own quantitative data, they wrote an unfavorable snip-it on the Kizashi. It's not very logical. The only explanation is brand bias against Suzuki.

J.D. Power is obviously influenced by the money. The difference in what they claimed about the Kizashi was like night and day between 2011 and 2012. But as we all know, there was no redesign or considerable changes with the car. The only difference was that Suzuki stopped paying them for customer surveys (part of Suzuki's cash-saving moves before the bankruptcy). J.D. Power then released negative ratings on the car. It's almost like blackmailing the brand. Absolute nonsense.

The reason why I am upset is that these publications are rather influential in the United States and many consumers base their shopping decisions on them. An unfair review may result in sluggish sales and a bad reputation. Obviously, Suzuki fell victim to this. Pry a little for the details and you just see the nonsense and bias that is CR and J.D. Power. I think it's worth getting worked up about especially because the three real Suzuki's on that list are actually good cars for the money. I've basically owned two out of the three (Sidekick was the predecessor to the Grand Vitara) and think these Suzuki's are great. I have also owned two Subaru's (remember Subaru is CR's golden child now) and they were not really any better than the Suzuki's.

I haven't read all of the above ( I will later when I've got more time), but here's some feel good stuff.

http://www.suzuki.com.au/community/news ... dly-choice
http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor. ... 1F0003D5FE
http://www.carverdict.com.au/suzuki/kizashi-sedan
http://www.suzuki.com.au/community/revi ... l-carsales
http://www.suzuki.com.au/community/news ... -top-marks

I've never bought "popular" cars, but I've always been happy with my choices and couldn't really care what anyone else writes/ says.

CR is only good read if you have a bowel movement in need of attention. People who buy a car based on just what they read are not very informed. When shopping for a car I looked at what really matters; Is this car going to keep me safe? Will I get decent gas mileage? Is it available in AWD? Does it look good? Is it a good price? Does it have all the options I want or need? Do I like driving it? Does it have a good warranty? Can I get a color I like? Since it was a yes to all those things, here I am. Even my Father questioned my purchase, and he just bought a Hyundai Santa Fe....so no buyer's remorse here!