MotorWeek Review of the First Suzuki Car in the US.

If it has an S on the front you can talk about it here.
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Ronzuki
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The vast majority of Americans gladly digest everything that's fed to them via the media no matter the subject. Samurais never rolled over easily, on their own, and I have no doubt that a stock Jimny would not be prone to easily flopping on its side either. I put over 110k miles on my 86 tin-top Samurai (all stock) and never once came close to rolling it over, ever, on-road or off.

I'd been hoping (praying) that we'd see the Jimny here...only worse happened, they left the country for greener pastures.
Last edited by Ronzuki on Wed Jan 27, 2016 9:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Ron

2010 Kizashi GTS, CVT, iAWD (3/10 build date)
2011 SX4 Premium Hatch, CVT, iAWD (12/10 build date)
2018 Mazda CX-5 iAWD Touring
2014 Wrangler JKUW (GONE, traded :D :D )
1991 Samurai, 5-Speed, EFI, Soft-Top ( :| sold)
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KuroNekko
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Basically, Consumer Report's lawsuit against Suzuki really damaged the reputation of the Samurai which is the predecessor to the Jimny. Even though the case was settled without either side really winning, the Samurai's reputation was damaged enough for Suzuki to give up on it in the US. They resorted to selling the larger SUVs like the Sidekick, Vitara, Grand Vitara, and XL-7 but none of them were as pure of an offroad SUV as the Jimny. Suzuki also probably opted not to import the Jimny because it's small and would have required a significant redesign to keep up with the crash safety standards of the US. It was basically not worth it for Suzuki to offer it in the US after the Samurai debacle. It's a pity because it's a small, economical SUV that is very capable offroad due to its inherent design. It's actually closer to the Jeep Wrangler in design than any other Jeep vehicle is to the Wrangler. If there was ever a time it could sell well, it may be now given the rising popularity of small CUVs and the strong sales of the Jeep Wrangler. However, Suzuki is gone entirely from selling cars in North America so one's only hope is to buy a used USDM Samurai or wait around until the foreign model is 25 years old. The problem is that the Japanese don't keep cars very long so many that are even several years old are exported to other markets, mainly in Asia.
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
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Ronzuki
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Like I said..."gladly digest" whatever the media feeds unto the masses. I spit on Consumer Reports those asz clowns should have been thrown in jail to rot for that pack of fabricated lies. Too bad Suzuki wasn't able to force the media (and CU) to report the facts and truth of the matter (what really happened with those rigged 'tests') as a result of 'winning' their counter lawsuit. How that was viewed as a win could only be viewed as such by those performing in the spectacle. Once again, the injustice system delivering its perverted definition of justice.

Sorry, just realized I was ranting 'bout the injustice system again...
Ron

2010 Kizashi GTS, CVT, iAWD (3/10 build date)
2011 SX4 Premium Hatch, CVT, iAWD (12/10 build date)
2018 Mazda CX-5 iAWD Touring
2014 Wrangler JKUW (GONE, traded :D :D )
1991 Samurai, 5-Speed, EFI, Soft-Top ( :| sold)
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redmed
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pakizzie2015 wrote:Do any of you feel. that in the future Suzuki could come back to the USA. or is it over forever. I mean why couldn't they try again.. obviously they make good cars!.. it just seems like such a waste.
If Bernie Sanders becomes president No. Otherwise it is still doubtful. There are too many automotive manufactures in the world for the market to support them all. Suzuki does sell well in Asia. So it may be one of the surviving manufactures. If after the weak manufactures are gone and if U.S. government regulation eases up and if there is once again opportunity in the U.S. market and if the U.S. will still be affluent enough, then maybe. But that is a lot of "if's".
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93 F250 4x4 95 Silhouette 95 LHS 03 Corolla 10 Kizashi S MT
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pakizzie2015
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redmed wrote:
pakizzie2015 wrote:Do any of you feel. that in the future Suzuki could come back to the USA. or is it over forever. I mean why couldn't they try again.. obviously they make good cars!.. it just seems like such a waste.
If Bernie Sanders becomes president No. Otherwise it is still doubtful. There are too many automotive manufactures in the world for the market to support them all. Suzuki does sell well in Asia. So it may be one of the surviving manufactures. If after the weak manufactures are gone and if U.S. government regulation eases up and if there is once again opportunity in the U.S. market and if the U.S. will still be affluent enough, then maybe. But that is a lot of "if's".
Yes it is a lot of if's if the Korean makers , who by the way were cheap and hardly reliable in the 90's can be as strong as they are. Suzuki can do it too. and their cars were still better even back then.. I think they were put down because of the GM connection. they were not selling their own product.. I just believe they didn't sell enough of their own design and built products.. the kizashi is from what I have been told is 100 percent Suzuki Japanese built.. and it shows as everyone seems to love their cars.
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Ronzuki
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pakizzie2015 wrote:.. the kizashi is from what I have been told is 100 percent Suzuki Japanese built.. and it shows as everyone seems to love their cars.
The Kizashi is in fact 100% Japanese built sans, possibly, the latter MY CVTs. I wouldn't have purchased it, or either of our two SX4's if they weren't. Even the earlier model CVTs installed in them were Japanese built. My 2010's is.
Ron

2010 Kizashi GTS, CVT, iAWD (3/10 build date)
2011 SX4 Premium Hatch, CVT, iAWD (12/10 build date)
2018 Mazda CX-5 iAWD Touring
2014 Wrangler JKUW (GONE, traded :D :D )
1991 Samurai, 5-Speed, EFI, Soft-Top ( :| sold)
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KuroNekko
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All Kizashis sold around the world were built in the same manufacturing plant. It's in Sagara in Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan. The Kizashi is no longer in production, at least at any volume scale.
The Kizashi was 100% a Suzuki product that was in no way based on or related to any other car. A lot of people mistakenly believe it used a GM chassis, but it didn't. It was designed, engineered, built, and distributed solely by Suzuki. However, the CVT was sourced from JATCO, a company in which Suzuki has a 10% stake. It's majority owned by Nissan and all Nissan CVTs are JATCO.
Here's the link to the factory that all Kizashis were made in:
http://www.globalsuzuki.com/corporate/p ... agara.html
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
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Ronzuki
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My Ex-Dealer's service manager still thinks it's a variation on a Nissan Altima. I keep telling him, NO, it's not. They may have some similar/same components however, the chasis' and drivetrains are very different. I think he just likes to get me going when I'm there.
Ron

2010 Kizashi GTS, CVT, iAWD (3/10 build date)
2011 SX4 Premium Hatch, CVT, iAWD (12/10 build date)
2018 Mazda CX-5 iAWD Touring
2014 Wrangler JKUW (GONE, traded :D :D )
1991 Samurai, 5-Speed, EFI, Soft-Top ( :| sold)
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KuroNekko
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Ronzuki wrote:My Ex-Dealer's service manager still thinks it's a variation on a Nissan Altima. I keep telling him, NO, it's not. They may have some similar/same components however, the chasis' and drivetrains are very different. I think he just likes to get me going when I'm there.
Well, as you know, he's wrong. The Kizashi has nothing to do with the Altima. If they did share a platform, the Altima would be offered in AWD. It's not because its chassis wasn't designed for an AWD system therefore can't accommodate it. The Kizashi was obviously designed to accommodate AWD, making its chassis design different than only-FWD models. The only thing the Altima and Kizashi have in common is that they both have JATCO-sourced CVTs, but it's not even the same unit. In fact, the Mitsubishi Outlander and the Kizashi actually share the same JATCO CVT (JF011E) and mechanically have more in common than a Kizashi to an Altima. Throw that down on that service manager!
http://www.jatco.co.jp/ENGLISH/products/cvt/jf011e.html
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
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Ronzuki
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Location: Lancaster County, PA

I really think he likes to bust my chops when he sees me (which isn't very often) since he knows I'm a huge long-time Suzuki enthusiast. Gets some lively discussions going in an otherwise boring service waiting area. They're selling Fiat 500s and Alfa's there now. (the 4C Spider in Plat. Silver is pretty sweet). Very close color to my Kiz...a tad deeper and richer looking though.
Ron

2010 Kizashi GTS, CVT, iAWD (3/10 build date)
2011 SX4 Premium Hatch, CVT, iAWD (12/10 build date)
2018 Mazda CX-5 iAWD Touring
2014 Wrangler JKUW (GONE, traded :D :D )
1991 Samurai, 5-Speed, EFI, Soft-Top ( :| sold)
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