The O.C.

OK.....not to but..... Consider this......why would ANY mainstream consumer (re...not a "Suzuki" enthusiast) be drawn to a Suzuki dealership? What product or product feature do they offer that in any way differentiates them from the mainstream, more accepted brands? (or <gasp> even the Korean brands?) XL7....? Based on the (now) old Equinox/Torrent architecture. Third seat and V6? Pretty mainstream these days. Grand Vitara....? Underpowered, truck-like chassis.....but even at that, not properly set up to cash in on it's (supposed) off-road prowess. Why choose this over Escape, RAV4, CR-V, Rogue, Santa Fe, Sorento? SX4....? Awkward styling (ok subjective) and heavy for it's class (which blunts performance and fuel economy.) Why choose this over Corolla, Focus, Civic, Cobalt, Spectra, or Elantra?

Summary: Hence my original prediction that they (auto unit) won't be around all that much longer. They can't wrestle with Toyota and Honda.......they don't have the image, recognition in the marketplace, or the sheer advertising and marketing dollars to take them there. SO.....the alternative is to try to be something different.....hence the "motorcycle, excitement, speed" image.....the sporty, small cars.......the "halo" motorcycle-type sports car. As you've said....Subaru did it (focusing on AWD and the legacy of the WRX/STi)....and it seems to be working for them...... btw.....Swift could've been re-engineered (or was already) for the U.S. From my inside sources, (this occurred after I left) Japan presented this car as "ready-to-go" for the U.S. The "Korean Experiement" sounded good to many of us at the onset......but ended up a disaster. Forenza/Reno were plagued by seemingly never-ending reliability and engineering problems.....and the Verona was such a dud in the marketplace, it was embarrassing. (Not to mention the car's major failing was a thirsty inline-6 engine that not only didn't provide the fuel economy of the 4cyl Camry/Accord-type competition, it didn't even provide 4cyl type performance!!!!!!!) As far as the "Hayabusa" sports car......you are right.....it wouldn't have been huge volume (obviously) but just as you stated.....Toyota and Honda are abandoning their "sporty" cars.....so here was another chance to boost/build upon Suzuki's image for fun machines. If you are serious about being a player in this marketplace, you've got to be able to make the committment to taking the chances and making the decisions that will bring products to the market that will capture the consumers' attention..... Consider this.......Kia and Hyundai have embarrassed Suzuki when you consider how fast and far they've grown, and how poorly Suzuki continues to do. That's sad.....when you consider what Suzuki could have done with their solid image (for motorcycles and ATVs) in the marketplace. Kia and Hyundai started with a poor image.....and although it's improved, they still have an image problem....but they sell SO MANY more cars here NOW than Suzuki.....it's an embarrassment.

All good explanations.....it just seems funny he's seen a Malibu on the autobahn.....and I have STILL to see only a handful of them (rentals INCLUDED) on the roads around here. (One of the retail units, however, was a candy-apple-red LT with a young chick driving it......looked really good.....just saw the other day.)

G8 is funny......overall a pleasant-looking car.....but really it's only the aggressive front-end that lends it it's sportiness...... The car HAS to have the right wheels too.....only the 19-inchers on the GT. The 18s really seem to fail to fill the wheelwells..... And finally, if you don't option up a base car, you get manual seats and even a cheap, plastic, non-leather-wrapped wheel.....but at least the base cloth seems decent. Hence....the way to go is G8 GT with 19's and leather.......(or a GXP)

Well I've BEEN inside one.....and the materials are far better than recent typical Chrysler efforts....... And I for one like the style and design of the dashboard and console......

My apologies to our El Camino/G8 ST fans on here..... .....but I think this is a complete waste of time and resources. This will be, I guarantee you, just another "SSR" fiasco. Sad......really.......

I'm thinking the problem is more length-wise. An I6 is longer front-to-rear (obviously) than even a V8.........but they've done it before.

Ferrari 612 Scaglietti...... Not my favorite Ferrari, but it looked good going down the road......

Let me cite two recent examples of where Suzuki management dropped the ball on wonderful opportunities...... A few years ago, prior to the introduction of the new Swift, Japan offered the car to Suzuki NA. Dealers were shown pics and specs.....and they wanted it BAD. Even the enthusiastic non-mgmt employees wanted it BAD. The Japanese management in NA decided against the car. The Swift has been getting RAVE reviews in Europe.....and really could have been almost a "poor-man's" MINI here in the U.S. (with a similar style and proportions actually if any of you have seen the car.) Boy if we had that Suzuki Swift now......what a right-car, at the right time. (edit: see picture in above post.) Botch number two actually happened while I was there. Suzuki had plans to offer a small, lightweight sports-car powered by a Hayabusa motorcycle engine, re-engineered for passenger-car duty. Think of the car as a poor-man's Lotus Elise/Exige (certainly it would have been far less expensive) but it reminded me even more of an Ariel Atom (but a bit more realistic for passenger car duty with a full windshield and passenger compartment, but removable targa-type top.) I actually had seen the car on numerous occasions......sat in it....poured over the specs. There were actual prototypes. This car (or at least the concept) actually existed. Now, I don't know what ultimately killed it.....but man what a great halo car for Suzuki this would have been. Talk about building upon the great brand image Suzuki has for motorcycles. Maybe cost. But Europe loves these kinds of little sports cars so I'm sure the car could have been marketed easily overseas as well. Additionally, I'm sure if Suzuki kept volumes low enough, they most likely could have sold every one they could have built. We were talking about prices in the high-teens to mid-20's for this car.

Yeah so do I. That engine was a workhorse...... I wish they would have re-engineered it.....or designed a new I6. But you know.....an I6 really does have limited applications. You can't just stuff it under ANY hood.....maybe that's the reason they abandoned it. However, I'd assume it would fit under the Ram's hood....be a good base engine....and it would most likely fit in the Grand Cherokee too....????

Century..... You know what I'd LOVE to have today? A mint, low-mileage Century Gran Sport. Lord that would be a rare find.....! Anyone remember that car? SO low production.....but it was basically a Century T-Type coupe with a complete black-out package on it, two-tone GN-type black/grey bucket seats, but powered by the standard 3.8L V6...... (I was reading old car mags and ran across an ad Buick did for it.....)

Hmmmmm.....what was a Malibu doing over in Europe?

I'm seriously tempted by this car. I think the exterior looks sharp, I LOVE the new wheels, and what's not to love about 260 boosted hp? I just WISH the interior were way better (a la Astra).......but as it is, this car is a performance-car steal. I'm betting once C&D or MT get their hands on one, we'll see performance numbers better than what Edmunds got. If I remember correctly, I thought the buff mags were able to get the old SC car to 60 in under 6 secs.....depending on traction, I'd bet we'll see numbers more like 0-60 in 5.3-5.5....... It's amazing what a little attention to the body and wheels does for a car. While pedestrian Cobalts look almost Toyota-bland to me (or even blander) I've seen a couple of rentals recently that were actually Sport models......and the car looks much more substantial......

Not necessarily.......I have my reservations about Suzuki......but don't discount either of the Koreans. They aren't perfect, but they've come way further in the last 15 years than I think ANYONE could ever have predicted......

Hudson, look at PurdueGuy's post here...... He slams my point home. I'm not saying Suzuki EVER made a bad product.......but they haven't taken the steps and made the decisions to insure long-term automotive success in this country......that's MHO from being directly involved for over 4 years as of very recently...... (edit: It's the main reason that I left the company.....voluntarily.....not fired. I didn't see a long-term future.)

Well, I'd harbor a guess that the GXP version isn't exactly newsworthy in the same manner that the G8 ORIGINALLY was newsworthy.....being the GXP is basically just another model of the G8...... In other words....G8 in general has already had it's (well-deserved) day in the spotlight.....??

Amazing.....JUST amazing.....! This is great news..... .....but how many of us on here so many years ago said this is exactly what GM should have done from the beginning? (SOME sort of V6 or the I6, etc.) The company is just FLAT amazing........ But in any event, the 3.6L HF V6 will certainly give the H3 a serious leg-up over the old pushrod 3.8L V6 in the Wrangler.......

Oh it's something far more than just if an engine is rated "SULEV" or "PLEV".....I don't remember the specifics but it was far more involved......

Even though this was an attempt to be funny (and it was) there is alot of semi-truths here........GM has recently really sucked at their slogans. This is one part of their marketing efforts that has been totally mismanaged over the years. You pick a winning tagline and product slogan and you build upon it. Don't abandon it just because sales take a dip. I'll suggest some slogans for us..... Buick: "Premium American Motorcars" Cadillac: "Standard of the World" Pontiac: "We Build Excitement" Chevrolet: "Heartbeat of America" Saturn: "A Different Kind of Car.....A Different Kind of Company" Yeah.....I know these all have been used before.....but IMHO, these were all AWESOME taglines....that if just had been nurtured and adhered to, we might see a much different kind of GM today. Think of the impact of these taglines if they had all been used consistently over the last 20-30 years...... I know....I know.....some of today's products don't necessarily adhere to the tagline (Pontiac G5? "We Build Excitement?" and Cadillac DTS "Standard of the World?") But consistency with these brand slogans would only help the solidification of your product portfolio in the marketplace. (re.....BMW's "The Ultimate Driving Machine......" It's in everything they do....and has been....for how many decades?) There are many cars now that are beginning to, or have, rivalled BMWs now for driving pleasure.....but (edit: many) people in the marketplace will ALWAYS associate BMWs as the ultimate driving machines.....

I agree with what Reg said.......anything to keep the Camaro from embracing it's "redneck" status again. (Understand....not saying ANY of you Camaro fans are "rednecks".....I'm a Camaro fan too.....and far from a "redneck.") I think the new car will help avoid that. I think you'll have a product that definitely will be compared to Mustang and Challenger......that's a natural.....but it's appeal MIGHT extend to the G37 coupe quotient. I don't see it appealing as much to BMW fans.....(other than those of us enthusiasts on here that like both.) You could see a nice pull from people looking at Accord and Altima coupes though....... But at the end of the day, this car will be an unabashingly domestic car (albeit a good one) and will appeal mostly to those consumers. That's how I also see the G8.

The G8 doesn't remotely compete with BMW. Let's get real. The G8 may be an awesome product, and may have the performance and handling to compete.....but let's examine the realities of the marketplace. I bet there will be very FEW people that will ever cross-shop the G8 with a BMW. First of all is the significant price differences.......someone into the G8 isn't likely to be drawn to something as small as the 1-series.....and even that car, in 300hp guise, is more of a mid-to-upper $30's car. And people leasing all those 328i sedans (that are in the low-to-mid $30's) are more likely doing it for different reasons (as so many people point out on here) such as brand image or lifestyle choices. G8 MAXES out at less than $33K.....G8 is a (more successful) Charger/300C and to a lesser-extent....Maxima/Acura competitior most likely.....

Worked at their NA headquarters......in a management role. They always had decent products (except the Korean products which were complete crap) but Suzuki has never invested the time or money into marketing the brand....especially not at a level they have their motorcycle and ATV products. The Japanese there were also far less likely to listen to their American employees and dealers regarding product decisions that needed to be made in order to make the vehicles more attractive in the marketplace..... I don't recall saying "for sure" that they would pull the automotive division.....only that I wouldn't be surprised if they did. XL7 is a complete turd.....piss poor quality control, and dealers report it's not doing well at all. SX4 is interesting.....but a small player in a HUGE market segment. Grand Vitara would be an attractive RAV4 and CRV competitor.....but suffers from a lack of marketing and advertising support...... It's too bad. When I was there, I was part of a small contingent of us that were pushing the whole mantra of capitalizing on their success with motorbikes.....the excitement behind their class-leading sportbikes.....but all of our suggestions fell to deaf ears......

I had heard something about the 3800 not meeting updated emissions standards....but I forget what year that was. Something tells me it was 2009 or 2010.....?

Well, my A4 has only 200hp from it's 2.0L turbo.....and it's a Quattro.....so the car is probably, what 3,500lbs? I have NO issues with performance with the car. It scoots....and has plenty of midrange torque. I think C&D got one from 0-60 in 7.2secs. With that in mind, 260hp in a new Camaro might actually be decent. I'm betting the Camaro will come in the 3,600-3,700 range. We might be surprised....if the 2.0L Ecotec turbo is anywhere near as driveable as the Audi 2.0T...... (edit: It could come down to transmission in a 4cyl Camaro.....my car is a 6-speed and feels quick. Auto-equipped 2.0Ts are decent, but much less sparkling.....)

It can't be. Most new cars these days have either concealed antennas or small stuck-on antennas on the roof (like on my CTS.)