Suzuki Kills the Kizashi

alto, swift, splash, 3 superminis when you could only have one... this car looks ready, bad decision to simply cancel it, a mid size sedan could only do them good on the market, specially in the US, where love for japanese cars is growing and specially in that category, but well what do i know?...

wow, they must be taking a big hit by axe-ing the car at this stage. That's just about a complete car under all that camo. With that said, it's probably wise to do so. Just think of the juggernauts it will have to compete with in the US. I still say they need to bring the Swift here to the US.. the Sx4 is hideous.

I've always just looked at the SX4 and the Liana and the Reno and thought that they need a competent mainstream C-segment car which is actually nice to look at. They could look at going into D-segment cars after that but such a big jump from Swifts to big sedans with 2.5 I4 and 3.6 V6 just seems a little abstract. I presume that the V6 is the 3564cc GM unit.

I actually liked the looks of this car very much. And because Suzuki needed a car in this segment I was looking forward to seeing it roll on the streets some time soon. You shouldn't have canceled it the Kizashi, Suzuki :(

Hmmm... it's always sad to see an almost ready car being canceled and all, but: 1) Suzuki is trying to extend the brand image of its motorcycle division to the car division. Their brand heritage is based on a sports oriented persona, not on comfort, safety and daddy-likes-to-drive manners, all values found in midsize sedans. 2) Family car buyers want prestige and assistance, two things Suzuki just can't offer in the US. Simple as that. 3) Being such a small company, every new car should be able to sell well in most markets. Chances are, a sports sedan is just perfect for the US, but too big for Europe and too expensive for India, Russia and Brazil, for example. 4) Everybody's turning to small cars these days. Why go the other way around? Suzuki already builds some decent small cars, like the Swift, and could just come up with something just as exciting, but fit for the american market. So, in my opinion, the Kizashi shoud have stayed in the carshows, as a concept. Building sporty competitors to the likes of the Mini, for example, would do Suzuki some good. Even rivals for the A3 and C30, or even a sports oriented mini-minivan to take on the B-Class... there are some much more appropriate segments in the compact car territory for Suzuki to conquer before they decide to go upmarket. Besides, people can already buy an Accord or Altima without being haunted by the phantom of the Verona.