Subaru Crew Cafe

14582 messages, Last post on Dec 05, 2009 at 2:40 PM

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Your Community Leaders are ateixeira and rsholland.

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#14121 of 14582 New Suzuki Kizashi by rsholland Jul 30, 2009 (9:47 am)
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/30/live-reveal-2010-suzuki-kizashi/ ...And yes, AWD will be available as an option ...And yes, this could put a hurting on the new Legacy sedan. The question is will this be the "Hail Mary" that saves Suzuki here in the USA? It's got the looks, and the specs (so far) look good as well. Man... this soooooo much better looking than the Legacy it's scary. Bob Replies to this message: colin_l (Jul 30, 2009 10:42 am) rsholland (Jul 30, 2009 11:19 am) colin_l (Jul 31, 2009 6:28 am) saedave (Jul 31, 2009 6:48 am) ateixeira (Jul 31, 2009 7:43 am) rsholland (Jul 31, 2009 7:56 am) ateixeira (Jul 31, 2009 8:50 am) colin_l (Jul 31, 2009 9:50 am) ateixeira (Jul 31, 2009 9:54 am)
#14122 of 14582 Re: New Suzuki Kizashi [rsholland] by colin_l Jul 30, 2009 (10:42 am)
Replying to: rsholland (Jul 30, 2009 9:47 am) I have this perception that Suzuki is doing better than ever in the USA. Maybe I'm biased because, oddly enough, the #2 sales revenue Suzuki dealer in the entire country is right here in Wichita. But it sure feels like their small cars and cute-utes are doing quite well, and compare favorably against most competitors in terms of features vs. price. In March I helped my girlfriend shop for a new small SUV and she bought an unsold '08 Grand Vitara base 4x4 for $16k out the door after all incentives. Not shabby for a vehicle with a $23k sticker. Everyone is getting creamed right now, however, that's totally true. And Suzuki has no hybrid or diesel. Replies to this message: rsholland (Jul 30, 2009 11:19 am) colin_l (Jul 31, 2009 6:28 am)
#14123 of 14582 Re: New Suzuki Kizashi [colin_l] by rsholland Jul 30, 2009 (11:19 am)
Replying to: colin_l (Jul 30, 2009 10:42 am) Not really Colin. In fact this recent report posted on AutoBlog urges both Suzuki and Mitsubishi to pull out of the US market, as their sales are so poor and that their outlook looks poor. http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/10/report-analysts-urge-mitsubishi-suzuki-to-exi- - t-u-s-market/ It's a bummer, as I've always liked the new Grand Vitara SUV and their new SX4. Bob Replies to this message: colin_l (Jul 31, 2009 6:28 am)
#14124 of 14582 Re: New Suzuki Kizashi [rsholland] by colin_l Jul 31, 2009 (6:28 am)
Replying to: rsholland (Jul 30, 2009 11:19 am) Huh, never knew. I see Suzuki commercials frequently now versus never in the past (more than 3 years ago) and like I said a lot of them have been sold in Wichita. I guess we're a significant outlier and the rest of the country isn't buying them.
#14125 of 14582 Re: New Suzuki Kizashi [rsholland] by saedave Jul 31, 2009 (6:48 am)
Replying to: rsholland (Jul 30, 2009 9:47 am) Yes, it is much better looking than the Legacy. But Suzuki has a long way to go on measures of NVH, ride and perception of quality. I doubt that it will affect Legacy sales in any way.
#14126 of 14582 Re: New Suzuki Kizashi [rsholland] by ateixeira Jul 31, 2009 (7:43 am)
Replying to: rsholland (Jul 30, 2009 9:47 am) made it sound like Suzuki wants to transform itself into Subaru. So far it seems to be working with residual values after 36 months rising from 34 to 48 percent between 2005 and 2009. They have a ways to go. Most Subies are in the 50s, a Forester holds a 59% residual on a 3 year lease even with 45k miles! Over 60% with fewer miles. Of course when you pay $16k on a $23k sticker it doesn't matter. 48% of 23k is only about 11 grand, and I'm sure Colin's girlfriend would be thrilled to recoup 69% of what she actually paid after 3 years. A bargain is a bargain. Plus the 7/100 warranty. They went to Nurburgring with a 2.4l 4 banger? Okee-dokee. The Kizashi is cute but I don't like it as much as Bob does. It's very derivate outside. Take a Fusion greenhouse, add a Hyundai Genesis headlight and a VW grille. The rear end is all unique, though, but not my favorite angle. It looks hump-backed. The Infiniti G37 has a similar shape but was executed better. The exhaust outlets (diffusers?) are oddly shaped. Those wheels have far too many spokes, too. I like the interior more, but again no double-DIN opening. Good luck with an aftermarket stereo. And they say sport seats are standard but they look very flat to me, with small bolsters. The dash and center console design are nice, and flow well. Much nicer than the Legacy's, IMO. Seems a bit smaller than the new Legacy, maybe about the size of the 05-09 model. The real problem for Suzuki, though, is visibility. They come out with a competent, attractive mid-sizer, but I'm not sure it'll stand out enough that people will even be able to identify it. Replies to this message: rsholland (Jul 31, 2009 7:56 am) ateixeira (Jul 31, 2009 8:50 am) colin_l (Jul 31, 2009 9:50 am) ateixeira (Jul 31, 2009 9:54 am)
#14127 of 14582 Re: New Suzuki Kizashi [ateixeira] by rsholland Jul 31, 2009 (7:56 am)
Replying to: ateixeira (Jul 31, 2009 7:43 am) The Kizashi is cute but I don't like it as much as Bob does. It's very derivate outside. Take a Fusion greenhouse, add a Hyundai Genesis headlight and a VW grille. That can be said for any mainstream car. There's no way—if you want to appeal to the masses—to not make it look like something else already on the market, and to have it sell. Suzuki did an "excellent" job here. There are only a few cars on the road that I would not change a single line or detail, to make the exterior look better. This is one of them. Bob Replies to this message: ateixeira (Jul 31, 2009 8:50 am)
#14128 of 14582 Re: New Suzuki Kizashi [rsholland] by ateixeira Jul 31, 2009 (8:50 am)
Replying to: rsholland (Jul 31, 2009 7:56 am) The front works but the back just looks ... swollen? I dunno. The Lexus SC430 has that same hump due to the hardtop, and I don't like that Lexus' styling, either.
#14129 of 14582 Re: New Suzuki Kizashi [ateixeira] by colin_l Jul 31, 2009 (9:50 am)
Replying to: ateixeira (Jul 31, 2009 7:43 am) Actually she's 29 and has owned 2 cars. Part of the Suzuki decision was the idea that she'd drive it for a long, long time. Resale value wasn't considered at all. Btw I have a CarSpace album that shows a few pics of the G-V after it got smacked last month by a 2010 Mustang GT. Ended up being $8400 in repairs! They aren't kidding when they say rear-door mounted spare tires cause a lot of damage. I don't know for sure what the Mustang cost to repair, but I'd be it was easily $10k. Oh and the Mustang still had the 30 day tags on it. Replies to this message: ateixeira (Jul 31, 2009 9:54 am)
#14130 of 14582 Re: New Suzuki Kizashi [colin_l] by ateixeira Jul 31, 2009 (9:54 am)
Replying to: colin_l (Jul 31, 2009 9:50 am) Ouch. My white Miata was hit by a Saab with temporary tags. The worst part was it was the dad driving a car he'd purchased for his daughter. Sorry honey!