By David Clarke

highspeedhijinks

So you have exactly 11 minutes and 35 seconds to kill today and you’re looking for the visual equivalent of chugging a cup of coffee to keep you awake. Why not fill it with an awesome dirt-sliding, barrier-skimming, holy-crap-that’s-a-huge-cliff type video? Well I have just the video for you. This is Falken Tire’s coverage of “Monster” Tajima’s Pikes Peak run in his time attack Suzuki SX4. Some how his engine builder managed to wring 897hp and 654lbft of torque out of a 3.1 litre twin turbo. Which, as it turns out, is just enough horsepower to climb a 15,000ft mountain face in just over 10 minutes. You’re welcome!

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Wandering around the show before the show opened, I managed to take a couple of shots of the new Suzuki mid-sized Sedan. The Sport version was supposed to have gotten a 3.6L V6, but GM sold enough of Suzuki to VW that it’s stuck with a 2.4 instead. So is Suzuki late to the party, and will it be lost among all the other mid-sized appliances on the road? You decide.

Continue reading "NYIAS: The New Suzuki Kizashi, Suzuki’s Jetta" »

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

My name is Scott Grunsky and this is a brief history of my Suzuki 1991 Suzuki Alto Works RS-X that I imported from Japan a few years ago. When I first set out on this endeavor I had desperately wanted a similar age Suzuki Cappucino to build in to a track car. However, due to the initial purchase price, as well as the cost of upgrade parts, it was well out of my budget. So I decided on a cheaper stock Alto Works which would leave me with more money to put into the build. Continue reading at Speedhunters

By Scott Grunsky

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

I don’t know why this dude’s Gixxer wound up in so many pieces, but I’m pretty impressed with this video. Apparently, it took 30 hours to film, and once it was all back together, the bike fired right up. Enjoy.

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

Okay, last week’s Hemmings Six Degrees of Automotive Separation Challenge didn’t exactly sizzle. Except for a couple of the comments that made me hungry for breakfast. Luckily, current events have given me a chance to redeem myself. You see, news broke earlier this week that Volkswagen had bought a 20 percent stake in Suzuki, so that means we have a new connection to explore. Continue reading at Hemmings.

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

The Suzuki Samurai was a much maligned little 4×4 back when Consumer Reports got one to “roll” on its test course. Turns out that the little bastards are great off-road trucks with the proper modifications. Some dudes in Australia found that a Sami can also act as a submarine. “How low can you go?” takes on a whole new meaning here.

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

One of my favorite pieces of motorcycle advice has always been “keep it shiny side up.” And while it’s not really related to the clip of this bad-ass little Suzuki tearing up the dirt, it totally popped into my head when I was watching it. How cool is it when it recovers from being on its side?

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

This little Fortwo is getting Hayabusa power! See the progress so far on Matthew’s ride page.

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

We’re on a bit of a go-kart kick today as we spent yesterday reviving and thrashing a Craigslist find 5hp kart for a family member. That little devil was a hoot to terrorize the neighborhood with and frankly, we’re now trolling seriously for either a kart chassis or mini-bike chassis to plunk the 8hp motor we have in our basement onto. That would give us a fun toy, not an insane death machine like the dudes in this video. A 750cc Suzuki GSX-R motorcycle engine on a go-kart chassis is crazy beyond our league.

Sure, right now you’re saying, “I’d drive it!” That’s all well and good but stuff happens toute quick on a normal racing kart. Not much warning when the ends feel like swapping. You’re “I’d drive it!” sentiment may be replaced with an, “Oh fiddlesticks!” When your tukus is careening backwards toward the guard rail or the woods. This thing and these guys are nuts. We love ‘em and we’d be keen to check it out in person. Just not in the drivers’ seat. A man’s got to know his limitations.

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

GM and Chrysler have been stealing all the headlines recently, but several foreign manufacturers are having a rough time, too. Just looking at June numbers, Mitsubishi sales are down 41% from last year, while Suzuki’s sales are down a whopping 78%. As a result, Yuuki Sakurai, chief executive of Tokyo-based Fukoku Capital Management Inc., is recommending that both carmakers “withdraw from the U.S.” He added that “it’s time for them to decide whether they pay a high price to continue business there or stop the bleeding.” Mitsubishi Motors President Osamu Masuko said, “We will never give up the U.S. market.”

What do you think? Should they stick it out and hope for better times, or get out? Bloomberg via Autoblog