Suzuki Offering Free Gas Incentive for Summer

Suzuki is offering three months of free gas to anyone who purchases a new 2009 Suzuki SX4 sedan or crossover through Aug. 31. It’s also offering $2,000 cash back on all SX4 models equipped with a manual transmission. That deal is good for the same time period.

Suzuki’s free-gas offer may not carry quite the same weight as all the gas offers from last year. At $2.63 a gallon nationally, gas prices are a far cry from last year’s prices of more than $4 per gallon. It just isn’t the terrifying economic boogeyman it was in 2008. The pre-paid gas cards also equal less than $300 in terms of real money.

Furthermore, as a general principal, offering three months of free gas isn’t as good as building a more efficient car. The Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic both eat the SX4’s lunch when it comes to fuel economy.

Cars.com Podcast Tackles Winter Driving

This week, senior editors Joe Wiesenfelder and David Thomas discuss how recent additions to our fleet handled winter weather. Check out what they have to say about the 2009 Suzuki Grand Vitara, 2010 Ford Fusion, 2009 Infiniti G37x and others.

You can get the podcast on iTunes here, or listen to it in a browser here.

Suzuki Sedan Not Canceled, Debuting in New York

In a good sign that the bad economy hasn’t killed another upcoming model, Suzuki has confirmed that its Kizashi sedan is indeed coming to market and that it will debut at the New York auto show in April. When reports of its demise came out of Japan yesterday, company representatives contacted Automobile magazine to refute the news.

Suzuki Puts Hold on Midsize Sedan

The global economic crisis is impacting the automotive industry in more ways than one. As every automaker re-evaluates its place in the market, some hard cuts have to be made. Suzuki has been developing its largest sedan to date, the Kizashi, but according to reports it’s now putting the car on hold indefinitely.

Primed to compete in the midsize segment globally, the Kizashi would have been smaller than most of the competition, like the Honda Accord. That’s mainly because cars like the Accord and Mazda6 have grown significantly with recent redesigns.

The Kizashi concept cars had been auto-show favorites, and near-production versions had been spotted by automotive enthusiasts on the road. But Suzuki has seen sales plummet everywhere, including India, where it has a 50% market share.

Report: Suzuki Shelves Plans To Develop Large Vehicle For Global Market (GreenCar Congress)

Suzuki Prices 2009 Equator Pickup, Grand Vitara SUV

Most people were shocked to hear Suzuki was entering the truck market when it first announced the Equator, but now a new four- or six-cylinder pickup might not sound like such a bad idea. For those who aren’t familiar, the Equator is based on the Nissan Frontier and is built at the same Tennessee plant.

The two are virtually identical under the skin, but unlike the Frontier the Equator comes with standard side curtain and seat-mounted airbags. It also starts at $240 less: $17,220 before destination. That low price doesn’t get you air conditioning or a radio, but the same goes for the base Frontier. The Nissan is currently sporting healthy incentives of $2,500 on some models. You can read PickupTrucks.com’s review of the Equator here.

The 2009 Grand Vitara got small changes to the exterior this year and new engines that boost fuel efficiency. The base model now features a four-cylinder engine that gets 19/26 mpg city/highway. The four-cylinder Toyota RAV4 gets 22/28 mpg and the Honda CR-V gets 20/27 mpg. The new V-6 gets more power and better fuel efficiency, moving to 18/24 mpg city/highway versus 17/22 mpg for the 2008. It also now has 45 more horsepower, at 230 hp.

The Grand Vitara starts at $1,000 less than it did in 2008, mainly because the base model now has a four-cylinder instead of a V-6. Full pricing for both models is below.

End-of-the-Model-Year Deals: Suzuki

In an interesting twist on model-year closeouts, Suzuki is offering an entire new trim level for its outgoing 2008 SX4 hatchback and sedan. Because the 2009s have already been announced with navigation standard — a Garmin unit that fits in a specially designed cradle in the dash and can be removed from the car — the company is now doing the same for its 2008 Sport sedan and the front-wheel-drive version of its SX4 Crossover hatchback. We’re guessing the all-wheel-drive version of the Crossover isn’t included because it’s the best-selling trim level. The new trim is called Road Trip Edition. Non-navigation-equipped models are still on sale as well; the price difference is about $500.

The SX4 Crossover starts at $14,889 before destination, and the Road Trip Edition starts at $15,339. There’s also between $750 and $1,500 cash back offered on the 2008 SX4. Suzuki also has a generous $1,000 bonus-cash deal for recent college graduates. Most automakers only offer $500. For the rest of Suzuki’s year-end deals, click below.

Cars.com Reviews the 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara

When Suzuki rolled out the next generation of its Grand Vitara off-roader in 2006, our reviewers didn't see much to recommend it over the competition. Now with gas prices soaring and the market for SUVs tight, senior editor Joe Wiesenfelder sees even less to like about the vehicle. With an EPA-estimated 18 or 19 mpg in mixed city and highway driving, coupled with the fact that carmakers of all stripes have made a general miscalculation when it comes to truck-based SUVs, Wiesenfelder suggests you look past the Grand Vitara.

2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara Review

Cars.com Video Recap: 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara, 2008 Toyota Tundra and 2008 Nissan Altima

• 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara: Senior editor Joe Wiesenfelder finds plenty of shortcomings in this offroad-capable SUV.
• 2008 Toyota Tundra: Joe sees how Toyota’s well-reviewed full-size pickup stacks up against its competitors.
• 2008 Nissan Altima: Editor Mike Hanley takes a look at a midsize family sedan that doesn’t sacrifice sportiness for practicality.

Suzuki Bows Out of Detroit Auto Show

Suzuki is the second automaker to pull out of next year’s Detroit auto show in January. The company says there isn’t enough space in Cobo Hall to meet its needs. Porsche didn’t show up at last year’s show, but didn’t cite space concerns. It said Detroit wasn’t a market it needed to be in.

Even though Suzuki is a relatively small player in the automotive industry, this is still a sign that Detroit is no longer the “must-see” car show in the country. Recently New York, Los Angeles and Chicago have grown in size and importance. With the web greatly expanding media coverage, a single splash in Detroit to draw global news organizations is no longer the name of the game.

What do you think? Does it matter to you if Detroit is no longer the premier auto show on the circuit, or are you following all four of the big shows equally?

Suzuki to skip auto show (Detroit News)

Movers and Losers: April's Top Compact/Economy Cars

Fuel prices are high and the popularity of small cars is on the rise. When we see which compact and economy cars are flying off the lots, we’re not surprised. Toyota takes two of the top three spots with its newly redesigned Corolla and Matrix, which had a full month of sales in April along with major advertising. Even so, neither broke the top 10 overall.

The losers aren’t doing terribly badly when you consider the average time to sell a new car or truck is 65 days. 

Top 10 Movers

• 2008 Mini Cooper Clubman: 19 days
• 2009 Toyota Corolla: 20 days
• 2009 Toyota Matrix:  21 days
• 2008 Mini Cooper: 22 days
• 2008 Mazda5: 23 days
• 2008 Kia Rondo: 25 days
• 2008 Honda Fit: 29 days
• 2008 VW Rabbit: 33 days
• 2008 Honda Civic: 28 days
• 2008 Scion xD: 38 days