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What are all of Suzuki's Crossover/SUV models back to about 1999 or so? And why did they get left out of the current edition of Consumer Reports Used Car buyers guide, yet, other orphan brands, like Saturn and Pontiac, got left in? This is driving me crazy...
Long time for no replies, so I'll put in my 2 pennies worth. I have no idea why Suzuki stopped selling cars here in the US. Always seemed like a mystery to me. Suzuki makes absolutely fantastic motorcycles. There's no reason why they can't make good cars. From 1993 to 2000 I owned four Suzuki Motorcycles, all but one sport bikes. I put just about 125,000 miles on all four combined in seven years. No commuting miles, just a crap ton of Sunday rides and yearly rides to Monterey Ca for World super bike races. No mechanical problems or break downs of any kind. Just one recall on my 97 GSXR 750. Maybe they just didn't know how to market them or something, no clue. Never have done any reading about them so I'm just guessing really.
Long time for no replies, so I'll put in my 2 pennies worth. I have no idea why Suzuki stopped selling cars here in the US. Always seemed like a mystery to me. Suzuki makes absolutely fantastic motorcycles. There's no reason why they can't make good cars. From 1993 to 2000 I owned four Suzuki Motorcycles, all but one sport bikes. I put just about 125,000 miles on all four combined in seven years. No commuting miles, just a crap ton of Sunday rides and yearly rides to Monterey Ca for World super bike races. No mechanical problems or break downs of any kind. Just one recall on my 97 GSXR 750. Maybe they just didn't know how to market them or something, no clue. Never have done any reading about them so I'm just guessing really.
Here's a breakdown of the SUVs and Crossovers from 1999 until they pulled the plug in 2013-
SUVs 1999-2003 - Vitara 2-door
1999-2004 - Vitara 4-door
1999-2013 - Grand Vitara 4-door
2001-2009 - XL-7 - stretched 3-row version of Sidekick with standard V6
Car-based Crossovers
2001-2006 - Suzuki Aerio 5-door (tall/high-roof wagon, AWD optional)
2007-2012 - Suzuki SX4 5-door Crossover/Wagon (most had AWD, but FWD was available on some)
The reason Suzuki failed in the U.S. auto market wasn't because they couldn't built great cars. The models that Suzuki actually designed, engineered and built were very high quality. But these high quality, well-engineered cars weren't cheap to produce (especially in smaller volume than companies like Toyota and Honda) and the profit margins were small. They did little to no marketing or advertising, so their great cars (especially the Vitara/Grand Vitara/XL7 and the wonky looking Aerio) were not on the radar of any buyers. Their dealer network consisted of dealers located in old, run-down buildings that another dealership had abandoned OR a small office in lieu of an actual showroom.
In an attempt to expand their product line and improve profitability, they introduced three new models between 2004-2006. These were the mid-size Verona sedan, compact Forenza sedan and compact Reno hatchback. The problem was that these were all existing Daewoo models and they lacked the best traits of Suzukis- reliability, durability, safety. The Verona was sold from 2004-2006 and it was pulled due to a crash test that rated it far lower than any other sedan. That controversy was fairly minor, but a little bad publicity goes a long way in a situation like this. They had increased sales, but they did so by selling sub-par South Korean cars.
They remedied the problem when they introduced the SX4 Crossover in 2007 and SX4 sedan in 2008. It effectively replaced the Aerio, Forenza and Reno and it was a very good Suzuki-designed vehicle. But it wasn't enough to save them.
The saddest part, in my opinion, is that they introduced the best vehicle they've ever built in 2010 and it could and should have been a huge hit. The 2010 Suzuki Kizashi mid-size sedan was adored by the automotive media and enthusiasts alike. It was the first 'pretty' Suzuki (goreous...bordering on sexy, IMO) and it had the feel and the moves of a sports sedan. Instead of becoming the "rock star" that it deserved to be, it simply fizzled out after less than three years.
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