Auto insurance Specialist Suzuki Kizashi unveiled [2]

Built at Suzuki’s brand-new manufacturing facility in Sagara, Japan, the 2010 Kizashi is equipped with a standard 2.4-liter DOHC inline four-cylinder engine offering a more potent standard engine than many competitive best-sellers. The engine employs both an aluminum block and cylinder heads, providing a lightweight installation; aluminum pistons with low tensile force rings deliver improved power and efficiency. Dropped-forged connecting rods, rotating on a forged steel crankshaft, contribute to the inline four’s durability, and a balancer shaft delivers improved engine balance and reduced noise, vibration and harshness (NVH).

The responsive inline four is connected to a six-speed manual transmission, for heightened performance in the low gears, along with relaxed — and economical — cruising capability in the higher gears. Customers may opt for an available Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) that delivers both the driving experience and fuel efficiency today’s consumers demand free online car insurance quote, while not compromising the character preferred by driving enthusiasts. That character is enhanced with paddle shifters, optimizing driver control regardless of speed or driving environment. With either transmission choice, the Kizashi is engineered to return competitive fuel economy numbers for fuel-conscious consumers.

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Auto insurance Specialist Suzuki Kizashi unveiled

Officially Suzuki Kizashi unveiled at USA American Suzuki Motor Corp. (ASMC) takes a bold step forward today. Known primarily as a maker of small vehicles and high-performance motorcycles, today marks the global debut of the 2010 Suzuki Kizashi (pronounced “Kee-Zah-Shee”), the company’s first entry into the all-wheel-drive sport sedan segment. Benchmarked against some of the leading cars in the world, the all-new 2010 Kizashi becomes an instant car-of-the-year contender in its own right. With the launch of the Kizashi, Suzuki delivers a unique blend of dynamic performance attributes with premium design aesthetics and craftsmanship yet to be experienced in this category. Scheduled to arrive in North American showrooms this winter, the Kizashi will serve as the company’s flagship vehicle, further expanding and strengthening its current product line of high-quality small cars, trucks and SUVs.
“In developing and naming our newest automotive introduction, the Japanese word ‘Kizashi,’ which tells that something great is coming, seemed appropriate for the vehicle,” said Kevin Saito, president, American Suzuki. car insurance online quotes “Now that the production model Kizashi has arrived, we expect the name and the product itself to clearly demonstrate the bold statement this company knew it would be making with the debut of this vehicle — while also simultaneously suggesting what will emerge in the Suzuki lineup as we look ahead to the future.”

The Kizashi sport sedan, which originates from the Concept Kizashi series introduced over the last two years, follows a similar design theme and appreciation for performance previously illustrated by the three eye-catching and immaculately designed concept vehicles. The production Kizashi redefines the traditional performance sedan and moves the Suzuki brand upscale. Furthermore, its active and energetic identity, a core component of the Suzuki brand DNA, is tempered by the vehicle’s overall mission to provide a strong, refined urban performance.
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Toyota, Aston Martin team up to make the Cygnet

It's seems an unlikely combination, but is the deal between Toyota and Aston Martin, announced yesterday, such a bad idea? Under the plan, Aston Martin will sell a version of the tiny Toyota iQ (pictured above) called the Cygnet to existing clients. The price is likely to be around $30,000. "Small is beautiful these days,” Ulrich Bez, Aston Martin’s chief executive said yesterday reports the Times of London. “We have to move on from the preconceived ideas regarding what Aston Martin is about.”

Predictably, most comments on car blogs have been pretty harsh, ranging from outright rage to disbelief. But why not? The iQ, while not exactly a popular sight on Japan's roads--I think I've seen four since it was released late last year--is a fun, innovative car. In Cygnet form, may be useful for Aston Martin when fuel economy regulations get stricter in the years ahead. Aston Martin when fuel economy regulations get stricter in the years ahead. It may also help Aston Martin enthusiasts assuage concerns, assuming they have any, about the environmental damage caused by their 4.8 liter V8 or 6.0 liter V12 Vantages. And as it's only going to be sold to Aston Martin owners, it's not as if the hoi polloi will be able to get their hands on one easily.

From Toyota's point of view, even a small association with a brand like Aston Martin, won't do any harm. New president Akio Toyoda insisted on June 25, at his first press conference as Toyota chief, that cars must be more than just appliances for getting from A to B.

Interestingly, the move seems to have stemmed from a racing friendship built up between Toyoda and Bez. At the June 25 press conference, the Japanese exec name-checked Bez when asked about his love of racing. Under the pseudonym Morizo, Toyoda has been known (most recently in May) to drive a Lexus LF-A in races at Germany's Nürburgring circuit. Bez, a fellow racer, got in touch with Toyoda after seeing an iQ on show at the track. When asked if he would quit racing now he is boss of the world's biggest carmaker, Toyoda admitted his colleagues were urging him to hang up his racing overalls but (somewhat unconvincingly) said that driving around the 'Ring was a good way to test new cars. If the Aston Martin deal works out, perhaps he can use that as an additional argument if he wants to keep racing.

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GM's 2010 Chevrolet Camaro breaks through

In Detroit’s hey day, American cars were been fawned over in rock and roll tunes both for their brawny performance and cultural significance. Songs like Bruce Springsteen’s “Cadillac Ranch” glorified big, ostentatious Caddies. “Hot Rod Lincoln” by Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen did far more as an homage to horsepower and a polish job for Ford’s luxury brand than it did for the band’s career. But the same can’t be said for the Chevy Camaro.

The most recognizable tune I can think of is the ‘80s punk ditty “Bitchin’ Camaro” by the Dead Milkmen. In the tune, the Milkmen lampoon the Camaro as a car for rich spoiled kids who guzzle gas and tear up their neighbor’s yard. It’s the hood ornament for crass American suburbia. Here’s a clip of the lyrics:

So you'd better get out of my way
When I come through your yard
Cause I've got a bitchin' Camaro
And an Exxon credit card

For much of its history, the Camaro was a gaudy guzzler for the buzz cut and gold chains crowd. The cars were usually fast, but also inexpensive and unsophisticated. So, frankly, when GM announced two years ago that Chevy would bring the car back, I was very skeptical. It arrives later than Ford’s Mustang and Chrysler’s Challenger. And let’s face it, reborn muscle cars preach to the 50-something guys who already buy American brands, not the import owners that Detroit needs to win back to survive. It sends a signal to people shopping for Bimmers, Hyundais, Priuses and the like that Detroit is stuck in 1970.

But after driving the new Camaro, I have to erase all of that. The car is simply terrific. And it’s far more sophisticated in many ways that competing cars and certainly than the old Camaros. Start with the engine. My test model had a direct-injection V6 which kicks 304 horsepower but gets 29 mpg on the highway. All that grunt still guzzles 19 mpg in the city, but a combined 22 or 23 mpg for a car with that much oomph is impressive. You can get a V8 in the SS version, but it starts at $31,000. The V6 models start at $23,000

Then take a look at the car. Love the design or hate it, you have to say that it’s not just reproduced retro. Chrysler simply knocked off a 1970 Challenger. The Camaro looks like a new-era interpretation of the old pony car. If GM never killed it, the Camaro may have just evolved into this design today. It’s fresh. The Camaro really handles quite well, too. At 3,700 pounds it doesn’t feel as heavy as other big sporty cars.

The cabin is decidedly retro and not the car’s best feature. GM took many cues from the early ‘70s cars. And while the plastics inside don’t feel top grade, they’re good enough for a car that starts at $23,000 and offers as much as it does in terms of performance and style. My test car, by the way, was about $30,000 loaded up with satellite radio, blue tooth, stability control and a nine-speaker Boston Acoustics sound system.

Still, the new Camaro is a very impressive car. I was surprised by how much I liked it. I’ve never been a Camaro guy. But I was also suspect of how GM would execute it. When Pontiac brought back the GTO in 2004, GM was content to take a ‘90s jelly bean body style from its Australian unit, shove a big engine under the hood and call it reborn muscle. It didn’t last. This is a purpose-built muscle car for a new age, and quite a good way to usher in the New GM assuming the company emerges from bankruptcy in a couple of months as planned.

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