Titled “Sled”, Suzuki will be showing off their all-wheel drive 2012 Kizashi sport sedan for this year’s Super Bowl commercial. The Kizashi is also the same vehicle Suzuki showed off in their Super Bowl ad last year, which was the company’s first ever.

The ad was developed by Siltanen & Partners Advertising, and hopes to illustrate the “exhilaration one can receive from upgrading their ordinary daily driver with a more entertaining mode of transportation.” Unfortunately not many of us can relate from having to use a dog sled as a method of transportation, but we think you get the point.

The ad won’t be the only thing Suzuki is kicking off on Super Bowl Sunday. The automaker will also be giving away BARKCODE tags to the first 1,000 consumers to register on www.KizashiKicks.com/sled. Each BARKCODE tag is a personalized pet identification tag with a scannable 2D code, allowing pet owners to be reunited if their furry friends become lost or misplaced during a natural disaster. With each tag ordered, BARKCODE will donate $3.00 on behalf of Suzuki to the American Red Cross.

Watch the commercial after the break.

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Suzuki is working closely with Fiat to increase their supply of diesel-powered cars in India.

The two have been working together since 2003 when Suzuki started offering a Fiat-sourced 2.0-liter diesel in their Sedici/SX4 duo. That partnership flew in the face of another deal between Suzuki and Volkswagen that has since imploded.

Recently rising gas prices in India, where Maruti-Suzuki  has a commanding grasp of the auto market, have meant that demand for diesels is outstripping supply. Consequently, a new deal between Suzuki and Fiat will ramp up production from the previous 280,000 Swifts per year to 380,000.

The Swift is the best-selling car in India, and will likely take an even bigger share in January when the increased production will take effect. The diesel version is so popular that Maruti-Suzuki actually raised the price to encourage consumers to opt for the less popular gasoline powered version.

[Source: Left Lane News]

There’s the Honda N-Box and the Daihatsu Pico, but nothing at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show can compare to the extreme levels of cuteness on display at the Suzuki booth.

In total, Suzuki has presented three new concept cars, ranging from near-production to downright absurd. In the latter category is the Q Concept (above), which looks more like a Discman (remember those?) than a car and offers an emissions-free electric range of six miles.

Next up is the Regina concept, which looks close to production, with a fresh styling perspective and a conventional gasoline engine. Thanks to significant attention paid to weight reduction, it manages an incredible 72.3-mpg.

Finally there’s the Swift EV Hybrid, which gets its confusing name from a range-extender powerplant similar to that found in the Chevy Volt. Offering between 12 and 18 miles of electric travel, the gasoline engine then kicks in to recharge the batteries to deliver added range.

GALLERY: Suzuki Q Concept

GALLERY: Suzuki Regina Concept

GALLERY: Suzuki Swift EV Hybrid Concept

The honeymoon period didn’t last long for Suzuki and Volkswagen and now the Japanese automaker has filed for divorce. In an official statement Suzuki Motor Corp. has announced it will seek arbitration in an attempt to get back the shares the German auto giant currently holds in the Japanese small car manufacturer.

“The arbitration proceedings follow Suzuki’s termination of its alliance with Volkswagen AG on 18 November 2011, and Volkswagen AG‘s lack of response to Suzuki’s requests for the disposition of its shares,” said Suzuki in a release.

The two automakers signed a partnership agreement in 2009, with Suzuki taking a 1.49 percent stake in Volkswagen, and VW taking a 19.9 percent stake in Suzuki. No joint projects ever came of the venture and Volkswagen accuses Suzuki of breaking the spirit of the agreement by purchasing diesel engines from VW rival Fiat.

Suzuki is seeking to have VW sell back the shares it holds, or to sell them to a third party.

[Source: AutoNews]

The soap opera between Suzuki and Volkswagen has been ongoing for almost a year and now the Japanese automaker is looking to back out. Suzuki wants to buy back all the 19.9% of its shares that VW currently owns and that if the German automaker does not comply, Suzuki will seek mediation.

According to a statement by Suzuki Motor Corporations Chairman Osamu Suzuki, they have terminated the partnership as of today.

This whole rift starter when VW accused Suzuki for violating their agreement when Suzuki made a deal with Fiat S.p.A. over engines.

VW then went on to anger Suzuki by listing it as an “associate” and not a partner in its annual report, and lists Suzuki under “other holdings.”

Suzuki felt this was an insult to its honor and has thus been wanting to end their partnership ever since.

VW has not commented if it will indeed sell its shares back to Suzuki, so this story is far from over yet and from a legal stand-point can get much uglier still.

[Source: Automotive News]

While Suzuki cars might not be very popular in North America, in its home market of Japan, they are a very big deal indeed. So to serve their home market, Suzuki is bringing a trio of concept cars for the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show. These are the Regina, Q Concept and the Swift EV Hybrid.

The Regina is a lightweight city car that can seat four, and despite just having a gasoline engine, should manage 72.3-mpg. Apart from the low weight, its low drag co-efficient also helps it achieve its impressive fuel economy figures. Suzuki didn’t mention the exact Cd figure but says its 10% lower than similar sized city cars.

GALLERY: Suzuki Regina Concept

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Participating in an auto show is an expensive business. To rent the right amount of space for your display, then have a stage constructed to represent the brands image, plus hiring all the staff needed at the booth to answer questions from the public. It’s all a very big and expensive affair which can easily cost up to $1-million per show.

All this is fine when the company is making tons of money, but when a company is in the red, spending lavishly at an auto show is not the smartest thing to do.

Take Suzuki for example. Back in 2007, it was selling 100,000 vehicles in the States per year. Last year, that number was down to less than a quarter of that at 23,994 units.

While Suzuki sales are up slightly this year, but not by much, and it looks as if the brand will not have a great year ahead of them either. To save money, Suzuki has decided to skip the upcoming L.A. Auto Show, and will also skip the North American International Auto Show in January.

Suzuki’s spokesman Jeff Holland said; “For the upcoming season, our brand will selectively participate at auto shows where our distinctive and engaging story will resonate the most.

Apparently Suzuki’s story does not resonate with the California crowd, as only 430 new Suzuki’s were sold in the sunny state.

Part of the reason Suzuki has been struggling is because of the strength of the Japanese Yen compared to the Dollar. Apart from the Equator pick-up truck, all the Suzuki models are built in Japan, and the unfavorable exchange rate is hurting them very directly.

In its home market, Suzuki is still a very brand and the most popular new car sold in Japan is the Suzuki Wagon R, plus their motorbike division is among the most successful in the industry on a global scale.

[Source: Automotive News]

10. Toyota Yaris 3-Door: $14,115

You can sound polite and say “inexpensive” but if you’re strapped for cash, the most important question when shopping for a new car is: what’s the cheapest car on the market? AutoGuide has got the answer, along with the nine runners up.

Toyota‘s warmed-over Yaris makes the 10th spot on our list with a base price of $14,115 for the 3-door model. The pricier 5-door will run you $15,150.

Using a 1.5-liter 4-cylinder like many of its counterparts the Yaris makes 106-hp and is rated at 38-mpg on the highway making it one of the most efficient models in its class, but not the most efficient. Growing three inches overall, Toyota claims the new car has 68 percent more cargo room than the outgoing model, which it shares a near-identical resemblance with. Standard on all models is air conditioning, nine airbags and power windows.

A public disagreement between Volkswagen and Suzuki in early September left the Japanese automaker wanting to end its partnership, but that might not happen. In a news release Monday, the company said it “will retain its stake in Suzuki Motor Corp. unchanged.”

Suzuki requested its shares be returned in light of what representatives say are numerous violations in the 2009 agreement to develop green cars. Two years ago the companies partnered, agreeing to share VW technology with Suzuki in exchange for insight into emerging markets like India. The agreement disintegrated since then, with both companies citing violations by the other.

Suzuki claims Volkswagen violated the agreement in developing hybrids and electric cars several times thus far. On the other end of the argument, Suzuki also bought diesel engines from VW rival Fiat, something Volkswagen said was contradictory to their agreement.

Volkswagen made an announcement about the issue early last month, leading to a public dispute between then two companies. The fight left Suzuki insisting the companies part ways.

Suzuki owns just under a 1.5 percent stake in Volkswagen.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Suzuki may be an also ran in America, but in India, their Maruti Suzuki partnership can boast the title of “best-selling car” with their Alto subcompact. With a population of 1 billion people, the Indian market is a significant one, and the Japanese auto maker is facing competition not just from home grown efforts like Tata, but Hyundai as well.

The Alto is a pretty antiquated platform, and Hyundai is hoping that their new effort, dubbed the Eon, will not only be more technologically advanced, but price competitive, at around $6,000. Powering the Eon will be a 1.2L 4-cylinder engine making 80 horsepower.

[Source: Indian Drives]