#SuzukiKizashi

Suzuki is issuing a recall for two if its models in the U.S.

Add the Suzuki Kizashi to the list of vehicles being recalled due to spiders.

A lot went down in 2013. It was something of a banner year for the automotive business. Products continued to get better, sales steadily improved and alternative propulsion, whether in the form of electricity or diesel gained significant traction.

After several announcements of various models that were awarded the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s “Top Safety Pick Plus” rating, the IIHS has released its full list of its safest cars for 2013.

As 2012 winds to an end, AutoGuide looks back at all the vehicles that received the axe this year, some that will be missed, while others surely won’t be.

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.

Suzuki is hopping on the hybrid bandwagon with their new Kizashi EcoCharge, a concept car designed to hint at the possibility of a hybrid Kizashi. Suzuki claims that the Kizashi will deliver a 25 percent increase in fuel economy without any performance drawbacks, thanks to a 144 horsepower 2.0L 4-cylinder gasoline engine and a 20 horsepower electric motor.

Suzuki is set to reveal two all new cars at the upcoming New York Auto Show and the automaker has announced that one of those vehicles will be an updated Kizashi.

The Suzuki Kizashi may have enjoyed critical acclaim (and rightly so) but it’s sales figures have never been stellar. Suzuki is planning to sell the Kizashi in the UK  later in 2011, and while Suzuki only plans on selling 500 units, it’s difficult to imagine the car being anything more than a low-volume curiosity.

To say Suzuki is struggling a bit in North America is an under statement. After posting record sales of 101,884 units in 2007, their sales took a drastic turn for the worse in 2009 when they shifted just 38,689 vehicles. 2010 is not looking good either as sales are again down by a lethal 42%.

At this rate, Suzuki could go extinct, but they are not going to give up that easy. To help boost their image and brand awareness, Suzuki is launching a whole host of new TV adverts promoting the Kizashi to catch your eye.

The new ads feature the Kizashi competing against cars like the Mercedes-Benz C300, the Audi A4 and the Volvo S40 – all vehicles that seem to be out of its league. The ads highlight the Suzuki’s better handling and braking and also value for money. For humor, they also pit the Kizashi against a stretch limo, a motorized sofa and a bubble wrap man!

These type of ads are nothing new. Back in the 1980’s, Hyundai used to have ads pitting their Stellar against the Mercedes-Benz E-class and more recently Hyundai brought ads of that type back.

Suzuki is ensuring people will see these ads, as they will be aired from Christmas day, and will be played next year during programs like American Idol and Dancing with the Stars.

Will these new ads help Suzuki sell more cars? Only time will tell, but do check out one of the ads below or hit the link to view them all.

[Source: Kizashi Kicks]

Suzuki, everyone’s favorite forgotten automaker, is still alive and kicking, and set to bring a number of vehicles to SEMA, including two Kizashis and an Equator pickup truck.

Suzuki‘s Swift compact car won near universal praise in Europe and Asia, winning Car of the Year awards in the UK and Japan, as well as seeing duty in international rally championships.

As a part of Suzuki‘s ongoing push to drum up interest in the surprisingly good Kizashi sedan, the Japanese automaker teamed up with Road & Track to build a Bonneville Salt Flats racer. Thanks to engine builder Richard Holdener and the fearless driving skills of R&T editor Sam Mitani, Suzuki got the record it was looking for with a 203.720 mph run, clinching the new Land Speed Record for the Blown Gas Coupe Category

For video of the run and more info about the turbocharged Kizashi land speed record car, hit the jump:

With sales falling 75 percent since their record-setting year in 2007, Suzuki has taken the drastic measure of buying out 50 of its worst performing stores in the United States.

Road & Track magazine is helping prep a Suzuki Kizashi to attack two land speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats. In conjunction with master race car builder Richard Holdener, the team from R&T will attack the naturally aspirated Gas Coupe class, as well as the turbocharged Blown Gas Coupe category.