Suzuki grows up

摘要

While other automakers race to bring smaller cars to the U.S., longtime small-car specialist Suzuki is moving into the midsize and pickup truck segments. Bad timing? Or just another clever zig while the others zag by one of Japan's most quietly successful low-profile automakers? First, Suzuki gets a pickup truck, although the 2009 Equator is a compact pickup, based on the Nissan Frontier and built by that automaker in the U.S. Suzuki's 2010 midsize car, based on the Kizashi concept, will enter the most competitive auto segment in the business, battling Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, and Chevy Malibu with the Malibu's own 3.6-liter "high-feature"V-6 as an option. The Kizashi-cake's icing (Suzuki may hold a contest to name the car for North America) is that it one-ups the current Malibu with the gas direct-injection version of the 3.6, so far available only on the Cadillac CTS and 2009 GM Lambda crossovers, plus Suzuki's own all-wheel-drive system.