Suzuki has canceled plans for V6 and hybrid variants of its new Kizashi midsize sedan. The V6 was reportedly expected to be borrowed from GM, but since GM has since sold the shares it had in Suzuki, those plans have been scrapped.

Although GM no longer has a stake in Suzuki, VW now does, so it's a possibility that Suzuki could borrow something from VW. In the meantime Suzuki has unveiled the 2011 Kizashi Sport at the New York Auto Show. The new sport variant is only offered on the Kizashi GTS and SLS trim levels. Although the sport trim doesn't add anything extra under the hood, it includes a more muscular front fascia, body side sill extensions, lower body side moldings, a rear spoiler, 18-inch alloy wheels and a 10mm lower ride height.

Volkswagen and Suzuki have announced a new partnership which sees VW buying 19.9% of Suzuki. Suzuki will then take half the money it receives from VW and return the favor by buying VW shares.

Although the new partnership involves VW buying almost 20 percent of Suzuki, both automakers will remain independent. The partnership will allow both automakers to collaborate on smaller vehicles.

Suzuki's much talked about new midsize sedan, the 2010 Kizashi is going to start at $18,999.

Even though the Kizashi S starts just under $19k, it still comes standard with power windows and locks, push-button start, dual-zone climate control and a nine speaker audio system. For $2,500 more buyers can get the Kizashi SE with a CVT, 17-inch alloy wheels and power driver's seat. The GTS model is available with either the CVT or a six-speed manual transmission. It also includes a 425- watt audio system, 18-inch wheels, Bluetooth and a moonroof. The top GTS model goes for $24,849. The top of the line SLS starts at $24,399 and includes leather seats, heated front seats, automatic headlights and wipers and rear parking sensors. The SLS tops out at $26,749. And of course all the prices are subject to a $735 destination and handling fee.

VW is expected to buy a stake in Suzuki by the end of 2009 according to the German industry publication Automobilwoche report.

The publication quoted an unnamed Suzuki executive, "For Suzuki and VW this connection would be a win-win situation. Suzuki would have access to a variety of VW's technology, while Volkswagen would have a solid supporting leg in India and Southeast Asia."

VW has declined to comment, but last week VW's Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn stated that Suzuki's current product lineup would work well with VW.

There has been speculation about a tie up between the two automakers since August.

Following on the heels of Hyundai's gas promotion, Suzuki has announced its own promotion that will run for three months on the 2009 SX4 sedan and crossover models.

The program that runs from July 1st - Aug 31st provides free gas by giving buyers a prepaid gas card that should provide enough money to buy gas for up to three months. Of course this all depends on how much you drive, and the price of gas. The SX4 sedan comes with a $270 gas card and the SX4 Crossover includes a $290 card. The promotion is in addition to other rebates available.

It looks like Suzuki has stopped production of its only US-produced model, the XL7. Due to slow sales and the credit crisis, Suzuki has decided to halt production of the US-only crossover.

The XL7 was produced at General Motors' CAMI joint-venture facility in Ingersoll, Ontario. Although no other XL7s are going to roll off the production line, the factory is still up and running.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has launched a new roof strength rating system and has chosen to put 12 small SUVs up to the test.

More than 10,000 people are killed a year in rollovers and SUVs rank higher compared to cars and minivans.

In the Institute's roof strength test, a metal plate is pushed against 1 side of a roof at a constant speed. To earn a good rating, the roof must withstand a force of 4 times the vehicle's weight before reaching 5 inches of crush. This is called a strength-to-weight ratio. For an acceptable rating, the minimum required strength-to-weight ratio is 3.25. A marginal rating value is 2.5. Anything lower than that is poor.

Only 4 of the small SUVs earned the top rating of good: VW Tiguan, Subaru Forester, Honda Element and Jeep Patriot. the VW Tiguan had the strongest roof out of all the SUVs tested. The Suzuki Grand Vitara, Chevrolet Equinox, Toyota RAV4, Nissan Rogue, and Mitsubishi Outlander are rated acceptable. Roofs on the Honda CR-V and Ford Escape are marginal, and the Kia Sportage received a poor rating.

Earlier this week reports surfaced that Suzuki had killed the Kizashi midsize sedan that was supposed to be released later this year. Now Suzuki has answered those reports by stating that they are false.

“The production version will debut at this year’s New York auto show in April,” Jeff Holland, spokesman for American Suzuki Motor Corp., told Automotive News.

The car and all its official details will be unveiled at that time.

At least one of the vehicles that were rumored to being killed is untrue. Now if only those reports that came out yesterday from Honda were only untrue as well...

I guess we're going to have to get used to hearing that automakers are ditching certain new vehicle programs. Suzuki has reportedly shelved plans for the Kizashi sedan. Suzuki unveiled the Kizashi 3 Concept earlier this year and the vehicle was supposed to hint at a new midsize Suzuki sedan.

The Kizashi sedan was expected by the middle of this year as a 2010 model, but according to Japanese newspaper Nikkei those plans have been killed. According to the Automotive News, the decision is due to the suffering global auto market. Suzuki’s CEO Osamu Suzuki stated that the project is likely to be canceled due to the declining sales of the segment.

In an effort to stay afloat while congress decides on a bailout plan for The Big 3, GM has decided to sell its entire stake in Suzuki Motor Corp. for 22.37 billion yen ($230 million).

Suzuki is going to buy back the 3.02 percent stake from GM. Suzuki stated that it is necessary for the automaker to buy back the stake from GM to help the ailing automaker. Although Suzuki is buying the 3.02 percent stake, the two automakers will continue to have a partnership in the future, which includes the development of hybrid vehicles and SUVs in Canada.

Yesterday Chrysler announced a new "Let's Refuel America" campaign that will lock in gas prices at $2.99 a gallon for three years for new buyers. Well today Suzuki also jumped on the bandwagon by offering its own "free gas" promotion.

Kelley Blue Book has released its list of the top ten coolest vehicles under $18,000 for 2008. Most of us can think of a list of cars that we would "label" as cool, but most of these cars probably don't list for under $18,000.

Suzuki has just announced that the 2009 Suzuki SX4 is going to be the first car in America for under $16,000 that will feature a standard navigation system.

Suzuki used the New York Auto show to unveil its Concept Kizashi 3. The concept is the third vehicle in Suzuki's Concept-Kizashi Series and definitely the most impressive.

Suzuki has announced today that the automaker is going to unveil the Concept Kizashi 3 at the New York Auto Show later this month.

Suzuki officially unveiled the 2009 Equator pickup at the Chicago Auto Show today.

Yesterday a single rendering of Suzuki's upcoming truck (Equator) leaked onto the web, so today Suzuki decided to release a much better photo of the new truck.

Or Maybe not... According to BusinessWeek Volkswagen takes the award for having the most recalled 2007 models. VW recalled just over 1 million New Beetles because of faulty brake light switches.

Next month Suzuki is going to unveil a new mid-level sedan concept car labeled the Kizashi. A production version of the sedan is expected to be released by 2010.

Forbes has put together a list of the top 20 most dangerous vehicles on the road. The Buick Rendevous SUV/ Minivan topped their list as possibly the worst car to buy right now in terms of safety. Compared to other minivans the Rendevous is up to three times more likely to cause a fatality.

Edmunds.com has posted a list of the most wanted cars in 2007 based on reader feedback. Out of the 32 categories you may be surprised which automaker took home the most awards....

April's auto sales numbers have just been posted and almost every major automaker had a sales decrease last month. Even the Asian automakers that have been making headlines for their sales gains, took a hit.

Kelly Blue Book has compiled their list of the top 10 coolest cars under $18,000. Today as the average car price is well into the $20,000's it is good to know that there are cheaper alternatives that are still cool to own.

Suzuki has unveiled the 2008 Suzuki SX4 Sedan that is the sedan version of the surprisingly popular SX4 hatchaback. It has all the same features as the hatchback version, sans all-wheel-drive.