General Motors and Suzuki officially loosen ties
Confirming rumors that we reported first late last month, General Motors and Suzuki will not be working together to sell cars in Japan anymore, nor will the two automakers follow through with the partnership undertaken in 2001 on development of some new vehicles. A Suzuki spokesperson says that the move stems from a meeting between GM chief Richard Wagoner and Suzuki chairman Osamu Suzuki. The two companies are scaling back their relationship in response to the reduction of GM's stake in Suzuki from 20 percent to three percent. As a result, Suzuki will discontinue the sale of two GM models, one of them being the Chevy TrailBlazer, and the two companies won't be working on the next Chevrolet Cruze compact car (pictured).
[Source: The Daily Yomiuri]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tim UF 1:43PM (6/12/2006)
suzuki auto: bring in the suzuki cycle engineers!
lets see a superbike engine powered swift!
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Ford Exploder 2:10PM (6/12/2006)
Free at last, free at last, thank God allmighty Suzuki's free at last.
Now if they could cut ties with Daewoo they'd really be onto something.
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Stphane Dumas 2:22PM (6/12/2006)
Despite all cutting the ties, they still kept some partnerships for other projects however. As I spotted the following at http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32611
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2006/06/report_gm_and_s.html
titled "GM and Suzuki Jointly To Develop Hybrids for North America"
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ChaoZ 2:35PM (6/12/2006)
Bring on the real Swift!
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Razib Ahmed 2:52PM (6/12/2006)
It will be a blessing in disguise for Suzuki, I think. Suzuki is doing just fine in Asia and it is really riding high in India. However, for GM it wont be a good and GM needs to look for new partners in Japan.
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JC Whitless 3:14PM (6/12/2006)
Does this mean we are one step closer to a street legal Escudo?
/not the wussy SUV
//the pikes peak Metro on Crack car
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Eric Elinow 3:35PM (6/12/2006)
GM DAT cars are the reason for growth Suzuki has been blessed with in the past couple of years. They continue to see a climb. I like the Swift as much as the next person, however I have to say that Italian skinned previous generation Opels which are currently being built by GM in Korea (and elsewhere using kits) definitely is a good thing. The engines are tried and true. No one complained when Chevy uses a block from that 50's for their engines, just as no-one complains of VW using the block from engines that have been around since 1974 (their 1781cc mainstay motor). People seem to have the idea that Daewoo's were these unreliable monsters. They were poorly marketed and even moreso operated when Daewoo as a company existed in the US. However, if you would note, the previous generation Daewoos are known for longevity. When is the last time anyone has seen a Daewoo broken down, or in a junkyard. They are economical cars but they have character and are thankfully not bland. If only the people who complain loudest about them would actually try one.
I've owned a multitude of vehicle, and I also competed in the SCCA Hillclimb and Rally scene for a decade. I'm not new to cars, and while I recognise I have some ecclectic tastes, I can also recognise when there is something good to be said about a vehicle or platform.
EE
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