Autoblog

click above to view high-res gallery of the Suzuki Equator

Suzuki's Gene Brown showed the automaker's rebadged Nissan Frontier named the Equator today at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show. The Suzuki Equator is set to go into production by the end of this year and should deliver a decent truck experience, seeing as how it is based on the already proven Frontier and will be built alongside it in Smyrna, Tennessee. Acknowledging that many people will probably be asking themselves, "Why a truck and why now?" Brown shared that trucks are not dead, despite rumors to the contrary. He also explained that most Americans think of motorcycles when they think of Suzuki. And with more than a million bikes sold over the past five years, that makes a pretty sizable market for customers who might like a truck with a matching badge. But thinking a little beyond just motorcycle owners, Suzuki developed three different concepts that represent a truck that matches the capability of an RMZ-4 sport bike, another that captures the backwoods spirit of a Quad, and a third that would make a great boat towing vehicle down at the Quay. And so it was also fitting that the three concepts were called the RMZ-4, Quad and Quay.

The truck actually looked fairly handsome in all three forms, but the black Quay (shown) really looked rather classy. While the RMZ-4 and Quad featured some concept-like styling add-ons, the Quay looked completely ready for prime time. The Equator will come with a choice of a 152-hp inline-four or an optional 4.0L DOHC V6 delivering 261 hp and 281 lb.-ft. of torque. Those will be matched to the buyer's choice of a five-speed automatic, a five-speed stick for the I4 or six-speed manual with the V6. You can read the rest of the details after the jump.

click above image to enlarge

After this rendering of the Suzuki Equator pickup was published a bit early in the March/April issue of Truck Trend magazine and then scanned and published all over the internet, Suzuki decided it might as well let the public have a good luck at the truck instead of staring at a crappy scan. Thus, it has released the official rendering of the Equator we showed you yesterday. Based on the Frontier and to be built at the same factor, the Equator will likely cost a little less that its sibling from Nissan when it goes on sale in the U.S. We'll have to wait until next week when we're reporting from the 2008 Chicago Auto Show to bring you more details. But for now, click the pic above to enlarge.

[Source: Pickuptruck.com]

Automotive websites Cars.com and DriversEd.com (a drivers education resource) have teamed up to determine the top new vehicles for teens this year. Criteria used included price, safety, size, and 'fun factor.'

The two sites top picks, broken down in categories, are:

Cars:

• Honda Civic      
• Mazda MX-5
• Mazda3
• Mini Cooper           
• Scion tC       
• Subaru Impreza 
• Volvo s40      

Pickups:

• Nissan Frontier Crew Cab      
• Toyota Tacoma Double Cab    

SUVs:

• Hyundai Tucson 
• Subaru Forester
• Toyota RAV4    

[Source: PR Newswire via Seattle Post Intelligencer]