2011 Suzuki Grand Vitara Limited on 2040-cars

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Ugly Moto makes beautiful motorcycle art [w/video]

Ugly Moto is a horrible name for a company that makes such wonderful motorcycle art. The creation of artist Francis Ooi, the company's illustrations focus on some of the iconic racing bikes of the 1960s and 1970s.
The artwork has an elegant simplicity that really makes it pop. It would fit just about anywhere from a home office to the bedroom of a young gearhead. Ooi has completed six illustrations so far covering classic cycles from Honda, Ducati, Yamaha and even Harley-Davidson. According to his site, the Suzuki RGB500 ridden by Barry Sheene will be the next one released. All of the prints are priced at $65 and are limited to 100 copies. They are all about 16.53 inches by 23.58 inches in size.
According to his website, these prints are just a hobby for Ooi and his real career is as the creative director at an ad agency. He creates the illustrations on his Mac, and he estimates that each design with about 800 components and layers takes about a month to complete. You can get idea of the process involved in the time-lapse video below.

Japanese motorcycles moving into forced induction

While turbocharging and supercharging may be nothing new in the automotive industry, motorcycle engines are almost always naturally aspirated. But even that's beginning to change. At the Tokyo Motor Show last week, two major Japanese companies showed off new forced-induction motorbike engines.
Kawasaki rolled in with a supercharged four-cylinder motorbike engine. It offered little in the way of details, disclosing only that the turbine blades were developed in-house to withstand the heat and vibration of spooling up at motorbike speeds.
Suzuki is taking a different approach, however. Its Recursion concept bike packs a turbocharged 588cc two-cylinder engine with a turbocharger and intercooler. The compact package churns out just under 100 horsepower and 74 pound-feet of torque, packaged into a motorbike that weighs just 384 pounds dry.

Osamu Suzuki names son Toshihiro president and COO

The old guard is slowly changing at Suzuki. The Japanese automaker controlled by its namesake family has appointed its scion, Toshihiro Suzuki, as its new president and chief operating officer. However, his aging father, Osamu Suzuki, now 85 years old, will continue to serve as chairman and CEO. The promotion was announced as part of a new board of directors revealed by Suzuki on Tuesday, confirming several executive and board appointments. They include the nomination of Yasuhito Harayama as vice chairman and Osamu Honda as chief technology officer. The eldest son of longtime chairman Osamu Suzuki, 56-year-old Toshihiro was named an executive vice president of the company in 2011. He's been widely regarded as the heir apparent, especially since his brother-in-law Hirotaka Ono died in 2007. Another president & COO, Hiroshi Tsuda, resigned in 2008, leaving Osamu Suzuki firmly in charge. Toshihiro is anticipated to eventually take over from his father, but it remains unclear when that transition might finally take place. 30 June 2015 Change of Representative Directors and Appointment of Executives At the Board of Directors held on 30 June 2015, Suzuki Motor Corporation has made the change of Representative Directors as follows. The new Board of Directors is as below:- 1.Change of Representative Directors New Name Previous Representative Director and Chairman (CEO) Osamu Suzuki Representative Director and Chairman & CEO Representative Director and Vice Chairman Supporting CEO Yasuhito Harayama Representative Director and Executive Vice President Supporting CEO / Business Development / Executive General Manager, Business Development Representative Director and President (COO) Toshihiro Suzuki Representative Director and Executive Vice President Supporting CEO / Global Marketing 2. Change of Commission of Representative Director New Name Previous Representative Director and Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer Osamu Honda Representative Director and Executive Vice President / Supporting CEO Automobile Engineering, R&D, and Quality / Executive General Manager, Automobile Engineering 3.