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Court approves Suzuki bankruptcy plan

Suzuki has won approval for its Chapter 11 plan to stop selling cars in the US and concentrate instead on the company's powersports products. Judge Scott C. Clarkson of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California approved the plan after the company's creditors agreed to the conditions.
Suzuki will now sell its motorcycle, ATV and marine divisions to the newly minted Suzuki Motor of America subsidiary under the Suzuki name. The new company will be wholly owned by Suzuki Motor Company. This is the final piece of the company's restructuring puzzle.
The company says it will now be able to grow its powersports businesses here in the US and also provide auto parts and service to current Suzuki owners through what's left of the company's dealer network. You can check out the brief press release on the bankruptcy plan below.

This is the facelifted Suzuki SX4 that we won't get

The car you see above is, according to China Car Times, the facelifted Suzuki SX4 crossover. We've always had a soft spot for the SX4, so the fact that it's finally getting a significant update makes us a wee bit sad - after all, Suzuki just announced late last year that it's leaving the US market, so we'll never get this upgraded little 'ute on our shores.
Changes we can see include aggressively resculpted lighting units, interesting mold lines on the front bumper cap, redesigned air intakes and unique trim fillets on the doors.
At least we can take solace in the fact that there apparently aren't any significant alterations under the new bodywork, so our crop of used SX4s should be just as capable out on the road. In China, Suzuki's 1.6- and 1.8-liter four-cylinder engines are expected to carry over to the new year, along with the current model's CVT and manual drivelines.

Land-speed racer Bill Warner dies from motorcycle crash at 285 MPH

Motorcycle land-speed record holder Bill Warner died yesterday after crashing during an attempt at setting another record. The 44-year-old was clocked at 285 miles per hour on the runway of a former air base in northern Maine, before he lost control of his modified Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle and veered off the runway.
It is not known what speed he was traveling when things started to go wrong and unclear what caused the crash, which happened shortly before 10:00 AM. Warner's crew suspect there were mechanical difficulties on his last run, in addition to a slight breeze, according to the video news report. Warner was conscious and able to speak after the crash but died an hour and 15 minutes later at a hospital in Caribou. The event and runway were closed for the rest of the day as police investigated the incident.
Warner was participating in "The Maine Event" at Loring Air Force Base in an attempt to reach 300 mph in one mile. Warner's best land-speed record, set in 2011, was 311.945 mph in 1.5 miles on the same runway, according to the Loring Timing Association, a record that still stands today for open-cockpit motorcycles. After that run, Warner said the scariest part was stopping the bike before the end of the runway. Be sure to check out the video news report after the jump.