1988 Suzuki Samurai on 2040-cars

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Suzuki recalls 2 million cars globally

Suzuki is recalling two million vehicles across the globe, including a number of Chevrolet Cruze sedans that it builds for General Motors, because the ignition switches may begin to smoke. None of the Cruzes being recalled were sold in the US, though. This recall is limited to the Japanese, European and Australian markets. In Suzuki's home market, 1,873,000 vehicles are being recalled, including the Cruze and a number kei cars built for Mazda (the Carol and AZ-Wagon), as well as the automaker's own Alto, Wagon R and Swift. Affected vehicles were built between 1998 and 2009. The remaining 133,000 vehicles include Cruzes and other Suzuki products sold in Europe and Australia. There have been no reports of injuries or accidents due to the 67 reported incidents, all of which come from the Japanese market, a Suzuki spokesperson told Automotive News. Related Video:

Suzuki Kizashi recalled due to pesky spiders

Spiders seem to love the fuel tanks of Japanese sedans. Mazda had to recall its Mazda6 twice for arachnid webs blocking their car's vent lines. Now, the Suzuki Kizashi is also being called in because spiders can block the car's evaporative canister vent hose, a condition which could cause excessive negative pressure in the tank, eventually leading to a crack and fuel leak. The campaign covers about 19,249 examples of the 2010-2013 model year Kizashi built from October 2009 through July 2012.
According to the automaker's defect notice released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the first report of a spiderweb blocking a vent line was in 2011. It began monitoring field data and found six more incidents from 2011 to 2013. In 2014, there was one more case, and with further investigation, Suzuki decided to initiate a recall. There are no reports of accidents or injuries of the webs causing accidents or injuries in the US.
In a similar move to Mazda, Suzuki is replacing the evaporative canister vent line with one that has a filter in place to keep the spiders out. Also, if the lines are obstructed by webs in a specific vehicle, the fuel tank will also get swapped. Scroll down to read the full recall announcement from NHTSA.

New Suzuki Swift Sport to be lighter and torquier

The Suzuki Swift Sport has been one of the most interesting hot hatches of the last decade, well at least outside the United States. Its first iteration was released in 2005, leaving behind its crummy Geo Metro guise in favor of something more in line dynamically with the segment best. Though it may have been an underdog from day one, the Swift Sport proved itself to be both fun and reliable The new car promises to up the ante with a stiffer structure and a footprint increased courtesy a 20 mm-longer wheelbase and a stance that's 40 mm wider and 15 mm lower. Power comes from a turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder Suzuki cheekily calls the Boosterjet, ditching the old 1.6-liter naturally aspirated inline-4. The downsized, intercooled 138-horsepower turbo engine gives the Swift Sport only four more horsepower than the old unit, but there is a lot more torque available and at lower revs. Another major improvement is a weight loss of nearly 180 pounds -- definitely a big deal in a small car like this -- as the new model tips the scales at less than 2,140 lbs. Suzuki says the feel of the six-speed manual shifter has been improved, too. "It's lighter, sharper, quicker. It's more aggressive and emotive, but we've also refined the elements that make it practical to use every day," said Suzuki chief engineer Masao Kobori. "The clutch feel, the manual transmission shift throw, the seats and steering wheel -- everything that puts the driver at the heart of the experience." Sounds neat, though with Suzuki gone from the U.S. market, it'll remain forbidden fruit for American customers. On the other hand, you can apparently rent these in Germany. Nurburgring rental anyone? Related Video: