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Suzuki iV-4 Concept is a personalized 'ute for everyone but US

It's with some sadness that we present to you the Suzuki iV-4 Concept - there's absolutely no way we'll ever see a production Suzuki based off this conceptual design in the States, despite the fact that the brand has quite a small-SUV heritage on our shores. Of course, we won't be seeing any new Suzuki passenger cars or trucks in the US at all...
For the rest of the world, Suzuki's push with this concept is personalization. According to the automaker, the name is broken down as such: "i" stands for "individuality," "V" for "vehicle," and "4" for "4 wheel-drive." A tad convoluted, perhaps, but we'll roll with it.
As far as its styling, the iV4 doesn't break any new ground for Suzuki, recalling its past and current production models with details that include a clamshell hood and a five-slot grille. Suzuki promises a production variant of this concept, and the "individuality" part will be accomplished through a selection of exterior components, colors and textures, though we're not clear what exactly that means or how it will differ from the accepted practice of ordering a unique car through a dealership.

Suzuki recalling 101,000 Forenza, Reno models over faulty headlamps

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced a recall of over 100,000 Suzuki models. The NHTSA recall extends to certain 2004-2006 Suzuki Forenza models and 2005-2006 Reno vehicles, These were vehicles produced from September 2003 through March 2006.
According to the announcement, the recall pertains to potentially faulty headlight assemblies. A poor contact in the headlight terminals can result in the splice pack melting, resulting in partial or complete loss of headlamp functionality.

New investor allows Suzuki to fend off VW

After years of legal wrangling, the long-soured partnership between Volkswagen and Suzuki looks finally to be coming out of arbitration, according to Bloomberg. As a sign of the Japanese brand's improved fortunes, hedge fund Third Point LLC recently bought an undisclosed stake in the company. The investor reported seeing a major opportunity in the successful Maruti Suzuki business in India. As an investment, the only major problem that Third Point found with Suzuki was its legal battle with VW. "The company's greatest asset is its low-cost manufacturing process for vehicles for the emerging market consumer," the fund said in a letter, according to Bloomberg. Third Point reportedly also wants a seat on Suzuki's board, despite being a minority shareholder. The alliance between Suzuki and VW goes back to late 2009. In the deal, the Japanese brand was meant to get access to cutting-edge tech, and the German firm got a helping hand towards better establishing itself in India and Southeast Asia. Things didn't go as planned, though. Less than two years later, Suzuki's boss publicly derided the deal. Eventually, the allegations started going back and forth, and the two have been working out a way to untangle practically ever since. Among the biggest issue has been how to get back the 19.9 percent stake that VW purchased. According to Bloomberg, the arbitration is now technically over. With the divorce nearly final, the two sides are just waiting on a decision on how to split things up. Suzuki may even just buy VW's stake to get the shares back.