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Car Guy
Sayonara, Suzuki
Cue “Taps,” as another automobile brand bites the dust.
On Nov. 6, the company (American Suzuki) announced it would stop selling cars in the U.S. after current inventory peters out — and that it will be filing for bankruptcy reorganization under Chapter 11. The company is $346 million in debt — with just $223 million in assets. Total market share has plummeted to .2 percent. Yep, the decimal is in the correct position. That’s point 2 percent market share — and sliding fast. Unsustainable. Pointless. Titanic — an hour after hitting the iceberg. Done.
So, after 2012 it’s all over. Another brand bites the dust.
What happened — and what does it mean?
Weirdly, Suzuki has had no trouble selling motorcycles — in fact, it is one of the most successful sellers of motorcycles on the market. And Suzuki’s cars were good cars. The Kizashi, for instance. It was — still is, for another few weeks — one of the most affordable AWD sporty sedans on the market.
They just didn’t sell.
As to why they didn’t sell — well, a couple of factors played a part. The biggest handicap was arguably the relative scarcity of Suzuki dealerships. No matter how good a vehicle may be, it’s a harder sell if the would-be buyer faces an hour’s drive (or three hours’ drive) to have the vehicle serviced. I have always wanted a Ducati motorcycle. But the nearest-to-me Ducati store is in Richmond — a three hour drive, one way. Forget it. The Kawasaki place is 20 minutes away. Thus, I own Kawasakis — even though I’d very much like to own a Duc.
But, wait. While Suzuki car dealerships are sometimes hard to find, most places — even small towns, like mine (Roanoke, Va.) do have a Suzuki motorcycle dealership. One wonders whether it ever occurred to American Suzuki management to leverage its bike stores to help move cars. Offer incentives to its bike dealers to at least “storefront” Suzuki cars. Corporate could have helped with loans and so on to expand existing bike stores to handle cars. The important thing being, the Suzuki brand would already be an established operator there.
Not only would this have helped Suzuki materially by making it more convenient for people to buy a Suzuki car, it would have helped psychologically, too. Suzuki cars (and car buyers) could have basked in the reflected glory of Suzuki motorcycles. Just as Chevy sexes up Malibus by associating them, family-wise, with Corvettes. The “halo” effect. It is tragic that American Suzuki didn’t see this opportunity. With the exception of Honda, no other current automaker has a hugely successful line of motorcycles to glom some glory from. Suzuki does.
Well, did.
I hate to see them go — because it means one less competitor — which means we (car buyers) are the poorer. It means more consolidation, more same-sameness as smaller automakers fold up their tents or are swallowed up by mega cartels. I mourned the end of Saab last year, too. Like the soon-to-be-dearly-departed Zooks, Saabs were noticeably different cars — for once. Gone, now.
More will follow during 2013, too.
It is probably time to start measuring Mitsubishi — the smallest Japanese automaker in the U.S., now that Suzuki sleeps with the fishes — for a casket. Virtually nothing new on deck for 2013 — the majority of its inventory comprised of getting long-in-the-tooth models that are increasingly uncompetitive in their segments. Sales are way down. No, more than just “way down.” Free-falling. Catastrophic. Down almost 30 percent this year — leaving the triple diamond with a 0.4 percent market share. Heavenly slumber beckons… .
In Mitsu’s case, it’s not a dearth of dealerships that has led to this debacle. The company made some epically bad decisions recently — most notably the “0-0-0” marketing plan that pretty much gave cars away. And worse than that, gave them away to people who couldn’t even afford 0 down 0 payments and 0 interest for one year. Or rather, who dropped the cars the day after the “0-0-0” deal’s terms expired. Leaving Mitsu holding the bag. Holding the title to thousands of thrashed — and massively depreciated — year-old cars. The company has yet to recover from this - and may never recover from it.
I’m also not optimistic about Lotus — a storied brand that deserves to make it but which isn’t making it, in part because its cars are as expensive as Porsches but have the hearts of Toyotas. Souped-up Toyotas, admittedly. But Toyotas nonetheless. Being a tiny brand without the resources to R&D its own engines, Lotus bought them from someone else (Toyota) and hoped people wouldn’t notice — or care if they did. Apparently, too many did. The Elise got dropped after 2011. In fact, so did other Lotus models. Technically, there hasn’t been a new Lotus since model year 2011. It is six weeks from 2013.
You tell me.
About the Author
Eric Peters is an automotive columnist and author of Automotive Atrocities: The Cars You Love to Hate (Motor Books International) and a new book, Road Hogs.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (30) | Leave a comment
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Albert Constantine Jr.| 11.30.12 @ 8:13AM
I seem to recall American Motors folded, yet somehow the Jeep division managed to be acquired by Chrysler. If Chrysler folds, I imagine Jeep will be bought again by yet another auto conglomerate.
lost| 11.30.12 @ 10:37AM
AMC was bought by Chrysler. Chrysler has tarnished the Jeep brand. The Jeep Liberty was the first all Chrysler designed Jeep and what a pile it was(the newer model style is better). Then Chrysler replace the reliable straight 6 with minivan v6's
SCMike| 11.30.12 @ 2:49PM
Fiat has Jeep and will do anything to keep that valuable brand. Chrysler? Fiat sees little value in it as a brand or technology powerhouse...
pogybait| 11.30.12 @ 8:32AM
In contrast, look at how Hyundai or Scion have grabbed quite a bit of the market share, while Suzuki never really had a marketing plan. Chrysler is still selling warmed over Mercedes parts to a four dollar a gallon market while their customer service and customer support score ranks well below other makes because of reliability problems. As for Lotus, they would be better served if they sold their cars in kit form, which is what it has become.
Moe Blotz| 11.30.12 @ 8:40AM
What do you expect in a recession? All the sales strategery you could develop will not save your arse if people have not the money to buy your car. When Barry consolidates his power and becomes president for life, you will not need a car any longer. Von Mises Jr. can fill you in on the details. The right people will get their Government Motors electric vehicles assigned to them and the Japanese can sell their rice burners in the old world or Asia.
rjh| 11.30.12 @ 9:35AM
Maybe they see what is coming, and they see no future in obamaland.
Petronius| 11.30.12 @ 10:48AM
I thought Suzuki was a shrunken violin. And Lotus has been unheard of since the Late Jimmy Clark won his Formula 1 Crown. Then he died in it.
The late John Delorean said to the old farts when he was shown out the door of GM, "cars are Fashion. Now what do you know about Fashion?"
The Man who gave America the GTO and others that made the white lines disappear would weep over what has been done to our rides since Ralph Nader and the ecoweenies got under the hoods. The Guy who still wants something with a V8 now has to buy a truck. I hope that Powerball winner in Mo. buys himself that new McClaren and fries I29. But he'd better buy an insurance company first.
Meister| 11.30.12 @ 11:21AM
Survival of the fittest applies in the motor industry as elsewhere. The truth is that Suzuki can't compete with VW, Ford, Toyota etc., therefore they have gone to the wall. Mitsubishi will go the same way, it will just take a bit longer. With so much talented competition, there is no room for the mediocre.
Kingofthenet| 11.30.12 @ 11:36AM
People buying cars with their families, don't want to mingle with 'dirtbag' Bikers.
Moe Blotz| 11.30.12 @ 2:52PM
Yo' Queenie, Harley Davidson dealers do not offer automobiles. My old buddy Skinny bought a second bike for his wife so that they could pack the two rug rats on holiday. Where does a faggot such as you buy your car? Hoover does not offer an automobile, either.
Frank Drackman| 11.30.12 @ 3:15PM
Umm Moe, smoke a Piece Pipe for cryin out loud.
I think King of the Homos, I mean Net, meant that SUZUKI buyers don't wanta schmooze with Bikers, not that Harley should make cars that suck as bad as there Motor Sickles...Seriously, my Uncle Fatboy's Fatboy leaks worse than Uncle Fatboy. And who would think a Motor Sickle called a "Fatboy" was cool if you didn't know it was Supposed to be cool? And howcome THE Fatboys(stars of one of the greatest movies of 1987, "Disorderlies") never sued for copyright infringement? OK, I thought about ditchin the Rice Burner for a Hog a few years back, not for any "Buy American" gayness, but ummm lets just say the GSP was on the lookout for a certain Honda 750 Interceptor...
Anyways, the dudes at the local Harley Dealership were...
lets just say a little light in the motorcycle boots...
scared me more than the cost of an entry level Sportster...
Frank
Warrior| 11.30.12 @ 4:48PM
Urban legend had it the the Fatboy was a combination of the names of the two bombs dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was to antagonize Japanese manufacturers. On the early editions I remember 7 yellow rings on the bikes which were supposed to represent markings from the bombs.
Back to autos, bring back the Baracuda and the Gremlin. I would say Pacer but that opened kids to unecessary ridicule in the 70s.
Frank Drackman| 12.1.12 @ 7:59AM
Oh Man, I forgot all about the A-bomb....but howcome you can't buy a Harley "Little Boy"??? I take back everything about Harleys except I look like I have Parkinson's disease every time I get off of one(They Shake, get it?)
and my 74 Pinto, damn thing wouldn't quit, even when I wanted it to, had to park it on train tracks just for an excuse to get a new car(no one would give anything for a Pinto) for months I thought she was coming back(lots of 74 Pintos in 1981), like in Steven Kings "Christine"...
Frank
Moe Blotz| 12.1.12 @ 9:21AM
You missed my subtle reference, Frank. An old joke among the dirty bikers asks the question, "What is the difference between a Harley-Davidson and a Hoover?" Answer: The location of the dirt bag. My first mortorised ride was a Sears Allstate Cruisaire when I was 16 years old. My second was a 1947 FL that I disassembled and reassembled as many of us did before the popularisation of the electric foot. I had my mill so finely tuned that I could push the kick start with my hand to fire it up. Later years introduced me to a flying brick that I can ride all day and reach my destinations rather rapidly. I like motorcycles and don't care what powers your rear wheel, just ride on mate.
Rhoetus| 12.1.12 @ 10:09PM
I don't want to mingle with dirtbag Obamaites. I do ride a bike.
Stick| 11.30.12 @ 1:42PM
I recall the Suzuki Samurai in HI. Fun ride, but as with all Japanese cars of that vintage they would rust out before you could pay them off. The original Isuzu Trooper was a winner, especially after they installed American engines, but it befell the redesign craze of all SUVs at that time to appeal to women. Suzuki should have pulled a retro car like the original Honda N600, basically a car powered by a 600cc motorcycle engine. The SmartCar is pretty much an updated N600. I really am having a hard time bemoaning the Suzuki, since like most cars today, it was indistinguishable from any other. Tyranny of the wind tunnel or absence of creativity?
Butch| 11.30.12 @ 2:48PM
Mitsubishi: too bad. The 3000 I/Dodge Stealth was one of the niftiest cars of the 90s, in my humble.
Frank Drackman| 11.30.12 @ 3:07PM
Mr. Peters, if that really is your name(HT "Dr. Strangeglove") how do I put this diplomatically?
Are you an Idiot?, a Moe-Roon?, do you have a Prime number of Chromosomes(i.e. 47)???
Lotus deserves to survive? Why? because they paid to have one in "The Spy who loved me" to detract from how awful Roger Moore was as 007??
And Saab's biggest contribution was identifying those Pompous Asses who drove them, sort of like a $50,000 personalized license plate. I remember leaving a Saab Turbo in an Albertsons(Remember them? No? they deserved to survive too) parking lot, because the A-hole owner was waiting for the dealership to return his call(on his brick sized 1988 Cell Phone)to see if it was OK to give it a jump(dudes probably still waiting)... That was actually one of the high points of my life, throwing gravel and pure exhaust from my 1973 Chevy Stepside in his pasty white face...
I'll take a beat to hell Crown Vick with curb feelers and Jensen Coaxes belting out the best of Johny Cougar to a Mitsubishi(who's manufacturer made the fighters that killed 2,000 at Pearl Harbor BTW)any day of the week, except the Sabbath, which I keep Holy, by watching Quentin Tarantino's Opus to Realism, "Inglorious Basterds"...
Oh yeah, only Homos like Ducatis
Frank "Stiglitz" Drackman
Datsun 2000 Mark| 11.30.12 @ 3:19PM
Eric,
It this not living proof why the super rich actually like recessions.....competition on the fringes drys up because they are more vulnerable than the well connected companies to both government patrons and friends in finance. The super rich can weather a recession and buy up the remains for pennies on the dollar. No wonder they love Obama and let him demagogue them in exchange they collect the wreckage and avoid the higher taxes with loopholes they get from their friends.
Santiago| 11.30.12 @ 3:29PM
Bummer for American Suzuki, because here in Chile they're doing just fine. Could be a peculiarity of the American market?
Otis, my man!| 11.30.12 @ 4:40PM
Who reads the American Spectator in Chile?
Frank Drackman| 12.1.12 @ 8:02AM
Vee Haff viel, I mean, lots of Good Nazis, I mean Conzervateevs in Vest-Bayern, I mean Sud, I mean South Amerika.
Auf Wiedersehn,
Herr Adolf Eichman Jr.
Santiago| 12.3.12 @ 10:29AM
Um, I do. Been doing so since I was still in the US (almost 4 years or so now), just recently created a user profile in order to post comments from time to time.
Stan Redmond| 12.1.12 @ 5:18PM
I would LOVE to buy the vehicles you have access to in Chile. For some stupid reason (I'm sure it has to do with a government regulation) I can not find the 4 door, short bed, DIESEL Toyota Tundra in the USA. They are everywhere in Chile.
Santiago| 12.3.12 @ 10:31AM
I'll take your word for it, since I live in downtown Santiago, I don't see many trucks in general here. But I'm well aware that life is different in the rest of this country.
Stan Redmond| 12.1.12 @ 5:13PM
Where is the clamoring for "TOO BIG TO FAIL" "BAIL OUT" Save the automobile industry.
Oh wait...
Rhoetus| 12.1.12 @ 10:13PM
I wanted a Mitsu Tredia in the 80's but they were $11,500.00 & out of my price range. I bought a Mazda 323 instead, owned it for 11 years and 300,000 miles and have bought 3 other Mazdas since.
tscottme| 12.2.12 @ 7:07AM
Did Suzuki even make the cars they sold in the US? Nissan makes some or all of the Suzuki pickups. They are identical to the Nissan equivalent, except they have different grill and appropriate company badges. As long as you don't need a grill, you can always buy your parts at the Nissan dealer.
LouK| 12.3.12 @ 2:28AM
You wouldn't buy what you (say you really) wanted due to some possible inconvenience over what? Like a service appointment?
A real biker would see the ride as the point of owning the Duc.
That's really dipshit.
billstanley | 12.8.12 @ 11:31AM
Czar Obama may provide a bailout to save (sic) U.S. jobs. newsandopinions dot net