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Suzuki previews Crosshiker, X-Lander, Hustler ahead of Tokyo

With the Tokyo Motor Show looming on the horizon, Suzuki has revealed a trio of concept cars it will present at the expo.
First up is the Crosshiker concept, a compact crossover that looks good enough in metallic red, but in its essence reminds us of the oft-maligned X-90 convertible crossover coupe. Based on the G70/Regina concept, the Crosshiker packs a 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine into a compact form that weighs just 1,785 pounds.
Next comes the X-Lander, which strikes us as a smaller take on the formula espoused by the Isuzu VX-02 or Land Rover DC100 Sport concepts. Unfortunately based on the Jimny, the white X-Lander incorporates a 1.3-liter engine with a robotized manual and four-wheel drive into a high-riding, chopped-windshield convertible sport-ute form.

Suzuki teases production C-segment crossover, could it have saved them in US?

Suzuki may be retreating (amidst booming sales) from the US market, but its efforts to woo European buyers are still going strong. Witness as proof these shadowy teaser images of the automaker's new C-segment crossover that it plans to unveil at the Geneva Motor Show next month.
Until the official debut, we've got just a few tidbits of information to report about the upcoming Suzuki. We're told, and can see, that the car has been modeled on the S-Cross concept car from the 2012 Paris Motor Show. Quite a bit of translation has happened, however, from show car to production form, as we see that the sweeping greenhouse of the S-Cross has been ditched in favor of a traditional pillared setup, large LEDs have moved from the lower front fascia to under the headlamps, and the grille is now much more in line with the rest of Suzuki's current range. The crossover is still painted in a faintly froggish shade of green, though, so the weirdness hasn't been completely leeched out.
We're also informed that the new C-segment offering will have an available a four-wheel-drive powertrain and one of the largest luggage areas in the segment. All of which strikes us as good stuff, but we're still not convinced that this unnamed entrant could have turned the Japanese automaker's fortunes in North America - even if it would have competed in one of the industry's fastest-growing segments. Feel free to read over Suzuki's brief press release below and look at the images before speculating for yourself in Comments.

Volkswagen drops "GTi" lawsuit against Suzuki

Way back in 2004, Volkswagen took umbrage with Suzuki being granted permission to use the nameplate "SWIFT GTi" for a performance variant of its small-car offering (2012 equivalent seen here). Now, eight years and surely some very steep legal bills later, VW has finally dropped its claim against Suzuki.
The General Court of the European Union stated, back in March of this year, that Suzuki's GTi registration could not be confused with VW's "Golf GTI." Volkswagen had appealed that ruling, though has now reportedly called off the dogs. In fact, Germany's Die Welt reports that the appeal has been dead for several weeks now.
This news comes amongst continued arbitration acrimony between the two automakers, all revolving around VW's forced divestiture of nearly 20-percent stake it purchased in Suzuki some two years ago.