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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.

Suzuki: 'No comment' on returning to the U.S. with the Jimny

It is impossible not to love the Suzuki Jimny. A prototypical cute ute, with equal parts cuteness and utility, it not only defined its segment, it became a cult classic. Now, it's back, but unfortunately unlikely to come to the American market as the Jimny, Samurai or anything else. "We have no comment on the Jimny or Suzuki returning to the U.S. market," says Nathalie Geslin, a spokesperson for Suzuki in France, from the floor of the Paris Motor Show, where the adorable Jimny made its recent premiere. "For that you'll have to ask Suzuki headquarters in Japan." In France, this is what is known as Le Brushoff. Geslin did confirm that, in the markets around the world where the Jimny will appear, it will be available only in one spec: an adaptable, RWD/AWD, closed hardtop with a manual transmission with available Low range, and powered by a 102-horsepower 1.5-liter gasoline engine. "Suzuki has eliminated diesel motors from their whole range," she said, a notable move and a trend flowing from the fuel's immutable high particulate and noxious gas emissions, and growing global sensitivity to their effects. Actually, she tells us, there will be one other spec. "In the Japanese market, there will be a Kei Car version, an actual smaller Kei Car, which means it will be powered by a motor of less than 600cc." Just 1,500 of these cars are expected to be sold in the French market, mainly to people who, according to Geslin, are not off-reading aficionados, but "People who go off-roading in their normal life, who live in the mountains or work in an area with rugged conditions." This sounds to us like a description of every small-scale goat cheese producer in the White Mountains in rural Vermont, every boutique mountainside vintner in Sonoma county, every yellow micro-beet farmer in the Wisconsin Dells. And all of us who live in four-season climates and love the outdoors but think a Jeep is perfect except that it's a third too large. Like the Jeep, the Jimny is retro cool without being retro. It is just itself. And we need it. If it takes only 1,500 potential buyers in France to allow it to be sold there, how many does that translate to in America? If all of us start emailing Suzuki headquarters every day to beg for it, maybe we can find out. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Pentagram aims to cut through the noise of EV sound design

What does an electric vehicle sound like when it goes from 0 to 60, when it signals a turn, when it’s powered down for the night? EV motors have fewer parts and are therefore incredibly silent, which presents safety concerns for drivers who recognize speed by sound and pedestrians who canÂ’t hear an approaching vehicle.  In 2019, regulators in Europe and the U.S. began requiring EVs to have warning sounds, but they left it up to the car manufacturers to choose those sounds. Many have taken the new legislation as an opportunity to not only create a branded sound, but also to stir up some marketing hype by enlisting famous musicians to compose the noise of an electric engine. Hans Zimmer created the Blade Runner-esque sound concept for BMWÂ’s i4 electric sedan, and, strangely, Linkin Park is creating EV sounds for BMW.  Sound designer Yuri Suzuki, a partner at design consultancy firm Pentagram, recently conducted a research project into the crucial role electric car sound has on a userÂ’s safety, enjoyability, communication and brand recognition, out of which he developed a range of car sounds. Suzuki says that while some automakers have chosen beautiful and interesting car sound designs, chasing celebrity clout is not the way to go when designing the sound behind serious machines.  “We really have to design carefully based on the psychological effects on a human,” Suzuki told TechCrunch. “ItÂ’s all about the relation between the human being and the machine itself.” Suzuki says smart sound design can help ease the difference between human and car by providing a shared language. Based on surveys he conducted, Suzuki came up with two new skeuomorphic electric engine sounds as well as adaptive sounds that reflect the time of day and the location of the drive.  His engine sounds are reminiscent of internal combustion engine revs, providing both drivers and pedestrians with a recognizable indication of speed increasing and decreasing. The sounds are placed at different pitches: one quite low, like a spaceship taking off; the other a bit higher, like a hovercraft vertically ascending. Audi, Ford and Jaguar Land Rover have also chosen to make futuristic copies of gasoline engines for some of their new electric vehicles.  SuzukiÂ’s sound design also includes in-car sounds, like powering on, turn signals or horn honking, that use AI to adapt to the time of day.