http://txgarage.com – reviews, thoughts, news – for Texas Car Enthusiast Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:10:44 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://txgarage.com/review-the-2010-suzuki-sx4-sportback http://txgarage.com/review-the-2010-suzuki-sx4-sportback#comments Sun, 02 May 2010 23:02:33 +0000 Toby http://txgarage.com/?p=1432

Back in 2007 Suzuki was ready to make some changes in the American market. They were tired of being known for having Daewoo rebadged cars that were low budget and low income driven. At the same time a little car being sold in Japan and across Europe had been winning praises and prizes. Suzuki was ready to develop a new car to compete in the World Rally Championship and to compete in the U.S. market. They developed the SX4 (Sports Crossover 4-Wheel Drive) began from the ground up using their gained knowledge from the Swift and other cars developed in Japan. This was truly a move in the right direction for Suzuki. The SX4 became the most affordable AWD vehicle sold in America and is a great little car. Many people who bought these cars began to modify them along the lines of Suzuki's WRC car, including us. In 2008 we helped build and design a Suzuki SX4 for a local dealer as a show car. We worked with a company named Road Race Motorsports for a lot of aftermarket parts for our SX4. Road Race is one of the only companies that make aftermarket parts for Suzuki and they have built many show cars and concept cars for Suzuki. This SX4 underwent many changes including a body kit, wheels, suspension, turbo, exhaust, and more! All in all with the money we put into the car we ended up with a $30,000 machine. The SX4 was a good platform to start from as the chassis is set up for rally racing and the AWD system was top notch, but after spending the money we would much rather have had a Subaru STI or Mitsubishi Evo for the performance we saw. Don't get me wrong, the car was fun but not as great as these cars, yet owners loved the car we built and were ready to invest into making their Suzuki like ours. So many owners in fact that Suzuki decided to Step up and build a more sporty SX4 themselves.]]> http://txgarage.com/review-the-2010-suzuki-sx4-sportback/feed 0 http://txgarage.com/review-the-2010-suzuki-kizashi http://txgarage.com/review-the-2010-suzuki-kizashi#comments Thu, 22 Apr 2010 04:23:36 +0000 adam_txGarage http://txgarage.com/?p=1422

I never liked convertibles, and still don't, it's just something about the looks and the fact that it almost always ruins a good coupe. I have had this dislike for a long time; mustangs should be coupes, the Corvette should be a coupe, the 911 should most defiantly be a coupe, and so on and so on. On the other hand, a true roadster or speedster that is born as a topless driving machine, I love. The Shelby Cobra, Stirling Moss Edition SLR, and cars like the Arial Atom and Caterham are cars that I have always admired and lusted after. Yes they don't have a top much like the convertibles I listed earlier but the difference is that when you design a car as a coupe then chop the top to please a non-enthusiast buyer, you end up ruining the car in both performance and looks - in my opinion.]]> http://txgarage.com/review-the-2010-suzuki-kizashi/feed 6 http://txgarage.com/roadrace-motorsports-suzuki-kizashi-at-sema http://txgarage.com/roadrace-motorsports-suzuki-kizashi-at-sema#comments Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:02:06 +0000 adam_txGarage http://txgarage.com/?p=1014

Love, hate, or don’t really care about the new Kizashi from Suzuki one thing has always been certain, when RoadRace Motorsports has their own plans for the new Zuk. Our friends at RRM have had a role in the Kizashi from very early on and have been working on aftermarket parts for this car for a year now. What is the best place in America to show off a new car with fantastic aftermarket potential? Well that would be SEMA. RRM has their Platinum Kizashi on display at SEMA this year and has released a few photos of the car on their Flickr site.]]> http://txgarage.com/roadrace-motorsports-suzuki-kizashi-at-sema/feed 0 http://txgarage.com/road-race-motorsports-2010-sx4 http://txgarage.com/road-race-motorsports-2010-sx4#comments Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:46:26 +0000 adam_txGarage http://txgarage.com/?p=591

 As you might or might not know a few of us here at txGarage helped design and build an SX4 Turbo for a local dealer, Chacon Suzuki, as a show car. You can check it out here, if you are interested in seeing our work. There are not many companies that make aftermarket parts for Suzuki cars, and when we built this car there was really only one, Road Race Motorsports.]]> http://txgarage.com/road-race-motorsports-2010-sx4/feed 3 http://txgarage.com/the-2010-suzuki-kizashi http://txgarage.com/the-2010-suzuki-kizashi#comments Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:50:53 +0000 adam_txGarage http://txgarage.com/?p=506

The official unveiling of the 2010 Suzuki Kizashi took place last week showing off a few of the new sedans by Suzuki. The Kizashi is long awaited in the US from Suzuki, as they haven’t offered a mid-sized sedan in the US since the end of the Verona in 2006.  The Verona was a rebadged Daewoo marketed through Suzuki. It was a horrible failure for Suzuki, not only bringing their quality status down but also pulling away from what they want Suzuki to symbolize. The Kizashi though is a completely different story. Built in Suzuki’s new factory keeping everything under Suzuki’s control the new Kizashi lives up to their “way of life” slogan. Featuring AWD and a 3.6 liter V6 that will put it right at par with some great cars and knowing Suzuki’s handling I’m sure it will be a great driving car.]]> http://txgarage.com/the-2010-suzuki-kizashi/feed 5 http://txgarage.com/suzuki_conquered_the_peak http://txgarage.com/suzuki_conquered_the_peak#comments Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:47:15 +0000 adam_txGarage http://txgarage.com/?p=400

The legendary Pikes Peak run has wrapped up for another year with another victory for the Suzuki Team. They dropped the XL7 platform from last year for a “slightly” modified SX4 to take on the peak. The 873 horsepower machine was built on the base of a SX4 with a steel space frame, twin turbo H27A 2.7L V6 engine, 6 speed sequential gear box, AWD, and weighing in at 2469lbs. This car obviously doesn’t share much with the road going SX4, if anything, but it’s still a great win for the Suzuki Team with a crowded field.]]> http://txgarage.com/suzuki_conquered_the_peak/feed 2