Suzuki drops out of U.S. auto market - Autoweek TV with Andrew Stoy

Also in this episode: Maserati will show off the redesigned Quattroporte at the Detroit auto show, and transmission-maker ZF says nine gears is the magic number. -- Suzuki gives up on selling cars in the United States. -- The new Maserati Quattroporte is coming to Detroit. -- And nine may be the limit, the head of transmission-maker ZF says. Hi, I'm Andy, serving up a slice of no-politics news with an Election Tuesday edition of Autoweek TV. Let's go to the results: After years of struggling, Suzuki has pulled the plug on selling cars in the United States. The Japanese automaker put its U.S. car arm into bankruptcy court protection late Monday. It will still sell motorcycles and boat engines here. Suzuki hasn't launched a new car in the U.S. since it rolled out the Kizashi sedan three years ago. Its dealer network was small, which made it hard to find a Suzuki even if you wanted one. The company was hit hard by the collapse of new car sales in 2008, and they never spent much money on marketing. On the bright side, if you're looking for a deal in the small sedan market, now might be a great time to pick up a Kizashi. More on Suzuki: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20121105/CARNEWS/121109891?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social Maserati is bringing the redesigned Quattroporte luxury sedan to the 2013 Detroit auto show in January. The Italian automaker primed the pump by releasing some photos and a few details about the car today. This new Quattroporte has plenty of similarities to the current car. And that's intentional, Maserati says. But the chassis underneath is all new, as is the V8 engine that will be built by Ferrari. The new Quattroporte goes on sale next spring. Story and photos on the Maserati Quattroporte: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20121106/DETROIT/121109889?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social Finally, one of the current numbers races in the auto industry is in transmissions -- as in "how many gears can you stuff into the box?" To be a player today, that number had better be at least five or six. But we're already seeing eight-speed units and nine-speeds are on the way. Now the head of transmission maker ZF says nine may be the limit. Going beyond that adds weight and complexity that can't be offset with improved fuel economy, according to ZF CEO Stefan Sommer. Ford and GM might not agree. The two are working on a joint-venture to design a 10-speed automatic for trucks. For more on ZF: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20121106/CARNEWS/121109887?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social That's the non-election news for today. If you haven't done so already, please go vote. It makes you feel good, and I even got a piece of candy. We'll see you back here tomorrow. Until then, enjoy the drive.

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