American Suzuki Motor Corp

Three-Way Deal: On the subject of Japanese car makers and U.S. suppliers: Brea-based American Suzuki Motor Corp.'s new in-house financing program for Suzuki auto dealers and their customers is underwritten by a unit of Ford Motor Credit Corp. Meanwhile, Suzuki sells its cars and sports utility vehicles to General Motors, which markets them as the Geo Metro and Geo Tracker.

It's been a bumpy ride for the custom motorcycle business as sales of pricey, blinged-out bikes skidded with the economy. But one bike scene is thriving, and that's been a boon for Ryca Motors in Whittier. The company sells build-it-yourself motorcycles that cost $3,600 to $7,500, or a fraction of the cost of souped-up custom bikes. Its CS-1 Cafe Racer is the creation of builders Ryan Rajewski and Casey Stevenson, who decided that if they were going to go to all the trouble of building a one-off, they might as well reproduce all the parts and offer them as a kit. The result is a motorcycle with all the style of a classic street racer at a far lower price.

New Sidekicks: American Suzuki Motor Corp. is dressing its four-door, four-wheel-drive Sidekick sports utility vehicle in special limited edition trim: metallic black paint, gray leather seats, gold pin striping and extra fancy chrome wheels. The special Sidekick, unveiled Wednesday, is one of several special models Brea-based Suzuki plans to release in coming months to keep its small lineup fresh. The company plans to introduce several new models in 1994 and 1995.

Suzuki was founded in 1909 as a manufacturer of looms for textile weaving -- the same type of business that launched what became Toyota Motor Corp. Suzuki produced its first automobile in 1955 and began exporting vehicles in the 1980s, with its first U.S. sales in 1985. American Suzuki Motor Corp. started with a single model, the SJ -- also called the Samurai.

American Suzuki Motor Corp. has appointed longtime company executive Rick Suzuki as its new president. He had been president of CAMI Automotive Inc., an auto manufacturing joint venture of Suzuki Motor Corp. and General Motors of Canada. Suzuki will be responsible for directing all of Brea-based American Suzuki's operations, including its automotive, motorcycle and marine divisions. Suzuki began his career with Suzuki Motor Corp. in Japan in 1974. He joined Suzuki Canada Inc.

Woman Awarded $90 Million in Suzuki Crash: A St. Louis jury made the award to Katie Rodriguez, who was paralyzed from the neck down when her friend's Suzuki Samurai rolled over on a highway. Rodriguez's award, which included $60 million in punitive damages, is the largest yet in a Samurai rollover case. American Suzuki Motor Corp. said it will appeal. Rodriguez, 30, was a passenger in a friend's Samurai when it flipped onto its side on a Missouri highway on Feb. 11, 1990.

It's September and car makers across the land, desperate to excite consumer interest after nearly three years of flagging sales, are gearing up an array of advertising campaigns to tout their 1992 models. But in the concrete office and warehouse complex that houses the corporate headquarters of American Suzuki Motor Corp., the focus doesn't seem to be on 1992, or even on new cars.

It's been a bumpy ride for the custom motorcycle business as sales of pricey, blinged-out bikes skidded with the economy. But one bike scene is thriving, and that's been a boon for Ryca Motors in Whittier. The company sells build-it-yourself motorcycles that cost $3,600 to $7,500, or a fraction of the cost of souped-up custom bikes. Its CS-1 Cafe Racer is the creation of builders Ryan Rajewski and Casey Stevenson, who decided that if they were going to go to all the trouble of building a one-off, they might as well reproduce all the parts and offer them as a kit. The result is a motorcycle with all the style of a classic street racer at a far lower price.

American Suzuki Motor Corp. in Brea is recalling about 7,400 all-terrain vehicles for children because of mechanical problems that could cause the driver to lose control and crash. The drive chain can come off the sprockets and lock the rear axle, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Wednesday. The company has received one report of a chain coming off, but no injuries have been reported. The recalled ATVs are the 2002 Suzuki QuadMaster 50 designed for children ages 6 to 12.

A $37-million judgment against Brea-based American Suzuki Motor Corp. was overturned by the Missouri Supreme Court, setting up a third trial in a case brought by a woman who was paralyzed in 1990 when the Suzuki Samurai in which she was riding flipped over. Suzuki has been the target of dozens of suits by Samurai drivers and passengers since the four-wheel-drive vehicle, no longer sold in the U.S., was savaged in a 1988 review in Consumer Reports.

American Suzuki Motor Corp. has appointed longtime company executive Rick Suzuki as its new president. He had been president of CAMI Automotive Inc., an auto manufacturing joint venture of Suzuki Motor Corp. and General Motors of Canada. Suzuki will be responsible for directing all of Brea-based American Suzuki's operations, including its automotive, motorcycle and marine divisions. Suzuki began his career with Suzuki Motor Corp. in Japan in 1974. He joined Suzuki Canada Inc.

Suzuki Motor Corp. will begin its first national advertising campaign in the U.S. this week, a $30-million effort to build interest in a new sport-utility vehicle and build its U.S. market share. The campaign was announced last week after General Motors Corp., the world's largest auto maker, said it will invest $315 million to triple its stake in Japan-based Suzuki to 10%, improving GM's access to Asia. Suzuki's U.S. operations are based in Brea.

Brea-based American Suzuki Motor Corp.'s automotive division has severed ties with its longtime public relations firm, Rogers & Associates. In a joint announcement, the two companies said their 12-year relationship has ended because Suzuki has decided to handle all of its public relations work internally. American Suzuki is the U.S. import and distribution arm for Suzuki cars, motorcycles, watercraft and other products.

American Suzuki Motor Corp.'s libel suit against Consumer Reports has been tossed out by a federal judge in Orange County, but the car importer says it still plans to pursue a suit against the magazine over a devastating review that killed sales of the Samurai sports utility vehicle. Suzuki has the option of filing an amended suit against Yonkers, N.Y.-based Consumers Union and its Consumer Reports magazine on grounds of product disparagement, or unfair criticism.

Still smarting over an 8-year-old review of the Samurai, American Suzuki Motor Corp. filed a libel suit Thursday accusing Consumer Reports magazine of falsely attacking the truck as unsafe. The Brea-based company and its Japanese parent, Suzuki Motor Corp., said Consumer Reports rigged the driving test it used to determine that the 1988 Samurai was unsafe.

Still smarting over an 8-year-old review of the Samurai, American Suzuki Motor Corp. filed a libel suit Thursday accusing Consumer Reports magazine of falsely attacking the sport utility vehicle as unsafe. The Brea-based company and its Japanese parent, Suzuki Motor Corp., said that Consumer Reports rigged the driving test it used to determine that the 1988 Samurai was unsafe.