Full articleThe question for Suzuki is whether Kizashi sales will be hurt by the poor economy or helped because consumers see the car as a good value. Suzuki, long a bit player in the American market, said its goal was to move from being an alternative to mainstream brands (Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, Toyota) to being an alternative to aspirational brands (Mini, Volkswagen, Mazda). That will be a tall order indeed, but certainly the Kizashi is a big step in the right direction.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/autom ... zashi.html