- Suzuki is joining General Motors, Audi, Hyundai and others as it launches its first Super Bowl ad.
- The 2011 Suzuki Kizashi is the focus of the commercial, along with an army of snowball-throwing snowmen.
- The advertising strategy targets 14 of Suzuki's U.S. markets — most of them in the Snow Belt.
BREA, California — Suzuki is joining a crowded field of automotive 2011 Super Bowl advertisers with a spot featuring the 2011 Kizashi and an army of aggressive snowmen. It is the first time that the Japanese automaker is tackling Super Bowl advertising.
Called "Wicked Weather," the commercial shows off the 2011 Suzuki Kizashi's all-wheel-drive prowess by following a driver swiftly navigating a snowy landscape while being pelted by snowballs. Evil snowmen are chasing the Kizashi with snowballs, and they eventually meet their explosive fate when the driver swerves to avoid incoming snowmen and causes the two armies to collide. The ad ends with the Kizashi driving away, leaving behind just a carrot and a black top hat.
The ad targets prospective Suzuki buyers who live in the Snow Belt. The automaker said it will only be shown in the following 14 markets: Chicago, Pittsburgh, Mobile-Pensacola, Alabama, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, Nashville, Tennessee, Burlington, Vermont, Charleston, West Virginia, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Bluefield-Beckley, West Virginia, Roanoke,Virginia, Rochester, New York, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Charleston, South Carolina.
The 2011 Suzuki Kizashi starts at $18,999 for the "S" model and includes a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, all-wheel drive, stability and traction control and a CVT.
Inside Line says: Suzuki must see some serious benefit in shelling out the amount of cash needed to land a Super Bowl spot. —Mike Lysaght, Correspondent
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alex38 says:
09:56 PM, 01/30/2011
I was interested in this vehicle again, until I saw those dreaded 3 letters:
"C V T". Drop in a fuel efficient/powerful 4-cyl a la Hyundai Sonata and you would have a compelling package. The 4WD a nice option and overall, a good looking vehicle. But I can never see myself buying a CVT..
8str8rollin says:
09:32 PM, 01/30/2011
Uhhhhh... Kizashi "too Japanesey sounding"??? Crawl back under the rock you crawled out under from sarahpalin!
If we were to go by your judgement then I guess the good ol' Camry will never sell here either huh? You see, Camry is also a Japanese word (Kanmuri) which means Crown in english. Oh wait.... Camry has been the best selling car in the U.S. for decades.... haha oh well, there goes your ignoramus theory sarahpalin! LOL.
Imagine the audacity of a Japanese car company giving one of their cars a Japanese name! haha. Kizashi roughly translates into english as "A Sign Of Things To Come".
Jscion - I'm not sure how you see Subaru Legacy as being cheaper or making more sense. They are close in price but you have to compare equipment levels. The Kizashi even in the base model comes much better equipped than the Legacy. The Kizashi also has a much nicer interior than Legacy. Suzuki used much nicer looking plastics and other materials in Kizashi than Subaru did in Legacy. I am a Subaru fan though, so I could go either way.
Also don't forget that Suzuki offers a much better warranty than Subaru does. Both Legacy and Kizashi are great cars, so I think it would just come down to personal preferences. I've driven both cars and Kizashi is more quiet, refined, and has a slight handling edge over Legacy.
As you said though the Legacy offers the manual transmission in AWD so it does have that going for it, although 90% of U.S. car buyers pick Automatics anyhow lol.
Even so though, word is that for next model year Suzuki is also adding a manual option in AWD just as they did with their SX4.
There's also talk of a Turbo Kizashi and a Diesel version hitting the showrooms soon.
I think a Kizashi wagon with a Turbo Diesel option would really shake things up!
Looks like Suzuki is also gearing up to dramatically increase their advertising here in the U.S. too. Since November of 2010 they have already added 15 new dealers and apparently are planning to do a major recruiting of even more dealers to pick up the Suzuki name to coincide with their new advertising campaigns and also to coincide with the arrival of their world wide best seller, the new Suzuki Swift.
With Kizashi, SX4, the new Swift, Frontier, and Grand Vitara, I think Suzuki is set once again to catch the momentum they had back in 2004 thru 2007 when they became the fastest growing car company in America. First they had to purge all of the GM/Daewoo models out of their line-up that GM was dumping on them back when GM and Suzuki were partners. That hurt their sales quite a bit for a few years but obviously with cars like Kizashi, SX4 and Swift, it was well worth it and Suzuki made a good decision to dump GM!
So it looks like Kizashi really is "A Sign Of Things To Come"! Go Suzuki!!!!
hondalvr4life says:
08:52 PM, 01/30/2011
@ sarahpalin
you realize how sterotypical and ignorant you sound... so do most americans have some sort of insecurity or something? Why do you have to have a macho name? I'm an American and I can't stand it when some loser is like "yeah my dodge chargers got a hemi in it" Sorry I don't need some ghastly name bc I dont have the insecurities that you have.
jscion says:
12:28 PM, 01/30/2011
@sarahpalin
I'm just curious what kind of looney tunes weed you're smoking that inspired you to use Sarah Palin as a screen name on a car enthusiasts web site??? If nothing else, "KIZASHI" is certainly a better name than what you chose..."sarah palin". And do you even know anything about cars? The Magnum was cancelled years ago, the Avenger is one of the poorest made cars in the market, the Challenger is a different class of car all together and Hummer is gone....So what the f*** are talking about???
Anyways, the Kizashi is a fantastic car. The name makes it even better! Unfortunately the article is wrong. AWD is not standard for the base price. You have to get an automatic transmission with all-wheel drive that ends up knocking the cost up to about $21K. Right there the much better known and proven Subaru Legacy makes more sense as it is cheaper and you can get a manual with AWD.
The lack of marketing since the cars debut hasn't helped Suzuki. They've been doing that with the Equator, and now their doing that with the Kizashi. They have to focus on getting their name out if they want to be taken seriously in America. So far they're best know for the Geo Metro and Geo Tracker of the 1990's and 2000's.
soobiedew says:
08:40 PM, 01/29/2011
it's too bad you can't get awd with a manual
hanover_fist says:
07:45 AM, 01/29/2011
The Kizashi is so far ahead of all the cookie-cutter sedans on the road today. It is stylish, quick, and handles so well. I just wish there were more on the road so that Americans could see what a great vehicle it truly is.
backer1 says:
08:45 PM, 01/28/2011
Sorry, but you do not know what you are talking about - These are nice cars that look great, very quick, handle very well and get good gas mileage. I test drove one and really want one - besides, I think the name is cool!!
sarahpalin says:
06:46 PM, 01/28/2011
It won't work. The name "Kizashi" is too japanesey sounding. Americans won't like it and won't buy it. We want macho cars with macho names like Magnum, Avenger, Challenger, Hummer!