Suzuki Kizashi sketches leaked from a Euro patents & registry office

[cire 2]

I'm not sure how much these sketches really reveal about the design of Suzuki's upcoming midsize sedan. Looking at these sketches is still not the same as viewing actual photos. A link to the Motor Authority website is provided below so you can see for yourself.

undefined

[loki 146]

looks like some of the elements of the opel concept and the newest aveo for the front

The engine lineup will include two petrol engines displacing 2.3L and 3.6L, and a 2.0L turbodiesel. Front wheel drive will be standard although an AWD option will be available for some models. A paddle-shifted six-speed automatic will also be offered.

2.3L.... the same one for the equinox?!!?!

it is on EP isn't it?

sounds like not a bad car... this could be the rise of Suzuki

[thegriffon 5]

You @#$#% morons!!! Never ever reveal your sources!! There goes another good intelligence asset down the drain. :angry2:

[the_yellow_dart 26]

Wierd kink in the taillight like the Impreza...

Edited September 12, 2008 by the_yellow_dart

[Robert Hall 6,997]

What's the deal with the patents and registry office...a car maker can patent the design of a generic FWD sedan??

[Mule Bakersdozen LS 2]

Think looks like a compact...and not a striking one either-oh wait, just deciphered the mm to inches (multiply the mm times 0.0394)-and its the size of a Chevy Corsica, which means its overall length is 183"-upper compact, but hopefully its passenger and cargo room surpass 110 cubic feet, which is the entry for the mid-size car segment.

[ehaase 23]

Unless they sell the wagon in the U.S., I'm not interested

[thegriffon 5]

What's the deal with the patents and registry office...a car maker can patent the design of a generic FWD sedan??

No. It's not a patent, its a register of designs. Most countries have them. In the US they're called design patents, but it's not like an invention. If you design a punch bowl or a bracelet or a handbag or a car or a toaster you can register the design. It's a bit like registering a copyright, which the intellectual property registers of some countries also do. The EU office is actually the OHIM—Office for Harmonization (of intellectual property registration) in the Internal Market, not the "patent and registry office", although they also handle patents.

These kind of reports have dried up most sources for these designs. Manufacturers now typically only file designs after press photos have been released or with agencies that will only publish them after that date (Australia only publishes the images of registered designs, and just the text of applications). The smart thing to do would have been to commission an artist's impression based on the registered designs not mention the source. At most you say "based on sources from inside Suzuki". Telling a manufacturer who or where you got the design from is akin to publishing a news story saying "Antonio de Medici of the Strigacelli mob informed the Post that Don Carione ordered the hit himself." You won't be hearing from that source again.