liew face for Suzi
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• The Luton-assembled Bedford Rascal/Suzuki Super Carry range of micro-vans and pickups is likely to be given a facelift early next year.
At the Tokyo Motor Show this week, Suzuki displayed several models from its micro range with newly-revised front panels and slightly modified interiors, the most significant interior revision being a new steering wheel.
In Japan, the range of options for the Suzuki micro-van, pick-up and micro-bus is enormous, and includes four-wheeldrive on most models and a 543 cm3, three-cylinder turbocharged and charge-cooled petrol engine with electronic fuel injection. There is no indication that IBC Vehicles, the newly-formed General Motors/ Isuzu joint venture company which now runs the former Bedford Luton van plant is about to expand the Rascal/Super Carry range of options to include any of these, but it does seem likely that four-wheeldrive will soon become avail
able on the Luton-assembled Bedford Midi version of the Isuzu WFR van.
IBC Vehicles is 60% owned by General Motors and 40% by Isuzu and was formally established on 30 September, following long-running negotiations between the two companies and trade unions representing the Luton workforce. IBC says it plans to increase annual production at the Luton plant which, since the demise of the Bedford CF earlier this year builds only the Isuzu WFR-based Midi and the Suzuki-designed micro-vans and pick-ups, to 40,000 units by 1990, with more than half this production scheduled for export, mainly to mainland Europe.
General Motors has a 38% stake in Isuzu and owns about 5% of Suzuki.
El Suzuki and the American transmission component manufacturer Borg-Warner have jointly developed a pulleytype CVT (continuously variable transmission) which will be used on Suzuki cars and, possibly, light commercial vehicles. The Suzuki/Borg-Warner CVT is on public display for the first time this week at Tokyo.
The Suzuki CVT has digital electronic control and uses a Borg-Warner three-piece metal vee-chain belt to transmit torque from one CVT pulley to another.
Two other Japanese car manufacturers, Nissan and Subaru, also have new CVTs on display in Tokyo this week.