American Suzuki Motor Corp. responds to Consumers Union report on the Isuzu Trooper and Acura SLX.BREA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 20, 1996--The following is a statement from American Suzuki Motor Corp: In Consumers Union's report Tuesday on the Isuzu Trooper The Isuzu Trooper was a mid-size SUV produced by the Japanese automaker Isuzu between 1981 and 2002. It was exported worldwide as the Isuzu Bighorn, Isuzu Trooper, Honda Horizon, Acura SLX, Chevrolet Trooper, Vauxhall/Opel Monterey, and and Acura SLX The Acura SLX was a mid-size luxury SUV sold by the Acura division of Honda from 1996 to 1999. It is a lightly upgraded Isuzu Trooper released at the same time as the Lexus LX and it was only sold in the US. The SLX was later replaced by the Honda Accord-based Acura MDX in 2001. , Consumers Union again republished its false and defamatory statements about the Suzuki Samurai, long after it was aware that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA, often pronounced "nit-suh") is an agency of the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government, part of the Department of Transportation. accident data showed that CU's criticism of the Suzuki Samurai was not true. The Consumers Union accident avoidance maneuver that was used as part of its testing of the Suzuki Samurai has been shown to be unscientific unscientific Unproven, see there and not linked to the real world by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and has been criticized by the government of Great Britain. Consumers Union has failed to mention these criticisms of their test methodology in any of its articles over the years. This unwarranted criticism did significant damage to Suzuki, its employees, dealers and customers. Suzuki filed suit against Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports, on April 11, 1996, for defamation, product disparagement In old English Law, an injury resulting from the comparison of a person or thing with an individual or thing of inferior quality; to discredit oneself by marriage below one's class. , and violations of the Business and Professions Code after Consumers Union again called out the Suzuki Samurai for criticism and boasted in its anniversary issue in 1996 of CU's responsibility for the Samurai's dwindling dwin·dle v. dwin·dled, dwin·dling, dwin·dles v.intr. To become gradually less until little remains. v.tr. To cause to dwindle. See Synonyms at decrease. sales. That litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. is pending in Federal District Court in Orange County, Calif. In this lawsuit, Suzuki will show that the so-called accident avoidance maneuver used by CU is nothing more than a stunt maneuver that has no real world relevance and that its testing of the Suzuki Samurai was rigged. George Ball, general counsel for American Suzuki Motor, said, "If Consumers Union used the same test maneuver on the Isuzu Trooper and Acura SLX, they have knowingly used a discredited and unscientific maneuver not accepted by any government in the world as the basis for their criticism of these vehicles." CONTACT: Gladstone International, Irvine Joan Gladstone or Barbara Daly, 714/955-5252 |
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