Wedge announced Tuesday that he will move Suzuki from his traditional leadoff spot down to No. 3 in the Mariners batting order. It’s not a simple spring training experiment; Wedge is set to make Suzuki’s move permanent and he will figure out who is Seattle’s best option to take over in the leadoff role.

‘I’ve done a lot of thinking about it this winter. … Bottom line, it’s for us to have the best lineup 1 through 9 out there,” Wedge said. ‘I want our lineup to be extended. I think our best opportunity is for Ichiro to be hitting third for us.”

It’ll be the first time in his career that Suzuki will be somewhere permanently other than the leadoff spot. He’s had only a handful of games at other spots in the lineup through his 11-year career in Seattle. He’s coming off the worst year of his career in the U.S., hitting .272, the first time he’s failed to hit at least .300. Suzuki’s 184 hits were also a career low.

The first option to replace Suzuki will be Chone Figgins, although Wedge said he’s not set on his Nos. 1 and 2. Figgins has struggled since coming over from the Los Angeles Angels and signing a $36 million, four-year deal. After thriving in the leadoff spot with the Angels, Figgins has hit just .236 in his two seasons in Seattle, including .188 in an injury-shortened 2011 season.

Figgins is likely to be the Mariners’ third baseman when the season begins.

‘I’m confident Figgins can get back to his old self as a leadoff hitter,” Wedge said. ‘That’s when he was the Figgins that produced, that got on base, that scored runs, that was a pain for opposing teams when he did lead off for Anaheim.”

In his eight seasons with the Angels, Figgins hit .291 with a .363 on-base percentage, batting leadoff for most of that time. Wedge said his initial thought is that young second base prospect Dustin Ackley will hit second in the Mariners order. In just over half of the 2011 season, Ackley proved many of the scouts correct, hitting .273 with 16 doubles, seven triples and six home runs, and driving in 36 runs in 90 games.

Pak-Suzuki Motor Company Limited (PSMCL), whose 80 per cent production used to comprise CNG fitted vehicles, has asked its authorised dealers to provide details of any orders in the pipeline by Feb 15.

The company had suspended procurement of kits from importers and a leading manufacturer in the middle of January. The company is consuming available imported stocks or those were under import before government`s ban on import of CNG kits and cylinders.

An official of the company said that the decision was taken by the firm on Feb 11 after finishing available stocks. The company enjoys over 50 per cent market share in total vehicle sale in Pakistan. The PSMCL official said that consumers, who used to rely on factory fitted CNG vehicle, would now feel the pinch after the discontinuation in booking of economy segment cars, like CNG Mehran, Bolan and Alto.

“People don’t just give money for no reason,” said Jean. “People give money for specific objectives and we need to know what those objectives are and where that money is going.”

Currently, details of foreign charitable funding are filed with the Canada Revenue Agency, but the public can’t view the information.

Jean’s comments come as environmental groups who take millions from wealthy American foundations come under increasing scrutiny because of their activities against the oilsands and various pipeline projects.

One of the charitable groups often criticized for its political activity is the Suzuki Foundation.

Its CEO, Peter Robinson, appeared before the Commons finance committee Tuesday as it studied ways to increase charitable giving in Canada.

“We will continue to drive the growth and evolution of India’s car market. Even as India has grown and transformed, Maruti Suzuki has evolved to meet the changing demands,” said Shinzo Nakanishi, managing director and chief executive, Maruti Suzuki India.

Model-wise, cumulative sales were led by the company’s old war horse Maruti 800 (26.36 lakh units) followed by entry level hatchback Alto and its varient K10 (19.08 lakh units), Omni van (14.37 lakh units), WagonR (11.14 lakh units) and Swift at 6.85 lakh units.

“While Maruti 800 and Omni powered sales for almost two decades, the Alto has been India’s best-selling car for the last over seven years,” the company said.

It said the success of its hatchback cars, WagonR and Swift, had helped in accelerating the company’s progress towards the 10 million mark.

The company also unveiled a celebration edition of its sedan, SX4.

“The interiors of the celebration edition SX4 will have new seat fabric, chrome inside door handles, chrome air conditioning louvers, cubic printing on arm rest and celebration floor mats and pillows,” it added.

Having already jointly proved the application of fuel cells in the zero emissions Suzuki Burgman scooter -which became the world’s first fuel cell vehicle to achieve European Whole Vehicle Type Approval- the new deal aims to help widen the use of Intelligent Energy’s systems in a cost-effective manner.

Under the terms of the contract, both companies will take a 50 per cent stake in the joint venture, with Suzuki’s executive vice president Mr. Osamu Honda heading the new company which will be e headquartered in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka, Japan.

“Suzuki Motor Corporation has been developing fuel cell vehicles with Intelligent Energy since 2006, and this successful relationship has led to the formation of SMILE FC System Corporation,” explained Mr. Honda. “I believe that we can accelerate the commercialisation of fuel cell vehicles through this joint venture with Intelligent Energy.”

The agreement represents good value for both parties, enabling Suzuki cost-effective access to Intelligent Energy’s advanced fuel cell technology through partnering and licensing, thereby avoiding the higher costs associated with in-house development. In return Intelligent Energy will benefit from Suzuki’s production and motor industry expertise and emerging supply chain to develop the next generation of automotive standard air-cooled fuel cell systems.

“We are targeting double digit growth, yes,” Mayank Pareek, managing executive officer – marketing and sales told CNBC-TV18.

Passenger car makers have been hit by a sharp slowdown in 2011-12 as customers deferred purchases due to expensive loans and high fuel prices. Society of Indian Auto Makers has forecast a flattish growth this fiscal.

Maruti Suzuki was also hit by a labour unrest at its plant in Manesar, which sent production of its popular Swift hatchback for a toss. The company lost 40,000 units in production in the October-December quarter due to the workers’ strike.

Pareek said that production has returned to normal levels at Manesar. The pickup in production at Manesar has helped in getting Swift production back on track.

Maruti Suzuki’s total vehicle sales in January rose 5.2% year-on-year to 115,433 units. The compact segment, which includes the Swift, Estilo and Ritz, saw sales jump 22.4% to 25,756 units.

Pareek said increased supply of diesel vehicles also boosted sales growth in January. More customers are preferring diesel vehicles as oil marketing companies hiked petrol prices several times last year.

Pareek said in January, diesel vehicle sales rose 34%, Maruti’s petrol car sales declined 6%.

Maruti too has been focussing on producing more diesel vehicles. Suzuki and Italian car maker Fiat had inked a diesel engine supply deal last month. Fiat will supply one lakh 1.3 litre diesel engines to Maruti Suzuki for three years from Jan, as per the deal.

Chas Hallet, What Car? Editor-in-Chief commented: “The all-new Suzuki Swift Sport is a brilliant junior hot hatch which is at home on all kinds of roads thanks to its strong grip, tight body control, and accurate steering. Priced at £13,499 – and equipped with luxury specification – it’s a great hot-hatch that is perfect for young drivers.”

Fair enough Chas, those are fair points. The new Swift’s specification is particularly impressive. Features include: seven air-bags, an electronic stability programme, and shock-absorbing body pillars that soften any contact with the occupants’ heads. Less safety focussed gadgets include: Bluetooth, a USB port, rear privacy glass, cruise control, and automatic air-con. Good stuff, that makes service stations seem much more bearable.

Guy Martin

Martin will also race in the North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix and feels the team has everything in place to challenge for victories.

“It’s taken a while, but it was always on the cards. I’m happy to be back with the team for a second year and I love the new Tyco Suzuki colours. Great job. I couldn’t knock last year to be honest; the only thing we didn’t do was win a TT, but hopefully we’ll put that right in June. That’s the box we want to tick. The North West and Ulster are great events but it’s a TT win I really want. The team is good enough, the bikes are good enough and I believe the rider is good enough, so it’s time to go out and bloody win one.”

Tyco Suzuki team manager Philip Neill is delighted to have completed the signing of the 30 year old and feels comfortable that his rider line-up has what it takes to be successful on the roads this year.

I think we both knew that it was going to happen. We made a verbal agreement to each other last August at the Ulster Grand Prix, but all the speculation has brought great publicity for our sponsors, the team and Suzuki, which is great. But I suppose when Guy gets out of bed these days he gets media coverage.”

“He’s a hard man to pin down with such a busy schedule, but Guy proved last year that he has all the ingredients required to go all out for that TT win in June. It’s eluded him so far, but we’ll go all out together to make it happen.”

“He’s not just the most popular rider in the UK these days, but also very popular outside the sport, which is good for motorcycling in general. Everyone at TAS, Suzuki, Tyco and existing sponsors like Ian Glen from Beacon are delighted to see him stay for a second year. And with Conor on-board and now Guy I think we have strong team looking ahead to the three international meetings.”

Paul Phillips, TT and Motorsport Manager with the Isle of Man Government, expects Tyco Suzuki to be one of the most popular squads at this year’s event.