SEASONS GREETINGS

If there are any readers of this blog, I will be very happy to know that atleast one person has seen my blog . Though there was a lot of action in the Indian Automobile arena,i couldnt find time to post all the news. I think Ill do that from now . Please see this space in the coming days to know more about Indian Auto news…

INDIGO CS ( COMPACT SEDAN)

The world’s first sub four-metre sedan, the Tata Indigo CS is positioned as the first car for young professionals. It carries forward the cabin seating comfort and space package, that is now closely associated with the Indigo range and a capacious 380 litre boot. Clever and efficient design has made it possible to encapsulate this entire package within the four metre length, making this car a complete package to address the combined demands of space and maneuverability in our congested cities. The Indigo CS sports a stylish new tail light cluster in the rear embedded in a smart new rear profile completed with a new, trimmer rear bumper. The front of the car has also been visually differentiated with a new front grille and new headlamps.

SWIFT DZIRE

India’s first sedan, the Maruti Suzuki ESTEEM has finally got to make way for its successors. Suzuki has successfully been able to bring a new sedan , a great replacement for ESTEEm in the form of SWIFT DZIRE. The first look of the car as well as the name indicates that it shares the same platform as that of the swift and also gets you the likes of Indigo and Petra which have been hach based sedans of Indiaca and Palio respectively.Of late Maruti Esteem has lost its charm and the new it was pushed back with the Ford Ikon and Tata Indigo doing extremely well. The Swift Dzire features the same engine as that of Swift and all the tech specs are same except for a few things which becaome a trademark of a sedan. the pricing is expected to be around 4.2-6.5lacs as estimated by trade pundits.

If the pricing is somewhat close to the above , then other players in the segment will have a run for their money as the drive quality of the swift and swift dzire is said toequivalent to Honda City . So Dzire , the sedan has a frugal1.3L engine with the drive quality of Honda City at the price of an Esteem with the luxury features that you see in SX4.

Verdict : Great value for Money.

CHEVROLET CAPTIVA

GM has finally entered the SUV segment with the much acclaimed Captiva. Though GM India earlier wanted its flagship model to be an SUV the Chevrolet Forester, but the attempts failed as OPTRA became its flagship model. Chevrolet Captiva comes with a 2.0L VDCi diesel and 2.4L petrol engine,with a manual 5 gear transmission and as everyone knows the interiors and the looks are damn good. All’s well except for the pricing which is priced at around 17-18Lacs Ex-showroom price varying across various cities.Captiva was first showcased at the Geneva motor show last year.

Striking Features of CAPTIVA :

• An Active all-wheel drive system
• Traction control system
• Excellent storage space
• Self levelling independent suspension
• Opening rear glass, so you needn’t raise the entire tailgate to gain access to the boot.
• Equipped with advanced safety features like Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) & Hydraulic Brake Assist (HBA) .
• Offers seven seats – a package no other manufacturer can offer at this price level.

The premium compact SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) segment is already dominated by cars like Honda CR-V, Ford Endeavour, Hyundai Tucson, Nissan X-Trail and Mitsubishi Pajero. But GM seems to have a winner in hand.

SKODA FABIA

The much awaited SKODA FABIA was showcased in the AUTO EXPO 08′ at New Delhi. Skoda Fabia is a hatchback and its sizes will help it benefited by the tax benefits of small cars.
Fabia aptly could be termed a Luxury Hatch and offers stiff competition to the market leader Suzuki Swift.
Fabia will be available in both petrol and diesel versions. Shall have a 1.2L petrol or !.4L diesel so it should excite the Diesel enthusiasts. The 1.4L TDI PD (Turbo Direct Injection, Pumpe Deuse) diesel engine produces a maximum power of 68 bhp at 4000 rpm and a maximum torque of 155nm at 1600-2800rpm. The 1.4L MPI petrol engine on the other hand, delivers a maximum power of 85 bhp and 132 Nm of maximum torque. The mileage is said to be above 16 kmpl, but that depends on your driving conditions and requirements. The driving is absolutely smooth as butter and you are sure to have a great time hitting the highways. The car catches a speed of 125 kmph in no time! It is launched with a price tag that ranges between 4.9Lacs to 7.68 Lacs.

SUMO GRANDE

Tata’s erstwhile MUV(Multi Utility Vehicle) SUMO, in fact one of the most popular utility vehicles which catered even to the luxury seekers with a variety of variants, slowly began to fade away with the advent of other utility vehicles like Mahindra Bolero, Scorpio,Toyota Qualis and Innova and Chevrolet Tavera.
Though the revamped version of SUMO called VICTA with a whole lot of luxury features and CRDi engine was launched, but with very less response, Tata has lost ground in the MUV segment .In order to regain its lost ground, TATA has Launched SUMO GRANDE that is more goodlooking and comes with a number of premium features to catch the public’c eye and offer stiff competition to other players in the market. The 2.2L SUMO GRANDE was showcased at the Auto Expo 08′and was launched in the first week of march 08′ which hasaprice ranfge of 6.40lacs to 7.75 lacs. So it would be a tough fight between Innova and Sumo Grande as trade pundits are to be believed.

Honda Aviator

Honda the leading scooter maker in India has added another scooter called Aviator to its line-up. But unlike its other products this new aviator will target urban male who loves performance but needs a hassle free vehicle. The new Aviator scooter is powered by the same engine which powers the Activa. Aviator produces 7bhp of maximum power at 7000rpm. This proven engine ensures smooth and silky performance. Honda has equipped the Aviator scooter with some first-in-class features such as 12-inch alloy wheels and 190mm front disc brakes.
Aviator would be available from the first week of march. Aviator will be launched in two variants – standard and deluxe. Deluxe variant of Aviator will have 190mm Disc brake at the front and 12 inch alloy wheels. The standard variant of Honda’s aviator is priced Rs39,675 and the deluxe variant of aviator scooter is priced Rs42.680. Both the prices are ex-showroom Delhi. Honda’s aviator will be available in five colours – Rebel Red Metallic, Berry purple Metallic, Space silver metallic,Monsoon Gray Metallic and Pearl Igneous Black. You can avail 3 years optional extended warranty in addition to the company’s 2 year or 24000km warranty for the Aviator scooter.

Hero Honda HUNK

A surprise from Hero Honda. Not too long after the launch ok; relaunch of its premium bike the 150cc CBZ Xtreme as the revamped version as it is called, another bike from the hero honda stable, the latest offering known as HUNK employs the same mill as the CBZ Xtreme does but a little more masculine in terms of its looks.
The company’s strategies cant be understood as of now.But such a strategy proved to be not so fruitful in the past when hero honda had two bikes in the 125cc executive segment namely, super splendor and glamour where neither of them tasted success.but in the 100cc economy segment inspite of having three bikes in the past i,e,the splendor, CD deluxe and passion plus,the company was a market leader in the segment but it cant be the same in the premium segment as there is a lot of competition from the refined pulsar and the ultra refined Unicorn. Even after the much hyped launch , hero honda did not exactly set the market on fire with CBZ Xtreme and only time will tell whether HUNK would emulate the success of CBZ .
Watch this space for more reviews……..

HYUNDAI i10

The Hyundai i10 will be launched in India this month. The new Hyundai small car for India, codenamed Hyundai Pa, has been in the making for some time now. India will be first country in which the Hyundai i10 will be introduced. The i10 will be the flagship small car brand for Hyundai in India.

Currently, Hyundai Motor India is producing two main variants of Santro, which are sold between Rs 2.69 lakh and Rs 3.64 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).The price will be a premium to Hyundai’s current largest selling small car Hyundai Santro. Introduced 10 years back, the Santro has been the bread-winner for Hyundai Motor India for long. Apart from the Santro and the Accent, Hyundai has not had a big hit car in India so far. As of now, Hyundai is the third largest car maker in India, after Maruti and Tata Motors.

In a move which is seen as a precursor to sell out maximum number of Santros before the i10 makes its appearance, Hyundai on Thursday slashed the price of its Santro model by around Rs 40,000. Usually, carmakers make way for the new models by announcing steep price cuts for the existing models, which may not sell once the new model (in this case i10) rolls in.

Hyundai’s recent models like the Getz and the Getz prime have not been able to gain traction in the market. The Hyundai Verna, which was widely expected to replace the Accent, is now produced alongside it. Its Terracan has been scrapped and the replacement Tucson has not been doing well either. The Sonata Embera has also failed to bring volumes for Hyundai in India. Hyundai, like other carmakers, is concentrating on the small and mid-size car segments, where the competition is fierce.

The engine is a 1.1 litre one, with petrol and diesel versions. The car will have ABS and airbags as optional accessories, will have superior styling and comfort. Hyundai plans to make India as the export hub for the i10, to serve overseas markets. Already, Hyundai’s Chennai plant is the largest plant the company has outside Korea. The factory is already running at 100% capacity with three shifts. Hyundai is setting up another plant adjacent to the existing one, to feed voracious demand for its small cars made in India. Hyundai Motor India sold 65,696 cars (Santro, Getz) in the period April to August 2007, down by 6% against the corresponding period.

LAURA AMBIENTE

Skoda India, on Wednesday, announced the launch of Laura Ambiente, a new variant of its best selling model Laura. Priced at Rs. 13.21 lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi), the new variant that comes in diesel version has 1.7 PD TDI engine.

The new variant has been equipped with added safety features such as two airbags, traction control system (ABS and ASR), rear-parking sensors, and automatic wipers with rain sensors. With the addition of the new model, the fully-owned Indian subsidiary of Czech Republic-based SkodaAuto (Volkswagen Group) now offers 15 variants in India.

In a statement, Skoda India Managing Director (Commercial), Karsten Bogun, said, “Skoda is known worldwide for its products with global appeal, world-class development and manufacturing capabilities and this product is a further testament to our continued commitment of excellence to our customers.” The continued growth of India as a global economic power, increasing disposable incomes and rise in Indian automobile sales have created potent opportunities for the automobile industry in India. Also, with increasing awareness among customers about their lifestyle choices, they are looking for various options and we believe that Skoda is a perfect choice to match the demands,” he added.