Tata Nano visits Amristar Golden Temple and Ajmer Dargah

Divine time

Ahead of its launch, Nano is seeking divine blessings after running through a year of trouble. Two factory-fresh Nanos — one white, one silver — were driven to the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Friday for blessings, on Sunday afternoon, yet another Nano made its way through the narrow, crowded lanes outside Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti’s dargah in Ajmer, Rajasthan. Tata officials with the car offered a chadar at the shrine. “Ratan Tata himself instructed that the blessings of different leading shrines of our pluralistic country should be sought before the Nano hits the road,” said one of the five officials who travelled in the car to Amritsar. The Nano in Ajmer was built at Pimpri in Maharashtra, airlifted from Mumbai to Jaipur and driven down..

MRF launches

MRF Limited today launched a new series of tyres branded “MRF WANDERER”. The MRF WANDERER is a premium range of SUV tyres   for popular utility vehicles. MRF WANDERER is an all- terrain tyre engineered for long life and high-speed operation. The tyres are uniquely designed with bold sidewall graphics for making the vehicle look distinctive and stylish. Unique computer-aided designs, coupled with specially formulated cut- resistant tyre compounds, ensure enhanced performance on all terrains be it city or for the rough, off-the-road conditions.The reinforced steel-belt package under the tread, the multi-layered carcass and the sidewall provide a unique driving experience for the user. The MRF WANDERER tyres are presently available in 235/70R16, 235/75R15 and 215/75R15 sizes. These tyres can be fitted on all versions of Mahindra Scorpio, Bolero, Xylo; and Tata Safari and Sumo. The tyres are available in select MRF counters across the country including the premium MRF Tyres and
Service Franchisees (T&S).

Picture of MRF Wanderer tyre

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Renault may build Sandero with Mahindra

Renault which has announced slew of cost cutting measures including investment hold up in its chennai plant may produce Sandero along with  Mahindra at the later’s nashik plant. Mahindra- Renault is already producing logan in the Nashik plant.

The arrangement will aid the carmaker to utilize the plant to its maximum capacity. Logan plant is capable of producing 50000 cars a year, but Mahindra Renault sells only 12000 units of logan a year which result in excess capacity. Sandero is expected to come in both petrol and diesel versions with on the whole length below 4 meters to aim lesser expurgate duty

Honda to launch Accord V6

Undeterred by the slowdown, Honda plans to launch the powerful Accord V6 in March. This 3.5L, i-VTEC engine is designed to deliver outstanding performance at any engine speed. And with Variable Cylinder Management (VCM), you get the best of both worlds: fuel-efficiency and thrilling acceleration.. The engine produces 271bhp and peak torque of 254Nm but Honda will probably detune this slightly to cope with fuel quality in India. This engine is mated to a five-speed automatic. The V6 version has thicker anti-roll bars to cope with the extra power, and will have 17-inch rims.We expect Honda to price this new Accord V6 around Rs20 lakhs (Rs 1.5 lakh regular four-cylinder model). To know more about Accord V6 visit http://automobiles.honda.com/accord-sedan/specifications.aspx

SBI freezes car loans rates for a year

State Bank of India said on Friday it will freeze interest rates on new car loans at 10 per cent for a year.The new rates will be applicable to all customers availing loans between February 23 and May 31, 2009, the bank said.After the freeze-period, the rates will be reset at the applicable card rate contracted as on the date of sanction under the respective schemes, the bank said. Remember, SBI will be the sole booking agent for Tata Nano.

Skoda to launch Yeti at 2010 Auto Expo

At 2008 Delhi Auto Expo, Skoda launched the Fabia which went on to become a success story for the Czech maker. Skoda looks forward to replicate the same by launching Yeti at the 2010 Auto Expo.  in Geneva. The new model is based on the design study of the same name that was introduced in 2005. Yeti uses the same Fabia-derived suspension, brakes and transmission. Engine choice will range from 1.6 to 2.0-litre petrols and include the VW Group’s 1.9-litre turbodiesel. Yeti may also come with diesel engine sourced from Octavia. Yeti is designed for both urban and leisure driving and features state-of-the-art technology that ensures excellent behaviour on the road and great riding qualities off-road.  Yeti will pitched against the Scorpio,Safari and soon to be launched Tata’s IndiCruz. Yeti will be assembled as CKD at Skoda’s Aurangabad plant and hence you can expect the Yeti to come at a preimum over the locally manufactured Innova and Scorpio.

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Tata to launch Xenon in February

Tata Motors replacement for TL sprint the Xenon pick-up will finally hit the Indian roads. Tata’s Xenon has been in the news for a long time and it was launched world’s second largest pick-up market Thailand in 2008. Based on the 207’s chassis this Xenon has a payload capacity 1,000 kilograms. New Xenon will be powered by an 140hp, 2.2-liter DICOR engine sourced from Tata’s  Safari. .To more about Xenon visit http://www.vicky.in/blog/tatas-new-tl-sprint-xenon/

Tata will launch the Xenon before the end of February. Xenon will be positioned in the premium lifestyle segment in India which means unlike the Tata’s other pick-ups Xenon might be sold in passenger car showrooms with Indica and Indigo.

Tata gears up for Nano launch

Tata Motors has started countdown for the much awaited Nano launch. Tata has asked its dealers to open as many
showrooms and strengthen ther rmanpower to enable more efficient customer service. Tata will roll out Nanos from Pantnagar plant. Bookings will start at the end of February and deliveries will begin by March 2009. Tata Motors Finance has tied-up with SBI and HDFC to offer Nano competitive interest rates. Preparations are on ..to roll out most expected car of this Decade.

Honda to import Civic Hybrid

Honda civic hybrid will now only be available in india as a direct import through the company or through Honda dealerships. Honda Siel cars India has decided not to retail the Civic Hybrid through its retail dealerships. The Civic Hybrid is a car that runs both on petrol and battery. The car gives a mileage of 21kmpl.But the car couldn’t manage to give good sales figures until the company gave a Rs 8-lakh discount on the model. Hence Honda Siel decided to stop the retailing of the Civic Hybrid. But now if a person needs to buy a Civic Hybrid he has to approach the company or any Honda dealership and import the vehicle directly.

Honda officials say that it would take around 3-4 months to get the car to India after a customer places an order. After the launch of the Civic Hybrid in june 2008 it was readily available in the Honda dealerships. But the price tag of Rs 21.5 lakhs  plus an import duty of 104% the car was too expensive for the Indian customers.  Among the 300 units that were imported to India by Honda in june 2008 only 65 units made an exit from the showrooms. Honda says that the lack of government support also played spoilsport. So Honda Siel finally decided to clear its stock pile by giving a discount of 8 lakhs in November 2008. This attempt of Honda helped them clear the stock pile within ten days and at that time Honda said that they will be looking forward to import more units by the end of this fiscal. But now they have changed their decision to not import any more units of the Honda Civic Hybrid to retail dealerships in India.