Tata Motors as part of its 2009 strategy that includes an all new Indigo, Indicruz crossover and Nano plans to launch a refurbished/ facelifted version of its hot selling Indigo CS. The new Indigo CS gets minor changes in exteriors as well as interiors. The new Indigo CS comes with a re-sculpted exterior, striking new front grille, new bumper,new grille, new headlamps and chrome strip on ORVM. Beige interiors has become standard on all variants. New Indigo CS also gets an analogue clock.
Bajaj XCD 135cc Test Drive
Pictorial Review Bajaj XCD 135cc
Bajaj which once ruled hearts and sales charts is now passing through one of its worst period. While the Honda’s took away the commuter, Yamaha is fastly gaining traction from youth who traditionally mared by the Pulsar Mania.The ageing platforms and absence of new models also gave way for the competetiors to poach. 2008 was one of the muted year of the Bajaj Auto. But Bajaj Auto want to put a fullstop to all these things. Bajaj has said it will be back and lined up six new models for 2009. To start wiht, Bajaj has launched 135cc variant of XCD, Bajaj calls this as a pulsar -junior. Will XCD 135cc will make the way for Bajaj’s revival?? let’s check out
Bajaj XCD 135cc: Bajaj has built this bike on the lines of XCD 125cc and added new styling elements to make it bigger. The bike looks good at some angles, but if your brain still remembers the XCD sprint shown at 2008 Delhi Auto expo,then you would curse me. Fake scoops fails to conceal the puny 8l fuel tank. While the tail lamp cluster fails to excite, sharp indicators and distinctly styled headlamps are nice styling elements.
Pictures of Bajaj XCD
Bajaj XCD 135cc: is slightly more powerful than the 125cc unit. The 135cc unit 10.2 PS of max power at 7500rpm and 11.58Nm of max torque at 5000rpm.All down type 5-speed gearbox is unique. XCD sports Bajaj’s patent ExhausTEC system for the much needed low-end grunt.
Bajaj XCD 135cc: The engine is peppy and it revs happily all the way to 8000 rpm slightly below the red line. In the fifth gear you can chug along 23kmph without knocking and a low 18kmph at 4th gear. 0-60kmph comes at 7 seconds, the extra taller fifth gear helps the bike to easliy move past 80kmph. But after 90kmph you need patience to test the bike’s top whack of 100kmph. The extra power however has little impact on mileage / fuel economy, credits to Bajaj’s DTS-Si technology. XCD 135cc returns 62kmpl in our combined drive.
Bajaj XCD 135cc: The box section diamond type frame sports telescopic forks and nitrox (gas filled shock absorbers) suspension at the rear. 200mm disc and 130mm brake at the fore and the aft. At the rear, XCD 135cc sports fatter 100/90*17″ tyres. Dimensions are identical to 125cc XCD.
Bajaj XCD 135cc: Flat handlebars,nicely positioned foot pegs, all five down gear pattern and flat wider seats makes your daily ride free of aches. For the first time, all are not well regarding the ride quality even though XCD 135cc comes with Nitrox suspension. Blame those low pressure rubber. Handling is quiet good, true to its DNA, XCD 135cc is very nimble and its boon to zig-zag in tight traffic. But thing turns violent once you push her above 84kmph, the ride becomes bumpy,vibrations starts creeping in but remember this bike is meant for city riders and it serves the purpose.
Bajaj XCD 135cc: host of features includes autochoke, twin pilot lamps, LED tail lamp, wider rear tyre, and digital speedometer. While the tacho and speedo are legible and readable, on bright sunlight a fellow rider has to tell you to switch of the turn indicators,if you forget to do it. The bike is available in five colours –
Bajaj XCD 135cc: Though it has displaces 10cc more, XCD 135cc comes at a price cheaper than the premium 125cc bike like Honda CBF Stunner and TVS Flame. XCD 135cc comes in three avatars – manual start-drum brake model, electric start-drum brake variant and the higher end sports model with disc brake and electric start. Our test drive bike XCD 135cc drum brake costs Rs51,063 (On-road Chennai).
P.S: While topping up air to XCD 135cc, do remember, unlike other motorcycles there is no different air pressure settings for a solo rider and rider with a pillion. Also the ratings are different (28 at the rear)
Verdict: It may not have the looks of CBF Stunner. But surely with the peppy but frugal engine and attractive price tag XCD 135cc is sure to make Bajaj showroom’s fill with crowd. But a young urban riders who knows Bajaj through Pulsar and Discover will wait for next phenomenon. Remember, Bajaj will unveil five more models this year.
Bajaj Auto provided XCD 135cc to vicky.in for the purpose of evaluation
Hyundai confirms launch of i20 diesel in 2009
As said earlier, Hyundai has reiterated its stand to launch diesel variant of i20 in 2009. Hyundai which currently sells i20 with a 1.2L kappa petrol engine in India may start selling i20 diesel by the end of 2009. In international markets i20 is offered with 1.4L and 1.6L diesel engines. To qualify for the small car excise norm, Indian i20 diesel is likely to get 1.4L engine. But Hyundai remains tight lipped. “We will launch the i-20 diesel for the domestic market this year. But we are yet to finalise the engine size,” said Mr Arvind Saxena, Senior Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, Hyundai Motor India said.
Hero Electric to launch 7 electric vehicles in 2009
Hero Electric, the division of the branched out Hero group, is planned to introduce a collection of electric bikes during this year. Adding, it includes their initial “high speed” bike assortment within a period two months. The company has decided to release at least seven more models in this calendar year and it encompasses two in the group of high speed, said Mr. Naveen Munjal, the managing director of Hero Electric. Under the high speed group, the electric bikes with 25 km/hour speed are included. Further, high speed sort of Hero Electric will have the potential to cope 45 km plus speed, said Mr Munjal
Currently, the company holds about nine models in its firm comprising Maxi, Optima Plus and the lately introduced Wave. Moreover, we anticipate putting in at least seven more models in this year. Further, the company will be enlarging their dealership network, he said.
Toyota to launch Fortuner in October
Toyota which made hardcore may finally put an end to on-again, off-again approach to the Indian market.Fortuner the vehicle which made India wait for years, may finally hit the road in October. Fortuner will come with a oil burner and give a run for money to the segment leader Honda CR-V. Toyota’s reputation and reliablity will also make the life tough for oil burner Chevrolet Captiva which sets sales records every passing day. Toyota’s Fortuner will come with a 3.0-litre D-4D diesel from the same family as the Innova. The diesel mill produces 163 bhp of peak power and 250Nm of max torque. There will be a five speed manual, no AWD and no automatic atleast initially. Fortuner is expected to come in two variants. Given the Toyota’s promise of assembling Fortuner in India, we can expect the Fortuner in the price range of Rs16-Rs18 lakhs.
2010 Chevrolet Beat Pictures
Shocked! its Beat production version, but there is not much difference between the beat concept and actual production version. GM will debut this spark replacement or next generation spark at the upcoming Geneva Auto Show. We reported you earlier about the 2010 spark here
Pictures of 2010 Chevrolet spark/ beat
Chevrolet Beat: The wedge-like look of the Spark features Chevy’s two-tier grille setup and strongly-creased wheel arches that can house up to 15-in. rims. The Spark’s rear door handles are integrated into the upper part of the door in an effort to preserve the vehicle’s rear-flank lines.
Chevrolet Beat: will come with either a 1.0 or 1.2L 16-valve four-cylinder DOHC gasoline engine
Chevrolet Beat: Inside too the beat excites with steering wheel mounted a motorcycle-inspired instrument cluster and dual cockpit design. The funky blue centre console dials and colours used make the interiors attractive. You can also expect the beat to be spacious. Dimensions of the Beat are 3,640 mm in length and a 2,375 mm wheelbase. It’s 75mm longer than the i10.
Chevrolet Beat: An integrated tailgate spoiler and Chevrolet’s trademark round taillight setup. Though the Beat will replace the current spark in global markets , GM India will add Beat to its current line-up without any phase out. Expect the car to be out sometime in 2010.
Honda to launch limited edition Unicorn and CBF150
Before the end of this fiscal year, we could expect two new models from Honda – New activa variant, a limited edition Unicorn and an 150cc bike. You can read about the new activa variant here. As usual the limited edtion unicorn will come with special body graphics and few features .Coming to the CBF 150 the new bike would be Honda’s answer to the Yamaha’s FZ-16. CBF 150 would be the first bike to come with Fuel Injection technology from Honda India. Remember, we have been reporting you that Honda is testing the CBR150 in India for a while. During November 2008, Honda imported few units of CBR150 for racing at Irungaattukottai race track for ‘Honda Motor Sports event’. Though the information available about the Honda’s bike with Fuel injection technology is little, a modern bike with sporty design and fat rear tyre is expected from Honda.
Renault may drop plans to set up plant in Chennai
Renault, the French car producer publicized that it is assessing the arrangements for its plant in Chennai and possibly will desert utterly the project. The company is evaluating the plans for the factory in Chennai. There are also leeways that the company may ditch the project fully and it depends on the situation in the market place, said Renault’s Chief Financial Officer, Mr Thierry Moulonguet. As per the Bloomberg report, Renault would get back its share of the €700-million investment and put down Nissan to build a minor, economical facility only.
The company prolongs to be India as per the Renault officials. Further, Renault outcomes the mid-size sedan Logan through its joint endeavor with Mahindra & Mahindra at Nashik in Maharashtra. Also, the company is prone to make the Logan derivatives, the Sandero hatchback and Steppe station-wagon at Nashik. Due to slump in financial conditions, during December 2008 Renault and Nissan decided for single shift at the plant in Chennai relative to two which planned earlier. In Paris that plans for the Chennai plant were only being delayed and not abandoned, said Renault officials in the January month.
Close to Chennai, Renault and its Japanese associate Nissan are investing Rs 4,500 crore in an equal joint undertaking for a four lakh a year capacity car factory at Oragadam. In the month of February 2008, they both signed an agreement with the Tamil Nadu Government which offered them enticement. In the month of June 2008 the it started functioning and the initial line is anticipated to be geared up in the first half of the year 2010.Individually Nissan is creating a factory to make light commercial automobiles in a joint endeavor with Ashok Leyland near Chennai, which also has been feigned the backburner.The Government had not received any information from Renault about its decision to abandon or hold back the project, said an official from the State Government. For seven years, the concord offered for the companies to build the investment in stages. The operation associated to Nissan’s side of the plant is on in bursting dangle and slow as far as Renault’s stripe is fretful, as per the saying.
Renault said that its concentration for 2009 would be to slash costs and decrease capital investment. Also, Renault is receiving €3 billion as loan from the French Government. From the press release it is observed that the company would concentrate capital expenditure and research development programmes on premeditated projects which comprises electric vehicles and environment-friendly engine performance. By scheming the total salary costs, the company would intensify the policy of callousing fixed costs. To the complete, investments made earlier at the international echelon will be oppressed. For the vehicle projects, the investments have been deferred at Chennai and overdued at Tangiers (Morocco). As per the release, the total investments in the year 2009 will be a minimum of 20% lower than that in the year 2008.The revenues for 2008 were €37.7 billion, 7 per cent down over the year, and net income €599 million, said Renault. Further, it has stated that a second-half loss of €982 million in 2008 in opposition to a profit of €1.5 billion in the first half of the year.
Hyundai hikes prices of Santro,i10 and Accent
Hyundai has hiked the prices of santro,i10 and accent. Hyundai has also said prices of its recently launched premium hatchback i20 and new Sonata remains the same as both models are still under the introductory price scheme.
* Price of santro has become costlier by Rs 3,601 to Rs 5,163
* i10 becomes costlier by 3,974 to Rs 7,637
* Accent prices moves up by Rs 14,636
The new prices for the cars are as follows:
Santro Non Ac-259,900
GL-326,900
GL(LPG)-347,620
GLS-344,900
GLS(LPG)-365,600
i10 1.1 Era-329,901
1.1 Dlite-364,900
1.2 Magna-390,900
1.2 Magna AT-435,900
1.2 Sportz-417,900
1.2 Sportz AT-459,900
1.2 Asta-475,900
1.2 Asta WS-490,900
1.2 Asta WS AT-532,900
Accent Executive-499,000
Ford upgrades Fiesta ZXi variant
To counter the new launches in the C-segment, Ford has launched added few more features to its mid-size sedan Fiesta ZXi variant. “It has always been our endeavour to provide our customers exceptional value and these enhancements are in line with our overall product strategy to provide best in class offerings,” Ford India Executive Director (Marketing, Sales and Service) Nigel Wark said.
The new Fiesta (both petrol and diesel variants of ZXi) would have additional features including
* Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD),
* advanced audio system
* front fog lamps
“All these exciting features are offered at no additional cost,” Ford India said. Currently, Ford Fiesta petrol ZXi retails at Rs 6.34 lakhs and Fiesta Diesel ZXi retails at Rs. 7.32 lakhs (ex-showroom, New Delhi).