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Maruti Suzuki today announced hike in prices of its premium products. The prices of A-star,SX4,Swift and Swift Dzire are revised upwards in the range of Rs 5,000- 10,000.
* Price of A-star is going up by Rs10,000
* Variants of SX4 witness a price raise of Rs9000
* Hot selling Swift Dzire variants witness a price raise of Rs7000
* Prices of VXi and ZXi variant of Swift petrol and all variants of diesel are raised by Rs6000
* Price of lower end LXi variant of swift petrol moves up by Rs5000
As expected, Toyota will launch a new facelifted version of Innova to take on new competetiors like Mahindra Xylo. The new Innova will be launched on January 28th. The new Innova comes with refreshed bumper, new headlamps, new front skirt,new fog lamps and a new grille. These changes give the new Innova a muscular look. At the back, the taillamps gets a refreshed look in the new innova. On the inside, the new Innova gets climate control A/C, steering mounted audio controls and an in-dash CD changer. The interiors are spruced up with new colour wooden panel.
Pictures of Toyota new Innova
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Mahindra which tops the headlines with the launch of Xylo is heading another big launch. When a reporter quipped Mr.Pawan Goenka, President Automotive Sector, Mahindra and Mahindra, Will Mahindra phase out scorpio as the machine flying around for almost 7 years, He replied why should we? when scorpio sales are still going strong.
Mahindra which launched the scorpio in 2002 has constantly upgraded the product to make it contemporary. In 2006, Mahindra added plush seats and rear centre arm rest and dual tone exterior colour. In 2007, Mahindra fitted advanced m_Hawk engine under the hood of scorpio. In 2008, Scorpio got automatic transmission. Mahindra also launched cheaper M2DI variant of scorpio to cater to the needs of rural customer and expand the product’s reach. We are happy to inform you, Scorpio is due for a facelift again in 2009. The all new scorpio will get styling changes both inside and outside the car. Oval shapes will be replace by razor sharp edges. The new scorpio will have a completely different front profile. A new bumper and a headlamp will give a refreshed appeal to the car. New stickers on the body panels will tell you this is a new scorpio. Mahindra is also said to be further fine tuned the suspension of scorpio for better handling chracteristics. Regarding the powertrain, the 2.6L CRDe will be phased out and the superior m_Hawk engine will replace it. Currently the m_hawk contributes for 40% sales of scorpio. The new facelifted scorpio will replace all the existing variants of scorpio – from M2DI to top end m_hawk Automatic variant. Though we expect a marginal increase in prices for the new scorpio, reliable sources tells us there will not be any price change. Also, we learnt that the new scorpio is ready to hit the market as early as March 2009 but we have to wait when Mahindra takes a call.
Is this the Bajaj Pulsar 250cc?
The much touted pulsar 250cc or 300cc might lookalike any of the following models. European design firm Xenophya a motorcycle design consultancy which has coveted brands such as Yamaha and Aprillia has leaked the following pictures and claims these new models are meant for an Indian motorcycle firm. Who better than Bajaj will produce these models. Seeing the pictures and Bajaj’s earlier association with Xenophya we can confirm you that this might be higher displacement models that Bajaj and KTM are jointly making.
Pictures of clay models
Review of Suzuki’s 150cc monster – GS150R
Suzuki GS150R: When GS150R is looked from a distance you may miss it as any other common bike. The styling is not eye catching but its conserative. No one is going to scold you for spending bucks on this bike. Get closer, the 15.5L large fuel tank will catch your attention! augementing the muscular look are the chunky rear cowls and fat exhaust. Sexy tail lamp cluster with integrated turn indicators is sure to make many scootys follow you.
Pictures of Suzuki GS150R
Suzuki GS150R: To be accurate, the 149.5cc unit shells out 13.8bhp of peak power at 8500rpm and 13.4Nm of peak torque at 6000rpm. There’s no fuel injection, the engine respires through carburettor. Suzuki says the engine is designed for city driving with strong low and mid-end punch. On the road, the GS150R meets the expectation. The response is good, power delivery is linear and the refinement is top not but its not addictive.
Average kya hai?? combined mileage of GSR150 is 54kmpl. Satisfying isn’t it.
Suzuki GS150R: However GS150R is the second motorcycle after Yamaha’s R15 to come with six speed gearbox. The availability of six gears and closely spaced gear ratios ensures availability of power at all speeds. The gear box is silky and slick. Its At sixth gear the bike chugs without knocking till 30kmph and at 5th you can snail at 20kmph. What’s surprised us is the GS150R’s top end performance. Top whack of GS150R is an impressive 110kmph.
Suzuki GS150R: Suzuki claims unlike other motorcycles, the engine is equipped with engine balancer technology aims at minimising the vibrations. Its not just another marketing jargon, truly the bike is solid and vibe free. Even at higher speeds it remains rock solid. You can easily keep the bike at 85kmph without any strain. The exhaust not distinct but it is sweet.
Suzuki GS150R: Non-adjustable front forks and a rectangular section rear swingarm complements twin gas-charged shock setup. Suzuki uses 18 inches at the front and rear. It enjoys the thickest 90/90 section front end and thicker 100/90 section rear tyre. No need to look for better rubber. Even under hard braking the bike remains firm. Credit must also goes to the front disc brake and rear drum brake setup.
Suzuki GS150R: Taller riders will love this bike, GS150R wide handlebar and comfortable seating position ensures ache free riding. The seating position is sporty but you can easily get used to. But there are few bad bits as well, the kick lever is awkwardly placed and you must use your hand to get the lever out. Another odd is the fuel knob which is hard to turn from on to reserve on the run. Moving back, the saddle is too high for pillion such that he/she needs to jump on to the seat. Even the roofline of an innova is below your eyes and at high speeds wind wildy blows on pillion’s face.
Suzuki GS150R: The red back lit instrumentation of GS150R with digital speedo has now become common among this class of bikes. However the chrome ringed tachometer with big and bold lettering inspires confidence everytime you look at it. But on the downside on a bright sunny day, it refelects sunlight on your face. The gear indicator and digital clock are welcome feature. But the rpm indicator is an irritant. As typical of any Suzuki,quality of switchgears are top notch.
Suzuki GS150R: The four colours in which you can pick a GS150R are pearl nebular black,metallic flint gray,candy max orange and candy dark greenish blue. On the road in Chennai Suzuki GS150R costs Rs
Verdict: GS150R is a phenomenon and you can’t find anything bad. If you don’t worry about the unfriendly Suzuki dealers and unduly delay in deliveries. Ride it/rev it and you will fall in love with it. Go and drive the GS150R crazy.
P.S Suzuki provided vicky.in the GS150R for the purpose of evaluation.
General Motors India is gearing up to launch the iconic Cadillac range of luxury cars in India. The US auto giant has, however,put off its plans to introduce luxury multi-purpose vehicle Hummer in the country. “We are now vying for the luxury space. The company was planning to launch SUV Hummer earlier but its entry now seems distant as consumer sentiment has changed. So, we have zeroed in on the Cadillac CTS sedan, which was showcased in the Auto Expo last year,” General Motors India president and MD Karl Slym said.
The Cadillac CTS would compete with the Mercedez Benz, Audi and BMW which together sell 6,000 cars in the country annually. The Cadillac that was showcased in India came with a 3.6-litre direct-injection V-6 VVT engine delivering 311 bhp of power with 18-inch wheels.The car is priced at Rs 50-60 lakh range. General Motors has already announced the launch of Cruse sedan around June-July , which will compete with Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Hyundai Sonata in the premium car segment. It will also launch a small car that will complement Spark in the compact segment. It currently sells seven vehicles in Indian market, all under the Chevrolet portfolio spanning from the Spark at the starting price of Rs 2.59 lakh to the Captiva SUV at Rs 20.30 lakh.
“We are gearing up to launch more products powered by alternative fuels like CNG and LPG. We have already launched Optra sedan on CNG and will launch a few more vehicles fired by LPG in the first half of this year,” Mr Slym said.
The company launched the automatic transmission variant of its all-wheel drive sports utility vehicle Captiva priced at Rs 20.3 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) on Friday.
The automatic variant of captiva SUV launched today is christened as Captiva Automatic+.
Chevrolet Captiva Automatic+ is priced at Rs.20.3 lakhs (ex-showroom Delhi). Chevrolet Captiva Automatic+ also features an automatic all-wheel drive (AWD) that GM claims is able to adjust between four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive automatically according to the terrain.’The new Chevrolet Captiva Automatic+ brings superlative comfort and ease of driving combined with unbeatable value, safety, security and luxury to our customers,’ GM president and managing director Karl Slym said.
You read it first at vicky.in
As you read Checrolet launches automatic variant of Captiva SUV. GM also equips this new Captiva AT with an AWD or 4WD (four-wheel drive). Except the 4WD badge and autobox there is no visible changes in the new captiva. GM already retails the 2WD and manual variant of Captiva for Rs19,55,674(ex-showroom Mumbai). With the launch of new Captiva AT 4WD, GM eyes a top spot in this segment which is currently dominated by Honda CR-V.
More details are expected
Finally, Bajaj officially announced the launch date for Ninja 250. But don’t jump to the skies coz unlike previously stated Bajaj now says that the Kawasaki Ninja will not be assembled in India and will be imported as CBU (Completely Built Unit) which means this price will go up significantly. Expect the price of Ninja 250 to be upwards of Rs2 lakh, “The Kawasaki Ninja 250 will be launched soon by May or June and was likely to be priced above Rs 2 lakh,” Mr Rajiv Bajaj, the company’s Managing Director, said. “While the Kawasaki Ninja will be introduced as a completely-built unit, we will assemble KTM’s bigger bikes, like the Duke and RR, at our Chakan facility” he added.
Pictures of Bajaj XCD 135 DTS-Si
More real pictures will be uploaded soon
