GM small car in 2009

General Motors today said that it would launch a new small car in India. GM which already has spark in its portfolio will add this new small car in 2009. The small car will be in the likes of beat but primarily meant for emerging markets.

GM also formalized its plan to build a new engine plant in Talegaon in Maharashtra. The initial investment in the new GM powertrain facility will exceed $200 million. This is in addition to more than $300 million already invested in the said facility to manufacture vehicles.  The Engine plant will have an annual production capacity of 160,000 engines, with the capability of being expanded to 300,000 engines per year.   On the occassion  Mr. Karl Slym said “The new engine facility demonstrates GM’s commitment to India. We cannot remain a global industry leader without a strong presence in the high-growth market of India. This will enable us to capture more opportunities in one of the fastest-growing vehicle markets in the world.  “The Talegaon engine facility is an important component of GM’s global strategy to establish a strong presence in this market. This is just one of a number of investments, totaling more than $ 1 billion that GM has made over the course of the last few years in emerging markets around the world such as China, Korea, Russia and India. The decision to build the engine facility also in India further demonstrates GM’s confidence in our future and our commitment to growing the business all across the globe,“ said Mr. Slym.

Mr. Slym also said, “The new facility will enable us to continue expanding our product line-up in India”.  We have been scouting for a suitable site to set up an engine facility for the past six months. We chose Maharashtra largely because of its outstanding logistics and the pro-active approach demonstrated by the state leadership and the officials in the course of building our car manufacturing plant at Talegaon which is getting commissioned on Tuesday next. It also offered advantages in terms of its employment base, costs, infrastructure, geographical location, etc. After a detailed due diligence and thoughtful consideration, we felt that Maharashtra was the right fit for the new facility.” The engine facility is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2010.      The engine facility will complement GM’s production facilities in Talegaon and Halol, which build vehicles in different segments. In addition, the GM India Technical Center in Bangalore carries out engineering, design, research and development activities for local, regional and global requirements.

Vahan Show: Interview with Mr.Krishnan, VP (Commercial),Tata Motors Passenger Car Division

Tata has unveiled its first weapon from its arsenal with the launch of Indica vista. Though the launch of Indica vista is delayed on account of quality issues, it has come at the right time when the indica sales started to slide. We interview Mr.Krishnan, VP (Commercial),Tata Motors Passenger Car Division at the sidelines of the launch of new Indica vista. He tells us about the importance of Indica vista and where the extra effort has gone into the hatchback. He also tells us why Tata is keeping the previous generation hatchback. He confirmed us Tata is working on a crossover (Indicruz) which will be positioned between sumo grande and safari. Watch the interview….

You can watch the video through any flv player

Tata Indica Vista, Interview with VP (Commercial) Passenger vehicles of Tata Motors

Tata Indica Vista a brief test drive

When you look a much expected car in flesh, you always love to fly away with it. But sometimes we run ahead of time. Till a car exclusively for test drive is arranged, we are restricted to do only a smaller test drive. Unfortunately Tata Motors is yet to register an exclusive test drive car.

We made a brief test drive of new Indica vista and here are our findings. When you pass-by the new Indica vista you might fail to notice this as a new one. Tata has carefully kept the same Indica family style. But take a close look you can feel why Tata engineers took so many months of time to bring this car to the market. The smile honeycomb grille is bounded swaparound petal shaped headlamps which is nicely placed on the lines of the bonnet. The headlamps has a small budge at the centre again a nice design touch. A slight central mid ridge on the bonnet is intended to give a V-shaped front but it resembles the styling of palio a product of Tata’s partner Fiat. Open the bonnet you could again seen the Fiat’s popular 1.3L multi jet engine which is coined as quadrajet. The c510 gearbox is also sourced from Fiat. But when the indica’s comfort and convenience combines with Fiat’s technology it could be lethal weapon against the likes of swift and i10.

Though we cannot measure the fuel efficiency of the Indica vista.We are told that the mileage of the Indica vista in city is around 16kmpl and in highway it goes up to 20kmpl. Phenomenal isn’t it. The top speed is found to be over 140kmph and it feels solid even at those high speeds. But the tilt adjustable steering fails to gain weight proportional to the speed. A slight turn of the three spoke steering wheel at those high speeds would be detrimental. Another letdown is the absence of ABS and Airbags in the Indica vista.

But the ride quality, comfort and convenience the Indica vista offers might earn applause even from a Tata critic. While the Indica v2 offered a raw space, the space is intelligently used in the new Indica vista. A glove box that can hold even a laptop, under deck space to hold water bottles,cubbyholes, wide door pockets and 60:40 foldable rear seats can give you the most comfortable journey that even a class above fails to offer. The front bucket seats are comfy, swaparound at some place to offer support ot every parts of your body. The driver seat is height adjustable but the ugly gear knob and large steering wheel might still make few fun loving guys away from the Indica vista. But this is our initial opinion, wait till our complete review for which we spend lotsa time with Indica vista to dig out more about the indica vista.

Skoda most satisifying auto maker

JD power one of the largest global marketing information services firm  has come out with 2008 sales satisfaction study. Here are the findings of their study

Škoda ranks highest in overall sales satisfaction for the first time in four years, according to the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2007 India Sales Satisfaction Index StudySM released yesterday.  Sales satisfaction is based on six factors: delivery process, delivery timing, salesperson, dealer facility, paperwork and deal. Škoda performs particularly well in three factors: delivery process, delivery timing and paperwork. Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra follow Skoda in the rankings, respectively. Recording a single-point increase over 2006, the overall satisfaction in the industry remains static. Six of the nine nameplates ranked in the study record improvements compared to 2006, with Ford and Toyota posting the highest improvement since 2006. The study finds a change in financing patterns since 2006. While more customers report receiving cash discounts, fewer customers are taking loans to purchase their cars.

Sixty percent of customers report receiving a cash discount in 2007. When comparing cash discounts with two value-added offers—free accessories and free extended warranty—customers report greatest satisfaction when they receive a free extended warranty, either in combination with a cash discount or with free accessories. Satisfaction is highest when an extended warranty is combined with a cash discount. Satisfaction falls marginally when an extended warranty is combined with free accessories in lieu of a cash discount.

“Extended warranty is not only beneficial to the customer but also helps the automaker ensure that the customer is retained within the network for post-warranty service,” said Mohit Arora, senior director at J.D. Power Asia Pacific. “Given the fact that the average consumer replacement cycle is approximately five years in India, provision of extended warranty is not only a source of additional service revenues, but also helps the dealership to influence the customer’s next vehicle purchase.” Additionally, the study finds that the percentage of customers who took out a loan to finance their new vehicle decreased to approximately 80 percent in 2007 from nearly 90 percent in 2006.

“Increasing interest rates in the Indian market and differing manufacturer retail policies may partially explain this decrease in new-vehicle buyers seeking loans,” said Arora. “While regional differences exist, we see a greater propensity for customers to purchase their vehicles with cash, particularly in the small car segment.” The study also finds that customers who financed their vehicles from nationalized banks report greater satisfaction with the entire experience, compared with those who financed from multi-national banks and other private sources.

The study, now in its eighth year, examines satisfaction of new-vehicle buyers with the sales and delivery experience at two to six months of ownership. The 2007 study is based on responses from 5,083 owners of 40 different vehicle models, and the study was fielded from March 2007 to June 2007.

Auto Startup – Cashurdrive.com

The title must have instigated your mind. Here is a happy news, you can drive (vroommm) the car for long as you can but without affecting your monthly budget or harrasing your dad. Raghu Khanna an IIT ian has founded a website called www.cashurdrive.com aimed at generating revenues through advertisements on private vehicles. Similar to a publiec transport bus or an electric train, you can sell your car spaces and earn money. Cashurdrive an on-vehicle advertising company plans to pay the car owners for putting advertisements on their cars through tie-ups with the petrol pumps. “We are in talks with IndianOil to use their fleet cards as a medium of transferring money for petrol to the car owner’s account directly. Initially we are planning to pay around Rs 1,200-1,500 and later the amount will be increased depending upon the condition of the sticker on the car. Our motto is-Get Seen, Get Paid. We have entered into a collaboration with BlackBox for installing a vehicle-tracking system in the cars with the advertisements. The advertisers will be able to measure the accountability for their clients through this global positioning system” Rahul says. Cashurdrive which currently operates on chandigarh plans to expand to Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan

Venture Capital

VC hunt Global which operates over six countries funds cashurdrive. VC Hunt has offered Rs10 million for cashurdrive.

Revenue Growth:

At the end of first year revenue of cashurdrive is expectd to be between Rs2-2.5 crores

At the end of second year revenue of cashurdrive is expectd to be between Rs18-20 crores.

Mahindra Scorpio automatic

Mahindra will soon launch an automatic variant of Scorpio. This is the second time for scorpio to get an automatic gearbox. Mahindra earlier offered a 5-speed automatic variant of scorpio. However this one is a six speed autobox. With the new autobox and the recently introduced superior 2.2L mHawk engine we can expect Scorpio automatic to be very efficient. The 2.2L engine generates the same 120bhp of maximum power and 285Nm of peak torque. The automatic transmission will come only with the top end Vlx series. Mahindra Scorpio AT is priced Rs11,30,000.

Car Accessories: Caparo Rightfuel

Rather than bringing in revolutionary and exotic features, i always believe auto makers should concentrate more one features that alleviates your daily worries. Here is an  interesting car accessory which you would love and wish to see these gadgets in  Indian cars as well

Caparo’s Rightfuel: Have you ever thought of filling a diesel car with petrol? What if it is accidentally made? If falsely made, these would suck away a hefty amount from your wallet. But unfortunately there are no safety system to prevent this. Mis-fuelling is a growing problem and it costs too much to rectify. UK based Indian industrialist Swraj Paul’s Caparo group has produced a new device called ‘Caparo Rightfuel’that physically stops diesel cars being filled with petrol – a simple mistake that can happen to anyone. Caparo Rightfuel is a light-weight,corrosion proof,tough engineered plastic fits on top of the filler neck. Caparo Rightfuel can distinguish between petrol and diesel fuelling nozzles and will not open when a smaller diameter petrol nozzle is inserted,therefore preventing the wrong fuel being added
to the vehicle. Caparo plans to launch the caparo rightfuel a retro fit device in UK by september 2008. Manufacturers in India should introduce this feature in their diesel cars. We also wish a system that can tell the driver about the quality of the fuel as fuel adulteration is an another big problem for Indian customers

Can you accidentally fill a petrol car with diesel?

Filling of diesel fuel into a petrol car is almost impossible because the larger diameter of the pump nozzle prevents it being inserted into the smaller filler neck of a vehicle designed for patrol.The nozzle from a diesel fuel pump is bigger than that of a petrol fuel pump, which prevents drivers accidentally fuelling a petrol car with diesel. However you can fill a diesel car with petrol that’s case the caparo’s new device the right fuel would address

Royal Enfield raise prices of Standard 350,Machismo 350 and Machismo 500

Following other two wheeler majors, cult bike maker Royal Enfield today hiked the prices of its three models – Standard 350, Machismo 350 and Machismo 500.

The price of Standard 350 is raised by almost Rs 2000, the bike now costs Rs 69,354 (in Chennai) and would cost Rs 71,270 after the hike, in Mumbai,it would cost Rs 70,451 (current price Rs 68,535), in Kolkata Rs 70,792 (current price Rs 68,876), Delhi Rs 70,567 (Rs 68,651).

The price of Machismo 350 is gone up by almost Rs 2000, the bike which costs Rs 90,089  would cost Rs 92,005 in Chennai after the hike.In Mumbai it would be hiked from Rs 90,697 to Rs 92,613, in Kolkata from Rs 89,626 to Rs 91,542 and in New Delhi  from Rs 89,908 to Rs 91,824.

The price od Machismo 500 is also raised by almost Rs2100,  is expected to increase from Rs 99,891 to Rs 1,02,062 in Chennai,from Rs 1,000,499 to Rs 1,02,670 in Mumbai, from Rs 99,430 to Rs 1,01,601 in Kolkata and in New Delhi from Rs 99,711 to Rs 1,01,882.

The price hikes of all these models will come to effect from September 1st.

Pictorial Preview on Toyota Corolla Altis

While Toyota is actively running a 360 degree advertisement campaign we preview the corolla altis to give you in-depth details on the car.

What’s special about corolla?

It’s getting much harder for other cars to replicate the success of Toyota corolla. The way the corolla lured hearts and its stupendous success tells us why Toyota has become the No 1 carmaker in the world. For forty years, the Corolla has satisfied everyone across all ages, demographics with its predictable blend of reliable, economical and durable transportation. But the corolla Indian story is not that much spectacular. The corolla enjoyed a fair bit of success before the launch of Honda civic. The sporty civic and Honda’s premium image completely belittle the corolla. Infact, Toyota should have decided to add ‘altis’ and project the same to create enthusiasm among the buyers instead of plain corolla. The new corolla altis will replace the existing corolla in India.

However the world’s largest carmaker wants to fight back with its new corolla altis against its japanese competitor and live up to its image in India

1) Toyota Corolla altis: Unlike the other corolla’s, Toyota designed this new corolla altis in collaboration with styling studios in Italy. Toyota instruction to the designers was to design a sportier shape than that of the previous Corolla with better aerodynamics.

Toyota has carry forwarded its family to its altis. The number of sweep cuts you can see all around the car reminds you the Toyota’s other offering – the camry. The greenhouse area is increased by moving the A-pillar forward and C-pillar backward for better aerodynamics. Also there are interesting touches striking headlamp that follows the bumper shape and similarly designed LED lamps at the rear. Overall the new Corolla altis looksalike “baby Camry” which was intentional.

2) Toyota Corolla altis: When everyone are expecting a diesel engine from Toyota atleast this time. It seems Toyota has not paid attention to our cry. Toyota again failed to ride the diesel advantage over the civic. Anyway we expect the new corolla altis to be fitted with a oil burner (diesel) in 2009. The mechanically unchanged 1.8L VVT-i, 16 Valve, petrol mill now generates 132bhp of peak power at 6000rpm and 170Nm of peak torque at 4200rpm. You can choose either a five speed manual or a 4 speed Electronically Controlled automatic Transmission (ECT) with the new corolla altis. The new corolla altis might give a tough competition to the driver centric Honda civic.

If you have doubt, check out the following figures claimed by the company, altis can reach 60kmph from zero in just 4.76 seconds and 100kmph in just 11.66 seconds. The lesser turning radius, cruise control, 8 way power driver seat and driver seat lumbar support are the features of new corolla altis.

3) Toyota Corolla altis: comes with same wheelbase as the previous-generation Corolla, but it is wider, which creates additional heip and shoulder room. Plenty of storage spaces (claimed as 14) would make the new corolla altis a spacious sedan ever around. The altis cavernous boot sports 475 litres of luggage space.

Comfort and convenience features are also plenty. The notable features features includes a sliding arm rest, mirror mounted indicators, telescopic steering, Multi Information Display (MID), steering mounted audio controls and automatic headlamps.

4) Toyota Corolla altis: Safety of the occupants is also well taken care of. Corolla altis has ABS with EBD, seat belt with pretensioners, whiplash injury lessening belts (driver side) and auto headlamp leveling system. However altis comes with two novel safety features – headlamps with retractable washer and electrochromatic auto anti glare inner rear view mirror. To know more about these two features visit

http://www.vicky.in/blog/hot-news-update-on-toyota-altis/

5) Toyota Corolla altis: The three variants of new altis are low-end 1.8L (Manual),1.8 GL (top end Manual) and 1.8V(L) automatic. While we are not aware of the exact price, we expect the manual variants of corolla altis to be priced between Rs13.5 to Rs14.5 lakhs. Corolla altis will be available across India after the formal launch on september 05th and it will be available in six colours – silver metallic, simpson red, white pearl mica metallic, silver metallic, super white and black mica.

Tata’s new Indica Vista

Tata Motors has launched all new Indica vista in Mumbai. The new Indica vista comes with refreshened styling, superior engine and all new interiors. “The second generation Indica Vista showcases the progress the company has made over the last several years in the passenger car business in terms of design, quality, technology, performance and refinement,” said Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata. Tata also said that existing and new customers would find the new Indica Vista to be in line with other world class offerings in the market. “It is a significant step up over the previous generation and surpasses its predecessor in appeal,” he added. The all new Indica vista comes in three trims with three engine options. Overall Indica Vista comes in  seven variants – terra safire,terra TDI, aqua safire, aqua TDI, aqua Quadrajet, aura safire and aura quadrajet. However the existing Indica will continue to co-exist with the new Indica vista. Of the existing 12 variants of present Indica only six or seven will exist. The seven colours of the Indica vista are cavern grey, marine silver,artic silver, gala red, solar orange,noble blue and infinity black. With all the variants including the v2 and the Indica vista the indica’s are available between Rs.260,000- 488,000 price.