Car News india, Bike scoops, Spy pictures, New launches, No 1 Car,Bike Blog In India

Mercedes C class Pictorial Review

click on the image to enalarge

1) Mercedes Benz C200K front view which clearly depicts dynamic styling

2) Mercedes Benz C class with pronounced V shape, striking three-slat radiator grille and muscular front apron with integral fog lamps

3) Mercedes Benz C class side view which shows the mirror mounted indicators

4) Mercedes Benz C 200k’s 7-spoke 16″ alloy wheels for muscular look

5) Mercedes Benz C class available in 5 different colours – alabaster white, Obsidian Black, Cubanite silver, Tanazanite Blue and Brilliant Silver

6) Mercedes Benz C class rear view with stylish decals and the Merc’s logo

7) Mercedes Benz C class – interlocked, clear lens and automatically activating headlamps, fuller wheel arches and tail lamps

8) Mercedes C class door trims and passenger cabin

9) Mercedes C200k safe drivers cabin – automatically dimming interior and exterior mirror, reach adjustable headlamps, ABS with Brake Assist, six airbags and ESP for stability

10) Mercedes Benz C200k height and reach adjustable steering column, centre console with chrome strips and multifunctional instrument cluster

Honda’s India plan

Motorcycle Industry is facing a downtrend in sales this year due to higher lending rates. Motorcycle makers are rationalising their production to face this down trend.Japanese major Honda has put off its plans to build a second plant, announced a few months ago, because it doesn’t anticipate to sell enough from the unit to warrant a new factory. But Honda will spend Rs100 crore on upgrading its factory and introduce two new products next year, in addition to a previously announced Rs300 crore expansion plan, as it seeks to improve market share. Honda currently holds 11% market share with products such as 150c unicorn, 125cc shine, eterno and dio scooters.

* Honda is planning a new scooter, 125cc motorcycle and a niche 100cc bike. Honda says it will shortly come up with another bike in the 125cc segment. “We already have a 125cc bike Shine but the product is not meeting younger people’s demands,” Honda says.

* Regarding the 100cc bike Honda is not expecting too much volumes from this bike and it only expects the new bike to target a niche audience such as off-road bikes. Honda’s new 100 cc model could be positioned slightly higher than the existing ones in the market and sport a premium price tag.

* The new scooter model will be on the same platform as the Honda’s flagship model — Honda Activa and will be rolled out by the end of this fiscal.

* Honda is currently conducting a feasibility study regarding the higher engine capacity bikes and might introduce our global brands — CBR 1000 and Gold Wing — into the Indian market soon with a price tag of Rs 10 lakh

Tata Ace pictorial review

click on the images to enlarge

1) Tata ace – india’s first mini truck

2) Tata ace – ample load space with three side panels

3) Tata ace – wide opening door & smaller tyres

4) Tata ace – spacious driver’s cabin

5) Tata ace – larger windscreen, more glass space & wider rear view mirror for better visibility

6) Tata ace with omni like interiors

P.S: Our sincere thanks to Popular Mega Motors (chnsales@pmml.in), Ashok Nagar, hennai (9282240512)

Hero Honda order update

Hero Motors Ltd. has signed a memorandum of understanding with Kiriu, a subsidiary of Japan‘s Sumitomo Corp., for a joint venture and a technical collaboration to make auto parts. Munjal Sumi Kiriu Ltd., as the joint venture company will be called, will make disc brakes and knuckles. Hero Motors, a part of the Munjal family-owned Hero Group, will own 66.6 percent in the venture. The Hero Group, which owns 26 percent in India‘s top motorbike maker Hero Honda Motors Ltd., has a components plant in Manesar near New Delhi and will use the facility for the new joint venture. Hero recently got an order for gears to be fitted on 800-cc BMW transmission units. The sample and testing will start by September and Hero has to supply around 8,000-10,000 units. Hero which did business worth Rs300 crore last year has now orders worth $400 million for this year. The orders are for transmission units as well as full vehicle assembly or contract manufacturing, like the 200-500 cc ‘ride-on lawn mowers’, that will supplied to both US and the Europe. As part of Hero’s focus on engineering solutions, the company has got into full product designing and is working on a 1,000-cc transmission units for Bombardier. Hero stock which closed at Rs700 has gained 0.16% (Rs1.10) on 11th June 2007 (sensex gained 16 points). Hero Honda recently rolled out another variant of splendor called ‘Splendor NXG’. Hero also plans to launch a facelifted variant of passion plus.

Maruti Suzuki SX4 Pictorial Review

Our preview on Maruti SX4 and for news coverage on sx4

1) Maruti Suzuki sx4 stylish front

2) Maruti Suzuki sx4 side view

3) Maruti Suzuki sx4 bulbous rear

4) Maruti Suzuki sx4 – grille, wraparound headlamps and alloy wheels

5) Maruti Suzuki sx4 bulky wheel arches, stylish tail lamps and decals

6) Maruti Suzuki sx4’s wider door opening for easy ingrees and egrees and leather upholsteries

Interiors of Maruti Suzuki sx4

7) Maruti Suzuki sx4 – door on passenger side, on driver side and quarter glass at the front which increases visibility

8) Maruti Suzuki sx4 – A/C vents & control, storage space and gear knob

9) Maruti Suzuki sx4 in milky white colour

Honda Civic 1.8V Pictorial review

a new variant of Honda’s Civic..

Honda Siel Cars India has launched a new variant of its best-selling premium sedan — the Honda Civic. The new trim Honda Civic 1.8V will join the 1.8S, which is currently the only variant available with either a five-speed manual or automatic gearbox. The new Civic 1.8V will additionally sport features such as leather seats, front fog lamps and turn indicators integrated into outside rear-view mirrors. The new variant is also offered in two new colours — Mystic Violet and Carbon Bronze Pearl. The price range is Rs. 11.51 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) for 1.8V MT and Rs. 12.21 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) for 1.8V AT. Honda’s arch rival Toyota has recently launched limited edition of corolla with new features. Here’s the photos of new Honda Civic 1.8V

1) New Honda Civic 1.8V – fog lamps on front bumper

2) New Honda Civic 1.8V in misty violet colour

3) New Honda Civic 1.8V side view

4) New Honda Civic 1.8V rear view

5) Honda Civic 1.8V with new features such as fog lamps and ORVM integrated mirrors

6) Honda Civic 1.8V with new refreshed interiors – chrome beading on doors and the new ipod point

7) Honda Civic 1.8V with new leather upholsteries

P.S: Our sincere thanks to Capital Honda (capitalhondaservice@gmail.com), Aadit Auto Company Pvt Ltd, Meenambakam, Chennai (9940460001).

Hero Honda’s splendor NXG Pictorial Review

1) Hero Honda Splendor NXG front view – aerodynamic front cowl

2) Hero Honda Splendor NXG side view

3) Hero Honda splendor NXG – stylish body panels

4) Hero Honda Splendor NXG – new much powerful engine

5) Hero Honda Splendor NXG – stylish front cowl, front fender and new tank with good knee recess

6) Hero Honda Splendor NXG – new plastic fuel knob, stylish decals and rear cowl

7) Hero Honda Splendor NXG – new alloy wheels, naked suspension and softer seats with die cast pillion rail

With all these design elements and stickers the new splendor NXG resembles the Hero Honda’s Ambition in most sense. Hero Honda targets the youth with this new splendor NXG while the splendor plus will continue to be available along with the new splendor NXG to lure the conservative one. Unlike the TVS star city sport, Splendor NXG bares pilot lamps and electric start which is very important for 100cc bikes as they mostly used for city riding. Splendor NXG is also available in two variants – spoke and cast, priced respectively at Rs. 40,990/- and Rs. 41,990/- ex showroom Delhi. A new passion variant which will feature alloy wheels will be launched soon.

P.S: Our sincere thanks to Vishnu Motorplaza Pvt Ltd, Ekkattuthangal, Chennai

Yamaha’s YZF R1 and MT 01 in india

powerful bikes soon in india..

Bike majors like Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki are all looking at some big muscle models for India. After the latest notification by the commerce ministry simplified importing of bikes in the 800 cc-plus category, MNC motorcycle companies are looking at imported big bikes by 2008. The government’s decision to allow the import of motorcycles above 800cc is the result of an agreement between India and the US whereby the US eased norms for the import of Indian mangoes and India-harmonised emission norms on bikes above 800cc with Euro 3 standard, paving way for the import of high-end motorcycles like the Harley-Davidson. Whether it benefits Harley or not, the three japans majors – Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki certainly will be the beneficiary. Yamaha has been charting plans for India and might use this opportunity to build its brand. Here’s the Yamaha plan!

YXF-R1 and MT-01:

Yamaha Motor India (YMI) has decided to launch the 1000cc YZF-R1 and the 1670cc MT-01 in India by the end of this year. The company will import these ‘super bikes’ making it among first bike makers in the country to take advantage of the government’s recent announcement to allow the import of motorbikes over 800cc.

The R1 has already been homologated and approved by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), and sales expected to commence once the company receives the first lot of imports from YMI’s parent. “Yamaha’s YZF-R1 and Yamaha’s MT-01 are not meant for business but to create an image” the company said. Yamaha plans to sell few dozens of YZF R1 and MT 01 initially.

Yamaha’s new MD and his plans:

Ishikawa took the helm at Yamaha Motors India in January 2006 and soon realised it was important to give what the market expects from Yamaha. Ishikawa is the one who had turned around a sluggish Thailand operation into a profitable one in just three years. Ishikawa’s plan is to find a niche that may suit the direction he had temporarily set for the Indian operations. Market studies and surveys were initiated. ‘It is then that Yamaha started conceptualising a new product and creating a strategy for the future. By September, Yamaha India had decided on two new products.

Ishikawa also does not dismiss the option of getting the RX100 brand back in India. He said this could be part of the larger brand building strategy for YMI. ‘We are looking for that kind of a motorcycle and that could be part of our larger strategy,’ he said. Our strategy is not Hero’s and there would be no room for negotiation on that,’ he added. Ishikawa has formulated a vision that looked at altering the business strategy, way of operations and quality levels. Externally, new marketing strategies, including that for dealerships is being worked on. The Yamaha Motors India management has asked for Rs 800 crore from its parent. The company might not get the entire amount, Ishikawa said, who expects around Rs 600 crore to come by June this year.

History of Yamaha India in Ishikawa words:

Yamaha, which made its foray into India 22 years ago in 1985, along with Escorts, the Indian experience has been somewhat mixed. In its 15-year partnership with the Indian tractor maker, Yamaha had made good inroads into motobike buyer’s psyche by offering them sporty, performance driven products. The RX100 was, and continues to be an iconic brand among bikers. However, the company had to discontinue the product after the government banned production and sales of two-stroke motorcycles. Up until the RX100 days, when the government allowed two stroke bikes, Yamaha had a decent market share. As the company moved into four-strokes, it moved beyond the niche segment, a perception which seems to have stayed in the customer’s perception. Like most other motorcycle manufacturers then, Yamaha went the majority way — targeting the commuter segment and offering them products that had low initial cost and good fuel consumption. Here’s Ishikawa view on Yamaha India. ‘We went Hero Honda’s way and so did others. However, the image for Yamaha was different from that of the majority. I believe there was a gap between what Indians wanted from us and, in turn, what we gave them,’ Ishikawa said. The company got caught in the volumes game and developed products that lacked Yamaha’s genes, Ishikawa explains. Yamaha’s performance in the market place dwindled, with market share falling to 3.6 percent in 2005-06 from 8.4 percent in 2000-01, when it parted ways with Escorts to go alone in the Indian market. In its 15-year partnership with Escorts, Yamaha had sold approximately 2.5 million motorcycles.

useful links:

click here for yamaha’s YZF R1 home page

click here for Yamaha’s MT 01 home page

update 04/12/07:Now you can book YZF R1 and MT-01 through http://vicky.in. Leave your details in the contact us form(below) so that we can get back to you.

Bajaj’s Platina LPG and Sonic

a new variant of platina

Bajaj Auto will launch a LPG version of its popular 100cc bike platina soon. The new Bajaj platina LPG will be powered by both petrol and LPG. Rather than completely moving for LPG, Bajaj has kept the petrol to prevent the loss of sales due to the lack of refuelling stations in all regions. The new platina LPG will have a 5 kg LPG cylinder along with a 10 litre petrol tank. Bajaj’s LPG platina will be same as the petrol platina in terms of design except for the tank which might be modified to accommodate LPG kit. Bajaj Auto is sourcing some of the components for the LPG kits from Italian suppliers. Regarding the safety issues, Bajaj has incorporated ‘‘requisite safety features’’ in the LPG bikes to take care of issues like leakage of gas or cylinder overheating. Bajaj is currently testing 50 units of the platina LPG which would run on both LPG and petrol in Ahmedabad and Sangli regions of Gujarat. The petrol Bajaj Platina has an on-road price of Rs 35,344 in Delhi. The platina LPG is expected to be priced Rs5000 higher than the petrol variant. Bajaj has not finalised any time frame for the launch of the LPG platina.

Platina LPG and your savings:
Though there will be a 20 per cent drop in power delivery, the new platina LPG’s running cost will be lower by 35-40 per cent compared to a petrol powered bike. Since LPG costs around Rs20/kg compared to petrol which costs Rs50/kg. For a consumer with an average fuel spend of Rs 1,000 a month, the bill will come down by Rs 350-400. The annual saving would be a sizeable Rs 4,200-4,800 which would mean that compared to a normal 100cc bike break even would be reached in just a year’s time. Considering that a bike has a shelf life of 10 years, the overall saving would be around Rs 43,000.

Bajaj’s new bike platform – the sonic:

Bajaj auto much hyped ’sonic’ byke which was shown in 2006 auto show may feature a hi-tech engine. The RX100,RD350 lovers has a reason to joy – Bajaj’s sonic may get a two stroke engine. Unlike its two stroke predecessors, sonic will get Direct injection(DI) which will make the sonic to comply stringent emission norms and to satisfy the mileage conscious customers. Ucal fuel systems a supplier of Bajaj Auto has tied up with Orbit corporation(maker of two stroke DI) to produce Two stroke Direct Injection(TSDI). Through this TSDI a 100cc two stroke engine can produce 10PS of power and can be fuel efficient as the four stroke bikes. With TSDI and aggressive pricing Bajaj’s will try to rock the 100cc segment with its sonic. Bajaj Auto is currently test marketing its two-stroke `Digital Direct Injection’ three-wheeler in Pune, Maharashtra

Platina LPG & sonic- the rescuers of Bajaj:

Bajaj posted a slump in sales for the fourth consecutive month in May with the company steadily losing market share in the 100cc segment. Market analyst believe Bajaj’s strategy to upgrade from 100cc to 125-135cc segments has not gone well with the customers. The market leader Hero Honda has widened the gap from Bajaj by an appreciable margin. Even though Hero Honda is facing severe margin pressure (income/revenue), it has launched a new 100cc bike called Hero Honda splendor NXG and it is no mood to exit this segment. Hero Honda even plans to build a motorcycle in the price range of Rs12000 to Rs 15000. Honda is also planning to launch a 100cc bike. TVS is aggressively grabbing the share in this segment and star variants has been run a way success for the TVS. Though the manufacturer earns only Rs150(approximate figure) from selling a 100cc bike, 100cc segment continues to be the volume spinner (though this segment is the worst affected due to rising interest rate) and accounts for more than half of the total two wheeler sales. Bajaj cannot cost the volume for its profit and hence it has to rework its strategy. Rahul Bajaj recently commented that he never said bajaj will exit the 100cc segment. This is a clear indication of Bajaj’s turnaround and bajaj hopes the new LPG variant of platina and much hyped ‘sonic'(made on new platform) will help to revive its glory. We shall hope the same.

World’s best engine

2007’s best engine..

BMW’s 3-litre twin turbo engine was crowned International Engine of the Year 2007 at the ninth annual International Engine of the Year Awards, which were presented at Engine Expo in Stuttgart, Germany. In an award independently judged by a jury of 62 motoring journalists from 30 countries, BMW has always fared well, but this year it has excelled itself, taking the prestigious crown for the third consecutive year and taking seven of the 12 awards on offer with its 2.5-litre inline six and 5-litre V10 also winning gongs. Of the remaining awards, Volkswagen’s 1.4-litre turbocharged and supercharged TSI unit triumphed for a second year in the 1-litre to 1.4-litre class, with its larger sibling, the 2-litre turbo developed by Audi and housed in the Golf GTi and Audi A3, topping the 1.8-litre to 2-litre category. Toyota meanwhile saw its 1.5-litre hybrid that powers the Prius named Best Fuel Economy engine and its 1-litre 3-cylinder from the Aygo and Yaris take the honours in the Sub 1-litre category. Porsche won its first IEOY(International Engine Of the Year) award taking the 3-litre to 4-litre category for its 3.6-litre Turbo.

BMW the best engine maker

BMW won additional International Engine of the Year Awards for its 2.5-litre inline six and 5-litre V10, but the Munich manufacturer was most delighted with the success of the 3-litre twin turbo, which also dominated the Best New Engine of 2007 category. Peter Langen, BMW’s director of powertrain, commented: “This is a tremendous achievement and important recognition of the lengths our engineers have gone to in order to ensure the success of our turbocharged petrol engines. We are proud to once again be honoured as the manufacturer of the International Engine of the Year.”

Elsewhere in the prestigious Awards, which are independently judged by 62 motoring journalists from 30 countries, Volkswagen’s 1.4-litre turbocharged and supercharged TSI unit triumphed for a second year in the 1-litre to 1.4-litre class, with its larger sibling, the 2-litre turbo developed by Audi and housed in the Golf GTi and Audi A3, topping the 1.8-litre to 2-litre category. Toyota meanwhile saw its 1.5-litre hybrid that powers the Prius named Best Fuel Economy engine and its 1-litre 3-cylinder from the Aygo and Yaris take the honours in the Sub 1-litre category.

Some of the loudest cheers were for Porsche, who finally won an International Engine of the Year Award trophy. Its 3.6-litre turbo engine in the 911 Turbo was voted the best 3-litre to 4-litre engine in production today.

International Engine of the Year Awards 2007: Winners

Best New Engine of 2007: BMW 3-litre Twin-Turbo (335i) Best Fuel Economy: Toyota 1.5-litre Hybrid Synergy Drive (Prius) Best Performance Engine: BMW 5-litre V10 (M5, M6) Sub 1-litre: Toyota 1-litre (Aygo, Yaris, Peugeot 107, Citroën C1) 1-litre to 1.4-litre: Volkswagen 1.4-litre TSI Twincharger (Golf, Touran, Jetta) 1.4-litre to 1.8-litre: BMW-PSA 1.6-litre Turbo (MINI, Peugeot 207) 1.8-litre to 2-litre: Volkswagen 2-litre Turbo (Golf, Audi A3, A6, SEAT Leon, Skoda Octavia) 2-litre to 2.5-litre: BMW 2.5-litre (325, 525, X3, Z4) 2.5-litre to 3-litre: BMW 3-litre Twin-Turbo (335i) 3-litre to 4-litre: Porsche 3.6-litre Turbo (911) Above 4-litre: BMW 5-litre V10 (M5, M6) and…

International Engine of the Year 2007: BMW 3-litre Twin-Turbo (335i)

The International Engine of the Year Awards are presented by Engine Technology International magazine, published by UKIP Media & Events.

Best engines in India:

Of these shortlisted engines, Skoda Octavia’s 2L turbo engine, BMW’s 2.5L engine and Porsche’s 3.6L (911 careera) engine is already available in India. Volkswagen 1.4L engine which features may come to India. Autocar India Editor Hormazd Sorabjee is one among the juries who picks the best engine.