Vicky.in Blog

The all-new facelifted version of Honda City will be launched on December 14h.The interiors of the new City are slightly revised.The upgraded features of the car will include new bumpers,new grille,new alloy wheels and a new instrument cluster.Other modified features will include a chrome finish to the front grill with the Honda logo prominent in middle and the redesigned tail lamps with LED lamps.The car will also be holding a new Eco meter for checking economy drive.The new City is expected to be priced competitively as it will be having increased localisation.

Ford’s all-new Endeavour will toughly compete with Toyota’s Fortuner and has too many chances to take on it.The new Endeavour features a toned muscular look and is based on an all-new chassis and platform.The car also features a new rugged grille and a tough looking cowl.

The new Endeavour will be available only in diesel engine option.Ford offers the car with two new engines namely a smaller-capacity 2.2 diesel engine delivering 148bhp of power and a 3.2-litre inline five-cylinder engine delivering a power of 198bhp.

The car holds a spacious interior which looks modern and robust.The steering wheel and instrument panel are simple and strong.The central console is offered with lots of protective features and in total,the interior of the new Endeavour looks very tough and hard.Second and third-row seats are offered with more legroom and space.There is also a massive glovebox capable of holding a full sized laptop.Expect the car to be priced around Rs.20 lakhs.

Fiat India,the Indian subsidiary of the Italian automobile manufacturer Fiat has planned to launch its 2012 Linea and Grande Punto Evo models on January 3rd,2012.The company also plans for the inauguration of its new retail model,brand boutique on the same day.The first standalone Fiat India dealership will be opened on January 7th,2012 in Delhi.

Fiat offers the 2012 Linea and Punto Evo models with a mild facelift in order to make them looking fresh.There will be no changes in the engine options and hence both the new Linea and Punto Evo will be powered by the same engine which currently powers them.The changes could be seen only in the interiors which are refreshed and the slightly altered exteriors.Both the cars could get an improved fit and finish.Expect the cars to hit the Indian roads soon.

Toyota,the Japanese auto giant plans to bring its in-house performance tuning shop – TRD (Toyota Racing Development) in India in early 2012.The company will showcase the range at the Delhi Auto Expo to be held next month.Following this,Toyota also plans to launch its luxury car brand Lexus in India in 2013.It will toughly compete with Audi,BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Regarding this issue,Mr.Sandeep Singh,Deputy Managing Director of Toyota Kirloskar Motors informed that they will either launch it (TRD) at the Auto Expo or around three months after that.They will share all the relevant information at the Expo as they confirm their plans for the Toyota range in India.The approvals from their head office (in Tokyo) have just come.

Sources said that with so many luxury and sports car companies coming to India, and the F1 this year,the excitement around motorsports is on a high .This may be a good time for car companies to offer options of more customised and stylish variants as a differentiator in a market with many options.

TRD is also involved in motorsports and offers accessories and performance parts such as superchargers,suspension kits,brake pads,sport exhausts for most Toyota models like the Corolla,Camry,Land Cruiser and Fortuner.

Mahindra plans to reopen the bookings of its recently launched XUV500 from January 2012.Within 10 days of its launch,XUV500 had received 8000 bookings and hence the company stopped its bookings since October 11.

The company stated that it is in the process of ramping up the production of the SUV,but did not share further details as it would reopen bookings of its XUV500 in January 2012.It added that the production for the XUV500 is as per schedule and the company is also in the process of ramping up production at its plant in Chakan,which will enable it to reopen bookings next month.

M&M further had sold out four months’ production of the XUV500 and expects to complete the deliveries by January 2012.It is expected that Mahindra may increase the price tag of XUV500 due to its huge demand.

Ford India plans for a special midnight sale on December 4,2011.So,tomorrow all the Ford showrooms across the country will be open from 8 AM to midnight.Mr.Nigel E.Wark,Executive Director (Marketing, Sales and Service) of Ford India said that after last year’s runaway success,they decided to bring back the ‘Midnight-Sale’ considering the needs of those consumers who have been looking at purchasing a car but are hard-pressed for time.

Nigel also said that the uniquely designed event will make it convenient for them to buy a car besides offering an opportunity to avail great offers and win surprise gifts.This makes it the best day ever to buy a Ford car.He added that one of the many things that make Ford stand apart from others is the driving experience and they will encourage all prospects to take a test drive to experience the joy in driving a Ford car.

The company plans for exciting offers and surprising gifts for the customers who will purchase Ford cars on that spacial day.Customers will be offered with a chance to win assured gifts worth upto Rs 2.5 crore.Every customer who books a car during the ‘Midnight-Sale’ will receive a unique code coupon (given at the dealership after booking of the vehicle) and can win gifts such as LED TVs, Blackberry phones, digital cameras and DVD players.Apart from these,there will also be fun activities such as Mehandi,magic shows,fun games and other exciting events at the Ford showrooms.

It is expected that Bajaj Auto will launch the India bound KTM Duke 200 by this year end and the bike will be available from January 2012 at an aggressive price tag of Rs.1.25 lakhs to Rs.1.31 lakhs.The KTM Duke 200 will be sold through Bajaj’s Pro-biking showrooms but will not sport any Bajaj logo.Here are the technical specifications of KTM Duke 200.

The bike will be powered by a single cylinder,200cc,liquid cooled,DOHC,four valve engine which will pump out a power of 26bhp at 10,000rpm and a maximum torque of 20Nm at 8,000rpm.The fuel tank capacity of the bike is about 10.5 litres and its kerb weight is just 125kgs.Its ground clearance measures 170mm.

The engine of KTM Duke 200 is packed inside a powder-coated steel tubular frame with WP suspensions.The brakes are from Brembo’s sub-brand Bybre and its tyres are to be supplied by MRF.

Duke 200 also features an electric start,front and rear disc brakes,6 speed manual transmission,forced oil lubrication with 1 rotor pump,liquid cooling system with water pump and O Ring chain.The bike will be manufactured at Bajaj Auto’s Chakan manufacturing plant near Pune.It will be mainly competing with Honda’s CBR250R.

When rumours are floating over the net that the launch of nano diesel is imminent, our internal sources have confirmed that nano diesel would not hit the market atleast till diwali 2012. Ever since the Nano hit the market, speculation is rife that the Tata would launch a nano diesel.Spurt in sales of diesel cars and Tata’s love to diesel added fuel to the expectations. Major magazines and newspapers supported the claim. But Tata Motors seems to have other strategy in place. Tata Motors wants to stablise the sales of petrol nano and new 2012 nano is major step in that direction. Tata Motors have also started expanding its sales outlets for Nano in rural areas. Tata Motors is yet to utilise the sanand plant for Nano to its full capacity. The raising sales of nano gasoline could be the perfect answer. Enjoy the Nano 2012 for now.

Maruti Suzuki,India’s largest carmaker plans to launch electric vehicles in India.The company is also trying to bring more diesel engine cars for the country on seeing the great demand for diesel cars in India.

At the Tokyo Motor show held yesterday,the company showcased Swift electric vehicle hybrid,new version of Alto christened the Alto Eco,new Swift Sport and a concept electric scooter.The company claimed that the new Alto Eco will have a greater fuel efficievcy of 30.2kmpl.

Mr.Toshihiro Suzuki,Representative Director and Executive Vice President,Executive General Manager (Corporate Planning Office) of Suzuki Motor Corporation quoted that it is under consideration to launch electric vehicles in India.He said that the specifications cannot be told and there is possibility,but the only problem is infrastructure in terms of electric plugs.

Toshihiro said after considering the infrastructure problems faced with CNG and LPG models,introducing the electric vehicle poses even a bigger challenge.He added that even in CNG models,there is limitation in the number of gas stations.So it is more difficult to introduce electric vehicles in India,but they will introduce at the right time and it is under consideration.

Regarding the diesel engine cars,he said that they are trying to line up more diesel engine cars…When they are introducing more models in India,they will put more diesel engines.