It’s been a while since we have heard anything on the Tata Indicruz‘s whereabouts, till our friends at TAI emailed us the link to new spy shot which has a group of camouflaged Indicruzes parked. The testers could have pulled over for tea. A Safari escort vehicle is also partly seen.
The Indicruz had been spotted cold weather testing and now it appears to be in the final stages of its development. We expect the Tata Indicruz to reach showrooms by the end of 2010. The Indicruz could also be offered in Europe next year and who knows, it might use a Land Rover engine.
The latest EuroNCAP safety results are out and 5 out of 6 new cars crash-tested scored 5-Stars of which, we’re interested in only three cars; Honda Jazz, Hyundai i20, Suzuki Alto/A-Star (the cars sold/yet to be sold here in India).
Euro NCAP’s new rating scheme focuses on the vehicle’s overall safety performance which gives consumers an easy to understand single score. The new system considers passenger protection during impact to the front, side and rear of the car, and pole (if the car impacts with a tree or other fixed narrow object). Child protection, pedestrian protection and the availability of driver safety aids are also considered.
This post is a compilation of crash-test statistics, pictures, videos and some amazing revelations based on the indexes provided by EuroNCAP, car by car.
Toyota Kirloskar Motors has decided to launch a diesel version of SUV Land Cruiser Prado in Mumbai on 9th June ’09. Just like the petrol version, the diesel Prado will be imported as a CBU from Japan and will cost Rs. 40-50 lakh (4.5L V8 Diesel/282Bhp/662Nm)
Bad News – The Fiat 500 station wagon which we are tracking turns out to be tale of asking and predicting directions to the city that isn’t there.
Good News – The next Fiat 500 variant, post 500C, is a Fiat 500 junior SUV, sort of.
The Fiat 500 SUV will borrow extra items from the Fiat Panda parts bin. The chic hatch already shares the platform with the low-cost Panda (but is a high-cost car in India as it is a CBU). The new Fiat 500 SUV will use Panda’s four wheel drive and could remain a 3-door model.
4 doors could scratch the looks of this car which people around the world (including a global warming scientist named Jeremy Clarkson in Britain, who finds most beautiful cars appalling) accept and approve it for its cute, cuddly and charming looks. So let Fiat build it with two doors only.
Scissor door and soft top variants are also rumoured, but no confirmation yet. We’re hunting for more, so watch this space.
Now, once that we are through the prism of the recession, lifestyle choices that once seemed so vital now really don’t seem to be that crucial and this message has been picked up correctly by a lot of car makers. It’s time to cut the fat and bring to size cars that have bloated out of proportion and according to me, just don’t make a lot of sense.
Big humongous SUV’s that will live their entire life on the road rather being off it are more of a lifestyle statement and of late, a lot of car makers are trying to cut this statement short.
Behold the BMW X3 diesel, effective, with all the meat without that extra cheese, it is shaped and downsized keeping its elder siblings, X5 in mind. Even though BMW wouldn’t possible know of the impending recession, the X3 diesel makes more sense in India now than ever!
click through to read all of it
A few years ago, I think the Daewoo Matiz (Chevrolet Spark to recent followers) also scored 3 stars in the Euro NCAP crash tests.
The Alto hatchback (locally called A-Star), built at Suzuki‘s Indian facility in Manesar and rebadged as the Pixo for Europe, received 46%, 25% and 39% for adult passenger protection, child protection and safety assistance performance respectively.
To give you an example of the result, the Hyundai i20, which is a class higher than the Alto received maximum five stars and its peer i10 scored four stars in its recent test.
The Euro NCAP tests assist manufacturers in knowing where it loses out to the competition. As a remedy to the low score, Suzuki immediately offers ESP as an option on one of the base models.
Many Indians believe in fate, so this option would be a joke to customers in here.
Source- Euro NCAP
We reported on the leaked 2012 Renault Clio clay models last month and speculated on the chances of the compact hatchback arriving in India.
Well, we’ve got more news to share.
A French Auto magazine has published images of what it claims will be the 2012 Renault Clio. A good scoop and a very good photoshop work.
The 2012 Renualt Clio could use inspiration from its bigger brother Megane and borrow those boomeranged shape indicator lamps embedded on its brake lights. From a certain angle, the tail lamp looks like a lump on a bruised head. The red color connotes the blood clot 
click through for a images
The refreshed Honda CR-V with new bumpers and grille has been set afloat in the Italian market. Dubbed the CR-V Action Sky and CR-V Action Trend, the new variants feature nothing more than new bumpers and the fog lights pushed a little back has these two parallel plastic slabs that look like an afterthought to me.
Level of equipment has gone slightly up and the addition is worthy of mention. A new radar system mounted up front judges if the car is going to collide with an obstruction in front and brakes automatically. This system is similar to Mercedes Benz‘s Distronic Plus system which has saved innumerable lives.
The debate of the automatic braking system subtracting driver involvement is beyond the scope of this blog post.
The face of the Honda CR-V can suitably be described as being similar to a white’s tree frog post this minor cosmetic surgery.
Source – Auto Italy
click through for images
