Indian Autos blog

The Maruti Suzuki Wagon R now has a mascot called Mr.WizeR, which is some kind of fusion of what the Wagon R stands for and being wise.

Marketing executives at Maruti say it’s a way of renewing the WagonR brand and highlighting the strengths of the vehicle.

Mr.WizeR will make a debut in your daily newspaper as a cartoon character (it doesn’t look like one, not yet) and you’ll soon see Mr.WizeR on TV and Internet too. Mr.WizeR, the mascot is a guy who is modern and has deep rooted Indian values as well.

Answer to the previous question – Tata Safari DICOR VTT

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Today’s Question -

Who is hiding behind that rock?

Click on the title of the post, and then fill in your answers in the comment box below. Come back tomorrow to check whether you’ve guessed correctly along with another challenge.

After viewing endless number of TV Ads and its making, hearing people rant about its ‘racing DNA’ and improvements, I decided to test ride the new TVS Apache RTR 180. I have ridden Apache RTR 160, I was impressed by its performance which boosted my expectations for this new 177.4 cc bike.

The new Apache RTR 180 develops an impressive 17 bhp @ 8500 rpm, though the absence of fuel injection was a bit of a disappointment.

I got a titanium grey bike for the ride and I was set to fly. Here are my observations of the bike -

click on the post title to read Naz’s evaluation

The Ikon was Ford’s premium offering many years back, preferred by the rich and the elite, it was the car to be seen in and sold in large numbers. Since the introduction of the Fiesta, that has changed and most of us till it was re-introduced last year, believed it would meet its end.

The Fiesta TDCI engine has been transplanted into the aging Ikon in place of the old 1.8 Diesel. The overall result is the Ford Ikon TDCI with a new face and minor tweaks to its interiors and a price slash, now positioned to pull customers looking at cars like the Suzuki Swift Dzire and the Hyundai Verna.

click on the post title to read the full article

Fahrmitgas.de – the official supplier of LPG systems for Chevrolet, has developed its version Chevrolet Captiva called MOONLANDER to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing on July 20, 1969.

Thankfully, only 40 of the MOONLANDERS will be built. For a price of 21,500 Euros one needs to be a complete ‘Lunar’tic to buy one of these, but if you buy one accidentally, worry not for there is a redeeming feature. It comes with a replica space suit with a helmet, so that you can hide yourself from the onlookers! The space suit would actually save the blushes and the pedestrian abuse.

This will go down as a moment which every Indian cherished. The first ever Tata Nano was delivered to Mr.Ashok Raghunath Vichare. He was lost for words as he received keys to his grey Nano. His life would never be the same. He could now transport his family in a car, safe from the harsh climatic and road conditions of Mumbai.

The first three customers received their Nanos from none other than the chairman of Tata Sons, Ratan Tata, who could now assure himself of creating a piece history in the automotive world.

Click through to view the moment which will redefine the way we Indians travel.

The Malaysian market got a new Honda Accord variant today, with a less powerful 2.0L VTi engine but more equipment under its sleeve.

The new variant comes with leather interiors, cruise control, an 8-way electrically-adjustable driver’s seat with power lumbar support, leather door linings and door mirrors with turn signals. Priced at RM149,800 OTR, it offers better value for money than the 2.4L model(RM171,800) but only with one compromise, ‘Umph’.

Honda is also offering a new colour called Taffeta White for the Accord range. There is also a Stolen Vehicle Recovery (SVR) system available as an optional extra. It is a GPS and GSM based security system which can transmit the car’s GPS coordinates to a central operating center via the mobile network, so that the owner is aware of the car’s location.

The age of diesel engines for motorcycles, some believe began (and ended) with the Royal Enfield Bullet Taurus. It needed a backbone made of steel, and teeth of titanium to bare the vibrations and harshness of riding one. If you were driving near one, you needed ear plugs.

While diesel engine have evolved to such a level that it terrorizes the gasoline engine’s existence, its application has began widening. Now Yamaha has put its head out and it could be the first manufacturer to offer diesel engines of 2-wheelers commercially.

Yamaha has filed patents for a new family of motorcycle-size turbodiesel engines in both inline-four and twin-cylinder layouts.

Obviously a diesel engine is heavy and big. Packaging needs to be thought out and that’s what these patents deal with. The arrangement of the different parts is matched to a 2-wheeler’s structure, for example the intercooler is placed above the engine saving space and the bike’s fuel tank is moved backwards.

Hit the jump to read the pdf document that explains this innovation in detail