Indian Autos blog

TVS Motor Company announced it would launch high capacity gearless scooters in the next three months. This move will place it in a suitable position to gain lost ground from leader Honda, who with its Activa and Aviator has taken 57.11% of the scooter market in India.

No information on its capacity is available at present. Could TVS transplant the Flame’s 125cc engine on its scooters?

Right now, TVS sells sub-100cc engine scooters like the Scooty Streak, Pep and Teenz.

Ford has silently slipped in a new variant of the Fiesta. Starting 3rd August, this car will be on sale across India, the top-end SXI variant priced at Rs. 6.99 lakhs (petrol) and Rs. 7.99 lakhs (diesel) (Ex-showroom, New Delhi).

The Fiesta SXI comes with new headlamps and grille, which lend it a unique look (considering the million Fiesta on the road, which I see daily). The under-hood tale reads the same, the interiors are in beige with brushed aluminium finish on the gear knob and steering wheel. A 2 DIN MP3 player system is offered as well.

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After taking a test ride of the powerful Apache RTR 180, I thought I should try a much lighter bike this time from commuter segment. Immediately what crossed my mind was the newly launched Honda CBF Stunner PGM-FI and I decided to evaluate this motorcycle.

My editor has already tested the standard CBF Stunner before, in case you need an introduction.

This bike has 124.7 cc engine (same as the old CBF Stunner) capable of delivering 11.6 bhp@8000 rpm which is 0.6bhp more than the previous stunner and a torque of 11.2 Nm@6250 rpm which is 0.2 Nm more than before. The weight and the dimensions of this bike are slightly different from the previous version; this one weighs 128 Kg which is 1 kg lighter than the normal bike.

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The Toyota Camry is a beautiful car, compared to the earlier model (which felt like a bloated Corolla) the new one looked and performed better.

But recently, the Camry has not been selling well. Only 44 units of Camry was sold in Q1 this year, compared to 182 units same period, last year. Compare this to the sales of the direct competitor Superb, which was delivered to 541 customers in Q1.

The new Superb was revamped and its price was cut, which worked in favor of Skoda. The same process is set to happen to the Camry, which will receive a new nose among other alterations. The refreshed Camry debuted at the Detroit show this year.

The Superb also has a price advantage over the Camry. It retails for Rs 20.97-22.58 lakh while the Superb costs Rs 18.89 lakh and also has a V6 petrol and diesel engine option which the Camry lacks.

The Camry could be manufactured in India in the future which could give it an edge over its competitors.

Maruti is extremely delighted. 100,000 KB-Series engines have rolled out of its Gurgaon plant into cars in India and abroad since operations began ten months ago.

The KB Series engine powers the Ritz and the A-Star (sold in Europe as the Suzuki Alto and Nissan Pixo)

The next model to be powered by a KB-Series engine could be the Estilo, followed by the Wagon R. The company will take this as an opportunity to face lift these cars and prepare them to combat challenges posted by the Euro IV emission norms next year.

The engine is lighter, powerful and more fuel efficient than the exisiting line-up. company produces Bharat Stage-III, Bharat Stage-IV and Euro-V emission norms compliant KB-series engines.

GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Corp has made it official that the new Spark (which will be named groove) will be introduced into the South Korean market in September.

The company said it has initiated production of the car at its Changwon plant, near Seoul. The car will be sold with a 1.0-liter petrol engine.

GM India has announced the mini car will be launched here in December. Initially only a petrol engine will be offered and late next year, a diesel engine will be transplanted into the car as its approaches its export time frame.

I’ve been driving the Tata Indigo DICOR (CRDI engine) recently, and I must say, I’m not very comfortable. That does not mean it’s a pathetic excuse for a car, it does have its strengths, which are not strengths for a car lover like me.

What Tata Motors is trying to accomplish with this car is easy to understand, the instant you step into this car – make money and lots of it.

The Indigo’s interior is the last place I’d like to be in. There are elephant-wide gaps, unevenly cut plastic claddings, sharp edges and disfigured storage spaces and roof linings that are falling apart like on castles that were built during the medieval ages. It exactly what a car designer would construct if he got drunk before departing for work.

Start the car, and you’d hear the sound that chalk and blackboard would make. On a cold morning, you’d rather listen to someone getting stabbed. It’s brutal.

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One of our favorite Fiats, the Grande Punto, has got an adorable face lift, an almost different front end and a few more changes on the rear (visible in the images). We have been having a watchful eye on the face lifted model for the last few months.

This model is not yet reached the production, it will come only after its debut at the Frankfurt show in September.

The hugely successful Grande Punto was launched almost four years go in 2005 in Europe and has proved to be one of the best in the segment. It was launched very recently in India with petrol and diesel engines.

The earlier design was also admired and appreciated a lot, so changing it would have been a bit of a challenge.

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