Archive for August, 2009

Scoop – Yamaha and Toyota’s hybrid two-wheeler

Yamaha-Toyota-hybrid-motorcycleLooks like Yamaha could pip Honda in making the world’s first hybrid motorcycle.

Introducing the Yamaha-Toyota “Prius” powered by a 20bhp petrol engine coupled to an electric motor.

The hybrid motorcycle dubbed Prius, will use a water-cooled engine – the 250cc horizontal single-cylinder through a smart ECU, sends power to the wheels and the generator, which will give the battery juice.

The vehicle is still in the testing phase with improvements incorporated based on the continuous feedback.

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Entry posted on August 31st, 2009 and filed under Bikes, Toyota, Yamaha

Official Image Gallery – Fiat Grande Punto Evo

If your browser cannot display the above slideshow, view the images directly at the Fiat Grande Punto Evo Image Gallery

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Entry posted on August 31st, 2009 and filed under Fiat Grande Punto

One more small car from Maruti, now as a CKD

suzuki_cervo

The outflow of small cars from Maruti’s stable is ridiculously constant. It announced the new Zen Estilo last week, and within no time, focus has shifted on to another small car for India.

The new “eco” small car will be made in Thailand to benefit from the tax sops the government offers for vehicles following certain regulations (sub-1,300 cc, delivering fuel efficiency of 20 km per litre and under 120 grams of CO2 emissions per km). Our very own Tata is putting together a small car which will also fall under the eco category.

Moreover the Indo-Thai free trade agreement assists in sourcing componenets at a much cheaper rate now. The same has prompted Maruti to source CKD (Completely Knocked Down) kits of the eco car from Thailand and assemble it locally.

Though the details are not clear, could it be an all new small car to take on select variants of the Nano? With the 800 retiring next year, one finds it hard it to believe it will be anything else.

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Entry posted on August 31st, 2009 and filed under Maruti Suzuki

Suzuki’s entry-level commuter next fiscal; also plans 1000cc Gixxer

Suzuki GSXR1000

Suzuki Motorcycle India will launch an entry-level motorcycle in the next fiscal year.

Entry-level motorcycles are those with engine capacities more than 75 cc and less than 125 cc. Even a layman knows this segment is dictated by Hero Honda, who has 80% of the pie in its lunch box.

In the next fiscal, Suzuki will also import completely built units (CBUs) of its 1,000 cc GSX-R model encouraged by the success of the Hayabusa and Intruder, which cost Rs 12.5 lakhs each, and together sold about 100 units since their launch 8 months ago.

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Entry posted on August 31st, 2009 and filed under Suzuki

Rendering – 2011 Suzuki Swift

suzuki_swift_2011

Photoshop savant SRK has brought out the next generation Suzuki Swift scheduled for 2011 exclusively for Indian Autos Blog readers.

After careful analyzing spy shots of the vehicle taken around the world, SRK claims no concrete changes will occur to the existing design. Our sources have also said the future Swift will retain its character and offer similar levels of fun, a main reason for its success, in the next iteration also and increased practicality.

It will grow slightly to open up more space for rear passengers and possibly to contain battery packs for the hybrid variant made for the U.S market.

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Entry posted on August 31st, 2009 and filed under Renderings, Suzuki

Toyota’s small car under Daihatsu brand; new entry-level SUV

daihatsu_charade

Toyota’s small car -

Indeed this is big news. It will be the first time a company in India is launching cars under a sub-brand.

Toyota has not introduced many cars in India. Look at their international line-up. It has so many cars that if you ask one of Toyota’s own engineers, they would not know how many they made.

Speaking to the humble man who heads Toyota in India, Mr.Nakagawa was finding my questions a little humorous at the new Camry’s launch in Bangalore exactly a month ago. I asked him questions like whether or not the iQ was on the Indian platter and if the Hilux (based on the Innova’s architecture) would reach here. I even asked him if the Aygo, Yaris and the Prius could make sense in India, since I felt those cars were cool (no, I don’t know what market survey is and yes, I do know they can always go wrong).

Toyota was sure their future small car could do a great deal of damage to their competitors’ bottom line. They were not willing to share details except that it would not look very unique and only a petrol engine would be fitted initially.

Now, BS Motoring reports more than one small car donning the Daihatsu badge would arrive in India. The big question here is if the new small car could also be among the Daihatsu arsenal.

Dato Akira Okabe, senior managing director and member of the Toyota Motor Corporation board -

We may look at launching more than one compact car model for the (Indian) domestic market. Our current market share in passenger vehicles is 3 per cent. In the next four years, we hope to sell three times our current volumes. And by 2015, our rate of growth will be in double digits.

Toyota’s entry-level SUV plans -

The recently launched Fortuner is priced at 18.75 lakh and the company is looking at bringing in a SUV that will be priced well under 15 lakh. This will mostly be an option for those looking for more fun, quality and character in the Safari-Scorpio segment. The next generation Safari and Scorpio are getting ready to see the light mostly by the end of next year and improvements in quality and technology could make it a little bit more difficult for the Toyota SUV to exercise dominance right from the start.

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Entry posted on August 31st, 2009 and filed under Toyota

Teaser – Fiat Grande Punto Evo

Fiat_Grande_Punto_evo

With the Frankfurt Show coming up in a couple of weeks, it is apt to name this a season of teasers. The latest – an image of the upcoming Fiat Grande Punto Evo, which already has been revealed unofficially by the “bhp paparazzi.”

Wicked.

The Punto Evo is expected to come with Fiat’s Multiair engine. The dashboard is a bit more creative and the bumpers and lights have been altered.

In India, it would be a good idea to offer more powerful engines in the form of the Punto Evo, since it serves as a distinct car and inline with the international model scheme.

We could be wrong.

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Entry posted on August 31st, 2009 and filed under Fiat Grande Punto

A Yamaha FZ for the Police force

Yamaha_FZ - Police Bike

Yamaha is planning to launch a new variant of FZ but not for common people. This time Yamaha is preparing a model for our very own police force.

Although this plan is in its initial stages and nothing has been finalized, this exciting model is in the pipeline. The technical specs of the bike would remain the same but there would be some changes made to the bike considering the needs of the police force.

As can be seen in the image the bike would be equipped with red and blue beacons and might have some gadgets to fit the needs of the police.

Although the finished product might have been frozen in as soon as the planning phase is complete, Yamaha would be taking constant inputs from the police in case they find something not suitable.

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Entry posted on August 31st, 2009 and filed under Yamaha

Fisi brings Force India home in second place in a historic Belgium GP!

force-india-2009-vjm-02-1

It is Force India’s first ever points in their F1 career, and what a way to bring them in! Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella finished the Belgium Grand Prix less than a second behind race winner Kimi Raikkonen in a dramatic race which even saw Rubens Barrichello’s car on fire moments after after he went past the finish line!

Ok..we’re off for a group happy dance for Fisi and his team.

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Entry posted on August 30th, 2009 and filed under F1

Review – Transformers 2 – Revenge of the Fallen

Hello there IAB reader!

The IAB team has taken a short break. We felt it was better to take a slight breather before we overheat.

We got some good news to share as well. Quattro Rodas, one of Brazil’s largest Auto magazines, has featured IAB on the pages of last month’s edition. Our good friend Marcelo Moura even sent us a copy of this greek-and-latin (to me) magazine from Sao Paulo.

This short break has nothing to do with the above paragraph.

Transformers Revenge of the Fallen

Transformers – Revenge of the Fallen review

What I felt as I came out of the room -

I went to the theater today to watch Transformers 2, and it was not fully worth the money. Apart from the two GM concept cars fighting each other out and not amusing anyone, I found the second half of the movie extremely lengthy, boring and sleep inducing. The film just kept rolling endlessly, unaware the characters had lost their charm and grip a long while back.

The best part of the movie –

The first half of this sequel was pretty neat. There was a small portion of comedy and the expectations were built up right from the first few minutes when there is massive fire, explosions and a ruthless invasion by the Decepticons in China. I loved the graphics and effects, which is why you should watch it too. The way in which these lovely cars transform into robots sent adrenaline rushing through my veins. The movie’s glamor quotient is roof-scrapping, thanks to Megan Fox’ glossy lipstick and skimpy clothes.

The last part –

The last part of the movie has been shot in and around the pyramids of Giza, where I spent vacationing in 2004. As I left the theater, a few of those memories crossed my mind, taking my judging off the extra-long climax.

This movie is no where comparable to the first part. I think the climax was its biggest feature. The whole movie was like an aeroplane taking off – it built up steam and by the time it hit the end of the runway, it took off and blasts into the sky. The one today continued to speed along the runway and managed to clear out adjacent land for airport extension.

Why the first movie remains the best –

Part of the reason as to why this one didn’t make it into everyone’ hearts was because there was a truck load of anticipation of how the world would react to an autobot invasion in the first movie. Only Sam, Mikeala and you know there is an invasion which added extra spice to the story. In this one though you don’t have that sensation.

Why should you watch this movie –

If you’re an autobot lover and love watching 3D Animation and graphics, then you should find a theater which is screening this movie at present.

Why was there injustice in this movie –

The Chevrolet Beat (Skids in the movie) should have been given a more meatier character with some unique abilities. Though not the core of the story, the new autobots have been distanced from the limelight they deserved, making them as influential in the storyline as the audience seated around me.

Additional reason to watch this movie –

Of course they’ve thrown in Megan Fox (who does a lot of bending, flexing and running) in there too, if that’s what sails your boat.

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Entry posted on August 29th, 2009 and filed under Specials

Initial Impressions – Chevrolet Captiva LTZ AWD

Chevrolet Captiva LTZ AWD - 2

Not often we see at Indians Autos blog, torquey engines added with auto gearboxes driving all wheels. This is exactly what I’m piloting today – From behind the steering wheel of the Chevy Captiva Automatic AWD, which GM India handed us hours back, I can see everything on the road. What a view!

This is the only SUV at this price which offers a diesel motor along with the auto tranny. For the next four days I will be telling you about each and every aspect of this SUV.

Before going in for the test details let me put forth a brief history of the Captiva -

The Chevrolet Captiva is a crossover SUV derived from the Chevrolet S3X concept car of 2004. The Captiva is based on the GM Theta platform. It is also called as Daewoo Winstorm and is developed by General Motors’ (GM) South Korean subsidiary, GM-Daewoo.

click on the post’s title to continue reading

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Entry posted on August 28th, 2009 and filed under Car Reviews, Chevrolet

Honda – Jazz helps get inputs for future compact; startling facts

Honda_Jazz_India_launch_Mumbai 79

The Honda Jazz is not only helping it get valuable feedback from hatch buyers which it feels would be essential when designing the global compact car, but also resulting in boost of Honda City sales!

OK, we find this one a hard pill to swallow.

The Jazz is also helping the company gather key market inputs for the global small compact car scheduled to be launched during 2011-12.

Honda Official -

“Our market research tell us that there are a considerable number of customers who come in to have a good look at the Jazz and end up buying the City”

Does this mean a person who is bent on purchasing a Honda vehicle find the Jazz less VFM or worthy than the City?

Honda continues to support the Jazz’ ‘tall’ pricing, shall we call it? – the official remarks with its premium feel and high level of features, it is “unlike run-of-the-mill small cars” in India.

The Jazz is a sub-4 meter hatchback and has a 1.2-liter engine which is spec-enough to avail benefits extended to small cars in the country. The car is pitched at the country’s younger generation and women who are on the lookout for a car.

The Jazz shares 60% of its parts with the City. In fact, one Honda’s staff charged with customer relations tells us Honda does not term or market this car as a hatchback or a close relative to the City. All the family matters end at the production line and in the showroom, the situation both cars in resemble an exam hall atmosphere.

Initial market feedback indicated the age profile of the Jazz user is five years younger to the typical City user – hinting Honda has succeeded in addressing a younger audience with this car.

True, but how many youngsters today in India, a country that looks for value, features and comforts more than anything else, afford a 7-lakh product? Honda says these people will be offered the more cheaper global small car scheduled for 2011-12.

Here’s a quick fact – Almost 45 per cent of Jazz buyers are existing Honda customers! cars, that is. This is a very encouraging sign which Honda believes is going to play a major role when introducing the small car. The brand is addictive, and the small car is going to recall all these people again in the future, it says.

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Entry posted on August 27th, 2009 and filed under honda jazz

Spied – Fiat Grande Punto Evo with lights on

fiat_grande_punto_evo_02fiat_grande_punto_evo_01

If they really wanted to improve the Punto’s drivability in the dark, why didn’t they offer extra lights as part of accessories with the existing car, or source lamps from a better supplier?

That’s what I thought until I learned this car will come with Fiat’s new Multiair technology which was their key exhibit (apart from the Fiat 500 pink Barbie edition, if you were a girl) at Geneva earlier this year. The new Fiat Grande Punto Evo might not please the Japanese in Mitsubishi’s HQ, but with its bar raising gas mileage and lower emissions, this could beautifully compliment the present Grande Punto in markets where taxes and fees are levied based on what’s coming out of your tailpipe.

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Entry posted on August 27th, 2009 and filed under Fiat Grande Punto, Spy pictures
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