Indian Autos blog

Scott Strong, Design Director for Ford Asia Pacific and Africa, introduces the exterior design of the new Ford Figo.

I just saw a pack of Ford Figos in Chennai city traffic with “On Test” written on their rear windshields. They have good road presence, the long wheelbase and lesser ground clearance go well with the glass area of the car. The headlamps especially, are very unique and lend it a rich appearance. I think black and dark grey are the most attractive colors on this car.

TVS Jive is India’s first clutch-free motorcycle

Two New Launches from TVS Motor Company

~TVS Jive and TVS WEGO to hit the market~

Chennai November 25, 2009: TVS Motor Company today unveiled two novel products – India’s first auto-clutch motorcycle and an automatic scooter. Unveiling the new motorcycle and scooter, the company’s Chairman, Mr. Venu Srinivasan asserted that these two products are set to transform the very definition of city commuter biking. Ride convenience is the focal point and both products will provide a sporty riding experience with an unparalleled combination of comfort, performance, ease of operation and fuel efficiency.

Christened TVS Jive, the new motorcycle is propelled by a 110 cc engine which features innovative T-Matic technology* (patent applied for) which features a rotary gear technology coupled with an automatic clutch. The bike’s four speed engine delivers a solid four stroke performance with 8.1 Bhp @ 7500 rpm and a torque of 8.1 Nm @ 5500 rpm. TVS Jive’s light weight at 110 Kgs makes it convenient to handle. Alloy wheels complement the bikes wheelbase of 1260 mm which makes cornering and maneuvering effortless. The bike has a fuel tank capacity of 12 litres with two litres as reserve.

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The all new BMW 5 Series has been revealed and boy doesn’t it look smashing! The 5GT’s traces are seen clearly, the rear is completely a minimized 7 Series from a distance, but the main point is the absence of Bangle touches, which for some, ‘plagued’ the earlier 5er.

We’ll be bringing you more on the new 5 shortly, so stay tuned!

The Discovery celebrates 20 years in style with ground-breaking tech.

Land Rover Discovery is celebrating 20 years of dominating presence in the market. The all-purpose vehicle, has been around since November 16, 1989. It was made to fill the gap between the Defender and the top-of-the-line Range Rover.

Phil Popham, Managing Director -

The Discovery is built on innovative design and advanced technology. It has answered the needs and tastes of its increasingly urbane and discerning buyers.

Back in 1989, the Discovery was the first vehicle in its class to offer high-efficiency direct-injection diesel technology and twin airbags appeared later on in 1998.

The Discovery is available in 91 countries and more than 900,000 units have been sold till date.

The upcoming Audi A8 luxury sedan uses an extended A4 platform

The new Audi A8 will be launched on November 30 in Miami in the Audi Pavilion, a temporary museum. This gives rise to speculations of a possible appearance during the Auto Expo in India next year.

The 2010 Audi A8 has sold a fraction of a 7 Series or a S-Class in India. Audi’s strong performers are the A6, Q7 and Q5. If Audi is to be taken seriously in the full-size car segment, the radically different A8 needs to land here.

The future A8 is believed to adopt similar engines but most units will probably undergo an upgrade to become more environmentally friendly. A 2.8-liter petrol V6 and a 4.2-liter V8 FSI will be available for the petrol lover, while a 6.0-liter V12 TDI is for the cetane seeker.

Overall, the car is stationed on an extended platform of A4 using lightweight materials to cut fuel consumption and improve engine performance. Aluminum and magnesium are two of the materials likely to be used generously on the future A8.

More details are expected on the 30th of this month.

T-Jet is more than just a badge with chrome. Its mental.

The puny petrol engine on the Fiat Linea isn’t helping sales scoot along so in comes the mental T-Jet variant.

The turbocharged 1.4 liter petrol engine develops 120 PS@5000 rpm and 206Nm of torque right from 1750rpm.

The Linea T-Jet will accelerate from 0-100 kph in a staggeringly low 9.2 seconds and will run till 200kph. The Linea will be the first petrol car under 10 lakh rupees to come with a turbocharger.

Apart from the racy engine, the Linea will come with features like Hill Holder function (for hill starts where the car would automatically brake to stop it rolling backwards when you take your foot off to accelerate), Rain sensing wipers, Automatic headlamps and Reverse parking sensors.

The new Mercedes C-Class would not have any major alterations

Mercedes-Benz will not fiddle around with the C-Class much for its mid-life facelift, instead the focus will be only on tweaking it slightly. The new C-Class will come with new bumper, headlight and wheel designs.

What we cannot see from these spyshots is the interior of the car. Most certainly, Mercedes Benz will make minor changes to the seats, materials and dashboard. Mechanical changes will revolve around making the vehicle more fuel efficient and less polluting.

We can expect to see new BluTec diesel powertrains and engine stop-start systems, as well as more direct-injected models joining or replacing part of the existing range.

Can we expect the new C-Class at the Auto Expo in January next year? We don’t have the answer.

Sales of Royal Enfield has been growing despite the industry slump recently

Royal Enfield has projected sales of 50,000 units in 2009 which is a 15% increase compared to last year. The company has been quite stable in this period of slowdown and has recently launched Bullet variant Classic 500.

The company has shown a steady growth of 15-18% in the past few years and there hasn’t been much impact on it even in this slump period.

Shaji Koshy, head of sales and marketing -

Our aim is to touch 1 lakh bikes by 2013. Sales are growing in the metros with more people with disposable incomes, particularly from the IT sector, keen on riding Bullet for long drives.