Indian Autos blog

Burnyourfuel reports Mercedes Benz will launch the new C 250 CGI in India very shortly. These are the spyshots which according to them were picked up at a Mercedes Benz showroom in Bangalore.

The Mercedes Benz C250 CGI comes with a 1.8-liter Turbocharged Direct Injection gasoline engine that generates 200bhp of max power and 31.6kgm of max torque.

The newest C-Class can reach 100kmph from standstill in 7.2 seconds. We don’t have an idea about the price, but we’ll soon get to know.

Force India faces no major issues at it books into Jerez on Feb 10

As the build up to the 2010 Formula 1 season intensifies, confidence and more of it is oozing from the Force India camp.

Force India will miss the first test at Valencia. Their debut run will come at Jerez between February 10-13. Force India have been working very hard for the past one year and the results were satisfying in the second half of the 2009 season.

Force India driver Adrian Sutil -

Our team is currently one of the few without any problems

As Vitantonio Liuzzi and Adrian Sutil prepare to slip into their overalls, a 23-year old Scott Paul Di Resta who raced in the German DRM series last year, is doing whatever it takes to be the Indian team’s reserve driver. Di Resta showed his pace during F1′s young driver test at Jerez in December where he posted lap-times that placed him in the top four on the timesheets. Di Resta is hoping his strong performance will be noted by Vijay Mallya and his team.

Paul Di Resta -

I’m trying to build a future with Force India. They’ve got a reserve driver role up for grabs and I’m going to try to get it, which hopefully in the future will turn into a race drive

An announcement from the team is expected shortly.

The next generation Swift resembles the current car albeit using a different platform

Looking at the latest batch of spyshots, one can easily be fooled into thinking the next generation Suzuki Swift is just a mildly modified version of the existing car.

Autocar UK reports the next generation Suzuki Swift debuting this year in UK, is based on a completely new platform. The new Swift is rumored to come with VW’s diesel engines, but in India, you can assume Suzuki will continue using the multi-jet engine from Fiat and the 1.2-liter K-Series engine (or a larger K-Series engine) which has just been rolled out.

The next generation Suzuki Swift is slightly bigger than the current model. It will have Kizashi inspired front fascia. Hybrid powertrains are also said to be in the works while CVT is rumored for the American market where the Swift will debut for the first time.

The Indian angle to the story is confusing. Maruti Suzuki hates to throw away its cars. Especially after the existing Swift has acquired a new 1.2-liter heart, we can’t think of them phasing out the existing model for the next few years at least. So how would the new Swift be positioned? Would this be the premium hatchback undercutting the Honda Jazz? Why would anyone want to buy a bigger Swift for the price of well equipped sedan? Maybe Suzuki can offer automatic transmission, climate control and such features which are lacking on the current Swift on the pricier version. Or they could simply phase out the existing model and bring the new Swift as the replacement.

click through for spyshots

Skoda Laura utilizes VW’s engine and gearbox. Skoda should send them to India

Czech Auto major Skoda has added VW Group’s seven-speed dual clutch gearbox to the Laura (known there as Octavia).

The Skoda Laura also gets the renowned 105bhp 1.2-litre TSI engine which is used on the Yeti. This engine is coupled to either the six-speed manual or the new seven speed DSG gearbox. The new TSI engine is capable of delivering great performance like the 0-60 time – takes less than 11 seconds to achieve.

The Laura’s 105 bhp 1.6-liter TDI engine also comes coupled to the seven-speed DSG transmission.

Will the DSG or the 1.2-liter TSI engine accompany the Indian range? Skoda’s always bringing in new variants, and like they did on the Superb, they should bring these Laura variants to India too.

click through to view the Skoda Laura Image Gallery

Honda’s new small concept platform will spawn several variants

Take for instance the Tata Indica. It was born as a hatchback. A few years later, it was transformed into a sedan. Then it became a station wagon and then immediately, it greeted us as a limousine. It soon went back to being a sedan again, this time shorter and more powerful.

The Suzuki Swift, which always was supposed to stay as a sporty hatchback with great handling, was converted into a sedan. This happens/happened only in India.

Companies want to cash in on the demand for sedans in our country. Owning a sedan means you’re well off. You have climbed one more step in the ladder which leads you to a Mercedes Benz.

According to a report in newspapers, Honda will introduce sedan version of New Small Concept (Codename – 2CV) in India. While Honda in India denies it, a regional head has spoken about it. He clearly states that the platform will not be left unused after the hatch enters production.

Fumihiko Ike, chief operating officer of regional operations, Asia Oceania, Honda Motor Company -

There will be multiple models coming out of the small car platform after its launch in 2011. We will explore a sedan, too, using the same platform to make maximum use of our resources.

This two-prong strategy is not new to Honda in India. The Jazz in truth is the hatchback and the City is its sedan version. Body panels and exterior components are not similar making the relationship not very obvious. Honda could dress the sedan version of the 2CV to make it appear like a completely different product. They could place it between the 2CV and the Honda Jazz as a mini-City.

Interesting, as the City itself is referred to as the mini Civic in other countries.

click through to see the Honda new small concept Image Slideshow

It can’t get better than this – a low cost limousine. Tata Indigo XL’s best companion

While the Mahindra and Renault teams are busy working on a shortened and smaller Logan to qualify for incentives, people on the other side of the pond have something else in mind.

Dacia/Renault doesn’t have a Logan limousine in their drawing board. This is precisely why a group of Romanians have teamed up and set about the job. This project at the moment is work in progress. We’d have to wait for a few weeks to see the final outcome.

Why would someone need a Logan limousine? Is this the same man who owns a Toyota Innova limousine? Will he fit a crystal ball inside it? Who is he trying to impress?

click through to view CAD drawings of final outcome

A renowned model across the globe, but not a big hit in India, the Chevrolet Aveo is preparing for to attack us in a new avatar. Karl Slym, President and Managing Director of GM India, during the launch of the new Chevrolet Beat told IAB the next generation Chevrolet Aveo you see here, will coexist with the current Aveo in India. It will be the T-Series offering of the 300 platform (The M series was the Beat and the J Series was the Cruze).

The 2011 Chevrolet Aveo will be similar to the Aveo RS showcased at the NAIAS earlier this month. As Ed Welburn, Global design head of General Motors revealed to us during an interview new Chevrolets will have many common parts. The motorcycle inspired instrument cluster and some dashboard components closely resemble the ones on the Chevrolet Beat. The rear door handle will be hidden on the C-Pillar just like it was on the Beat.

The car spotted here is the automatic transmission variant. Not sure if that will make it to India.

The new Chevrolet Aveo hits Indian shores in 2011. Expect both petrol and diesel engines. We’ll not be surprised to see an e-Aveo.

click through to view the Chevrolet Aveo RS Image Slideshow

Hello there!

No we’re not going to ask you to sign on a blank check or carry us atop the Himalayas.

First things first – We have been taking it slow and easy in the last few weeks and we’ve got a very good excuse for that.

We have added two new blogs to the family! Testing, probing, thinking, discussing with the team on the subject of these new blogs took a lot of time away from IAB. Now that the new blogs have been setup, appointed with writers, and given a push, our primary focus will turn towards IAB once again.

In case you haven’t noticed the embedded feeds (on top right, below individual posts) on IAB, let me give you an introduction to them.

1) Indian Motos Blog (http://indianmotosblog.com)

After seeing the interest our visitors have for two-wheeler news, I decided to spin it off into a dedicated blog. I have also installed a modified layout, but it is very closely based on IAB’s layout. The look and feel isn’t very different. Regular posting has started there. Each and every development in the Indian motorcycle industry will be covered on IMB. IMB will deal with India-centric motorcycle news, reviews, opinion and so on. We will also at times write on international bikes. Motorcycle enthusiasts will find something to munch on everyday on IMB.

If you are an RSS addict, you can subscribe to Indian Motos Blog’s feed by clicking here.

2) Steering News (http://steeringnews.com)

This is a slightly ambitious project, and we’re still figuring what news will fit into this blog. The underlying idea of this blog is to cover the international scene with news of interest to Indian reader. We’re mainly going to publish spy shots, artist renderings, offbeat news and happenings from around the globe. We will be dealing with fast cars, weird cars, funny cars, etc on Steering News. We’ll try and keep it unique; we don’t want to write on what the biggies write on. We deal with what they have missed out. This is the thought with which we embarked on this project.

If you are an RSS addict, you can subscribe to Steering News’ feed by clicking here.

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