Indian Autos blog

For me, it is not a surprise (Mercedes selling more cars in January). We will have a couple of months where they will sell more than us, but what matters is December 31. We still have 11 months to go for that.

President of BMW India Peter Kronschnabl tells Financial Express

Force India VJM03 looks complex and promises a great deal

Force India revealed its 2010 season car, the VJM03, in an online live streaming event. The car will be tested at the Spanish circuit of Jerez tomorrow. Tonio Liuzzi will be driver for the first two days and Adrian Sutil takes over on Friday and Saturday.

The new car is an evolution of the VJM02 which brought them fame and glory. Last season, Force India was on the podium and the distance they have come is phenomenal. As the season progressed Force India constantly added upgrades to car and that led them to a few satisfactory finishes. With the expertise gained in the last one year on how to guard off some top competitors, Force India will look to use every inch of it right from the season opener in Bahrain which is just 32 days away.

Force India’s chairman and team principal Dr Vijay Mallya -

We’ve learnt from our experiences and we’ve come out a better team: resilient, resourceful and now resurgent. I hope 2010 will see this great progress carrying forward. We’ve got one podium so far but I would hope that, this time next year, I’m talking about more points and more podiums. I’m confident we can get this, why not aim high?

click through for more images and text adapted from the official Formula 1 website

The engine explained in this video is available on the new Hyundai Sonata sold in the US. This engine took Hyundai 46 months to develop and cost them $145 million!

This is a 4-cylinder engine with gasoline direct injection, dual valve timing and variable induction system. It can make about 200hp and can be bolted to either a 6-speed auto or manual transmission.

The JE Design body kit for the VW Polo looks good. But the prices seem exorbitant

Now, for all of those who are eager to see a VW Polo in all its “Sport” glory, here’s one that won’t make it to India.

These pictures show you what can be done with the forthcoming VW Polo, so that all you wanna be “Cool & Bad” dudes can take your Polos to custom shops and get them heavily modified.

Here’s one by JE Design, Germany. The Orange body paint with black stripes looks good, but would personally like to see a “Electric Blue” with Orange stripes or “Metallic Grey” with Black stripes. Notice how the strips are carried on from the roof to the bonnet. The treatment lends it a meaty and arrogant look.

For an average driver, this car would only feel more intimidating as it grows in his rear view mirror. The twin exhaust centered at the rear is very sporty along with a “diffuser” treatment. Not sure of the material that JE Design have used, but the carbon fiber like treatment to the entire section is very desirable.

click through to read more

President and Managing Director of Indiia, Mr.Karl Slym told IAB that next year, GM will bring this hatchback to India under a different name. Like the path followed with the Chevrolet Beat, which essentially is a Spark replacement in Europe, the Chevrolet Aveo replacement which is the T-Series offering of the 300 platform you see here will be sold alongside in India.

We don’t know anything about the engine options. Possibly the 1.2-liter engine offered on the Beat could be tuned for slightly more power/torque and placed under the bonnet of the entry-level model. Interior spy shots of the next generation Aveo revealed the presence of automatic transmission and steering column mounted instrument cluster.

The rear door handle, like on the Chevrolet Beat, is hidden away in the C-Pillar. Ed Welburn, Global design chief of GM disclosed to us that the new range of models would share components to reduce input costs. We have to wait and see which these components are.

54 Priuses booked in India -

Toyota Kirloskar Motor has received 54 orders for their hybrid vehicle Prius, which was launched at the Auto Expo last month. The Toyota Prius is available for an ex-showroom price of Rs 26.55 lakh and Rs 27.86 lakh rupees. Toyota had requested a consignment of 200 vehicles which it hopes to sell before the end of this year. Deliveries of the Prius begin in March.

Mercedes Benz finds 5 buyers for SLS AMG -

Mercedes Benz India Limited has found its fifth buyer in India, reports Times of India. The 2 crore rupee Mercedes Benz was showcased at the Auto Expo last month with gullwing doors, an AMG 6.3-litre V8 front-mid-engine developing 420 kW (571 hp) peak output, 650 Nm of torque.

Mahindra plans 2 Maxximo variants

Mahindra plans to launch two new variants of the Maxximo – a passenger carrier (taking on the Tata Ace Magic) and a CNG edition of the pickup truck in the coming months. The Maxximo is powered via 2-cylinder CRDI engine, which this segment has not seen so far. The wrap around headlamps with reflectors, dead pedal, larger cabin, drive by wire throttle and 850kg payload capacity makes the Maxximo a superior vehicle on paper compared to the market leader Tata Ace.

The new Chevrolet Captiva comes with a 2.2-liter engine and a different front facia

Half way through 2010, General Motors will launch the facelifted Chevrolet Captiva with a bigger and more efficient 2.2-liter diesel engine. According to earlier reports the new engine has been designed by VM Motori in Italy keeping in mind the hard-hitting Euro 5 emission standards.

While the GM India camp has remained silent on this matter, we expect the new Captiva here by the end of 2010. As the Captiva is a CBU, we find no reason why GM will continue shipping an older Captiva which has a less capable engine.

The power and torque values of the new Captiva are 10% higher. The new model comes equipped with a 6-speed manual transmission, a gear more than the existing model. There is no news on the automatic transmission, but that should be introduced at a later date. As we said before, the Captiva’s front end did not go well with the muscular body. It will be taken care with the new model which has a smaller radiator grille and a larger grille on the bumper.

The existing Captiva, imported from Korea, comes with a 2.0-liter diesel engine.

The Ford Fiesta sold in Brazil has just received a facelift. The facelifted model will be launched in the market in the next two months according to Noticias Automotivas, who has published these images.

While the locally sold Fiesta has nothing to do with the above images, we think Ford could take the same approach when its the Fiesta’s turn to go under the surgeon’s knife. It seems like the Brazilian Fiesta has been inspired by the current generation Fiesta hatchback sold in Europe. The Ford Kinetic Design has been mildly applied on it.

The Ford Ikon’s design was well executed when it received its facelift in 2008. Ford shouldn’t try too many things with the Fiesta. The Kinetic Design language will gel with a car only if it an ingredient in the original design. Hanging curves and angles on a design that is many years old is not going to help it look better.