Indian Autos Blog will resume posting on Tuesday (4th May 2010)
Archive for April, 2010
Autocar India is at it once again. Their latest scoop is on the VW Vento (wind in Portuguese and Italian) supplemented with images scheduled for a launch this July.
VW expects to sell 25,000 units of the VW Vento (code – VW251) in India when it arrives in July 2010. Up to the B-Pillar it resembles the sedan if not for the different lights and grille. The VW Vento (spied recently) receives 50mm additional wheelbase and 500-liters of boot space.
The VW Vento will get better rear seats with cushions designed to last longer. Split seats are also present and some features from the Jetta could be carried over.
The VW Vento during launch will come with two engine options – a petrol and a diesel. Both engines displace 1.6 litres and both produce 105bhp. However, the diesel makes 255Nm of torque while the petrol can only manage 158Nm.
The VW Vento’s 1.6-liter petrol engine is the Jetta engine fitted with a two-valve head and dual camshafts. motor had two valves per cylinder driven off a single cam, the Vento has a four-valve head and double overhead camshafts.
The 1.6 common-rail diesel however is a completely new engine and belongs to the same family as the 1.2-liter used on the Polo hatch. Autocar states the Vento will not be more than 100kg heavier than the hatch, which should give it an awesome power-to-weight ratio.
We have prices of the new Maruti Wagon R. All prices are ex-showroom Delhi. We will keep you updated as more information trickles in.
Equipped with a K10B engine also used on the Maruti Suzuki A-Star, the 998cc three-cylinder engine makes 68PS and delivers 18.9 kmpl.
Stay put.
Maruti 2010 Wagon R Lx – Rs 3.28 lakh
Maruti 2010 Wagon R Lxi – Rs 3.57 lakh
Maruti 2010 Wagon R VXi – Rs 3.81 lakh
Maruti 2010 Wagon R VXi with ABS – Rs 4.12 lakh
After staying in the sidelines of the Indian market, VW now wants to take centre stage. The VW Polo has found reasonable success with 5,000 confirmed bookings. The company has jaw dropping budgets for its advertisements & it also recently refreshed the Jetta & Passat.
Now the German company is planning to bring electric cars to the country. As per the German Press Agency DPA, Volkswagen’s e-Golf will hit the market by 2013. The German automaker announced earlier that it will develop a portfolio of electric vehicles for the upcoming decade. The city car Up!, E-Golf and the E-Jetta could follow the e-Golf in India.
Volkswagen’s Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn has announced the company is looking to produce an affordable. The company is in talks with Japanese giants Toshiba & Sanyo to source powerful & affordable lithium-ion batteries.
Its hardly been a week since the Mahindra-Renault JV took a turn and already Mahindra has initiated fresh plans for the dying Logan.
In a press release issued yesterday, Mahindra said a price cut of Rs 24,000 – Rs 65,000 is in effect for the BS4 Logan and Rs 27,000 to Rs 80,000 for the BS3 version.
Rajesh Jejurikar, chief executive of automotive at M&M -
With the impairment of assets the depreciation cost will go down and we aim to make our debt payment over the next few months which bring down the interest cost as well. We also believe the variable cost will go down. Because of integration, we will have better synergies within the Mahindra organization on various front and we are passing on those benefits through reduced pricing.
With this move, it is certain that Mahindra’s margins will prune further. For the time being, Mahindra could improve its sales, but clearly on the long run this sort of a price strategy will not work. What has more chances of working is a revamp, adding color to the otherwise boring design.
Over the next 18 months, the Logan will evolve. It will be shorter in length and could have better interiors and a new nose. There could also be new powertrains, probably an automatic transmission which the competition doesn’t offer is another good idea. Mahindra has already shown its capability in electric vehicles with the Maxximo EV, so it could design a similar powertrain for the Logan.
Credit to Goa on Wheels, we’re able to bring you more information on the new Wagon R, which will be launched today.
Goa on wheels has snapped the new Wagon R with company fitted body kits. Maruti had offered bodykits for the regular Zen Estilo when it was launched and many had gone in for them.
Maruti Suzuki is trying to beef up the new Wagon R’s looks and make it appealing with the front, rear and side skirts. With the inclusion of the bodykit, the Wagon R looks even better. There are no changes in the passenger cabin or under the hood.
click through for additional image
Over the last few days, Indian Autos Blog has published information on Ford’s next small car for India. The company has admitted the development and hinted that Ecoboost technology was a suitable for Indian models. Moreover Ford is also working on smaller Ecoboost engine for its future products.
Hours after we wrote on the development, Ford unveiled images of the “Start Concept” featuring a 1-liter 3-cylinder EcoBoost engine. It is the company’s first concept in three years.
Featuring a new 1.0 liter, 3-cylinder EcoBoost engine, the characteristics of this engine is similar to a normally aspirated 4-cylinder engine. The engine is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission maximizing fuel economy.
The Ford Start Concept was designed for the rapidly rising population in urban areas. Laser-cut LEDs and running lamps might not make it to the production model but the idea of a small and highly fuel efficient car capable of delivering a million miles to the gallon certainly will.
Ford’s director of design Freeman Thomas -
Our ambition with the Ford Start Concept was to design a car that goes beyond the practical realities of commuting in these mega cities. We wanted to design a car you would also love.
The Ford Start Concept will be unveiled at the Beijing Motor Show today. If you find it resembling the Ford Ka, you’re on the same page as us.
click through for Ford Start Concept Image Gallery
Thanks to Noticias Automotivas, we’re able to bring you images of the 2011 Hyundai Verna from the Beijing show floor. The 2011 Verna features four-door coupe styling, sweptback headlights, a swoopy grille, and LED turn signals embedded into the rear-view mirrors. Engine options include a 1.4 16V VVT and a 1.6 16V DVVT. There’s also a 1.4-liter engine producing 95 hp and 125 nm, and a 1.6-liter engine producing 122 hp and 155 Nm.
Our hunch – Debuts in India in the second half of 2011.
We will bring you more information on the 2011 Verna as the day progresses.
click through for Image gallery
