After just a couple of hours of sleep, I and my colleague Naveen decided to head to the Madras Race Track, Irungatukottai, Sriperembudhur, Chennai to attend the “Record of Records” event by Maruti Suzuki. We received an invite from Maruti last week requesting our presence, and to reciprocate in the right manner, we undertook this journey which changed the way we perceive Maruti.
We arrived at the event at exactly 8:00 AM fearing we would miss the flag off. The objective of the event was to have the maximum number of Maruti Suzuki Swifts lapping the MMSC circuit. The previous record for such an event was held by Mazda in New Zealand where about 250 Mazda vehicles participated and set the record.
Being a Sunday morning, I wasn’t expecting to see everyone report on time. My judgment was proved right by hundreds of Swift owners who drove even an hour later than the specified time. I was expecting Maruti and the organizers to adjust the settings, rethink their strategy and clear the line of cars waiting outside the gate, eager to participate in breaking this record. Instead, the gates were locked and the drivers who turned up late were denied a place on the grid. The situation turned ugly when these drivers, teamed up and denied the entry of a backup vehicle into the complex which carried supplies and crucial items in the case of an emergency situation. They broke into a tussle with the security guard, and the poor management skills of the organizing committee was starting to become clear.
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As we reported earlier, General Motors India has ended all its ties with Reva Electric Car Company after Mahindra & Mahindra took a controlling stake in the Bangalore based firm. This means that the Electric Spark is not coming anytime soon.
Karl Slym, President & MD GMI stated -
With M&M buying into Reva, we see no particular value in the partnership. GM would now source technology from its parent in the US to roll out electric cars in India. This would take about 2 years.
What IAB feels is that GM would not work on the electric version of Spark. Instead they would work on the electric version of the Chevrolet Beat (current generation Chevrolet Spark overseas).
The Spark has been phased out & replaced by the Beat in many important small car markets & given GM will now take about 2 years to develop the electric small car, it makes more sense to work on the Beat, since it is a newer product and can be sold even in other countries.
During the launch of the Chevrolet Cruze A/T in February this year, Karl Slym, President and Managing Director of GMI told Indian Autos Blog that the electric powertrain developed for the Spark, with changes to the battery pack could be used on another vehicle. If GM were to introduce the Beat EV in two years, we expect the same powertrain with slight changes to feature on the Spark as well.
Could the Chevrolet Beat EV complete the line-up that consists of the Beat petrol, Beat diesel and Beat LPG?
GM could even consider bringing down the Volt to India once the RHD version is ready.
Yes, I can confirm that representatives from VW’s international office as well as Indian operations have visited Maruti Suzuki’s facilities. It is normal for people to visit each other considering our global partnership
Joerg Mueller, Chief Representative of VW India on the proposed VW-Maruti JV on product development strategies to Times of India. This is after VW comes after it acquired 20% stakes in Suzuki, Maruti’s parent company.
Opel has launched a LPG version for the Opel Agila in the European market. Called the Opel Agila ecoFLEX the car comes with a base 1.0-liter engine that produces about 65hp. Reports say that the Agila LPG can return a combined fuel efficiency of 56.5mpg (24kmpl). This version of the Opel Agila would benefit from huge tax exemptions in the Europe.
In Germany the vehicle tax for the Agila LPG ecoFLEX is just 26 euros. Encouragement for LPG vehicles has also prompted VW to launch the Polo LPG in Germany just a year after the official launch.
With the introduction of the Maruti Ritz’ European twin Opel Agila getting the LPG treatment, would Maruti hesitate to bring in the LPG version for the Ritz? Especially with the huge success of the Wagon-R duo, there are a lot of potential models in the Maruti lineup which can get the LPG treatment. The newly launched Wagon-R hasn’t come with a Duo iteration yet, Maruti continues to sell the older generation Wagon R with the LPG tank.
Can we expect Maruti to launch a LPG version of the Ritz?
The Indian government can offer considerable tax benefits for cars fitted with engines running on LPG and CNG. This would encourage buyers to choose LPG/CNG vehicles,which are greener as well as efficient.
Thanks to our ruthless, unhelpful and irresponsible hosting company, IAB was down since the morning, preventing us from posting during the day. After a dozen emails, the host woke up, replied and IAB was brought back to life.
We’re going to post over the next few hours and make up for the loss. Stay tuned, don’t go anywhere.
It is the 40th anniversary for Suzuki Jimny (Gypsy) which was launched as a compact 4×4. It was called Jimny Sierra.
Back in 1970, the Jimny was probably the most affordable 4×4 vehicle. Suzuki spent two years developing this vehicle which had a 360cc two-stroke engine and a ladder frame chassis.
Leaf springs were the obvious choice. The air-cooled engine developed just 24hp and 36Nm, a few light years away from what off-roaders can manage today.
188 countries have seen, driven and off-roaded in the Jimny. In India, the second generation Gypsy, which internationally debuted in 1981, was introduced in the 1985 and immediately went on find thousands of fans. The Gypsy received a bouquet of upgrades from 1985-2000, but it was not enough to convince the modern day buyer, who isn’t willing to spend his money on a 20 year old vehicle. What Maruti had to do is bring in the latest generation vehicle rather than continuously investing on the existing model.
The Gypsy is a very capable off-roader and still is used by the border security forces.
Suzuki Australia General Manager Tony Devers -
With 40 years of history and legions of dedicated fans, the Jimny backs up its claim as the original compact SUV with substance rather than semantics
The next generation Jimny should come out within a year’s time and its crucial for Maruti to devise a plan for its Indian entry. Mini SUVs are going to be popular, and that assumption is backed by Mahindra’s mini SUV scheduled for the next decade, and Ford’s possible entry using the Fiesta platform. It won’t be long before Tata and a rush of other manufacturers join this race.
Indian Autos Blog brought you renderings of the four-door Xylo pickup truck in April 2009, and now we have pictures of the actual vehicle being tested in Ooty, thanks to Venkatesh Shreyas.
The Mahindra Xylo pickup truck retains the shape of the Xylo MPV till the C-pillar and from then on, the loading bay of a Bolero Maxi truck has been bolted to the body. Though the loading bay on the test vehicle appears crude, Mahindra would give the rear bay some contours for a neat and stylish look.
Contrary to the various reports in the media stating that the Xylo pickup truck would be a commercial offering from Mahindra & Mahindra, Indian Autos Blog feels that the Xylo pick up truck would be brought out as a lifestyle product.
There isn’t a market for pickup trucks in Indian, which was clearly outlined by the Tata Xenon and Mahindra’s own Scorpio Getaway, so why would Mahindra be working on the pickup version of the Xylo? Answer is Mahindra is mainly eying foreign markets where pickup trucks are seen as a means of practical transportation. South Africa, Nepal and other developing countries are very lucrative markets for the Xylo pickup.
Even the teaser pic on Mahindra’s North American website suggests that Mahindra could also be planning to launch (or land) the Xylo pickup truck with 4 wheel drive, an automatic transmission and premium features like traction control, cruise control and electronic stability program in 2012. Could Mahindra plonk the Ssanyong sourced 2.7l 5 cylinder diesel in addition to the 2.2l 4 cylinder CRDe under the Xylo’s hood as well?
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Toyota has confirmed that it will launch the Corolla Altis diesel in India during August. Indians have waited way too long for this model, which should automatically force Honda to speed up their diesel engine plans for Civic.
Indian Autos Blog contacted Mr.Sandeep Singh, Deputy Managing Director of Toyota Kirloskar Motors, regarding the diesel model and he had this to say -
We will launch the Toyota Corolla Altis diesel in August for India. We will bring it to India in the form of CKD.
Mr.Singh had expressed interest in the Altis diesel last year, and during the Land Cruiser Prado launch, it only got stronger. During the launch, he reaffirmed that Toyota were keen on launching the diesel model in India.
Today we asked him about the preparations for the Etios launch in the coming months. He noted that only a sedan and a hatchback variant will be launched, and there were no plans for a seven seat MPV, as reported earlier by us. Two petrol engines have been finalized for the Etios twins, but Toyota has started studying the possibility of diesel engine for Etios after heavy number of requests by guests and customers during the Auto Expo and the Q World program.
We hoped to get an exciting answer from him regarding the possibility of a hybrid Etios. Couldn’t it be an affordable hybrid hatchback for India? Mr.Singh was quick to play down our imagination and maintained that internal combustion engines were the way ahead.
As for the Toyota Fortuner, Mr.Singh said TKM is facing a shortage of supply for the diesel model. For the next two years, there would be no A/T version, as automatic SUVs in this segment only constitute 15-20% of the entire volume.
