We had already posted renderings of the passenger van version of Mahindra’s Maxximo truck. Thanks to Venkatesh Shreyas, we have pictures of Maxximo passenger van testing in the Ooty-Coonor road. This would compete head on with the Tata Magic people mover. The Maxximo’s 0.9L 2 cylinder, CRDe engine delivers 25 Horsepower and 55Nm of torque which would be sufficient for its daily chores.
The test mules spied were sporting a soft top (fabric), this is simply to keep the costs down. This would be enough to satisfy the end users, an ultra low cost carrier with maximum seating capacity. Soon, Mahindra could also launch the hard top (metal roof) version of the Maxximo passenger van and then bring on the panel van version to compete with the Maruti Omni.
The 2010 Ford Courier pickup truck was launched in April in Brazil. If you look closely, you’ll realize why we’re featuring it on Indian Autos Blog.
Yes, it is the Ford Ikon pickup truck for the overseas market. It underwent a cosmetic makeover a couple of months back, and what it does indirectly is make us realize how wrong the facelift could have ended up when the Indian Ikon went through the design change in 2008.
Ford tried to apply the Kinetic design principle to the Indian Ikon on the heels of the “One Ford” philosophy. This pickup shown here however is willing to follow no philosophies. Did Ford invite a group of Brazilian hair dressers to finish the job?
The Courier pickup comes with a 1.6-liter engine (high chance of flex-fuel engine) and 95 horsepower.
See more images of the 2010 Ford Courier by visiting the Ford Mexico website
In the past, we have carried several reports on Fiat’s new small car scheduled for the Indian market sometime in 2012. Fiat India’s CEO Rajeev Kapoor hinted earlier that Fiat would not be working on a new platform and would use an existing platform to develop the new small car. This itself is a clear indication that Fiat is eying for cost effective product with the 2012 Fiat Palio.
With the 2012 Fiat Palio, Fiat could also be planning to introduce into India, engines with advanced Multiair technology which effectively uses variable valve timing to boost power and increase efficiency. The engine is speculated to be a 1.0L and if introduced would be the first small car to come with a variable valve timing engine.
The 1.3L Multi-jet diesel could also be offered. If not, a smaller diesel engine weighing and costing much lesser, could take up the responsibility.
Fiat would possibly share this platform and the Multiair engine with Tata Motors for the latter’s upcoming small car to be positioned between the Nano and the Indica Vista. The company has clearly stated that the new car would have no connections with the Topolino brand of cars for the European market.
Fiat could be planning to launch the car at the Delhi Auto Expo 2012 or perhaps even earlier. As the Fiat Punto hasn’t exactly the set the sales chart on fire, the new small car would be Fiat’s trump card to regain lost glory and gain a foothold in the small car market. The 2012 Fiat Palio would be borrowing styling cues from its bigger brother, Punto, so one can expect a stunning car from Fiat.
Would you swap your Honda Accord/Skoda Superb/Toyota Camry/Nissan Teana for the lively Hyundai Sonata YF when it arrives in India by December this year?
Autoten, which in the past has reported major developments before anyone else on the internet, has come out with another startling development regarding the 2011 Suzuki Swift hatchback.
This engine will be joined by a 1.4-liter turbocharged petrol engine generating 148hp and a 1.5-liter petrol engine, which we believe will be from the K-Series family for Asian markets like China and India.
Another piece of information to munch on is the appearance of the VW group’s 7-speed DSG transmission on the Swift. This particular variant will be for the European/Japanese market who conceive the Swift as a performance hatchback unlike Indians who look up to it as a family car.
Tata Motors will step into the design and manufacture of EVs (electric vehicles) through a joint venture with American carmaker Genovation Cars Inc. The electric car named G2 would be the successor to the Genovation G1, which is essential an European Ford Focus with an electric conversion.
The Genovation G1 had the electric motor, battery string, battery management system, safety system, HVAC, controller and instrumentation all designed in house by Genovation cars.
Andrew Saul, CEO, Genovation Cars -
“We are very pleased to be taking what progress we’ve made in developing an efficient and reliable electric car to the next level by having a company such as Tata involved. We feel they are the company to help us meet our objective of providing customers with safe, sustainable automobiles that do not compromise driving independence.”
The G2 would be an entirely new platform and the manufacturers are planning for both, two door and a four door versions. The initial prototypes are only quarter scale models and tests are underway. Genovation is planning to produce only 1000 cars per year and the ramp up productions depending upon the market response.
Just as we finish posting information on the new Skoda Fabia and speculating on the 1.6-liter petrol engine variant, Indiancarbikes.in have marched several paces by claiming the Polo 1.6 will debut next month.
According to our sources, the VW Polo 1.6 had reached ARAI’s Pune facility days ago. The 1.2-liter diesel engine hit showrooms this month and till April, you could only buy the 1.2-liter petrol variant.
Perhaps customer feedback has forced VW to bring in the more powerful Polo earlier, which will also be on the expensive side. Seven lakh rupees for this hatchback might be daylight robbery for some, but think of it this way – how many hatchbacks in the country make 105bhp and boast of a top speed figure of 183kph?
We have the same argument as Indiancarbikes. Why should VW cut disc brakes at the rear? We also like to see VW introduce climate control and add a powerful sound system to this expensive buy. The 1.6-liter variant will be the top-end model of the Polo line-up, so VW shouldn’t leave any stone unturned.
VW has listed the Polo’s specifications on its official website. You can check it out by clicking here.
Our friends at Velocity magazine claim they have caught the new Skoda Fabia test mule in India. The model spied, according to their sources will come equipped with a 1.2 liter diesel engine used on the VW Polo.
Our sources tell us that certain variants of the Fabia could be priced a touch less than the Volkswagen Polo, falling in line with VW’s policy of retailing Skoda’s counterpart cheaper.
The facelifted Skoda Fabia isn’t going to look very different compared to the existing model. We’ve come to understand this the moment we saw the first spy shots of the new Fabia captured overseas last year. A redesigned grille much like on the new Superb, wider bumper and redesigned tail lamps complete this mild facelift.
Velocity mag also insists that interior gadgetry will be more. What we’d also like to see in the future is the 1.6-liter petrol engine that will introduce itself in the Polo first by the end of the year.
