1. Antilock Braking Systems (ABS) are safety devices which prevent wheel lockup during braking and ensure that the wheel is tractable even while braking and hence ensuring the steeribility and stability of the vehicle.
2. The Antilock Braking System typically applies brakes and releases it at the rate of 25 times per second. This could cause a pulsating brake pedal which is perfectly normal. ABS improves vehicle control and decreases braking distances in wet and slippery conditions.
3. ABS consists of 4 wheel speed sensors, a Hydraulic modulator and an ECU. The system works continuously monitoring the wheel speeds at all times and in case it detects a slip (if one wheel rotates faster than the other three) the modulator applies brakes to that wheel till it stops slipping. Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and Electronic Stability Control (ESC) programs are extensions of the ABS, with the latter requiring 2 additional sensors, a steering wheel angle sensor and a yaw-rate sensor.
4. Just because a car is equipped with ABS, one cannot drive aggressively testing the limits of the car. The ABS system actually does not increase the handling characteristics of the car, it just makes the car easier to control and safer to maneuver under heavy braking.
5. The first bike to come with an Anti-lock braking system was a BMW K100 in 1988. The bike came with a electronically controlled hydraulic ABS system.
The importance of ABS has made many countries in America and Europe to make ABS a mandatory feature on all cars. Developing countries like India could also bring these regulations in the distant future.
News on Tata Motors and Jaguar exploring possibilities to share expertise is flowing thick and fast and it is only a matter of time before it becomes clear. To understand the kind of relationship between the companies, we need to fast-forward a few years.
Here’s a future model that might see the best of both worlds for the first time – the Tata Dolphin Concept.
We’ve not created a bigger Nano or a smaller Indica Vista. We instead mixed Jaguar’s design language to a small Tata hatchback and the outcome wasn’t bad.
It isn’t possible to bring out a Jaguar hatchback and price it at 3 lakh rupees (the Dolphin sits between the Nano and Indica). But what Tata Motors can perhaps do is design a hatchback like the Indica and finish it with Jaguar’s styling elements.
We’ve learned that Tata Motors has begun groundwork on the third generation Indica, and we don’t see them looking beyond the Jaguar range for design inspiration or direction. We felt the Tata Prima concept (which will see a production line soon) had a lot of Jaguar in it.
Chevrolet Beat LPG test vehicle for the ARAI has been spotted on the Mumbai-Pune highway. Two Chevrolet Beats, a top end LT and a base model sporting ‘LPG compliance plates’ were spotted together.
The LPG Chevrolet Beat gets the LPG-filler opening right next to the fuel filler lid on the right side of the car. The LPG compliance plate on the car means that the car is only waiting for ARAI approval and once approved would be ready to hit showrooms.
The Chevrolet Beat LPG would be GM India’s second small car to come with a LPG option after the Spark LPG. The Beat is doing well in the market place but cannot match sales figure of rivals like the Maruti Suzuki Swift and the Ford Figo. and GM would be hoping to boost the Beat’s sales by offering the LPG version till the Beat diesel comes to take the segment by storm.
The Nissan Micra would also pose a serious threat to the Beat and hence to take on rivals GM India would widen the Beat range in India by offering the LPG version and a diesel version. The LPG version of the car could be launched by October while the Chevrolet Beat diesel could be launched by January 2011.
The Maruti Suzuki A-Star had a very good start in the Indian market. The car’s styling evoked a good response from the public and it has been selling well since then. But with a slew of new entrants splashing into the small car segment, segment favorites like the A-Star, Swift and Hyundai i10 all lost their charm and sales aren’t very brisk.
The Zen Estilo is receiving few cosmetic changes now and then but it isn’t enough, is it? The only option Maruti Suzuki India has is to add spice to the A-Star so that it can attract buyers who are turned off by the Estilo.
Rumours suggest that Maruti could offer an automatic transmission on the A-Star to attract new customers, especially the fairer sex. The A-Star which sells as the Alto globally has a very efficient 4-speed auto transmission that manages 15 kmpl in the city and 24 kmpl on the highway.
The efficiency of the Maruti Suzuki A-Star Automaticcould attract buyers who want hassle free driving in the city and could be a cheaper alternative to the Hyundai i10 Automatic.
The Indian market is growing rapidly and with this growth, there is bright chance for small cars with auto boxes to do well. The Nissan Micra could be offered with an automatic transmission by next year and the next generation Maruti Swift could come with an automatic transmission option.
The Nissan Micra has crossed the 1500 bookings mark in merely 6 weeks since bookings opened. The Nissan Micra has a week left for its official launch on July 14 2010.
This is a remarkable feat for a new entrant like Nissan, competing with established players like Maruti Suzuki,Ford and Chevrolet, with only 11 dealerships across the country. Seems like roping in Ranbir Kapoor for endorsing the Nissan Micra has worked for the moment.
The Nissan Micra would be launched only with a petrol engine and the 1.5 liter dCi diesel engine could be offered by the end of this year. We expect Nissan to competitively price the Micra between 3.5 to 5.25 lakh Rupees.
Suresh Rangarajan, Spokesperson, Nissan India -
The Nissan Micra will be launched in New Delhi on July 14. We are finalising the venue modalities and a formal invitation will be sent to the media shortly. And we also confirm that Micra pre-order bookings have crossed 1500 and we are satisfied with this overwhelming response.
Nissan India would be increasing the number of dealerships to 36 by March 2011 and to 100 by 2013. Nissan would be producing 80,000 units of the Micra at its Chennai plant in this fiscal year 2010-11 for both the domestic and export markets.
Indian Autos Blog had tested the Nissan Micra in Chennai thoroughly and we were quite impressed by the cheerful charcter of this small car. The Nissan Micra feels refreshing different from its rivals like the Maruti Swift,Ford Figo and the Chevrolet Beat.
Click here for IAB’s review on the Nissan Micra.
Click here for IAB’s review on the Nissan Micra’s interiors & equipment.
We will soon be posting on how the Micra feels to drive. Stay tuned for that!
Here’s a short video posted by an attendee of the VW Vento Indian unveiling, held in Delhi yesterday afternoon. This is an amateur video, but it gives a fair idea of the vehicle from many angles as it spins on the ramp.
The Hyundai i10 was once the most celebrated small car in India and now after years of its launch all the excitement about the Hyundai global small car has died with the advent of new rivals in the form of the Ford Figo, Chevrolet Beat and the Volkswagen Polo.
Though these new arrivals haven’t exactly pulled down the Hyundai i10, they are slowly and steadily eating into the i10′s market share. This has forced Hyundai to take a drastic step! Refreshing the head lamps, tail lamps and the front bumper in the name of a facelift. And Hyundai has been caught in the act.
Hyundai i10 facelift has been spotted testing in the Chennai-Bangalore highway and the new car, as all facelifts get, gets refreshed head lamps, new tail lamp clusters, revised bumper and indicators on the rear view mirror.
Neat job, Hyundai.
The facelift could be launched by Diwali and we wouldn’t be surprised if Hyundai prefers to call it the ‘i10 Transform’. We wish Hyundai does a better job than it did with the Verna Transform facelift.
