What do you get when you mix a Mercedes E class’s Grill, front facia of 2012 Mercedes C-Class, a Korean company and an Indian SUV maker?…..Give up?
You get an Ssangyong Chairman. No, we are not talking about Dr Pawan Goenka. We are talking about the Ssanyong Chairman H – a third generation luxury sedan from Ssangyong’s portfolio.
Clearly, it was designed by someone who has a very serious Mercedes fetish. The front grill is lifted from the old E Class. The headlights are taken from the new 2012 C Class. The back side is rather unique but odd-proportioned nonetheless
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Just a day after we reported on the new Jetta without BlueMotion technology, a top official from VW has confirmed its India entry. VW plans to make this year just about them. After launching 2 cars – Vento IPL Edition and New Passat Bluemotion in the same month, news is making rounds that VW is planning to launch the New Jetta by the second half of this year. Volkswagen Passenger [ Read More ]
After garnering adequate success by displaying the Tata Nano at Big Bazaar, Tata Motors wants the Nano to go a bit up market. Hence, they have decided that they will display the Tata Nano at their very own Westside stores. Gaurav Mahajan, COO, Westside said, We are exploring the option of selling the Nano again through Westside. In fact, we did have booking for the car through the Westside stores [ Read More ]
This is the first picture of the 2012 Jaguar XF, leaked to the web by Joke For Blog. The car was supposed to be seen for the first time at the 2011 New York Auto Show.
Joining the new hood are the revised front fascia and a new head lamp which seems like a subtle variation of the larger XJ sedan.
The rear of the car will sport reworked tail lamps and bumper. The design is far from flowing, but it takes it closer to the XJ which isn’t a bad thing.
Mechanicals will remain untouched expect for the addition of a new 2.2-liter four-cylinder diesel that develops 190 PS and 450 Nm of torque. The diesel engine is no slouch as it gets the XF to 100kph from standstill in 8.5 seconds and enables it to reach a top speed of 225 km/h.
Volkswagen is planning to launch the new Jetta in India in the coming months. India will get the European-spec car which is more sophisticated than the American model built for economy.
VW will not adopt the BlueMotion strategy for the new Jetta. It will allow BlueMotion technologies on the Passat to sink in to customers and make its benefits clear before carrying it over to other models.
Unlike the Passat, Volkswagen will offer both petrol and diesel options on the new Jetta. The 2.0-liter diesel engine from the new Passat is planned for the Jetta, tuned for lower levels of power and torque. The new Jetta is expected to be priced better than the existing model and will follow the CKD route. Automatic and manual transmissions will be offered.
Sources have told Indian Autos Blog that the plan of using a rebadged A-Star for Volkswagen India’ entry-level car has been canceled. The option of using a badge-engineered A-Star was hotly debated internally last year. This option was formed after Volkswagen brought nearly a 20% stake in Suzuki late in 2009.
Volkswagen could however proceed with the plan of sourcing the rebadged A-Star for sale in some overseas markets.
As this plan is nixed, VW can explore two options -
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Listening to Ford’s reaction to questions posed on the European Fiesta hatch‘s chances in India, one got the feeling that they are not considering it for the Indian market.
The stylish hatch caught the attention of many auto enthusiasts after we posted images and videos of it testing near Chennai.It was said that Ford was testing components to see how they cope in our hot and dusty conditions.
Ford India officials expressed that their interest was in selling the Figo and addressing the high demand for it. After the Fiesta Classic climbed down the price ladder, positioning of the Euro Fiesta hatch becomes tricky. There is a very tight gap between the Figo and Fiesta Classic for the Euro Fiesta hatch to occupy.
Ford believes that with the Fiesta Classic, it will move into the heart of the sedan market. Suppose the Fiesta hatch is brought to India, it will be sold in the same price range as the Classic. Customers could see more value in the sedan and choose it over the Fiesta hatch. The price overlap might not work out well for both models.
Ford, as a company, has changed its approach in the last one year. Its approach is very cautious and the sure-shot models with low risk factor are the only ones it is ready to sell. It has discontinued products like the Fusion and Fiesta 1.6S without any hesitation which were termed experimental or off-beat upon their introduction.
It is official! Ford will “reveal” the new Fiesta sedan in Delhi on the 14th (Thursday) of April.
Note that this is not a launch, but an unveiling where variants and prices for the Indian market might not necessarily be outlined.
The new Fiesta sedan will be positioned in the segment currently dominated by the likes of the VW Vento and Honda City. It’ll not be short of company as both Hyundai, with their new Verna and Nissan, with its Sunny, are raring to go this year.
The new Fiesta comes with either a 1.6-liter petrol engine with variable valve timing or a new 1.6-liter diesel engine capable of producing 90bhp. Automatic transmission option might not be offered at launch.
