Here are three videos of the Etios Liva we captured at the national launch. After posting a static analysis of the car along with a deep-dive of the product development, we had other stories in the industry to follow. In the midst of spy shots, leaked shots, brochure scans, renderings and news articles, we had forgotten about the Etios Liva videos we picked up at the New Delhi launch. To recap, the Etios Liva, priced between 3.99-5.99 lakh rupees (ex-showroom New Delhi) had clocked 1,000+ bookings within three days of the price announcement.
The first video is about the journey of Etios in India. With over 20,000 cars delivered, a AR Rahman tune that’s looping inside everyone’s head, Ratan Tata’s visit to the Toyota stand at the Auto Expo to see the concept model, and Akio Toyoda’s visit to flag off bookings last year, the Etios has seen more action than an Akshay Kumar movie.
Remember the Maruti Versa? If you don’t, then look at the Maruti Eeco. It was an ugly cousin to the Eeco which failed miserably in India. Ever since the low priced Eeco was introduced bearing the Versa’s virtues, sales have skyrocketed registering it a spot in the best selling vehicles. The Eeco is among the last products in Maruti’s portfolio to not use a K-Series engine.
In Japan, Suzuki has not bothered with a Multi-jet or the K-Series. They’ve gone ahead with electrifying the Every. Just 13 units have been manufactured and sent to dealer outlets to see Japan’ reaction to the e-MPV model. To be handed out to customers on a trial basis data gathered from the field exercise will be put to use on the mass-production model that comes out an unspecified date in the future.
The Every EV is strapped with a lithium-ion battery pack that takes 5 hours to recharged providing up to 62 miles (approximately 100km) of range, sufficient range for delivery vans in Japan. Since the battery pack is heavy, the vehicle has gained 441 pounds over the gas-fueled model but the load carrying capacity surprisingly is left undisturbed at 551 pounds.
Maruti showcased a functional Eeco EV during the Auto Expo that was on duty at the CWG games site. Should Maruti send out a dozen Eeco EVs to dealerships and rent it out to loyal customers to gather its own feedback? It is way too early for the EV era to begin, but being prepared has no relation to time.
Toyota has dropped the curtain on its new Fortuner (SW4 in some markets) for the Thailand market. The cosmetically reworked Fortuner could make it to the Delhi Auto Expo in January 2012. This is not the next generation model as the underpinning, interior and most body panels are the same. The transmission has also been retained, the 3-liter CRDI engine produces 163hp/350 Nm on the updated edition.
The idea behind the facelift is to give Fortuner a demeanor of a Land Cruiser or Land Cruiser Prado, its elder brothers. Toyota does not sell the Fortuner in North America and developed European countries. It is based on the platform that underpins Hilux pickup truck and Innova (IMV Platform). In India there is still a huge demand for Fortuner despite the arrival of a BMW in its territory. As the Fortuner is doing well, the Indian management said there is no immediate need for a new vehicle.
After the international launch of the new Honda Civic, reactions have been more on the negative side than the positive one. The new Civic has not impressed critics in many of the markets its been put in. This puts even more pressure on the next big launch from Honda – Honda CR-V.
Honda promised us that the next generation CR-V is just around the corner. It seems they are correct because here we have some fresh spyshots of the 2012 CR-V with less camouflage. These test mules are doing their hot-weather testing in California’s Death Valley.
From the spyshots one can easily make out that Honda has ditched the sharp, boxy design and adopted a more fluidic approach for better aerodynamics. The SUV has become considerable bigger than the outgoing model indicating that there may be a third row of seats tucked away in the back. This will ensure that the Honda CR-V will be competitive against other 7 seater SUVs.
The Tata camp seems to be on a roll with their product facelifts, engine upgrades and even stripping down the existing products. The next big launch from the Tata camp would be the Safari Merlin. We have caught this vehicle being tested on the roads. We also have a comprehensive video giving us some insights on the new SUV.
But thanks to Rishi Bhagat of Auto Adrenaline group on Facebook, we finally have a pic without camouflage. Unfortunately, it is only of the rear profile. If you thought that the Safari Merlin will be a completely different from the Safari DICOR VTT, there is some bad news for you.
From the rear, it looks like the old safari with a weird mod job. A rather Chevy Tavera’ish opening tailgate with some really dull tail lamps and huge chrome strip gives it a very bland rear profile.
You also get dual chrome plated exhaust and silver door handles. The worst is the plastic rear fender with has a cut for the fuel lid to open. All the other aspects remain more or less the same.
An IAB reader recently visited the DC Design Studio at Gurgaon to check out the new REVA-based Concept by the DC Designs. DC stands for Dilip Chhabria who is behind many wacky designs and prototyped show cars like the Chevrolet Beat concept and an Aston Martin. His designs are the “like it or hate it” type attracting positive praise and hate messages in equal measure.
The only stock aspect of the REVA Concept DC’s studio has recently come up with is the name REVA. The modest four-seat electric car that gasps for breath on an outskirts excursion has been redesigned into a futuristic vehicle that does intergalactic journeys in the blink of an eye.
Maruti Suzuki has officially started to improve the new Swift‘s presence among car buyers from today. A nationwide advertisement in many newspapers confirms that the new Swift is ‘coming soon’ and that the launch is ‘just around the corner’. The tentative date from the rumormill is 17 August.
The advertisement also mentions that Maruti Suzuki has invested more than 6,000 crore rupees towards increasing production capacities and developing R&D, hence being able to bring down the waiting period for its cars. The Alto, Omni, Eeco, Wagon R, Swift and Swift Dzire are hot cakes in its attack and some take months to be delivered.
Bookings are open for the new Swift and Maruti is insisting customers who have booked the old Swift to shift to the new generation model. At the dealership level, customers who have already booked the old Swift have been prioritized when deliveries of the new Swift begin.
With this the Swift website (www.marutiswift.com) too has been updated though it just provides us with a glimpse of the car and asks us to ‘Hold our breath for a little longer’. Little does the website know that we’ve been holding our breaths since June 2010.
One aspect that grabs our attention is the design of the wheels which is not the same as the international Swift. A new dynamic 10 spoke, rather flowery design has been selected for India which is will be part of the equipment on the top-end model.
The Indian subsidiary of Skoda Auto is gearing up for a sea of change by giving up an India-specific tag line in favor of an international slogan, Live Mint has written.
The currently standing “Obsessed with quality since 1895” will be dropped for “Simply Clever” by December 2011. Skoda had unveiled a new logo at the Geneva Motor Show in March and simultaneously showed a design study that will lead the design direction of future Skoda models. “Simply Clever” is expected to appear on marketing campaigns all over the world.
