Archive for the ‘Tata’ Category

Spied – Tata Magic Iris, Penguin pickup truck (video)

Our friends at Motoroids can’t cease publishing spy shots and videos of hot upcoming automobiles. In their latest update they’ve captured a video of the Penguin pickup truck formed on the Magic Iris passenger carrier. They’ve also managed pictures of the Magic Iris spied somewhere in Pune.

An interesting bit of news is Penguin could be powered by the same 624cc petrol engine used on the Nano. This contradicts Overdrive’s theory of a single cylinder 350cc diesel engine (essentially a single cylinder version of the Ace’s engine).

We don’t know which one to believe. We’ll wait for more concrete information before speculating further.

click through for spy shot

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Entry posted on March 17th, 2010 and filed under Commercial Vehicles, Spy pictures, Tata

Rendering – Tata Penguin 0.5-tonne pickup (Exclusive)

Tata Iris Pickup truckThe Tata Penguin could be priced at around 1.8 lakh rupees

We have shown you two batches of spyshots of the Tata Penguin pickup truck that will sit below the hugely successful Ace. What we didn’t know while we posted those images is the passenger version of this little truck would be unveiled at the Auto Expo as the Magic Iris.

The Magic Iris gets a 611cc diesel engine which was developed by Tata in partnership with Greaves. With an H-pattern gear shift layout, well designed dashboard and two individual seats up front, the Iris is very close to a passenger car.

It isn’t only the cabin that’s car like. MacPherson struts with an anti-roll bar at the front and trailing arm layout with coil springs and hydraulic shock absorbers are what you’d find on smaller cars sold world over. 145 R12 radial tires and hydraulically actuated drum brakes help Iris retard.

The direct injection 611cc water-cooled diesel engine develops 11bhp at 3000rpm and 31Nm between 1600-1800rpm.

We expect the technical specifications to remain same on the Tata Penguin. The vehicle should be unveiled this year and priced to take down the Mahindra Gio.

click through for high resolution image

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Entry posted on March 15th, 2010 and filed under Commercial Vehicles, Renderings, Tata

Video – Tata Venture Spied

The Tata Venture based on the Super Ace platform was displayed at the Auto Expo in January. Tata Motors officials said they were planning to sell the Venture through both their CV and passenger car dealer network.

Caught testing here, the Venture is being pasted through one of the expressways near Pune. It is fitted with a 71bhp turbocharged diesel engine. The model will be out on the Indian market in the next couple of months, according to Motoroids.

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Entry posted on March 11th, 2010 and filed under Spy pictures, Tata

Tata Motors already working on third generation Indica

Tata Indica V3 – Punto platform, Pininfarina design

In the March 2010 edition of Autocar India, there is an interesting snippet regarding the next generation Tata Indica. The magazine says Tata is most likely to use the Fiat Punto platform to manufacture the third generation Indica.

The car’s styling will be taken care by Pininfarina (Ferrari designer and Tata Prima fame) and the car will also be sold in the UK.

We shall keep a close watch on the developments and try posting a artist generated drawing of the same in the near future.

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Entry posted on March 1st, 2010 and filed under Tata

New CEO for Tata Motors – wants 100 days

Carl-Peter Forster – Group CEO, Tata Motors

Tata Motors has appointed Mr. Carl-Peter Forster as new CEO of the group. Mr. Forster will be in charge of overall Tata Motors operations including Jaguar and Land Rover. Mr. Forster was the former head of GM Europe operations. On behalf of IAB, we would like to congratulate Mr. Forster on his appointment.

A tough job lay ahead for Mr. Forster, but he could not have come at a better time. The economy is recovering, money is back in the market, Tata Motors domestic sales in January was great considering competition and prior months. Well it could be the January effect (new year sales etc), but certainly a good month for Tata Motors.

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Entry posted on February 18th, 2010 and filed under Announcements, Jaguar, Tata, land rover

Tata Aria to be introduced in India by April

Tata AriaThe Tata Aria is loaded with features and likely the most expensive vehicle in their range

Rediff is reporting that Tata Motors will launch the recently unveiled Tata Aria in the Indian market by the end of April 2010. The Tata Aria is only crossover to come with four wheel drive.

Its 2.2 Litre Direct Injection Common Rail (DICOR) diesel engine, delivering 140 PS power and 320 Nm torque, is mated, in the 4×4 option, with an all-wheel drive with torque on demand.

The Aria is a step forward for Tata Motors. It is expected to come loaded with features like climate control, a bouquet of airbags and many such items which haven’t been fitted before in Tata vehicles. Prices are expected to be between 12 and 14 lakh rupees.

Would you choose the Tata Aria over choices like Ford Endeavour, Maruti Grand Vitara, Toyota Innova, Honda CR-V, Chevrolet Captiva, Toyota Fortuner and yet to be launched Skoda Yeti?

click through to view the image slideshow

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Entry posted on February 12th, 2010 and filed under Tata

Random Thoughts – How can Tata sell EVs?

Tata’s Indica Vista EV (Electric Vehicle) will be available to customers in India in 2011, reports Rediff. Brands like GM and REVA have plans to boost production and market EVs aggressively.

The Indica Vista EV will also be exported to European countries where there is adequate facilities for charging. India’s yet to install a proper facility and we have heard many times in the past that companies are working with the government to make it happen.

India’s not yet seen a proper electric car. The REVA can only seat two adults comfortably and is cramped for tall people. It doesn’t have decent luggage space or features found on petroleum powered automobiles. The Tata Indica Vista or Chevrolet Spark EV with electric powertrain can offer the comfort and convenience that they otherwise offer, and still cost less to run.

The Indica Vista EV was showcased at the Delhi Auto expo last month and will be available at dealer showrooms in 2011. The Tata Indica Vista Electric could cost between Rs 600,000-700,000 bracket, not bad for a large hatchback that costs a fraction to run, is silent but comes with extra torque.

Tata could try handing out a hundred EVs to its Indica Vista diesel/petrol customers on a trial basis. Their feedback could be very valuable as they can point out where exactly the cars lags behind in real world conditions. The company can use this information to make changes to the product or understand where the improvements can be carried out. This is a better process than selling them, receiving feedback, and then making changes.

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Entry posted on February 5th, 2010 and filed under Electric vehicles, Tata

Tata Motors will launch 8 models in Europe

Cars like the Tata Indigo Manza will hit European stores later this year

Tata Motors is looking for ways to bring its line-up of cars to Europe. The first cars will be shipped in by the end of this year. Tata is planning to debut a total of eight models in Europe and the United Kingdom this year, according to Autocar India.

Let’s see – Tata Nano, Tata Indica, Tata Indica Vista, Tata Indigo Manza, Tata Sumo Grande, Tata Xenon, Tata Aria.

This list seems the most logical one.

Tata Motors Vice Chairman Ravi Kant -

We need to be selective, but seven or eight types of vehicle would be about right. We would be engineering cars that are not just for India. We want to put the philosophy of the Nano into effect

Tata Indica and Indigo will hit UK shores this year. Tata will also bring the Nano Europa and Aria to Britain in the next few years.

Tata Motors earlier withdrew its Indica hatchback sold under the name Cityrover, from the UK after it recorded consecutive months of poor sales.

Tata has to rework some of its models to comply with European norms. The company claims even after the rework the vehicles won’t loose its competitive edge in pricing.

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Entry posted on January 27th, 2010 and filed under Tata

Tata Aria to be priced between 12.5 and 14.5 lakh rupees?

Tata_AriaTata’s Aria comes with never before heard features and unique design

Expected price of Tata’s flagship offering Aria is around 12-15 lakh rupees reports Financial Express. The Tata Aria will be available at dealer showrooms in India by the end of April in three variants. The top-end variant will have all-wheel drive and compete against the likes of the Toyota Fortuner, Chevrolet Captiva and Ford Endeavour.

Powered by a 2.2-liter 140PS DICOR engine, it is not decided if the Aria at launch will come with AWD. The Aria has all the comfort and features which none of the other Tatas can boast of. Climate control, cruise control, a total of six airbags and ESP are not heard of while discussing a Tata.

click through for Tata Aria Image Slideshow

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Entry posted on January 11th, 2010 and filed under Tata

Just In – Tata Motors to launch three new vehicles at the Auto Expo

tata_indicruz_crossover_rear_1The Tata Indicruz crossover will be the star attraction at the Auto Expo

According to the media invite which has just come in, Tata Motors will launch three new products at the Auto Expo next week.

We’re guessing it should be the Indica Vista Ignis, Penguin truck and the new Indicruz crossover. The Indica EV will be the second electric vehicle after Chevrolet’s Spark EV to make a debut at the show.

Tata will also launch a new Jaguar luxury saloon at the event. No points for guessing what car that is. It has to be the XJ which was launched in London in June this year and ever since, it has attracted a lot of interest from Indians. Engine choices are not plenty. You get a 5.0-liter petrol (385 PS, supercharged 510 PS) and 3.0-liter good for 275 PS.

We hope Tata would comment on the future plans for the Nano at the press conference.

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Entry posted on December 31st, 2009 and filed under Auto Expo 2010, Tata

Tata Indicruz comes with airbags, cruise control, automatic climate control

The Indicruz crossover debuts at the Auto Expo next month

Talking to the Financial Chronicle, Utility Vehicles head of Tata Motors confirmed expensive features on the upcoming Tata Indicruz like airbags, cruise control and automatic climate control.

Some of the mentioned features are absent in the current Tata line-up indirectly indicating this could be Tata’s most expensive vehicle manufactured till date.

The Indicruz MPV has been spotted during cold weather testing earlier in 2009. It has also been snapped when running its routine tests in the UK, where some of the car’s development took place. The vehicle will be launched during the Auto Expo next month.

He added that the Tata Indicruz will be positioned to compete with the Chevrolet Captiva and Honda CR-V. Priced much lower, we think the Indicruz will compete with these expensive SUVs in terms of looks and features.

The vehicle will be at least 20% more expensive than the Sumo Grande Mk2 launched last week adds the report.

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Entry posted on December 18th, 2009 and filed under Auto Expo 2010, Tata

Tata Motors launch Sumo Grande Mk2; Prices start at 6.43 lakh

Tata_Sumo_Grande_Mk_II_2Tata Sumo Grande Mk II tries to emulate what the Indica V2 did for the Tata brand

Tata Motors have launched Sumo Grande Mk2 with a heap of new features and improvements. The new model, albeit using the same engine and gearbox, has numerous differences compared to the outgoing model.

We’ve already discussed the changes on Sumo Grande Mk2 in a previous post, so we’ll skip to what hasn’t been stressed on. The new Sumo Grande gets modified suspension setup to keep the second and third row passengers more comfortable. The anti-roll bar on the new vehicle has been tuned to aid better stability. The altered drive ratio helps in better low speed drivability of the new Sumo.

Three new colors are added on the new Grande – Walnut Gold, Beige and Castle Grey.

Prices (Ex-showroom Delhi)

LX – 6.43 lakh rupees

EX – 6.83 lakh rupees

GX – 7.50 lakh rupees

click through for 84 high resolution images from the Tata Sumo Grande Mk II launch

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Entry posted on December 14th, 2009 and filed under Tata

Details – Tata Sumo Grande Mk2 which launches today

Tata_Sumo_GrandeTata Sumo Grande Mk2 comes with refreshed interiors and new clutch plate material

Tata Motors will launch the upgraded Sumo Grande on the 14th of this month. Renamed Mk2, the Sumo Grande gets vital upgrades to achieve better sales. Few years ago, Tata Motors carried out a similar procedure on the Indica hatchback (Indica V2) which worked wonders for the company.

Tata will not switch engines or gearboxes. Instead they have focused on getting the NVH levels right. The vehicle, according to reports online, is more refined. Interiors also feature minor changes – the steering wheel for example is taken from the Indica Vista, and the seats are more upmarket.

click through for list of changes on the Grande

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Entry posted on December 13th, 2009 and filed under Tata
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