French carmaker Peugeot has made it clear that it wants to have a go at the Indian market once again. Peugeot has already played in this deadly competitive car market way back in the mid nineties where it tied up with Premier Automobiles Ltd (PAL) and launched the 309 sedan which was a terrible flop!, purely because it was an out-dated car and seemed like a clearance sale operation by the French company.

PSA Peugeot Citroën (which is actually Peugeot’s parent company) will begin by sourcing components for its cars utilizing the cheap labor and high levels of skill available in the country, and could go one step ahead by setting up a production facility for some Peugeot and Citroen cars.

Using the path which rival Renault followed, Peugeot is looking for a local partner for a tie-up. The company might even setup a fully-owned subsidiary for producing cars for the Indian market- We reckon this must be a low-cost hatchback that will be pitted against the likes of Tata Indica and Maruti Alto. Peugeot might manufacture a low-cost car like the Tata Nano, which could be sold all over the world.

IAB Comment- A low-cost modern interpretation of the immensly popular Citreon 2CV (a car that was built by the French for peasants to transport goods back in the 1930’s) could be on the cards after 500, Beetle and Mini’s retro iterations. This car could be sold all over the world and we’re purely speculating that!Similar Posts

• PSA Peugeot-Citroen to introduce low-cost car for developing markets
• PEUGEOT Design Contest 2008
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Mahindra has just emailed us a teaser of it’s up coming XYLO MPV. It does not reveal the vehicle or anything remotely related to it. It strongly suggests that the time has come for sedans to rest in peace. We can’t confirm that before we see the vehicle, which is going to be launched on the 13th of this month.

This video will be aired on various TV channels in the coming days. Mahindra asks us to inform our readers to keep their sound level to the max, but we have optimized the sound quality of the original video to make it easier on your ears.

You can get a glimse of the front profile of the XYLO, just in case ifyou haven’t seen it yet.

Stay tuned to IAB for all XYLO news. We expect a lot more teasers and images before the car’s official launch.Similar Posts

• IAB Scoop- Mahindra XYLO headlamp and grille image
• Mahindra XYLO coming on 13th January; All new SUV in mid-2010
• Mahindra XYLO microsite launched
• Mahindra may buy US icon Hummer from GM
• Mahindra may enter China very soon
• Mahindra takes a Green Route to U.S.
• Mahindra Renault refuses to supply Logan to Mumbai taxi drivers
• Mahindra launches ‘New Collection Logan’

From 24,222 Units to 6,221 Units in one year !

As an effect of the sharp drop in cargo movement, truck sales plunged 73.5%  to 6,221 units in December 2008 against 24,222 units in December 2007, according to the Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT) The decline in truck sales is also said to be due to excess capacity build-up.

• Tractor-trailers of 30-49 tonne range witnessed a maximum drop of 94.7 per cent in December sales at 114 units (2,143 units) - Mostly used to transport high-density cargoes such as cement, fertilizer, timber, ores and steel predominantly to railways for further transportation.

• Sales of Multi-axle vehicles of 25.2-31 tonne sunk 79 per cent to 2,033 units ( 9,587 units).

• Affected by the infrastructure projects in abeyance, sales of Tipper trucks used mainly in construction dipped 73 per cent to 1,462 units (5,358 units) - Virtually due to stoppage of construction and infrastructure projects in many parts of the country in the last three months in the wake of financial crunch.

• Medium commercial vehicles of 15 tonne to 16.2 tonne witnessed a drop of 72 per cent to 1,635 units (4,159 units). Sales of these vehicles, used mostly in hilly terrains and narrow highways to carry parcel cargo, have been sinking for quite some time.

• Sales of Intermediate Commercial Vehicles (8-12 tonne), used by logistic firms, retail stores and for captive purposes in factory and hospitals, plunged 69 per cent to 1,053 units (3,414 units).

• The 5-7.5 tonne category Light commercial vehicles (LCVs) saw sales dipping 52 per cent to 1,586 units (3,294 units). LCVs mostly operate on intra-state short haul and intra-district cargo operations and their market share has been cannibalised by new LCVs of sub-one tonne load capacity such as Tata Ace.

In comparison to the huge slump of 1984 and 1988, the drop in sales of commercial vehicles in the last quarter and particularly in December 2008 is most alarming as it gives multiple negative signals about the health of the country’s economy, said the IFTRT study.

Various commercial vehicle manufacturers in India have resorted to temporary plant shut-downs and production cutbacks. OEMs and component suppliers expect it to take at least another six months before commercial vehicle sales get back on the fast track.

Source-India AutomotiveSimilar Posts

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Name of the team: mechISMU

Name  of  the  University: Indian School of Mines University, Dhanbad

Captain’s name: Abhineet Menaria

Faculty advisor’s name: Prof. Arup Kumar Basu

The Team:

Team Members        Year of study        Department of study

Abhineet Menaria         3rd            Mechanical Engg
Abhishek Srivastava      3rd            Mechanical Engg
Anant Mahajan             3rd            Mechanical Engg
Ansari Ravish Qadeer   3rd            Mechanical Engg
Ayush Jain                    3rd            Mechanical Engg
C. Manjunath               3rd            Mechanical Engg
Madhur Agrawal           3rd            Mechanical Engg
Nilanjan Banik              3rd            Mechanical Engg
Pranav Tulsyan            3rd            Mechanical Engg
Rachit Haritwal            3rd            Mechanical Engg
Rajeev Kumar             3rd            Mechanical Engg
Rohit Sharma              3rd            Mechanical Engg
Shammi Tiwari            3rd            Mechanical Engg
Shashank Gaikwad     3rd            Mechanical Engg
Varun Goyal              3rd            Mechanical Engg

Specifications of the car:

• Double wishbone suspension in rear and front

• Disc brakes in front wheels and drum brakes in rear

• Worm and roller steering gear box

• ATV tires- 21X7-R10

What  do  you  think  will  make  your  vehicle  stand  out  from  others?

The comfort of the driver. Large cockpit space, silky smooth steering and a well-designed suspension system ensure that the driver has a relatively comfortable ride on even the roughest of terrains.

Sponsorship

With the kind of effort we have put in for this competition, we are pretty sure that Team mechISMU’s vehicle will stand out as one of the best.

We are still not taken. Any corporate organization interested in adopting Team mechISMU should feel free to contact us at mechISMU.ism@bajasaeindia.org.

What  do  you  want  to  tell  other  teams  which  are  participating  in  this  contest?

We are a bunch of “race-ists” who have put out heart, soul and brain into this project. We have prepared, persevered, practiced and we are sure we’ll perform. Hope we have one hell of a race out there and may the best buggy win.

IAB Comment- The vehicle looks raw and rugged. The white, red and black paint combo makes this one desirable off-roader. The large steering wheel and seat will keep the driver in good shape even on a long drive. Notice the well optimized front wheel geometry? Must have been done to strike the best balance between steering through tight corners with ease and maximum straight line stability.

The large coil springs at the rear should make it ride like a dream even over the worst of terrains and while at rest, makes the vehicle the roar with confidence. Overall the vehicle looks complete and a job well done. Best of luck.

IAB Recommendation- Treat the wheels with a splash of black, and a couple centimeters of white paint along its circumference.

We wish to thank mechISMU from ISM University, Dhanbad for their participation on Indian Autos Blog. Similar Posts

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• IAB Baja Special- Inspired Karters from BITS Pilani
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• IAB’s Exclusive coverage of Baja SAE India 2009 begins today

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay sponsored by Jaypee group

Now we feature the first of the IIT’s, IIT Bombay and this is how their team looks like-

Faculty Advisor:
Prof.C.Amarnath
Prof. Ramesh Singh
Prof. Guha

Team Captain:
Shyam Jade (Mechanical Engineering 4th year)

Engine Team:
Sulabh Jain (Mechanical Engineering 3rd year)
Rejin Varghese (Mechanical Engineering 2nd  year)
Ashish Vora (Mechanical Engineering 2nd  year)

Steering and Suspension:
Kashyap Mohan (Metallurgical Engineering 2nd  year)
Nitish Wagle (Mechanical Engineering 2nd  year)
Ashwin Raghavan (Mechanical Engineering 2nd  year)
Ashwin Krishnan (Mechanical Engineering 2nd  year)

Brakes:
Mayank Garg (Mechanical Engineering 2nd  year)
Vaideesh Loganathan (Mechanical Engineering 2nd  year)
Vivek Rajeevan (Mechanical Engineering 2nd  year)
Mayur Srinivasan (Mechanical Engineering 2nd  year)

Chassis:
Mayank Garg (Mechanical Engineering 2nd  year)
Shakti Bothra (Mechanical Engineering 2nd  year)
Ashwin Carvalho (Mechanical Engineering 2nd  year)

Electricals:
Mihir Mulay(Electrical Engineering 4th year)
Snehil(Mechanical Engineering 2nd  year)

Marketing and Operations:
Gunjan Shah (Mechanical Engineering 4th  year)
Tarun Mathur (Mechanical Engineering 4th  year)
Siddharth Jain (Metallurgical Engineering 3rd  year)
Jaideep Bansal (Mechanical Engineering 3rd  year)

That is quite a structured team that we have. Lets wish them all the best!

And their vehicle-

Weight                              255 kg (without driver)
Maximum Speed               50 km/hr

Suspension Specifications
Type                                Unequal Length, Non parallel A-arms
Travel                              10” (Front), 8” (Rear)
Shocks                             Custom made springs, dampers from Gabriel India, direct actuation

Brake Specifications
Master Cylinders                Single Cylinder (Front & Rear)
Adjustments                      Brake Bias adjustment

Engine and Drive Train Specifications
Engine                              Lombardini LGA 340
Transmission                   Mahindra Champion Alfa
Final Drive                        Customised Shaft-CV assembly

Electronics Specifications
DAQ 16 channel, 1600 bytes / sec sampling rate, RS-485, SD Card Data Storage

Weight Reduction:

Extensive use of custom designed and manufactured parts – hubs, uprights, springs, etc. Advanced Finite Element Analysis for various parts ensures that the parts are not overdesigned. Data from the Data Acquisition System is used to refine estimations of the forces on various parts of the vehicle – improving the Finite Element Analysis. Smart packaging in smaller wheels reduces unsprung mass substantially

Baja SAE India gives us exactly what we need-A stage to showcase our talent and put our knowledge to the test competing with the finest others in India. The meticulous planning required for the event requires a high level of team work and cooperation. The competition gives us the opportunity to gain practical/working knowledge of such a complex machine.

In its rookie year at the event, IIT Bombay Racing plans to demonstrate the immense multidimensional capabilities of our car and finish in the top three teams. We then plan to take part in competitions at the international level.

Details of Team Sponsor-Jaypee Group

The Jaypee Group is a well diversified infrastructural industrial conglomerate in India. Over the decades it has maintained its salience with leadership in its chosen line of businesses - Engineering and Construction, Cement, Private Hydropower, Hospitality, Real Estate Development, Expressways and Highways. The group has been discharging its responsibilities to the satisfaction of all its shareholders and fellow Indians, summed by its guiding philosophy of “Growth with a Human Face”

IIT Bombay is one of the premiers engineering institutes of the world where the best brains of the country gather to become world class engineers of tomorrow. With an esteemed faculty that inculcates innovative and logical thinking to shape the finest brains, we have taken up the challenge posed by Baja SAE India to prove our worthiness.

IAB Comment- IITians bring honor and accolades to India. They project India to the world as a country with bright brains and immense strength.

IIT Bombay Racing has got a very competitive vehicle, and it seems to me like they have kept is simple (Or are you guys not disclosing the complicated details?). The ingress and egress should be very easy with such a wide and tall entry area (speaking with input from the photograph), but body roll might be an issue, which the custom made springs and dampers should take care of, hopefully.

We wish them success in the competition. Thank you so much for participating on IAB.Similar Posts

• IAB Baja Special- Silver Spirit from Amrita College
• IAB Baja Special- mechISMU from ISM University, Dhanbad
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• IAB Baja Special- Junkyard Warriors from SLIET
• IAB’s Exclusive coverage of Baja SAE India 2009 begins today
• IAB’s Schedule and Coverage Format of JK Tyre Baja SAE India 2009

Tuner Gembella is an expert with Porsche vehicles which is evident once you see the level of tuning it offers on the Porsche Cayenne GTS, which was previously pampered by Evolution Motorsports on IAB.

The Porsche Cayenne GTS Tornado gets-

• a new set of five-spoke alloy wheels

• larger air intakes in the front apron

• a carbon-fiber hood

• new taillights and an integrated rear diffuser

• The interior also gets dressed up, sporting new adjustable seats, a panoramic sunroof and a custom center console

One can choose either the GTS or the GTR trim, where engineers clear up the interiors and modify the layout so that power is fed only to the rear wheels. The end result is a considerable loss of weight of 250 kg.

While the standard Cayenne GTS develops a reasonable 495hp, the Gemballa models coax out 542, 641 and 740hp, all depending on the customer’s choice.

Similar Posts

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• Porsche to Bring Panamera to India in 2009

The Porsche Panamera will be Porsche’s first 4 door sedan, but what’s more exciting is the fact that markets such as India and China will be given priority over Europe and America which was made clear after Porsche shifted the car’s launch from Geneva to Shanghai.

Seen here, is a Porsche Panamera in possibly what we believe is Germany. The Porsche Panamera is based on the same platform as the Cayenne SUV and is the size of a Mercedes Benz S-Class.

We’ve done a Porsche Panamera Special in the past, shown you 20 hi-res images of the Panamera and then went on to informed that you can buy the Panamera in India in 2009. The Panamera’s dashboard was shown to us recently by spy photographers who also snapped the car on one of its scheduled runs in Shanghai last year with little camouflage. We wonder whether the car photographed here is the same one as in Shanghai.

Source- AutogespotSimilar Posts

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The 2010 Mercedes Benz E-Class as you must know by now, is Mercedes Benz’s next and most talked about car. It will be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show this year and the original plan was to display the car to the public for the first time in Geneva lacking any camouflage.

However, that plan was spoiled by somebody in Mercedes Benz who uploaded a set of images of the up coming Mercedes last year. Now, more images of the 2010 E Class have slipped into the net, displaying a car in gold, black and chocolate shades.

On first glance, the lines together with the doors, and the form of the rear wheel arch scream S-Class. Mercedes Benz is taking on a set of design cues for all models, irrespective of size or price to trim down manufacturing costs, in this case is 25%. The Mercedes Benz C-Class which debuted in 2007, is also inspired by the S-Class in more ways than one. The 2009 Mercedes E Class, from the design point of few shares a whole lot in common with the Concept Fascination, a concept car which was shown at the LA Motor Show last year.

The 2010 Mercedes E Class is bigger than the outgoing model. As a result, more room for rear passengers and a bigger boot. A lot of gizmos will fill up the car, the latest one that we heard of is the Attention Assist which helps combat driver fatigue.

What visually sets this Mercedes apart from the rest is the headlamps, which are now split type. People who are well versed with Lexus SUV’s will invariably find that interesting. The sculpted wide frame grille and a reshaped air vents are other changes.

Fuel efficiency will be the king of all features in this car with the revised line-up of four-cylinder petrol and all-new common-rail diesel engines. The entry level engine will be a 163bhp 1.8-litre petrol (the E200 Kompressor). There will be a range of 2.5-litre, 3.0-litre and 3.5-litre V6s, along with a naturally aspirated and twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 diesel.

Top-end models will include the E450 and E500 (which might not make to India), which will be powered by Benz’s 340bhp 4.6-litre V8 and 388bhp 5.5-litre V8 respectively. These engines are seen as stop-gaps before upgraded versions with direct injection and twin turbochargers are launched in 2011. The 2009 Mercedes Benz E-class will be offered with either rear-wheel drive or Mercedes’ 4-Matic four-wheel-drive system making this car a life threatener to the BMW 5 Series.

Source- Next AutosSimilar Posts

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Days after an image that allegedly is the bumper of the 2010-11 BMW 5 Series propped up on BMW Blog, a talented Photoshop artist has constructed an entire BMW around it.

The lines on the next BMW 5 Series will be a lot fainter with the crease on the bonnet scraping the more rounded headlights. Lots of input will be taken from the new BMW 7 Series and the BMW CS concept. The front end design will be influenced by European Pedestrian Safety standards. The brake lights will be ironed out and will appear more like the BMW 3 Series’.

The car will enlarge a few centimeters, but the weight will be kept at the same level as the current BMW 5 Series, which was launched in 2004, and hasn’t seen many modifications since.

Codenamed F10, the 2010 BMW 5 Series will feature engines derived from the turbocharged engine range. The 540i gets the award winning 3.0 Twin Turbo Straight Six with around 305bhp and the 550i gets a 4.4 Twin Turbo V8 and the range is expected to have a turbocharged clean diesel as well.

Source- Our pals over at BMW BlogSimilar Posts

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Auto blogs from all parts of the world flashed news of Suzuki killing off the Kizashi project due to the poor economic conditions and that Osamu Suzuki had already hinted it’s end last year- We too got you the story but we warned you it could all be horse shit bollocks as an official confirmation had not been made by the company .

Now, the company has made an official announcment, not to confirm the dead project, but that it’s very much alive and kicking!

In a statement issued by the Japanese company today, Suzuki clearly states that their Kizashi project is on track and will debut at the New York Auto Show in April this year. An announcement is awaited on the launch date in the U.S. and other markets such as ours.

We have seen numerous pictures of the Kizashi wearing a variety of costumes and appearing on a range of landscapes all through last year. Expected to arrive in India by 2010, the Suzuki Kizashi will take on the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord sans fear.

If you would like to know more, you can catch our on going Suzuki Kizashi coverage.

IAB Comment- So, Maruti’s D-Segment hopes in India are very much alive. Sometimes, things such as a press release lightens up our day and makes us feel so energetic.

Source- Left Lane NewsSimilar Posts

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