Suzuki Splash to be launched as Maruti Ritz in India.

Maruti makes a Splash

MARUTI will continue its onslaught on the small car market with the launch of the new Ritz, aka the Suzuki Splash. The car is a second generation Wagon-R that takes its styling cues from the test of the Maruti family. The styling's being done keeping in mind European tastes, which makes this car much different from its predecessor's purely functional boxy shape.
The interiors will be very much simple but highly functional and will adopt the same design theme as the A-star.
The Ritz will also have the same 1.0-litre, three-cylinder KB series engine that is seen under the hood of the A-Star. There is even a possibility that more powerful petrol and diesel variants of the Ritz will be launched in the future. The petrol and diesel variants will have 1.3-litre engines like the one that can currently be seen in the Swift lineup.

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BMW launches its fifth and latest 7-series in India.

FIVE TIMES SEVEN

RICK FOLKS who have been looking out for a German luxury saloon but find the Mercedes - Benz S-Class a tad too common and the current BMW 7-Series' flame-surfacing design a bit too extreme can now rejoice. BMW, in an effort to cater to a wider audience with more subdued tastes, has launched the all-new but rather bland looking fifth-generation 7-Series in India.
BMW will be offering a choice between two petrol variants and one diesel for the Indian market. The first of these will b the top of the 750i, which will have a monstrous V8, will churn out 402bhp and will reach 100kph in 5.3 seconds. With an ex-showroom price of Rs 93.4 lakh, the car will be available in eight colours and will boast a long list of standard features and technology that might put a Boeing 747 to shame. The other two models, the 730Ld and 740i will be launched by mid-2009.

America to get its own F1 team; Merc's F1 participation gets sanctioned

Changing the Formula

DAIMLER'S Board narrowly approved Mercedes' participation in Formula 1 - a decision that was taken by the board after a majority affirmative vote by its members. Given the current global financial crisis, speculation continues about whether other car-makers will follow the footsteps of Honda and withdraw from this expensive sport.
But as old players exit, new ones take their place. Ken Anderson, a Nascar and Lndycar engineer, will be launching a USF1 team in 2010. The USF1 team is in the nascent stages of development. The team is still scouting for headquarters in North Carolina and has to sign drivers for next season. The team intends to showcase American technology and promote American drivers in F1.

FIAT, CHYSLER STRIKE A DEAL

Fiat Group, Italy and Chrysler LLC are forming a strategic partnership that includes Fiat taking 35 per cent stake in Chrysler. The partnership gives Chrysler Fiat's technical expertise on low emission front-wheel drive cars. This will help Chrysler to jump start work on its own small car by using Fiat's technical platforms as its base, which will save time and money. In return, Fiat will sell its cars through Chrysler's existing dealer network in America.

Mahindra and Fiat Rejoice

Auto sales have hit a 14-year low. Every car-maker is offering free TVs, insurance policies and cash discounts on their products in this time of recession. But despite this grim market scenario, Fiat and Mahindra seems to be laughing all the way to the bank. Fiat has sold 1,512 units of the Linea saloon for the month of January and Mahindra has sold 1,788 units of its MUV, the Xylo, within two weeks of the latter's launch.

VOLVO TO INCREASE INDIAN DEALERSHIPS

To tap the sales of luxury cars in the country, Volvo Car India plans to increase its presence in India by opening around nine more dealerships this year. This was announce at the appointment of a new Volvo dealership in New Delhi, Auto Kashyap India Pvt Ltd.

Aston Martin V12 Vantage,

Serious Want-age

BILL THOMAS, OF TG UK, is an Australian, and therefore a very difficult man to please. But even he was blown away when he drove Aston Martin's RS concept, the car that has now morphed into the V12 Vantage, the car that company describes as the most potent in its 95-year history. Ready to make its debut at the Geneva show in March, the V12 features a 6.0-litre engine with 510bhp and 570Nm, which will take this pint-sized beast from 0-100 in 4.1 seconds, and top out at 310kph. Aston also went and put the Vantage platform on a diet, so the V12 is only 50kg heavier than the V8 and you can even opt for carbon fired seats, chopping away a further 15kg, which sounds just the right king of hardcore. Thankfully, the car also comes with the six-speed manual 'box that Aston does so well, not the flappy-paddle system that it can never get right. Prices are expected to cross Rs 1 crore without any sort of duty. But then, you'd pay twice that for this package, wouldn't you?

New Porsche GT3 911

Like nails, but harder

THEY are not talking about us, then, but I'll still take the new 911 GT3, thangyverramuch.
It's the sort of update I like: more power, better handling and electronic aids that can be completely switched off. Porsche, with its tongue firmly in its cheek. says the new GT3 is "more usable day to day more that the previous one," but then gets back to business by saying it's much faster. The coolest bits are the single-bolt alloys and the engine mounts that stiffen when you drive quickly. The keys, please?

Renault holds on for car launch this year.

RENAULT has temporarily put on hold its plans to launch cars in India by 2010. This comes in the wake of the global slowdown as the company has decided to hold back on investments on its assembly line at the plant in Chennai.

T h e company announced a Rs 4,500 crore investment last year over a period of sever years to produce four lakh cars annually in an alliance with Nissan. However it has now stopped hiring for production activities and is awaiting for market conditions to improve. The company had originally planned to roll out cars based on four platforms where it would have a production capacity of 2 lakh units, with the rest produced in collaboration with Nissan, in a bid to keep the cars' prices down.

Citrogen DS

Revival of the Citroen DS

As part of its 90th anniversary, Citroen will announce plans for the revival of it's legendary DS range, with the unveiling of the DS3 at the Geneva Motor Show. The car will be in showrooms next year. The 2012 Citroen DS4 will follow, in the beginning of 2011, will the top-of-the-line 2011 DS5 being released at the end of the year.
The current models don't get the madness of the old DSes and although details are not out as yet, I hope it gets a fancy suspension, read hydro pneumatic.

Urban challenge

The Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency of the US Defence Department has been organizing the Grand Challenge since 2004 where driverless cars cover a course in a stipulated time. The 2007 Grand Challenge was held in an urban setup and won by Tartan Racing's Chevrolet Tahoe named 'Boss' developed jointly by GM and Carnegie Mellon University. The car covered a 96km route which involved merging traffic, intersection, stop signs etc, in 4 hrs 10 mins, In the future such cars can be linked together with automated highway systems to ensure better use of highway networks.

The new Chevrolet Spark.

Another Sparking car

JUST before its unveiling the Geneva, GM has released, more details of the Spark.The Chevrolet Spark will be produced near Baroda at the GM's Halol factory. The sporty tone prevail and to give the profile a smooth look, designers have also incorporated the door handles on the C-pillar. Inside the theme has been carried over with steering mounted instruments and a large and sweeping dash.
Powering this new Spark will be a range of 1-litre and 1.2-litre four cylinder petrol mills which are claimed to provide a combination of performance and fuel economy.

Fuel Economy 12.3(city) / 16.9 km(highway), 1.0L I-4 Petrol Engines Available 1.0L S-TEC In-line 4, 63bhp Petrol Transmission 5-speed Manual Transmission

Nissan Qazana Concept.

Nissan's next concept

REPORTS suggest this concept is a hint at Nissan's net generation compact car - Qazana. It will be produced at the Sunderland plant from next year.
The design is dominated by large, wide wheel arches and a lower shape which gives a feeling of solidity. The upper body is endowed a sporty appeal. The car gets five doors, with the rear doors opening forward once the front doors have been opened, much in the style of 'suicide doors'.

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray C7 launching in June 2009.

The Sting is back

AT the Chicago Auto Show GM disclosed the Corvette Stingray concept, whose form strongly reminds one of the original Corvette Stingray from 1963.

The car will be premiered on 24th June 2009 in the Spielberg film "Transformers: Revenge of the fallen". The Stingray study and the next generation Corvette C7 are based on the same platform.


The further development of the production model is currently questionable, considering the precarious financial position of GM.

Tata Xenon. A pick-up life style.

After the international launch of the Xenon at the previous Bangkok Motor Show, Tata has decided to launch it in India

Say your farmhouse is somewhere up a dusty mountain road and you want something more than a SUV. Till now you only had the Mahindra Scorpio Get away, but now Tata is launching a worthy contender - the Xenon XT or Xtended cab.
Designed in Coventry, England, the Xenon comes with a breadth of European styling cues. For a pick-up truck it looks smart, especially from the front three quarters with that large muscular bonnet, clear lens headlamps and the large Tata grille. In profile too the Xenon offers a good visual with flared fenders and large ORMs with integrated turn indicators. The high groud clearance make sure you can make mole hills out of the urban obslicles. The real deck dose offer a large bey but would have been better had it been a flat bed.
Inside, the cabin looks bright and spacious. The Xenon gets a comprehensive instruent pannel and even a music system with a USB dock. You also get power windows and central lockings as well as reading lights inside. However expect Tata to come up with quite a few variants to fit a broad price band.

Honda Accord 2009.

A Faster Accord coming

HONDA is all set to offer the Accord in a more powerful guise. Changes ill come in the form of a new 24-value SOHC V6 i-VTEC engines which displaces 3471cc and generate 271bhp of power.
The Accord's V6 features the latest generation of variable cylinder management technology. This system can activate and deactivate the engine's cylinders as needed, to meet the demands of both acceleration and fuel economy. When maximum torque is required, all six cylinder fire, but during steady cruising speeds, the VCM shuts down one bank of cylinders. The engine also features active noise cancellation system which ensures minimal noise intrusion inside the Accord's cabin. Power is transferred to the wheels via a 5-speed automatic gearbox and the suspension too has been upgraded to cope up with the extra bit of horsepower. However expect the Accord V6 to sell at a considerable premium oer the standard 4-cylinder car.

BMW 3 Series

The new BMW 3 Series sports new looks and a much improved iDrive system

The new 3 Series you see here is just a mid-life upgrade for the Bavarian car makers' entry-level model in India. And though, the car gets new engines internationally, in India, the drivetrain and other mechanical bits remain same.
But, it's not completely a bad thing because the 3, even in it's earlier avatar, was a great driver's car. So, the steering on the new car is still heavy and crisp; the handling, still entertaining, and the ride, far from plush.
The engines continue unchanged too. The diesel we sampled in the Highline guise sports the old 2.0-litre engine that makes 177bhp and 350Nm of torque. The car manages the 0-100kmph dash in 8.5 seconds and eventually runs out of breath at around 215kmph.
Significant changes though are more superficial - there's a raised central ridge in the bonnet, a re-profiled kidney grille and a more muscular front bumper. These, along with the new set of alloy wheels, give the car a more purposeful and sporty aura. The tail lamp and bootlid design have also been revised.
Changes inside the cabin are though harder to spot. In fact, apart from the new iDrive's control knob and an additional set of lights for the rear passengers, there's nothing new. So, one still has no real stowage space to put accessories away. Moreover, having rear only parking sensors for the Highline model, is being stingy to say the least.
The new iDrie though is a hot to use. It gets short cut keys and is easier to navigate. The display is simply superb; the graphics are as good as a high end game, and it's pretty interactive and simple as well.