Archive for February, 2010
Friday, February 26th, 2010
Ford unveiled its new small car Figo in September, 2009 in New Delhi with Alan Roger Mulally, Ford’s president and chief executive, making a lightening visit to the country for the unveiling. And now Figo has been launched and will compete with the likes of Maruti Ritz, Hyundai i20, Honda Jazz & Skoda Fabia. The Ford Figo, a new nameplate and a fresh face on the Indian market, signals Ford’s intention to compete in India’s largest and most important small car market segment. Ford Figo is the result of a significant Ford investment commitment to expand its plant near Chennai for volume production as a small-car centre of excellence regionally.
Variants of Ford Figo
Ford Figo is available in 8 variants, 4 of petrol and 4 of diesel:
- Ford Figo LXi
- Ford Figo EXi
- Ford Figo ZXi
- Ford Figo Titanium
- Ford Figo Diesel LXi
- Ford Figo Diesel EXi
- Ford Figo Diesel ZXi
- Ford Figo Diesel Titanium
The Top of the line “Titanium” variant of Ford Figo comes with:
- Body Coloured Bumpers
- Full Wheel Covers
- Body Coloured Outside Rear View Mirrors
- Chrome Finish Radiator Grille
- Air Conditioning
- Power Steering
- Power Windows
- Remote Central Locking
- Remote Boot Opener
- Remote Fuel Lid Opener
- Driver Seat Height Adjustment
- Removable Parcel Tray
- MP3 Player with 4 Speakers
- Bluetooth Phone Interface
- Rear Washer and Wiper
- Rear Defogger
- ABS with EBD
- Dual SRS Airbags
Engine Options In Ford Figo
Ford Figo has been launched with 2 engine options:
- 1196cc DuraTec Petrol – 70 Bhp
- 1399cc DuraTorq Diesel – 68 Bhp
[Via: CarsIndia ]
Posted in Ford | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
Tata Motors will debut its ultra-cheap car Tata Nano in New York this month: next Thursday, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum will put a bright yellow model of world’s cheapest car on display. Incidentally, not many New Yorkers or Americans have actually seen the car. The Tata Nano will be on display at the Great Hall of the Museum at 2 East 91st Street in Manhattan.
“The Cooper-Hewitt is showing the Tata Nano because, as the world’s most affordable car, it is a design achievement,” Cara Mc-Carty, the museum’s curatorial director, said. He also added that Nano has caught public fancy and therefore the museum is putting up the car on display.
Tata Motors has already passed all EU crash tests and safety norms to launch Nano Europe in the European countries. The model will be launched soon in the UK market. Tata Motors also plans to bring the electric variant of Tata Indica to the UK market. Tata Motors had already displayed Electric Indica at the Delhi Auto Expo this year in January. Similarly, the company is planning a hybrid model of Nano soon.
[Via: Indiaautomotive]
Posted in Tata | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
Honda India is betting big on the Indian market. The company expects to sell approximately 1.25 million two-wheelers in the ongoing fiscal year 2009-10 and continue this growth by selling 1.5 million units in 2010-11. The company is also very upbeat about its recently launched 110cc mass-commuter, the CB Twister , expecting it to sell around 220,000 units this year.
Its plant at Manesar, Haryana, has brimmed its full capacity of 1.5 million units per annum and the company is conducting a study on the feasibility of setting up its second plant in the country. Honda was considering to leave Haryana, where its existing factory is located, due to the labour unrest last year as the Japanese major incurred a loss of over Rs 300 crore due to the labour issue. Back in 2005 the firm had witnessed a violent strike by workers that shook the Gurgaon-Manesar belt.
“We are not averse to Haryana,” HMSI’s Operating Head, Sales and Marketing N K Rattan stated, speaking on the topic of the location of the second plant. He also added that a formal announcement on the topic is expected by next month-end. The buzz is that HMSI is considering the three major auto hubs of the country, namely Manesar-Gurgaon, Pune and Chennai to set up the above mentioned plant.
[Via: Bike India]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
Tata Motors has launched Indica Vista with ABS and Airbags. The new Indica Vista Aura+ variant comes equipped with much needed safety features like ABS and Dual SRS Airbags. Aura+ variant is almost 30000 dearer than the Aura variant. Tata Indica, when launched 10 years ago, was the first “true” Indian hatch.
It has come a long way since but the recent auto expo showed us a new version, not just mere face lifts but more powerful engines, bigger, better interiors and improved quality. So far, 1.12 million Indica cars have rolled out. Indica Vista is a huge improvement after the original Indica platform which spawned a whole gamut of vehicles including the Indigo and Indigo XL Sedan, Indigo Marina the station wagon and Indigo CS compact sedan.
Posted in Tata | No Comments »
Saturday, February 13th, 2010
After Toyota incident, automakers have learnt their lessons. Honda has already recalled its vehicles across the globe for faulty electric switches followed by Peugeot Citroen who also recalled their models across Europe. Now Volkswagen has recalled 193,620 vehicles in Brazil and Mexico. Volkswagen announced that there was lubrication problem with rear wheels in its models VW Novo Gol and VW Voyage.
Volkswagen announced on its website the recall as a “preventative” measure where the designated Novo Gol and Voyage cars “can cause noise and continuous use could lead to a blockage of the wheels. In extreme cases, the wheel can come off.” This is the third recall operation by Volkswagen in Brazil. It had earlier recalled its 477,000 models of VW Fox when 8 Fox owners had their fingers chopped off and other 14 suffered hand injuries while folding the rear seats to increase the trunk space.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Saturday, February 13th, 2010
Bajaj India , which already has a 30% stake in Austrian motorcycle manufacturer, KTM, is expected to hike its stake to as much as 90% in the near future. While full details on this acquisition are not available yet, Bajaj and KTM are said to be in talks to finalise the deal as soon as possible.
Bajaj may either increase its stake in KTM to 90% right away, or may first hike the stake to 51% and then, in a phased manner, up to 90%. Details on the final arrangement are expected to emerge over the next few days. This deal will give Bajaj a major foothold in the European bike market and also open up avenues for launching bigger sportsbike from the KTM line-up in India.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, February 12th, 2010
Maruti has decided not to upgrade its entry level 800 model to meet the upcoming BS IV norms which come into effect in 13 cities from April this year. As a result this iconic little car will no longer be available for sale in these cities, but will continue to remain in showrooms for the rest of the country. Among the cities upgrading to BS IV are Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Kanpur, Ahmedabad, Surat and Agra.
According to R C Bhargava, chairman, Maruti Suzuki India, the company has decided against upgrading the 800. In recent years, the 800 has lost popularity due to rising buyer aspirations and its more sophisticated sibling, the Alto, which is currently the best selling car model in the country.
[Via: AutocarIndia]
Posted in Maruti | No Comments »
Friday, February 12th, 2010
The pemium entry level segment has recently seen new additions like Bajaj Pulsar 135, Gladiator SS and TVS Flame DS 125. Manufacturers are increasingly turning to the (so called premium) 125cc segment for profit. With a strategic move by Honda (HMSI) to augment the 12% market share it holds in this segment, the company is like to introduce an all new motorcycle in125cc segment in addition of its existing 125cc Shine. Honda India has launched the new upgraded CBF Stunner , which was showcased at the 2010 Auto Expo in New Delhi.
New CBF Stunner gets the following new features : -
- Addition of Tachometer in Intrument Cluster
- Maintenance Free Battery
- New Body Graphics and Stickers
- All Black Theme for Engine
- New Body Colored Cover Under The Engine
- New Sporty Mirror Set
- Half Chain Cover like we have seen in CB Twister
Posted in Honda | No Comments »
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
Toyota Motor Corp will recall around 436,000 hybrid cars worldwide, including the 2010 Prius model, according to a document obtained by Reuter. Toyota formally issued a recall filing of 223,068 cars in Japan across four hybrid models — the newest Prius model, the Prius PHV (plug-in hybrid), the SAI and the Lexus HS250h.
Of those, 199,666 are the Prius, Japan’s top-selling car in 2009 and the world’s most popular hybrid model. Outside Japan, Toyota will recall about 213,000 hybrid cars, including about 150,000 in North America, the document, which has not been made public, showed. Japan’s transport ministry said Toyota President Akio Toyoda would meet with Minister Seiji Maehara at 5:30 p.m. (0830 GMT), when he is expected to apologize for a series of recalls spanning the globe.
[Via: Zigwheels]
Posted in Toyota | No Comments »
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
After the huge success of Apache RTR 160 & Apache RTR 180,
TVS India is all set to launch the
Apache RTR 220 to compete with the likes of Yamaha R15, Hero Honda Karizma ZMR & Bajaj Pulsar 220. Though it is just a speculation and no official announcement has been made about the launch of Apache RTR 220, it is expected to be launched in March/April 2010. Apache RTR 220 might be the first TVS to come with full fairing. It might also feature ABS setting a new safety standard for performance bikes.
“If the market demands, we will look into the high-powered bike segment of above 200 cc category. This 200cc TVS bike could be either a sports bike or a bike with racing DNA. At this point of time TVS has not made any firm decision on this aspect,” TVS Motor Company President (Marketing) H S Goindi said. Internal sources reveal the Apache 220 to be more powerful with the bigger 220cc mill producing close to 22bhp. Apache RTR 220 is also expected to get full faring along with a segment first – ABS. Apache RTR 220 is expected to cost close to Rs. 90,000 to 95,000.
Posted in Manufacturers | No Comments »
