The MPV Xylo from Mahindra’s stable has brought a new excitement in the Indian car market.The thrill that Mahindra tried to invoke in the market before the debut of the car with its creative marketing strategies is also continuing after its launch. The catching punch line “The era of sedan is over” left people guessing about the car’s body type and it was only public after its commercial launch.

The exhilaration was overpowered with passion when the car actually made its debut in the country. Not only this, the Xylo has also kick-start Mahindra’s sales chart along with overwhelming response from the car buyers. As speculated, Xylo proved to a blessing for Mahindra and with this prop the company is gradually stepping towards the success path.

Surprisingly, in this time of credit crisis when most of the car buyers are deferring their car buying decisions, the Xylo has recorded sales of 1,788 cars with bookings of more than 4000 cars.

Undoubtedly, this awe-inspiring success within a month of its launch has given a tough time to its competitors. Its unique features combining the luxury of a sedan with the ruggedness of a SUV are a threat to the cars from both the segment.

Car with commitments for zero percent emission, breathtaking speed, and unlimited entertainment is rarely found. But an American car manufacturer Shelby SuperCar (SSC) promises to deliver all these in its car model named as ‘Ultimate Aero Electric Vehicle’.

This car is expected to roll out within six months time carrying a new All-Electric Scalable Powertrain (AESP). This new engine technology packs a twin motor to generate power output of 1,000 bhp. It will also be equipped with a carbon-fibre rear spoiler and the innovative AeroBrake for effective and powerful braking. With the powerful electric engine, the car can rocket from 0 to 100 km/h in just 2.5 seconds. This high acceleration achieved with an electric motor is commendable. The new charging system known as ‘Charge on the Run’ that charges the full battery in less than 10 minutes is also a striking feature of the car.

The company also commits to impart arousing design based on the platform of the world’s fastest production car, the Ultimate Aero TT. The aerodynamically designed nose of the car contributes to the overall performance and speed of the car which is expected to hit a top speed of 335 km/h.

Car’s interior will also display its unique quality with a central console that incorporates a complete PC information system, digital temperature control unit, and tyre pressure monitor. It will also have the latest car technologies like the GPS and HD radio fitted with an on-board diagnostic software.

This marvellous supercar with the luxury of entertainment and eco-friendly character is sure to take the car market by storm.

The modes of travelling have come a long way from steam engines to space ships witnessing unique and innovative concepts with the passage of time. Cars being one of them have seen many latest modifications and advanced technologies.

Fascinatingly, Nissan has created an astounding concept utilizing its design ingenuity and technological prowess. This ingeniously named, Pet Pivo concept was showcased for the first time in India at the ‘Nissan Technology and Design Square’ held at Techfest 09, Mumbai.

Techfest is a college festival organized by IIT every year to display extraordinary advancements in science and technology. And this festival aspires to spread the illumination of creativity of genius people who have transformed ordinary and novel ideas to extraordinary innovations.

Nissan’s Pet Pivo concept was a surprise sensation at the festival because of its revolutionary technology with a 360 degree turning cabin and 90 degree turning wheel.

Originally, Nissan Pivo is an innovative three-seat commuter car with a rotating cabin and the futuristic new Pivo 2 concept is a brilliantly designed car that proposes the intelligent robotic agents.

Carrying a perfect combination of fun, functionality, and bonding between the car and the driver, the Pivo 2 concept was designed to run in urban environment. The car is powered by advanced lithium-ion batteries and equips ‘by-wire’ technology for steering and braking. All the four wheels are powered by electric In-wheel 3D Motor that allows the wheels to turn 90 degrees and allows it to move in any desired direction that too without the assistance of reversing. So, a car like this makes reversing obsolete.

The most interesting fact about the car is an innovative robotic agent that communicates with the driver sharing every journey with him. This intelligent robot understands and speaks both Japanese and English language.

As it sounds, the car would really be a fun to drive with the smart drivetrain and a conversing robot.

Competition among car manufacturers is aggressively growing with the expanding car industry. Every car manufacturer is planning something innovative and unique to seize the top position in the car industry.

The iron is getting hotter between Toyota and General Motors. This year Toyota surpasses General Motors in sales and victoriously snatched the title of World’s top car manufacturer from the company.

Now, when General Motors announced to bring the luxury car brand Cadillac to India, Toyota is silently planning to introduce Land Cruiser diesel model in the country.

This SUV is one of the most popular cars from Toyota will be cruised to India as completely built unit and is likely to carry a heavy price tag of around Rs 40 Lakh. With the diesel version, Land Cruiser is presently undergoing the new import rules and regulations.

Toyota’s Fortuner is also on cards for Indian market that will be locally built. So, car buyers can expect an affordable price tag that is speculated to fall within the range of Rs 18- 20 Lakh.

It seems that both the top car manufacturers are implementing all possible strategies to grab a pie of the luring Indian car market. Let’s watch and see who wins the race!

When the entire car industry was suffering from the pain of low sales due to recession, Rolls Royce rejoiced its success in the Indian car market.

The year 2008 was the worst year in the history of car industry as it has witnessed a tremendous fall in car sales even in the festive months when people lavishly invest on luxury items like cars.

But few of the luxury car manufacturers including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Rolls Royce managed to sell their car models and enjoyed their victory amid economic downturn.

Surprisingly, Rolls Royce experienced 20% rise in its sales despite of being one of the costliest car brands in the country. It is unimaginable that in the depressed market condition costly luxurious cars are receiving good response.

It is interesting to note that there is a great demand for the Phantom range in the price conscious Indian market. And the new introductions of the model of Phantom Saloon and extended wheel base models bagged the credit for more than half of the overall sales.

Even more interesting is the fact that the company’s sales scored by 20 percent continuously for five consecutive years. And now heading with the positive view Rolls Royce is looking forward to introduce RR4 series in the country later this year.

After a long wait and series of speculations, finally Nano bookings will begin by February end.

You can book the ‘People’s Car’ by paying an amount of Rs 70,000. The car can be booked at all Tata Motors dealers and various branches of State Bank of India as Tata Motors and SBI have signed an agreement for the car. Tata holds high hopes with the Nano bookings and expects a booking of over one lakh cars with a collection of Rs 700 Crore.

The wait for Nano can still be longer as initially only 3,000 cars will be rolled out from the Pantnagar plant. And you will get the car only if you are lucky as the allotment will be made through a draw otherwise you have to wait for the next production cycle.

So if you wish to be the proud owner of the world’s cheapest car, the Nano, book the car before the booking stock closes.

With increasing number of road fatalities, car safety features are the primary catch in cars by car buyers nowadays. Though India is far away from other nations in implementing stringent norms for necessary safety features in cars, but Indian car manufacturers are developing cars stressing on safety features that will follow the European standard.

Car manufacturer like Tata Motors and Mahindra are soon to invade the European market and the key feature that will drive their car sales in the Western market are safety features. They have given safety the prime importance in their cars because European customers are more aware about safety mechanism of cars. European buyers are even more drawn to cars that have good star ratings by the Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme).

In Europe, new cars are rated by the Euro NCAP with ‘star ratings’ (1 to 5) depending upon performance in various crash tests, like front, side and pole impacts, and impacts with pedestrians. Now as the Indian car manufactures are planning to drive their cars in the European market, they are aggressively working to meet the European safety standard.

The man behind the seducing style of every BMW car has put his hands off from the brand. Yes, Christopher Bangle BMW’s Head of Design department who have served the company for 17 years imparting his ideas and innovative concepts on BMW cars will no more work with the brand.

Most of the BMW cars that we see today on roads are developed and designed under
Christopher’s leadership. Christopher’s image and popularity in the car industry became promising in 2002 when he created the redesigned BMW 7 Series with the raised, bustle-like trunk lid. This creative design was christened as “Bangle Bustle” to keep the designer’s name intact with the design. Many cues have been pioneered by him and some of them have been imitated by other car manufacturers as well.

All BMW marvels including BMW 3, 5, 7 Series, BMW Z3, Z4, X5, Z8, X3, the new BMW 6 Series, the BMW X6 and the BMW 1 Series are designed by him with creative, imaginary and innovative power. He has also sprinkled his magic on the new MINI and Rolls-Royce models.With a special aptitude for dedicatedly working with his teams, this great car designer has always made in-routes to a bright, prosperous, and ambitious future whilst maintaining the BMW’s brand identity. He has also been bestowed with a dozen patents for his high-end technical applications and innovative designs.

After leaving such a strong impact on BMW, Christopher Bangle decides to move out and take a new and aesthetic route into future. Now the post is handed over to Adrian van Hooydonk who shares Christopher’s fascination for design, technology, innovation, and tradition.

Hope Adrian van Hooydonk also imprints same success story for himself as well as the company carrying the legacy of Christopher Bangle.

Volkswagen introduces its fascinating Bluesport concept with a desire to gift the car industry a clean and fuel efficient car. The compact and passionate Bluesport concept car first made its appearance in the Detroit 2009 Auto Show 2009.

It’s a unique sport car with a symbiosis of outstanding technology and striking Volkswagen design.The car carries a lean and linear structure. The interior displays meticulously crafted body with high level of technological details. The intuitive and easy to operate touchscreen is the eye catching feature of the car. The single-piece seatbacks are perfectly adorned with the leather upholstered.

It packs a mid-mounted 2.0-litre turbo diesel engine mated to a six-speed dual-clutch transmission and generates 180 bhp. The car with effective weight distribution and powerful engine can reach a top speed of 225 km/h and run from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.2 seconds.

The introduction of this car in the market would give a whole new meaning to ‘diesel performance’ that seems to an oxymoron to the majority of the car buyers. Volkswagen’s Bluesport concept speculated to form a new platform for Audi TT and Porsche Boxster will see the light of day by 2011.

The Sportback concept unveiled by Audi at the Detroit Auto Show 2009 in January is the true personification of its vision for future car models and a glimpse of its new design vocabulary.

The technology epitomises a pure combination of elegance, sportiness, and variability. It is a perfect example of company’s stern determination to push design and technology beyond all limits.

The new innovative concept will be seen in the soon-to-arrive Audi A7. This four-door coupe is to ride with world’s cleanest diesel technology, the 3.0-litre V6 TDI which meets all the emissions norms of 50 U.S. states and also the EU6 standard that is scheduled to be effective by 2014. Audi has taken all possible measures to ensure an impressive fuel efficiency of 16.9 km/l.

The car carrying this new concept is also not lacking behind in terms of appeal. Sporting elegance of the coupe is reflected by a flowing silhouette, dramatic lines, frameless doors, and impressive roofline. In the car’s interior, sophisticated technologies and futuristic features augment the car’s sporting intentions and versatility.

With all these, the Sportback concept car (Audi A7) is speculated to take on Porsche Panamera and Mercedes-Benz CLS.