Monthly Archives: August 2009

Maruti’s Rural Plans

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Maruti Suzuki’s ‘Ghar Ghar Mein Maruti’ (A Maruti Car in Every Home) campaign has started to pay off. This is not a new initiative from Maruti Suzuki, but it has started to show real results now.

The rural drive was first launched two years back and the company had already planned a well sketched plan on how to penetrate into the rural market, which has now proved successful.

The company initially targeted the Panchayat members and other higher authorities and then slowly moved on to concentrate on the teachers, rural bank members, and healthcare members, and they also made easy availability of finance through public sector and several regional rural banks.

And this rural campaign could be seen as a reason why Maruti Suzuki was able to stand still in spite of the shaky economy which prevailed in the country during the economic slowdown.

The sales in metro had slowed down during the period but the sales from the region showed a growth, and contributed 12 percent of the total sales of the company.
With over 60,000 cars sold in rural markets between April 2008 and February this year it is identified that the rural market has high potentials.

By now Maruti has penetrated into most of the villages in the country and has appointed over 3,000 locals as Resident Dealer Sales Executive who promotes sales of Maruti cars in the region.

This Indian carmaker being in the country for a long time now knows the pulse of the crowd and knows what are their demands and interests even before they voice it, and this could be said as a reason for the company’s successful saga in the country.
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2010 Bentley Mulsanne Unveiled

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Bentley Motors has launched its Mulsanne at the Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance in California, in the US. The Bentley Mulsanne is said to have drawn inspiration from the old, massive Bentley 8-litre, which debuted in 1930 and only 100 units of those cars was ever built.

Bentley’s all-new flagship grand tourer, the Mulsanne is crafted, styled and engineered at the luxury car maker’s headquarters in Crewe, England. The car will be made in a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility within the Crewe facility unit. The Mulsanne in a completely new avatar will go into production in 2010.

The name of this new car is derived from Bentley’s history pages. The Mulsanne Straight is the stretch of the Le Mans racecourse where cars reach their highest speeds and Bentley has five victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Bentley’s new flagship model brings back the Mulsanne name and will effectively replace the Bentley Arnage.

The 2010 Bentley Mulsanne will come with the iconic 6.75 L (6750 cc/411 in³) V8 engine, although in a reworked model and is rumoured to have a spectacular design line.

The car will be available in the showrooms of US and Europe by mid-2010. Moreover, this car is also expected to be rolled out in India probably by the new of next year.

Bentley recently launched the powerful supercar Continental Flying Spur Speed in India.
Stay tuned for updates on the new Mulsanne at Carazoo.com. The Mulsanne will be displayed at the forthcoming IAA Frankfurt Motor Show from15th to27th September, 2009.
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Renault to Race in Valencia

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Fernando Alonso and Renault F1 team will be racing this weekend at the European Grand Prix after the Court overturned the one-race penalty imposed on the team for their actions in the Hungary Grand Prix.

On 26th July 2009 the Stewards of the Meeting at the Hungarian Grand Prix had suspended the Renault F1 team from the next event of the 2009 Formula One World Championship held in Valencia.

The reason for the ban is that the French team knowingly released car No 7 from the pit stop position without one of the retaining devices for the wheel-nuts being securely in position. Moreover, Renault failed to take any action to prevent the car from leaving the pit-lane.

They were also unable to inform Fernando Alonso of this problem or to advise him to take proper action and this resulted in a car part detaching at turn 5 and the wheel itself detaching at turn 9.

The French team had been excluded from Sunday’s European Grand Prix in Valencia after the hearing imposed by the Stewards of the Meeting at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Federation Francaise des Societes d’Assurances (FFSA) appealed the Stewards’ decision on behalf of Renault.

The French based squad admitted that it breached the Sporting Regulations and requested the Court of Appeal to reconsider the severity of the sanction imposed by the Stewards.

The Court adjudged to allow the appeal and overturn the sanction imposed by the Stewards in the contested decision and it issued a reprimand and imposed a fine of $50,000 upon Renault.

We could hardly wait for the weekend to come as Ferrari will be back too with Felipe Massa’s replacement and we will see the handsome Fernando Alonso racing at the upcoming European Grand Prix at Valencia in Spain.
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GM to Launch an Ultra Cheap Car

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The new leaner and meaner GM which has come out of bankruptcy is thinking of ways to secure a more stable position in the world market. The company has now laid plans for a new small car launch.

General Motors acquired all the motivation for this new launch from none other than the Indian car giant that is currently a growing player in the American car market, Tata Motors. Of late, the Nano from Tata has been giving ideas to other car companies to launch cheap cars that would push more car sales.

The new car from GM is expected to be priced at Rs 1.95 lakh, not as much cheaper as the Nano which is priced at Rs 1 lakh. The company is not concentrating on launching its ultra-cheap small car in the U.S. car market, but rather in the emerging markets such as India and other Asian countries. And a very good reason for this is that GM now finds countries outside America the best market for its cars, because in the first half of the year the company made most of its sale outside North America.

Nothing much on the specification or other features of the car is available, but it is quite possible that GM might choose its Indian plant to produce its new small car as GM has already made a strong base in the country and that it needs to only pay eight percent of excise duty for small cars.

GM India was still able to maintain a healthy position when its parent company filed bankruptcy and was in a shaky position.

Once the pride of America, General Motors, had filed for bankruptcy way before the economic recession in 2008, and one among the main reasons is the very elaborate labor plans and policies of the company, which very soon became a burden for the company.

But, after filing bankruptcy, GM was well planned and organized as to what are its priorities. Its decision to sell out assets and business ventures by the end of August 2009 holding back the long-term programs has proved beneficial to the company.
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E1, the New Eco-Friendly Car from Audi

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It is better late than never! This should be the phrase that will be bringing a sigh of relief for the luxury carmaker, Audi. When the whole car world seems to be celebrating the coming of the many eco-friendly models, Audi might have felt a little out of place and seriously decided that it also could have its way in the eco-friendly cars department.

This probably is why the company is planning to launch a new ecological car – that was a very light way to say how Audi has to really deck up and launch its expected E1 very soon.

There are more eco-friendly cars that is expected to be launched by Audi in this year such as the whole E series namely the E2, E3, E4, and E5 but this one, E1 seems to be more special than the rest not only because it is the first one in the list but also because of that the E1 belongs to the small car segment and there aren’t many cars from Audi in this segment.

It is not sure whether the car will be available in both petrol and diesel variants or just either one of them but it is expected to be available in gasoline and electric engines. The engine will be powered by a 600cc twin cylinder turbo charged engine. There will be a sibling for the E1, E1 1.2-litre three cylinder.

The E1 will have the typical Audi looks with its alloy wheels, mesh grille, Daylight running headlamps and the big front badge. And there will also be touchscreen device in the car that comprises of features like MP3 player, satellite navigation, and phone. The E1 will have better fuel efficiency with very low carbon dioxide emission.

The E1 is expected to become the best among the city cars and will take over the Ford Ka, and Smart. The car might take another year or two before it gets launched globally.
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Luca Badoer to Replace Massa

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Team Ferrari F1 seems to have got the solution to the problem it has been prodding for over a month a now. Ferrari has confirmed that Felipe Massa will be replaced by Luca Badoer for the upcoming European Grand Prix, pulling down the curtains on the most debated issue in the F1 circles of late.

Ferrari has been in distress since Felipe Massa was injured in Hungarian Grand Prix on July 25, 2009 and soon after that it was speculated that Massa would be replaced by the legendary, seven-time world champion Micheal Schumacher.

Schumi who had been recalled for the event by Ferrari soon forced to back out and call off his participation at the Formula One racing because he was haunted by the neck injuries he sustained during a motorcycle race earlier in the year.

Now Ferrari left with no other options, has zeroed on Luca Badoer to replace the injured Felipe Massa at the upcoming European Grand Prix at Valencia. Ferrari has promoted its test driver Badoer to the race position for the next race in Valencia, as a reward for his many years of efforts with the team.

Luca Badoer has been a Ferrari test and reserve driver since 1998 and last raced in 1999 for Minardi. Luca Di Montezemolo has named the 38-year-old Italian to race for the Scuderia.

Luca Badoer is Ferrari’s longest ever serving test driver. He holds a distinction of being the only driver who has competed in the 48 Grand Prix without scoring a single point. He was about to achieve his first points finish in the 1999 European Grand Prix, but the gearbox on his Minardi failed with only thirteen laps to go.

Unable to find a satisfactory race seat in Formula One after 1999, Badoer became a permanent test driver for Ferrari. He covers thousands of kilometres at the Mugello and Fiorano test circuits each year and has probably driven more kilometres in a Ferrari Formula One car than any other Italian in history.
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Mercedes-Benz to Launch the New E-Class

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New Mercedes-Benz E-Class Car
Mercedes-Benz has slipped down from the competition as the going for the brand in India seems tough with BMW already surpassing it as a new market leader in its class.

The growing sales of BMW have really put this luxury carmaker into deep thought of how to stand on par with it. Mercedes-Benz has been showing a decline in sales for the past few months while the sales of BMW is shooting high and has a whole range of new cars that will be launched by the company in the next few months.

Currently in the number two position, Mercedes-Benz has high hopes set on its upcoming model, W1212 also aptly called as the new E-class which is a ninth generation car. Having had launched a new M-class model in the country this year; the E-Class model is expected to hit the Indian roads by the end of September this year and will share its looks with its predecessor W1210.

Both the diesel and petrol variant of the car will be available, but the diesel variant will follow the petrol variant only by the end of the year. And the company really needs to speed up on this as the diesel variants are gaining more popularity than the petrol engine cars.

The petrol version of the car will be powered by 3.5 liter 24valve V6 direct injection gas engine delivering a power of 292 bhp. And the diesel version of the car will have a 320CDi engine.

As of now, neither the price nor any other specifications of the car is available.
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Fifty Years of Mini

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New Mini CarThe Mini will be celebrating its fiftieth birthday tomorrow.

The iconic car has been the witness of a world hit by oil scarcity, problems faced by car industry and many more. It has seen a series of ownership changes. In spite of all the happenings, the Mini still stands upright to tell us the unfortunate tale of its original maker British Leyland.

The company first got nationalized and then privatized and then got demerged, was sold again and before it went bust finally.

In 1968 the Labour government engineered the merger of British Motor Corporation with Leyland and was nationalized in 1975. In the 1980s, Jaguar dominated the stock market and the rest of British Leyland had been sold to British Aerospace which was resold to BMW in 1994. BMW sold the company to the Phoenix Four and MG Rover and the company broke in the subsequent year.

The Mini is a front-wheel drive car with sideways-mounted engine, small wheels and external hinges. It was launched as the Austin Seven in 1959. It was sold as the Morris Mini-Minor, adapting the marque of its decade-old Morris Minor. After a decade it officially became the Mini.

The Mini personified the Swinging Sixties. It has the credit of winning three Monte Carlo rallies and was a favourite among the popstars. The Mini itself became a film star in The Italian Job.

While the Mini was shining, the British motor industry faded. The Mini carried a price tag of £500 without heaters, mirrors, sun-visors or radios. In those days, British cars had wind-up handles and the Mini still had sliding panes, where as most of the foreign cars had electric windows.

The Mini has won many awards over the years. The most notable ones are the “Car of the Century” by the Autocar magazine in 1995, “Number One Classic Car of All Time” by Classic & Sports Car magazine in 1996 and “European Car of the Century” in a worldwide Internet poll run by the prestigious Global Automotive Elections Foundation in 1999. The Mini managed second place, behind the Model T Ford, for “Global Car of the Century” in that same poll.

Around 5.39 million units of the Mini were sold over forty years making it Britain’s most popular car. The last old Mini was manufactured in October 2000. But there are still thousands of these cars on the road, with the remaining pre-1980s versions being firmly established as collectors’ items.
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2010 ActiveHybrid X6 from BMW

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BMW ActiveHybrid X6
The 2010 BMW ActiveHybrid X6 is bundled with technologies. Read on to unfold the features of the new, technology driven car that has it all to boost the future outlook on cars.

The difference between the conventional BMW X6 and the ActiveHybrid X6 is that the ActiveHybrid car will have the twin advantage of the X6 concept and two-mode hybrid version. The new BMW drivetrain integrates power inventor, batteries and electronic system into the transmission.

Being already familiar with the ActiveHybrid X7, it is time to get used to the new member in the family, ActiveHybrid X6. The production of the car has already begun and it will be showcased in the coming month at the Frankfurt Motor Show alongside the ActiveHybrid X7.

BMW was rendered help from General Motors and Daimler Chrysler that co-developed the two-mode hybrid system. The transmission of this hybrid system is based on the ECVT electrical continuously variable transmission and the two modes, one for low and the other for high speeds also has fixed transmission ratio.

Apart from the technicalities, the ActiveHybrid X6 can be distinguished from the regular X6 as light blue paint scheme, unique badging and the 21” wheels gives it a different and distinct face.

The Active Hybrid X6 holds the credit of the world’s first Sports Activity Coupe which offers a full hybrid drive. A nickel-metal hydrid (NiMH) battery pack provides energy for the electric motors of ActiveHybrid X6. While in the electricity only mode, the ActiveHybrid X6 can run up to a speed of 60km/h.

All of this with an improved fuel efficiency of upto 20% compared to the other non-hybrid cars.
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Nano Plays Taxi, What A Thought !!!

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New Tata Nano Cars in IndiaOf late, Tata Nano has been making and breaking news in the country and abroad. The term Nano might go over your head, if you listen to that term once again. But we are compelled to do so with regards to the latest great Indian rumour mill working overtime. Nano has always been a favourite amongst the Moto- journo crowd and there is not a single day without a piece of news generated without the Tata Nano being in that in the country.

We all know Tata Motors’ ploy of terming this small giant as the common man’s car. And now as most of the journos have been saying that this “cheapest car in the world” will be expected to replace two-wheelers and bring in the trend of four wheelers, but in reality this concept put out by many including us in Carazoo.com will take some time for this trend to set in as there aren’t many Nano cars available in the market. In fact there will not be many cars in the Indian roads for years, but still the car will still be in news.

What you will read below might as well make you sit in the edge of that chair that you are already sitting reading this blog.

Tata Nano can be a really good Taxi! Yes, we just said it. Blasphemy, you say. Well, we are just keeping a mirroring our thoughts here. Tata Motors who has brought out models like Indica, Sumo or Indigo, never probably thought that their models would be a work horse of many cab-drivers and fleet operators commuting people from their work places. Now with the cheapest car tag attached to Nano, it could be a hot car amongst the taxi drivers.

The fuel efficiency of the car is really tempting and dream like; and best suites the purpose of a taxi. The car has a fuel economy of 22 kmpl in city and 26 kmpl on the highways and this alone can be seen as a reason for it to have a yellow number plates. The car has been booked by many entrepreneurs and the reason could be nothing else but to deck up the Nano and include it in the new list of Taxis.

If Tata Motors might read this blog and if it finds that Taxi version of Tata Nano might be reasonable, Tata Nano might even support the taxi life of Nano by releasing a diesel version of the car or by customizing the styling that best suites a taxi. You might not be surprised to see a Nano as a taxi but nod your head and consider it as a much expected sight. Well, just think what simple thoughts can give way to.
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