Monthly Archives: October 2009

No Ultra Cheap Car From Fiat

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Tata Nano is the car that brought in the trend of small ultra cheap cars. In fact Tata gave the courage and encouragement to the car makers in the country to make ultra cheap cars that will lure the buyers. Tata was in the news for a long time and is still in the news connected to the Nano. And we expected many companies to join Tata, launching ultra cheap cars and Fiat was one among them. We were literally celebrating each and every news that came out regarding the launch of ultra cheap cars. And we had our hopes high especially with Fiat, as Fiat has now tied up with Tata. But what you are going to read will certainly pull your expectations down, especially if you were waiting for an ultra cheap from Fiat.

The speculation about Fiat launching a small car was very much alive. But there is no hope left when the company authorities are themselves denying any plans of the company to enter the ultra-cheap car segment.

But we have a relief. The company is still in the process of developing several low cost cars. It is expected that these low cost cars will probably be in the bottom of the B-segment for the Indian market in the coming 3-4 years.

We are not aware of what will be the fuel options available in this proposed car. The engine option of the car is also not known, the company is still in the process of deciding it. This small car is expected to join the Indian small car market in the next few years.
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Nissan is Working on a New Platform

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Nissan is in the path of fulfilling its promise of launching more cars in India within the next three years. Colin Dodge, Nissan’s executive vice-president for Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, has now given the Indian car lovers a pleasant news. Dodge was on an official tour to India and it was then he announced this new plan of the company. Nissan is in the process of developing a brand new platform. And the new platform the company is working on is codenamed ‘V’. ‘V’ stands for versatile.

The company will use this new concept for its new small car, which the company has planned to launch in China, Thailand, and India. Nissan had conceptualized this new platform four years back in 2005 at its R&D centre in Japan. This new platform is assigned for the new generation cars from Nissan. The company is working on this new platform so that it will meet the demands of the global market.

We are not yet sure as to which variant the company will launch in India, petrol or diesel. But we know that Nissan will produce three cars on this platform. But Indian market will get to see only two of them. We will witness the launch of the first model sometime in May 2010, two months after it will be launched in Thailand. This first car will be produced in five countries and India will be one among them. And cars manufactured in India will be exported to African countries, Europe, and some countries in the Middle East. The new V cars will have 18 per cent fewer parts, when compared to a normal compact car from Nissan. For example, when a normal small car from Nissan has 85 front seat pieces, the cars based on this new platform will have only 50.

V platform would be produced in three different sections globally. And in this the production of two models has been finalized. The first model will be a next-generation Micra, and the production of the car will begin in May next year and the sedan in 2011. It is not sure whether the company will launch its third model in India. This will be a compact multi utility vehicle.

V-platform has been principally engineered for India and China. The Western versions of the V-cars will have extra importance on more refinement and body control. The V-platform will be spacious, compact and light weight. It will have a 3-cylinder, small engine and a small fuel tank of 41 litres.
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Maruti Suzuki Tops Again

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JD-Powers

Maruti Suzuki tops the list again, this time for a different reason!

India’s numero uno car company has topped the list for the tenth consecutive year for customer satisfaction in the country according to a recent survey conducted by global market research firm J D Power.

In the survey, “J D Power Asia Pacific 2009 India Customer Service Index Study“, Maruti Suzuki scored 824, on a scale of 1,000 points, followed by Honda Siel Cars India at 791 and Mahindra & Mahindra at 757.

It was to be noted that only Maruti Suzuki and the Indian arm of Honda bettered the industry’s average score of 785.

The other major car makers in the top ten list are Toyota with 754 points, Mahindra-Renault and Tata Motors at 750, Chevrolet with 748 points and Hyundai with 5 points less than Chevrolet. Ford is at the eighth place with 733 points followed by Fiat at 727 and Skoda is at the tenth position at 722.

The Senior Director of J D Power Asia Pacific mentioned that the leading brands differentiate themselves in the service quality and vehicle pickup factors. The study measured overall satisfaction by examining five factors — service quality, vehicle pickup, service advisor, service facility and service initiation.

J D Power also said the number of customers who changed from organised dealership service facilities to non-authorised service centre for vehicle service requirements decreased to seven per cent in 2009, from 11 per cent in 2008.

Overall customer satisfaction is measured on a 1,000 point scale, with a higher score indicating higher satisfaction. The study, which is based on responses from more than 5,800 owners of nearly 50 different vehicle models, was fielded from May to August 2009 and includes customers who had purchased their vehicles between May 2007 and August 2008.
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Volvo Separates From Ford India

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Volvo Logo

Volvo is not a subsidiary of Ford India any more. It has emerged as a separate company in India.

The Indian arm of the Swedish company has severed its ties with Ford India. This is a result of Ford Motor Company planning to sell Volvo Cars to potential buyer Chinese car maker Geely.

Volvo Cars India has changed its name to Volvo Auto India Pvt Ltd.
In 1999, Ford had acquired Volvo Cars from Volvo AB as part of its Premier Automotive Group, which then included Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover. Volvo had begun operations in India in March last year as a subsidiary of Ford India, with all backend operations being handled by Ford.

Former Volvo Cars India has seven dealerships in the country which will increase to twelve by end 2010. The new dealerships will come up in Kolkata, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Goa and Coimbatore. The company has sold about 100 units between March and December last year and sales for the current year is close to doubling. The luxury segment has grown by 20 per cent in India, whereas Volvo has grown by 23 per cent.

The Swedish luxury car major has plans to launch a luxury Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) XC60 and a sedan S60 in India. Currently, it sells its top-end S80 sedan, the C70 and the XC90 in the Indian market. A diesel variant of the S80 is due next month.
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Tata Nano will Now Go Through a Final Check

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Tata Nano
Tata Nano is now going through a tough phase. It all started a week back. It was a sudden happening. Tata Nano’s started catching fire one after the other and the Nano customers were in panic. But the company was not, which helped it to deal with the issue wisely.

Tata in no time was able to identify the fault and was acting wisely. We here at Carazoo.com had covered it in detail in our blog “No Panic! Tata Nano will No More Catch Fire”. It should be really appreciated that the company in no time was able to reach to the affected customers.

Nanos caught fire in Delhi, Lucknow, and Ahmedabad.

The company, understanding the fire is caused by faulty combination switches, repaired the faulty Nanos. Except for the Delhi customer, Tata returned the repaired Nanos to both the customers at Lucknow and Ahmedabad, Tata also assured the customers that the car will no more catch fire.

This was a news that gave great relief for the Nano customers. It not only comforted the current customers, but it also reduced the fright of those who have booked and is waiting for the delivery of the world’s cheapest car.

Tata didn’t put the responsibility on anyone else but courageously took the blame. And now Tata has taken the initiative of taking the car through a final check before it will be delivered to the awaiting customers. They will under a final check particularly for any faulty switches.

As a protective measure, Tata will perform a pre-emptive audit check on both delivered and yet-to-be delivered Nanos.
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Santa Fe to Grace Indian Roads by Next Year

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New Hyundai Santa Fe To Be Launched in India

It has been a long time since Hyundai has been announcing the launch of its SUV, Santa Fe, in India. And this time also you may not quiet believe it. But yes, this time it might possibly happen. The reason why one could expect the coming of the car is because it is raining SUVs in India now. And every other company is planning to launch an SUV. And Hyundai would never want to lag behind.

The launch of RiO by Premier is a classic example of the demand for SUVs India. Premier was a very famous Indian car manufacturer. But the company was away from business for a long time, till yesterday when it re-entered the Indian car industry with its mini SUV.

Hyundai also has plans of launching a small car in India by 2011. It will be an 800cc small car.

It was two years back, in 2007, Hyundai first announced its plans to launch its SUV, Santa Fe, in 2008. But things didn’t work out and the company was not able to launch the car in 2008 as promised. We had also expected the launch of the SUV this year. But the latest information is that the Santa Fe will be seen in the Indian roads next year.

In India, Santa Fe is expected to be launched both in petrol and diesel models. It will be available in 2.7-litre petrol engine and 2.2-litre diesel engine. The price of the SUV is not known. But it is sure that this new model from Hyundai will surely create a tough competition for Toyota Fortuner, Honda CR-V, and Chevrolet Captiva.
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A Car Race With A Difference

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Solar Powered Cars

Thirty-two cars, seventies countries and a distance of 3000 kilometers! Yes, we are talking about a world car race, but this car race is far, far different from regular car races. Can you guess, why and how?

Well, all these cars are powered by solar power. Believe it or not, all these cars participating in this big feat resemble huge insects, solar planets and spaceship!

The World Solar Car Race was kicked off this Sunday from Darwin and will finish at Adelaide on Saturday. These solar-powered and fuel-efficient cars will travel through Australia’s tropical rainforests, desert and coastal plains, all in the name of environment. Hence, this car race is also called the Global Green Challenge.

These cars are mainly designed by the engineering students from across the world. Each team comprises of four drivers who take turns to drive the cars. Starting at 8 am daily, the drivers would stop and put up camp at 5 pm daily before continuing the race the next day.

SunSwift IV Cars
As usual, this time too, the spectators will see some unique cars in the race. There is this distinctive car Sunswift IV form Australia’s University of New South Wales. This solar car is a three-wheeled, carbon fibre machine, which can reach a top speed of 115 km an hour using just 1,300 watts, the same power it takes to toast two slices of bread! Unbelievable, huh?

A team of Dutch from Delft University was expected to start out as the race’s favourite after taking home the prestigious Silver Sun trophy for the last four races, who also set a record in 2005 with an average speed of 102.75 km per hour.

The Global Green Challenge for the first time will also have a second category, the Eco Challenge. The Eco Challenge will flag off seventeen cars from ten manufacturers to prove their fuel efficiency. These eco-friendly cars from the ten manufacturers are already in showrooms or soon-to-be on sale. The Eco Challenge will include automobiles like the fully electric sports car Tesla and the Ford Kia. Besides, Honda, Hyundai, BMW, Skoda, Suzuki, Holden, and HSV are also a part of this Eco challenge.
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Volvo Goes to Geely

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As we all know Volvo is under the hammer for the last few months. And Ford Motor Company is on the way of hunting a suitable bidder for its European luxury brand Volvo that Ford acquired for $6.4 billion in 1999.

Ford has revealed that China’s Zhejiang Geely Group Holding Co. Ltd. is its preferred bidder for its Swedish car subsidiary Volvo. Geely is famous for making the cheapest cars in China, but of late it has been moving towards appealing to more affluent customers.

The American car major said it would enter “detailed and focused” negotiations with Geely, although no final decision about Volvo’s future had been taken.

Last month Geely announced that it was intending to make an offer for Volvo.

Ford believes Geely has the potential to be a responsible future owner of Volvo and to take the business forward while preserving its core values and independence. Although Ford said it would not retain a shareholding after any sale, it said it would continue to co-operate with Volvo “in several areas”. These would include component supply, engineering and manufacturing.

Volvo was part of Fords’ Premier Automotive Group. Premier Automotive Group was formed in 1999 and comprised of Aston Martin, Jaguar Land Rover brands. Last year, Ford sold Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors and it sold Aston Martin to a UK-led investment consortium in 2007.
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Premier Launches RiO in India

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Premier Ltd. is among the oldest auto makers of India. And the company has launched its first ever sport-utility vehicle model. This new mini-SUV will be manufactured with China’s Zotye Holding Group. This new kid of Premier is expected to be a tough competition for Maruti Suzuki Gypsy, Scorpio M2Di, and Mahindra Bolero.

This is an auspicious occasion for Premier as RiO, this new SUV of the company, is the beginning of a new phase of the company in India. The once famous company has manufactured the all-time favourite Indian car, Premier Padmini. And now, the company is expecting to repeat the magic.

The 1.5-liter turbo-diesel engine RiO will be imported by Premier from Zotye and will be assembled at its factory in Pune.

Premier RiO is based on the first-generation Daihatsu Terios. And it is powered by Premier’s own engine that is basically a downsized Peugeot TUD5 diesel engine. The 1490cc engine RiO delivers a 65 bhp of peak power.

The company is taking necessary steps so that RiO will meet the new emission norms of the government that will come on effect from April 1, 2010.

It is also expected that the company will start delivering RiO in the month of December. This mini-SUV was expected to launch in the Indian market during Diwali. The growing love for SUVs in the country will truly help in the sales of RiO. During April-September 2009, the sales of SUVs in India rose 3.5%. And it is expected that the demand will still grow because of the rising disposable incomes and the construction of more cross-country highways.

The Rio will be offered in three variants, the EX, which is priced at Rs 5.25 lakh, the DX at Rs 5.50 lakh, and LX at Rs 5.95 lakh, ex-showroom, Pune.
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The New Mitsubishi Montero

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There is a pleasant news for the Montero lovers!

Mitsubishi is launching an all new Montero. This piece of news can also delight those serious off-roading fans.

Mitsubishi is launching an all-new Mitsubishi 3.2 DI-D Montero. It will give its customers the power of 200 horses. This new car will be an entirely revised version of Mitsubishi Montero. And it will be available in the international market very soon. Currently, the Mitsubishi Montero delivers some 162 bhp. And this new version of Mitsubishi is expected to be more fuel efficient than the existing Montero. The company claims that the new Montero will consume only 17 per cent less fuel when comparing with its predecessor.

The new Mitsubishi is a 4×4 equipped vehicle. And it is available in both automatic and manual transmission. There are a whole lot of modifications done to the bearings, pistons, camshaft, cylinder heads, connecting rods, valve train, turbocharger, oil pump, injection system and ECU. The maximum torque available is 441 Nm at 2,000 rpm.

The new Montero has an improved insulation, inside and out, thicker front glass and a well protected windshield. The changes made to the engine of the car helps to reduce the noise and vibration.

It will also be spotted having new upholstery and body colors, bluetooth integration with steering wheel controls, and MMCS browser.

The car is expected to be launched in the international market by 15th of December. The price of the car is not available yet. But this all new power packed Montero is sure to pose strong competition for the Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW. It is also not know when the car will be released in the Indian car market.
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