Monthly Archives: November 2009

Automotive Design Challenge by SIAM

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The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) is organizing an Automotive Design Challenge (ADC) for young and aspiring engineering and design students across India.

ADC will offer a platform to the young students who are ambitious to pursue a career in the field of automotive designing and this challenge will benefit the automobile industry as well in turn in the long term.

This creative challenge is going to be carried out by the SIAM Styling & Design Group. The SIAM Styling & Design Group comprises of experts from the automobile industry who look after issue covering automobile styling and its changing status in India.

This is one of the most important initiatives of SIAM to build linkage between Design and Styling resources in India and overseas to share and disseminate information in areas of common interest. The Automotive Design Challenge is aimed to encourage young students to opt for automobile design as a profession and also to offer the Indian automobile manufacturers with the talented Indian designers.

ADC will conduct two rounds of evaluation process. Evaluation will be based on originality of the concept, clarity of explanation, interactive mobility, environmental awareness and economic awareness. Evaluation of the teams will be done on a weighted average method based on quality of model, relativity between sketch and model as well as detailing of the model.

The theme of this year’s ADC is Mobility for Indian Youth – 2016. The theme is based on the challenges that would be faced in 2016 related to environment, fuel, speed and style statement. The result of the contest would be announced during the SIAM Styling & Design Conclave 2010 on January 7, 2010. Beside, the selected designs would be showcased at the Auto Expo 2010.
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The Coming of the Volvo S60

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Volvo Cars, the Swedish auto maker, has released the first official pictures of the production-ready S60. The S60 is sportier and more vibrant than any previous Volvo model. The S60 will be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2010. And it will be produced at Volvo’s plant in Ghent, in Belgium.

The Volvo S60 is expected to be equipped with Pedestrian Detection. And it is groundbreaking safety feature that can sense pedestrians in front of the car and brake mechanically even without any reaction from the driver.

Volvo Cars India (VCI) is looking at the possibility of launching its compact executive sedan S60 in the country by next year. And this will be after its reintroduction in the European car market. In case if its annual number touches 2,000 units, the company is also looking forward to set up a car assembling unit in India.

The company has established its charisma in seven cities in India namely Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, and Pune. And now the company is planning to further develop its strategies and stretching its dealership base to Goa, Coimbatore, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad.

S80 a luxury sedan and luxury seven-seater SUV XC90 are the options the company is currently offering its customers. Volvo will also launch a diesel variant of the S80 next month. Other than the S60, Volvo is also intending to bring in compact crossover SUV XC60, which is currently undergoing road testing it at the International Centre for Automotive Technology (iCAT). Even though the C70-coupe is also on the company’s list of to be launched cars, it will be available to the customers on an individual basis depending on the demand.
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Honda Will Not Join Low-Cost Car Race

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Japanese car behemoth Honda is not keen to bring out a low-budget car.

In the time of economic turndown, many car giants have decided to bring out small low-priced cars to up their plunging sale records.

Though the car maker will focus in the Indian and Chinese markets for future growth, it will not enter the ultra low-cost car segment. Honda is presently working on a small car to keep up with the demands in these markets.

The Japanese car major is yet to declare when they will come out with its new product. Honda is presently busy studying the Indian small car segment so that its upcoming compact car is packaged to meet the requirement of Indian customers, Indian price-point while adhering to the Honda brand. The car, Honda revealed, would be smaller than current hatchback Jazz.

Currently, India and China are Honda’s top priority. China has emerged as a rare bright spot for Honda. It sold 50,600 cars in the country in October, up 42 per cent from a year earlier. Honda sold 34,430 cars between April and October in India, an increase of 38 per cent from a year earlier.

Honda’s Japan operations are expected to stay in red though demand has been brisk, helped by generous tax reductions and incentives on hybrids like the Insight.

Honda’s US sales spiked temporarily in August helped by the cash-for-clunkers programme, but the impact was short-lived and followed by a sharp slump in demand the following month.

In June, Honda launched the Jazz in India, the smallest car in its stable. The company makes and sells premium sedans Honda City, Civic and Accord in India.
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Pictures of Volvo S60 Revealed

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Swedish auto giant Volvo has revealed the pictures of the all-new Volvo S60. The all-new Volvo S60 is sportier and more dynamic than any previous Volvo model.

The all-new Volvo S60 brilliantly designed and is sculpted to move you. It looks and drives like no other Volvo before and the car’s technology will help you to be safer and more confident behind the wheel.

The all-new Volvo S60 will be equipped with Pedestrian Detection – a groundbreaking safety feature that can detect pedestrians in front of the car and brake automatically if the driver does not react in time.




The all-new Volvo S60 will be unveiled to the public for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show in early March next year. Production of the sporty sedan model will start in early summer 2010 at the Volvo Cars plant in Ghent, Belgium.

Customers in this segment want emotional appeal, sporty design and dynamic driving properties and the S60 has it all.

Volvo will introduce the S60 crossover concept sedan in 2010 to the Indian car market. The car will carry a price tag of around Rs35 Lakh.
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Porsche Design Classic Sunglasses Available Again

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Porsche Design is an epitome for functional, timeless and purist design. The brand was founded in 1972, and since then, it has created countless products that have gone on to become classics. One particular milestone is the sports sunglasses from Porsche Design. And it is again available now as the P’8479. State of the art modern materials have been used for the new edition, with Beta-Titanium, a favourite material for space travel technology, ensuring lightweight flexibility.

The sporty, 80s style shield sunglasses were made famous by Yoko Ono. The artist wore them for the first time at a press conference in 1979. After that, Ono was spotted with the Porsche Design glasses so often that the P’8479 is now primarily known as the Yoko Ono sunglasses. Among other appearances, the singer was pictured wearing them on the cover of “Rolling Stone” magazine as well as on the record sleeves of “Yes, I’m a witch” (2007) and “It’s alright” (1982). In addition, Yoko Ono wore the sunglasses on a photo shoot for the fashion magazine, “New York”.


Porsche Design is a luxury brand with particular focus on technically inspired products. Since the time it was founded in 1972 by Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, the Porsche products have stood for functional, timeless and purist design. The product portfolio includes classic men’s accessories, a sport and fashion collection as well as electronic products and a men’s fragrance range. All products are designed in the Porsche Design Studio in Zell am See, Austria, and sold worldwide in own stores, shop-in-shops, high quality department stores and exclusive retail outlets. And this is for sure an added attraction to the huge range of auto merchandises.
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A Thought On Mahindra-Renault Logan

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The Logan was officially launched in 2004 but it is two-years old in India. It was introduced to the Indian car market through a joint venture between Mahindra & Mahindra and French car maker Renault.

Despite having many merits, the Logan has failed to win the hearts of Indian car buyers. The car could not attract customers mainly because of two major flaws.

The first drawback of the car is its look. The sedan has a very bland look. This is probably the reason a lot of car buyers opted out from buying the Logan. Carazoo.com feels that a face-lift could solve this problem. The sedan has to undergo a cosmetic surgery to keep up with the latest trend.

Apart from a face-lift, Mahindra-Renault should concentrate on its pricing too. The second weakness of the Logan stands on the price point. The petrol range starts at Rs 4.61 lakh going up to Rs 5.87 lakh and the top-end diesel variant is priced at Rs 6.68 lakh (all prices ex-showroom New Delhi).

Stronger competing models in the market with aggressive price tags such as Hyundai Accent, Ford Fiesta, Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire, Ford Ikon and the range of Tata Indigo sedans are available in the market in a price bracket close to the Logan.

Logan’s failure to play the pricing game was because the localisation content of the car, which is at 50 per cent, is much lower than competition and thereby has pushed up the final cost of the car. Moreover, the engine is imported from France, forcing the Logan to be more expensive compared to the other players in its segment.

Besides, the Mahindra-Renault Logan has suffered because of the dual structure excise duty, which is lower for small cars (up to 4 metres long) at 8 per cent while larger ones such as Logan (4.24 metres long) face a heftier 20 per cent. Competitor Tata Motors has trimmed the length of the Indigo to take advantage of the lower excise for small cars, thereby bringing down the cost of the car.

If the Mahindra-Renault partnership can look at these points, Carazoo.com expects that sales of the Mahindra-Renault Logan will shoot up inevitably.
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Auto Makers to Bring in Merchandise in India

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Auto markers are really behind the Indian wallet. This time, it’s not their latest automobiles that they are introducing to India; they are all geared up to lure Indian customers with their merchandise.

Ford Motor Company is planning to sprinkle its best selling perfume in the India market. And this is just the start of a merchandising drive by the legendary American carmaker. It also has its line of apparels, toys and car accessories in the pipeline.

Iconic Harley-Davidson Motor Company is going to foray in the Indian automotive world by the end of 2009. Apart from its bikes, the company will launch its range of merchandise. The cult motorcycle manufacturer offers jackets, coffee mugs, lighters, boots, pillow covers and in some cases even Spider Man tees for kids. Nearly 15-20 per cent of its revenue comes from its merchandise.

It’s just not the global auto manufacturers who are working on a merchandising plan. Our desi auto makers are also in the race. Bajaj Auto, which is all set to launch a low-cost car with Nissan-Renault, is working on its merchandising strategy. Soon, we will see Bajaj Auto’s merchandise line in their showrooms. Next to jump on the merchandise bandwagon is none other than Royal Enfield, the Indian equivalent of Harley-Davidson.

Ferrari already sells its merchandise in India. Its products include perfume, toys, watch among many others. We also have merchandise from car giants like Porsche, Lamborghini and Jaguar.
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GM May Bring in Chinese Car to India

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It is almost confirmed that General Motors will bring the Chinese car into India. And we shall receive a final picture of this once the negotiations between GM and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp is finalized. This act of the GM makes it very obvious that the company has all its heart and soul put into rejuvenate its past glory. The company is getting ready for the towering auto competition in the company, which it foresees.

Wuling will be the other partner in this endeavor. Wuling was started eight months ago. The company is said to be in a state of dilemma currently, where it does not know what to do and what not to. Presently, the three companies are in a three-way joint venture in China. And they are under the label of SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co.

The company is planning to bring beyond commercial vehicles though the partnership. The company will get to India commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles with Wuling trading mini trucks, mini vans, and even the GM Chevrolet Spark mini car.

GM is the biggest foreign automaker in China. And the company has an expected sale of about 1.4 million vehicles in the country.
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Three Super Hyper Cars on their Way to India

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All you car lovers, one among the greatest car news is on your way. And the Ultimate Motors of Dubai is bringing in the reason for you to rejoice. We believe that by the end of this year we will see three new cars in Indian roads.

Three brands of Super Hyper Cars (SHCs) will be launched in India before the start of 2010. It seems that the year 2009 is a blessed year for the car lovers of the country. They are getting to see some major car models in this single year.

Those of you who read Carazoo.com should be remembering the news about the launch of Ultimate Aero, the world’s fastest car. And now, Ultimate Aero is one among the three cars that Ultimate Motors is preparing for Indian launch. The Ultimate Aero has a speed of 413 kilometres per hour (257 mph) and produces 1,183hp. It can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 2.78 seconds.

Ultimate Motors is one of the leading distributors of exotic and luxury sports cars in the world. Ultimate Motors will launch three brands of commercial SHCs namely Shelby, Zenvo, and Arash.

Arash has an exclusive road car aerodynamics. And the Zenvo comes with full carbon body and steel chassis.
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Trabant nT Concept

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The 2009 Trabant nT Concept was displayed at this year’s IAA held at Frankfurt.

The 2009 Trabant nT Concept is characterized by a distinctive appearance and pleasing proportions. No unnecessary beading, edges or conspicuous ornamentation distract from the overall shape. The trapezoidal grill opening downwards, the front and rear lights, the bumper pads as well as the superimposed roof are the fundamental graphic elements.

The asynchronous electric motor of the Trabant nT powerfully drives the front axles and achieves a maximum speed of 130 km/h. The engine is fed by a lithium-ion battery located in the design space between rear axle and the car’s transmission tunnel. The battery has a range of maximum 160 km. The Trabant nT can be fully recharged overnight utilizing the regular power network for about 1 Euro in electricity costs. There is hardly a less expensive way to get around!

The trendsetting concept therefore stands for a safe and reliable city- and medium-range car, a second family car, a handy helper for service providers from a wide range of areas. The Trabant nT will be on the road in 2012.

After the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the car manufacturer, Trabant, drew its curtain. However, there were still enough enthusiasts who cared for and maintained their “Trabi” for it to live on as cult car. That is why, even today approximately 52,000 vehicles of the Trabant series are still registered in Germany.

Due to the long professional experience with the popularity of automobiles and its fans, it was no surprise that it was the miniature manufacturer Herpa who began to sense the special character of the Trabant brand. Herpa developed a perspective for the cult car for the “50th Trabant anniversary” on November 7, 2007, and presented it as Initiative newTrabi at the IAA 2007. The overwhelming response of many thousands of interviewees around the IAA 2007 suggested the initiative’s continuation so the newTrabi idea became a project with capable partners from the Autoland Saxony resulting in the development of the Trabant nT concept cars.
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