Did you know that Land Rover is looking at bringing out a front-wheel-drive version of the forthcoming 2012 LRX crossover? That brings a smile on everyone’s face as it is something new in the history of the maker of the rugged go-anywhere SUVs. This will be the first ever FWD in the company’s history! An all-wheel-drive LRX will still be the main Land Rover product, though. The 2012 Land Rover LRX is all set to debut at the 2010 Paris Auto Show.

Our friends at Indian Cars Bikes say that Land Rover is bringing in the automobile to offer a more fuel-efficient product, a sign of the times. They have a lot to say about the car, and here’s what they say. The small LRX is a reasonable candidate for the FWD offering in the car maker’s lineup. We had first seen the concept version of the LRX at the Detroit Auto Show two years ago as a hybrid biodiesel-powered “cross-coupe.” The four-wheel-drive LRX will be out first and the FWD version will follow with a new name. The Range Rover Compact is the most likely one, at least that’s what Autocar in the UK says. The LRX was born as a 2.0 Litre Turbo Diesel hybrid with Bio diesel capability and the compact will also come with the same, being the LRX’s FWD twin.

Jaguar Land Rover says that the LRX will deliver fuel economy of 21 kmpl, thus making it the most economical vehicle in its class. With the compact, don’t you think the LRX can rise? It obviously will. An electric version is also on the cards and is likely to see a launch by 2013. Just another wild thought; imagine all cars in India to be carrying the all drive version. What would the condition of the roads be with cars from Maruti Suzuki, Honda, Ford and all other manufacturers in all wheel drive?

Why do you think JLR has come up with the FWD idea? Will it be profitable for the car maker? The vehicle is mostly bought by the hunting enthusiasts who go fox or deer hunting in the woods. The buyers are the city men with fat salaries, the office goers, or the celebrated soccer moms. All these people are sure going to love buying a Land Rover that will cost less than the AWD version and extract the 21 kmpl mileage out of the vehicle. All this can be done while still retaining the class tag that they drive a Land Rover!

The front-wheel-drive variant of the LRX crossover will allow JLR to once again make a signature range out of the Range Rover. The new car will of course retain its stately personality while transferring the soccer mommies and the so-called eco-friendly Lexus-driving office goers’ choice to the Compact LRX. Well, it is a departure from the heritage of AWD for the car maker, but this as a marketing strategy is something that will hopefully blaze for JLR and make the Range Rover an outdoorsy palace.

Rolls Royce… These Two words run parallel with words such as wealth, opulence, luxury, ultimate possession and so on which gives a superlative meaning in terms of richness. What are we rambling about might surely be your concerns at the moment you are reading this. But read on.

The car which runs parallel with the epitome of prosperity was some time back found abandoned in the Russian countryside near railway sidewalk. Now, it’s not quite often you come across people who do this stupid thing to a Roller right? But mind you. We are here speaking about Russia, a land which is coming out of the clutches of Communism. Anything is possible provided you have wads of moolah to buy your way through. We speculate that the owner of the car was probably mugged which Russia is quite famous for and left the car to rot thinking that the car could get the muggers nowhere.

Speaking of the Rolls Royce, This abandoned Roller was not just another Rolls Royce car. This was a Rolls Royce Phantom that has been fully modded with an exclusive Centurion bodykit, upping its value to somewhere in the neighborhood of $450,000. The special-edition Rolls Royce Centurion is now collecting snow and counts worn out tires and chopped wood among its companions.

From what we’ve also heard, this seemingly abandoned Rolls was once the property of a celebrity from Las Vegas, who then sold the car to a Russian buyer a few years ago, only to end up at the most unlikeliest of places. Poor Rolls, indeed.

There’s more news of this Rolls coming in. This very Rolls Royce Phantom had showed up on eBay Motors three years ago, and the seller wrote it “will become one of the most historically significant Rolls Royce Phantoms of recent times.” It appears that when the Centurion met history, they didn’t get along.

Even if the Centurion was ugly, it’s still a Phantom, and one would think it would be worth something more than a lonely death down by the tracks. Assuming the photo above is the real deal, there is at least one enigmatic inhabitant of Russia who thinks differently. Let this be a lesson, kids: this is what comes when one reaches too eagerly for stardom.

Indian car industry has been on its best in a decade and global auto manufacturers want to make the most of this opportunity. Many international auto makers have set up their production base in India which not only looks after the domestic demands but also caters to the demands generated abroad.

India, over the years, has shown an incredible strength in manufacturing world class compact cars, and the cost effective production choices offered by the country is appreciated by most car makers. Hyundai is one such car maker. It has a number of production facilities in India which looks after the export and domestic demands for its cars.

Another car manufacturer, Nissan Motors, wants to make India the hub for small cars. Predicting a shift in car markets from the west to BRIC countries, Nissan’s global COO, Toshiyuki Shiga said that the volume growth in western and other developed markets would be slow and the incremental numbers would come from countries like India, China, Brazil and Russia. “The car market is shifting from Japan, US and Europe where growth will be difficult to come by, even though the overall market may not be down. We have to adapt to this change,” Shiga told.

He also said that the company has already invested about Rs 2000 crore for a new car plant in Oragadam, near Chennai. Nissan Micra is up for a launch pretty soon, and the soft marketing for the same already begun too. Micra is the company’s first India-made car.

The company is expecting the hatch to be the volume driver in India. Nissan will also be exporting the Micra to Europe and other key markets from India.

But that is not all that the company plans to do in India. It has a lot of things up its sleeves. As it starts the production of Micra for India and overseas markets, it has also announced its wish for making an entry-level small car, mostly in Rs 2.5 lakh price range, for which it may partner with Hinduja group company Ashok Leyland. Though the new car is still miles away from production, we can safely say that the car will join Nissan’s export brigade from India.

Thailand serves as a major hub for making pick-ups by global companies, and India holds a lot of promise becoming an export hub. “There are a host of benefits that we get from India for compact cars. The investments are low here and the cost of labour and parts is cheaper than Europe. Importantly, there is a domestic market for such cars that gives us the scale to go for large numbers,” he said.

This week has witnessed many car launches. It’s almost the end of the week and it looks like car makers want to finish off their launches as quickly as possible. Was this week that auspicious? So, don’t be surprised to see us writing about 3 car launches on a single day. We have written about the launches of the Bentley Continental Supersports and the Chevrolet Aveo CNG. Now, we have yet another luxury car manufacturer, Mercedes Benz launching a new petrol variant of its entry-level C-Class sedan in India.

Mercedes also has plans to expand its distribution network to tap the growing market. Indians are growing rich, ah! Or, are car makers offering their luxury products at a cheaper price? The new car from Mercedes is priced at Rs 28.44-lakh (ex-showroom price, Mumbai) and is one of the cheapest models available from the German auto giant in India. Mercedes-Benz India’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officers, Wilfried G Aulbur, told reporters, “We are investing across the country and are expanding our reach.” Very recently the company had opened up two dealerships in Surat and Goa, and as of now, two more in Indore and Bhubhaneshwar are on the cards.

Aulbur said that the luxury car market had seen a good growth in recent months and on the back of a pick-up in demand. Mercedes managed to regain the first spot in India’s luxury car market beating German rival BMW who had grabbed the title last year. In the first four-months of this year, the market has grown at 60 per cent and Mercedes has grown at 70 per cent. Mercedes now clearly sees India as a country out of recession.

The C-Class sedan is powered with the latest CGI technology, which uses a direct injection engine with spray-guided combustion process. The engine can run on high excess air offering better fuel efficiency. The newly launched 1,796 cc car, the C 200 CGI will replace the old C-Class, which runs on Kompressor technology. The new engine also makes more power and torque as compared to the outgoing model. The mileage figures are going to be high.

The car maker claims that the car can deliver 11.74 km/litre in normal driving conditions and lowered CO2 emissions at 201 grams per kilometer which is more than 7 per cent less than the Kompressor engine technology. The CGI technology will soon be used in other Mercedes models too and will replace the in-line petrol engines in coming times.

The Mercedes Benz C200 CGI can deliver 186 bhp at 5600 rpm and a maximum torque of 285 at 2400 – 4000 rpm. The engine is coupled with a five-speed automatic transmission and can zoom to a maximum speed of 230 km/h. This rear-wheel-drive car from Mercedes weighs 1540 kg.

We can smell the smoke everywhere in India. The battle is getting tougher. We have three contenders, the Mercedes C200 CGI, the BMW 3 Series and the Audi A4 on the battlefield. The BMW 320d and 330i are priced at Rs 23.95 and 33.4 Lakh respectively. The Mercedes C200 CGI’s pricing is such that it also falls in the range of the top end Honda Accord and the high-end Skoda Superb V6. Also, this is the first time that Mercedes Benz has introduced its latest technology on an entry level car from its stable. Let’s see if BMW and Audi follow the suit and get their latest fuel efficient engines into India.

Mercedes India is on a roll, with launches practically every month of the year in 2010. The company’s launches this year include the GLK SUV, E Class variants, the new S Class and now the CGI engine and C200 CGI.

One of the most common and general myth is that Maruti Suzuki cars are the most fuel efficient cars in India. Well, it’s partly true in the sense that most Maruti Suzuki cars are fuel efficient, but they are not the most fuel efficient cars under the sun. Don’t believe us? Hyundai i10 has been rated the country’s most fuel efficient petrol car in the compact segment. Hyundai i10 is also the most popular car in the compact segment.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd. is India’s largest exporter and second largest passenger car manufacturer. And these two important achievements are accompanied by another fact which states that the Hyundai i10 has also emerged as the top seller in the ‘over 1 litre of capacity’ segment. The good just got better, right!

The i10 is a BS IV compliant car and is powered by a 1.2 litre Kappa engine. The engine, under test conditions, has achieved an outstanding mileage of 19.81 km to a litre of petrol. This is the best-in-class ARAI certified fuel economy, beating the other petrol cars in the compact segment in India. The high fuel efficiency combined with high environment friendliness is what attracts the Indian customers to the Hyundai i10. The car presents an excellent option for affordable transportation and low carbon footprint.

No wonder, then, that Hyundai i10 is the top selling car in ‘over 1 litre of capacity’ segment. In the financial year 2009 -10, the Hyundai i10 sold an incredible 149,242 units in the domestic market. While doing so, the car broke all the previous records and became the highest selling car in the ‘over 1 litre of capacity’ segment.

Commenting on this, Arvind Saxena, Director, Marketing and Sales, HMIL, said, “The extraordinary fuel-efficiency of Hyundai i10, best among the petrol cars in its segment emphasizes Hyundai’s overall technology leadership in making highly fuel-efficient cars. We hope that the best-in-class mileage of i10 will enable us to increase our market share by reaching out to a larger customer base. We are also glad that i10 continues to be No.1 in its segment. This reflects the confidence customers place in our brands”.

Hyundai i10 made its global debut in India, and since then the car has sold like hot cakes offered with discounts. Post launch, the car saw a huge demand in both domestic and the overseas market. And after the car was launched with the power-packed and highly fuel efficient Kappa engine, the sales just got even better making it the best seller in its segment.

Barely after Five months after global auto majors, Volkswagen and Suzuki, struck a $2.5 billion global partnership, they have started their synergy search in India, a crucial small car market for both the companies.

Teams from Volkswagen India and Maruti Suzuki have already visited each others factories in Chakan and Gurgaon/Manesar respectively, according to people with direct knowledge of the development. The firms have decided that the two brands will compete with each other in the car market. The teams from both companies are at the moment collating synergy possibilities in back-end areas like product development, project implementation and manufacturing.

But both the companies were cautious to admit the possibilities of the synergy to the media refusing to give their comments on the issue.

As of now, the two teams are in the process of familiarising each other with the data and efficiencies on offer, said people close to development. At the top of the priority list is the search for synergies in product development ranging from endurance testing and clay modeling right up to sharing a common platform or design architectures as well as joint product development by the two companies.

Volkswagen and Maruti are also looking for project synergy including setting up new factories. Maruti is already setting up another plant in Manesar to take its total capacity to 1.5 million cars a year. It plans to spend Rs 1700 crore on this project which will start cranking out cars by early 2011.

VW and Maruti are also looking at manufacturing synergy including contract manufacturing relationships like the one that Maruti currently shares with Nissan. Under the agreement, up for renewal next year, Nissan sources Maruti’s A-Star small car from its Manesar factory and sells them as Nissan Pixo in Europe. Renault-Nissan’s boss Carlos Ghosn would certainly want the deal to continue as Nissan has grander plans of making India as a hub for producing Nissan’s small cars.

Auto experts opine that the Suzuki-Volkswagen alliance could be used to source small cars of both the companies to export globally including China. India is Suzuki’s small car hub and Maruti exported close to 1.5 lakh units, up more than 100%, in the year ended March 31.

Top Maruti officials have earlier said that exports will take a hit as the scrappage schemes that drove up A-Star exports to Europe have come to an end.

Just two months ago, the luxury car maker, Bentley had unveiled its top-end model ‘Mulsanne‘ in India priced at Rs. 2.90 crore. The British luxury car brand has now launched its fastest and most powerful model, the Continental Supersports, in India. Wondering about the price? Well, it is Rs. 2.25 Crore (ex-showroom). Do people really pay so much for a two seater? The answer is, they will. They pay the price not for the two seater capacity, but for the brand, speed and performance. Yes, its not long ago that we discussed what is it that pushes one to buy a car.

The Continental Supersports is capable of running on both petrol and biofuel. The car does not come as a surprise. The launch comes two months after the company announced its plans to introduce two new cars in India this year. The car maker must be seeing some potential for luxury cars in this country. “Being the fastest and most powerful Bentley, the coupe is sure to excite the speed lovers in India. Bentley Continental Supersports has received an overwhelming response worldwide and we are hoping that our Indian audiences will be thrilled with the machine as well,” Exclusive Motors Pvt Ltd Managing Director Satya Bagla said in a statement.

The car’s name has been borrowed from its ancestor, the original two-seater named Supersports, which was introduced in by Bentley Motors in the year 1925. A little while ago we had the Mulsanne and now, we hear that all of Bentley’s Continental Supersports cars too will be handcrafted and assembled at the company’s facility in Crewe in the U.K. The car combines the looks of its iconic brand Continental GT with a new and distinctive appearance which reflects its more extreme character.

The swift and powerful model is around 110 kg lighter than the Continental GT and can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in merely 3.9 seconds and attain a top speed of 329 km an hour. The Supersports is also the first Bentley capable of running on both petrol and bio-fuel. A revised version of the already formidable W12 Bentley engine has been used in the new car.

The twin-turbocharged, 12-cylinder, 6-litre power unit produces an advanced 621 bhp and 800 Nm of torque for uncompromising supercar performance. The all-wheel drive system features a unique 40:60 rear-biased power split delivering a smooth yet exhilarating drive. The impressive six-speed quick-shift transmission matches the peerless engine for an adrenaline fuelled experience. The stopping power is guaranteed by the largest carbon ceramic brakes ever offered on a production car and 8-piston calipers.

The luxury car maker, Bentley Motors had set its foot in India in the year 2007 with the launch of the models Azure and the Continental GTC. As of now, the company is importing its vehicles as completely built units (CBUs) and selling it in India through Delhi-based Exclusive Motors Private Ltd. If the sales go real high, can we not expect Bentley to start production and assembly of its cars in India itself? Well, that will surely take a long long time. At the moment, let’s wait and see how many Indians take home the Continental Supersports.

General Motors India is back, and it’s back with a bang! The revolutionary change was started by Chevrolet Cruze, and Spark and Beat are carrying it forward well. And if we said that these three models have been the life savers for GM India, it would not be an overstatement.

But, does all of this satisfy GM India? Apparently, no. GM India seems unstoppable. The automaker does not want to put a break to the accelerated sales that has been set in motion by its previous launches. And if anything, it has only pressed the gas pedal harder with the launch of its mid-level sedan Aveo in a CNG variant.

That’s right. General Motors India has launched the CNG version of its Chevrolet Aveo mid-size sedan at a ceremony presided over by its President and Managing Director Mr. Karl Slym. The Aveo CNG is a bi-fuel vehicle featuring a full-size petrol tank which makes it one of the most environmentally friendly cars available in India.

During the inauguration ceremony, Mr. Slym said, “The launch of the Aveo CNG is a testament to the importance that GM India attaches to green technology and environmentally friendly mobility solutions. Its running cost is approximately 54 percent lower than a similar vehicle powered by petrol and 25 percent lower than a similar vehicle powered by diesel. Because of the lower operating economics and the growing number of CNG stations being built across India, this new offering is expected to appeal to both individual and fleet customers. Under normal driving conditions, the Aveo CNG has a range of 180 to 200 kilometres on a full tank of CNG and is BS IV compliant.”

The new Chevrolet Aveo CNG features a next-generation computer-controlled CNG injection technology from Italy. And in a one-of-a-kind effort, the critical CNG kit components, including the CNG injectors, selector switch, modified wiring and suspension, are fitted at the factory. This will not only ensure a high-quality ride but also trouble-free service.

Additionally, the suspension has been reinforced to support the additional mass of the CNG cylinder in the trunk. Sequential injection, which is featured in the new Aveo, exemplifies the most advanced level of evolution of CNG kit technology. The ECU (Electronic Controller Unit) calculates the opening times of the injectors for each cylinder and acts separately on each gas injector with the highest precision.

GM India engineers have conducted extensive testing and validation of the Aveo CNG. The car comes with a standard warranty of three-year/100,000-km. This warranty is an industry first in the mid-size segment.

Chevrolet Aveo has finished first in its segment in the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS) two years in a row, because of its high quality attributes. Apart from that the car has won several awards since its launch.

Allow us to start with a general knowledge question. What do the following things have in common: cars, houses, plastic bags, pens, Barbie dolls, glycerin, perfumes and synthetic rubber? Any guesses? Well, the answer is petroleum. All of the above have petroleum as an ingredient. Yes, it is not just used to produce fuel for your car, but in the manufacture of various other products too.

A barrel of oil holds 165 litres of crude, but where does all this crude go? What is it turned into? Folks at The Daily Green recently took a look at what happened to those 165 litres of crude. It’s pretty clear that a barrel of oil gives us 70.25 litres of gasoline, 39 litres of diesel and 15.4 litres of jet fuel. But, do you have any about the “other products” category? What does the remaining crude oil go into making?

Everyone knows that petroleum is used to make plastics. Petroleum is the raw material that is chemically altered to form commercial plastics. But did you know that 16 per cent of all crude oil produced, which could have been used to power vehicles, goes for the production of plastic and other chemical products.

There are several types of synthetic, petroleum-based plastics in the market including polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), low density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS). Each type of plastic has a special job. PET and HDPE are used for making water and detergent bottles and milk jugs. LDPE is a plastic that is similar to PET. PS is used to make insulation products or packaging, PVC is found in building materials and PP is found in flooring products. Petroleum plastic is everywhere, but it is not being recycled as quickly as its use is growing.

Did you know that petroleum is used to make antifreeze? How about anesthetics? The same petroleum that energizes your vehicle is used to make your medicines. Surprised? If you still aren’t ready to believe what we say, Cortisone and antihistamines are two such medicines. Petroleum based products are used to preserve food, create paints for cars and houses and even create detergents to clean the stuff we get grease on.

Modern perfume companies use synthetic chemicals like petroleum to bring out lasting scents and to cut down on expenses. You can find petroleum-based perfumes in cosmetics and household supplies everywhere.

Have you ever seen a connection between synthetic rubber and petroleum? Synthetic rubber is made from petrochemical feedstock. Crude oil is the principal raw material. Let’s jump to oil-based glycerin. Synthetic glycerin is petroleum-based, where natural glycerin, such as that produced during biodiesel production, is created from fats and oils.

Even when we do find a viable replacement for oil to power our new cars, heat our houses and generate electricity, it’s going to be a while before we shed our overall dependence on petroleum products in our daily lives. Besides a slow rate of degradation, the current reign of plastic is bad because the leaders in the plastic industry are hooked on petroleum.

The future negative effects that petroleum-based products promise do not sound appealing in the slightest.

The global recession took the world unawares and the automobile industry was one among the many others which were severely hit by it. Toyota, General Motors and few other commodity car makers could not take the heat and buckled under the pressure. Well, that’s about the mediocre part of the recession business.

We will tell you what happened to the car makers who have been associated with everything that is luxury and glamour. We are talking about one such car makers, well known as Ferrari. Rumour has it that the car manufacturer plans to cut production, idle a factory and eliminate a few jobs to counter the falling demand. We know, it does not sound like something that Ferrari would do, but it might just be true.

Ferrari spokesman Matteo Sardi says that the story is not true and that the company will come up with a clarification mission and will reveal the facts to everyone. Well, we will wait for that. But we can safely say that Ferrari was not totally untouched by the monster of the global economic recession.

Ferrari has always maintained that it can absorb the economic downturns without losing sales, because most of its well-heeled customers do not get affected by the recession in a way that others do. Besides, Ferrari has always controlled its production to the point where supply is never in quite abundance to the demand. In fact Ferrari officials go on to the extent of saying that they always figure out the number of cars they can sell, and produce a few couples more than that.

We all know that Ferraris are fast but not so to outrun the realities of the market where people are not spending like they once used to. Even during the good times, people have waited for the Ferrari they always wanted, and some bought used models because the waiting period was lesser.

Agreed that a sagging economy is not all that capable of making the waiting list disappear, but it does make the list shorter, and by a good length too. And it has been noticed that even the rich people who can afford $200,000 to $300,000 sports cars are waiting for the good times and putting their indulgence on a back burner.