Indian Car Blog – Carazoo.com

Honda Brio Launched In Bangalore

Honda Brio launch in b'lore - 1
Honda Brio made its Bangalore debut today. The much awaited small-car from Honda, the Brio (pronounced as Br-ee-o and an expression for energetic and cheerful in Italian), though was launched in New Delhi a couple of days ago, it was again launched in Bangalore today.

The Brio which costs Rs 3.95 Lakhs (ex-showroom New Delhi) for the base variant has been priced at Rs. 4.03 lakhs (ex –showroom Bangalore) for the same. Honda Brio is offered as the perfect package of fun-to-drive, fuel efficient, spacious and big on safety small car in India.

Brio -2

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Takashi Nagai, President and CEO, Honda Seil Cars India said, ‘We are delighted to introduce Honda Brio in the Indian market. We have been able to launch the Brio at a competitive price due to our concerted efforts to control costs, maximize production efficiencies and minimize impact of currency fluctuations.”

Honda Brio,a product of extensive market surveys in India on people’s driving needs and lifestyles is powered by a 1.2 four cylinder i-VTEC engine that pumps out a max power of 87 bhp and generates a max torque of 109 Nm. Well, It is the same engine which is doing duty in the Jazz but tuned to give the best of fuel efficiency. Honda answers this obvious question of fuel efficiency with 18.4 km/l as per test data. The engine is paired with a 5-speed manual transmission with optimized gear ratios, which agin offers excellent low rpm acceleration and smooth high rpm performance delivering excellent fuel economy in the process.

Brio -3

Honda Brio’s design philosophy is essentially based on “Double Triangle” form. Dynamic Triangle focuses on the nose, sweeps forward, while the Sport triangle focuses on the rear fender and flows back. Both the triangular designs have been overlapped to form the Honda Brio’s exterior design concept.

For a small car, the Honda Brio certainly does not compromise on spaciousness; on the contrary, space is Honda Brio’s USP. The Brio’s design takes the “man maximum, machine minimum” concept to a new level which is the basic approach to Honda car design calling for maximizing the space available for people and minimizing the space required for mechanical components.

Honda Brio has a very small turning radius of only 4.5m and this surely has the potential to become the unmatched hatch in the congested city conditions. The car certainly comes with features which have been long absent in many cars in its segment. Features such as Electric Power Steering deliver a stress free driving experience for the customers. Safety also has been a key talking point in the Honda Brio. Safety features such as dual SRS air bags, ABS, Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD), front pretensioner seat belts, impact mitigating headrests, the list just goes on. The Honda Brio’s front body structure is also equipped with pedestrian injury mitigation technology that is designed to absorb impact energy.

honda Brio 4

On delivering the Brio at a competitive price, Mr. Takashi said” … We have achieved this though pure localization, localization of critical components, using local suppliers, local materials, local machines and dies, by localized drawings and our Indian associates.”

Infact, Honda Brio’s localization level is more than 80 percent. Honda Brio is manufactured at HSCI’s facility in Greater Noida, U.P. The bookings for the Honda Brio will start immediately at the company’s vast distribution network of 135 authorized dealership facilities in 83 cities across the country.

The Honda Brio is offered in four variants – EMT, SMT, S(O)MT and VMT in six exciting colours such as Energetic Blue, Rallye Red, Urban Titanium, Alabester Silver, Taffeta White and Crystal black Pearl.

The prices of the Honda Brio in Bangalore are as follows: EMT – Rs. 4.03 lakhs, SMT – Rs.4.43 lakhs, S(O)MT – Rs 4.99 lakhs and VMT – 5.22 lakhs (All-Ex showroom Bangalore).

Brio 5

posted by carazooblog @ Friday, September 30th, 2011 Comments Off links to this post

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September 30, 2011

Mahindra XUV500 launched in India

Unveiling of the Mahindra XUV500
As promised, we are back again with more info on the newly launched Mahindra XUV500. Mahindra and Mahindra, in a phased event, today launched the Mahindra XUV500 at Bangalore. The Mahindra XUV500 designed and developed in-house by Mahindra is the company’s first global SUV platform. The SUV has been designed with significant inputs in styling and development from customers across the globe.

The Mahindra XUV500 price range starts at Rs Rs.10.80 Lakhs for the W6 model, Rs.11.95 Lakhs for the W8 2WD model and Rs.12.88 Lakhs for the W8 All Wheel Drive (AWD) model in Delhi, while the price reads at Rs 11,32 Lakhs for the W6 model, Rs 13, 51 Lakhs for the W8 2WD model and Rs. 12,53 Lakhs for the W8 All Wheel Drive (AWD) model in Mumbai and Rs 10.91 lakhs for the W6, Rs 12.07 Lakhs for the W8 2Wd model and Rs 13.02 Lakhs for the All Wheel Drive (AWD) model in Bangalore (All-Ex-showroom Prices) .

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Anand Mahindra, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra Group said, “The launch of our first global SUV platform, the XUV500, is another proud moment in our automotive journey. For the Mahindra Group, the XUV500 represents ‘Rise’ in action as the team deployed alternative thinking to deliver a high level of technology and performance at an unbeatable price. I am confident that the XUV500 will create a brand new category in the premium SUV segment and find favour both in India and overseas.”

Dr. Pawan Goenka, President, Automotive Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. while speaking at the launch mentioned, “The XUV500 is our first global SUV that has been completely designed and developed around the global customer, with extensive product validation and testing done across Europe, Australia, South Africa, and India. The Mahindra XUV500 offers benefits such as aspirational styling, a product filled with technological advances, advanced safety features, comfort and convenience, etc. hitherto seen only in hi-end SUVs. All this and much more at an unbeatable price, which makes this product nothing less than a category creator.”

Vivek Nayar, Sr Vice President, marketing, automotive sector, Mahindra and Mahindra briefing about the Mahindra XUV500 said the SUV is unmatched in terms of style, performance, technology, safety and comfort, providing the customers a truly complete driving experience.

The Mahindra XUV500 has been inspired by the Cheetah. Bold and glorious lines that trace the world’s most agile animal in action, namely the cheetah, contribute to the elegant styling and visual impact – an intimidating jaw-like honeycomb grill, the unique paw styled vertical door handles and muscular wheel arches – all add to what seems to be the vehicle’s innate desire to pounce! The body is aerodynamically designed with static-bending projector headlamps and LED parking lamps, racing-inspired twin exhausts, integrated bumpers and stylish, light-weight alloy wheels all add to the SUV’s stature, making the XUV500 a striking presence on road.

The Mahindra XUV500 is a monocoque and it is found only in the most modern SUVs of the world. The monocoque construction will result in an excellent power to weight ratio, unmatched handling and undiluted driving pleasure. The SUV is available in 3 exciting variants and 7 lust-worthy shades to suit a variety of tastes. The colours that will drape the XUV500 are Satin White, Tuscan Red, Opulent Purple, Amazon Green, Moondust Silver, Volcano Black and Dolphin Grey. These colours also are contemporary and classy.

The engine that powers the Mahindra XUV500 is the 2.2 litre mHawk diesel engine which delivers a power-packed 140bhp with 330Nm torque. This is the same engine that does duty in the Mahindra Scorpio. The 2.2 litre engine gets a 6-speed transmission and the 5th generation Variable Geometry Turbocharger which makes the SUV do a 0-60 in just 5.4 seconds. The powerful and the torquey engine has not been compromised with fuel economy and it shows.

The beast of an SUV returns with an impressive 15.1 kms per litre (ARAI-certified). Driving in the city is a breeze with the XUV500 as the Dual Mass Flywheel ensures rattle-free driving pleasure with high torque at low engine revs. The beats is also environment friendly as the advanced Micra Hybrid Technology helps conserve both fuel and nature.

Mahindra XUV500 can easily now boast of being the most stable vehicle in India at this part of the Rs 11 lakh bracket. The Mahindra XUV500 also boasts of an All Wheel Drive (AWD) that lets the driver tackle even the toughest of roads with consummate ease. The Interactive Torque Management (ITM) system automatically redistributes the torque between the front and rear wheels to manoeuvre the XUV500 out of any discomfort. The seamless transition from 2WD to AWD without driver intervention gives XUV500 owners a level of handling prowess unmatched by conventional vehicles. The XUV500 features sporty suspension that also affords drivers a lot of room for fun. In fact, the XUV500 features a suspension system of McPherson struts up front and the independent multi-link suspension in the rear.

Technology is present in abundance in the Mahindra XUV500 SUV. No wonder the guys at Mahindra have toiled hard to come out with a product like this. The Mahindra engineers with the XUV500 have created a SUV which is not just world class but also futuristic. The customers would have a field day locating those ever present gizmos in the XUV500. Lets bring the first-in-class gadgets found in the XUV500 to begin off. A checklist is very well what you will be needing when we take you through the gadgets you are most likely to find only on the XUV500 . A 6-inch LCD touchscreen on the dash coupled with highly sophisticated touch screen infotainment system with DVD player, CD/MP3, FM, Bluesense technology, full i-pod connectivity and 6 speakers. This might sound music to your ears as the speakers with built-in tweeters recreate the experience of an original studio recording for all audiophiles, reminding the passengers of a high-end home theatre surround sound set-up.

The XUV500 also features a fully loaded GPS navigation system, which covers over 1.5 million kilometres of road across 1200 cities with a turn-by-turn voice guidance system in not less than eight regional languages. The system also gives the driver access to over 5 million touch points of interest including restaurants, ATMs, fuel pumps and movie theatres. Getting Lost, no way with the XUV500 …

The XUV500 also features a full fledged, integrated Driver information system that reports to you with all the vital information about the car. Information such as the tyre air pressure and temperature, hoe far can you go with the existing fuel and so on. Some of the other features the SUV features are intellipark reverse park assist system, cruise control, and a host of other intelligent features.
Safety has not been compromised either. Mahindra calls the XUV500 part sanctuary and part fortress. The SUV features Electronic Stability Program (ESP), Rollover Mitigation, 6 airbags (Front, side and curtain airbags), thoughtfully located crumple zones and ABS with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD).

The SUV also features Hill Descent Control identifies steep inclines and engages itself to assist the vehicle down the slope with caution while Hill Hold Control prevents the vehicle from rolling backwards when starting from standstill on an incline.

On the interiors, the XUV500 is a driver’s delight. A high calibre, twin-pod instrument cluster with seriously sporty 3D designs and an exquisite waterfall style central bezel combine to give you the feel of a highly evolved piece of machinery. The driver’s seat is ergonomically designed with 8 different adjustments including height and complete lumbar support adjust.

Independent AC vents with fully automatic climate control double HVAC cools all corners of this spacious SUV with individual controls for each passenger. The car’s stylish exterior is aptly complemented by the elegantly crafted two tone pure leather interiors, replete with intuitively placed storage units, which include a cool box and an inbuilt laptop holder. Well thought features such as Individual reading lamps for each passenger and conveniently placed laptop and mobile charging points in each seating row, together with the concealed lounge lighting, add to the sheer exclusivity that is the Mahindra XUV500.

Mahindra vehicles accounts to more than 60 percent of the SUV market in India and with the XUV500 , it wants to take the ratio to a higher level. The Mahindra XUV500 has a localization content of about 90 percent and that explains the jaw dropping price. Mahindra’s target audience for the XUV500 are the customers of C2 segment and above, which translates into people looking to upgrade from their current sedans such as Honda City, Volkswagen Vento, Hyundai Verna and so on.

Though the top management in Mahindra was tight lipped on the number of XUV500 units it was planning to sell, they sure said that the production capacity of the vehicle in Chakan near Pune could manufacture around 200 units per month and the production could be ramped up based on the demand.

The bookings for the Mahindra XUV500 could start from 3 or 4th of October and Mahindra in a smart marketing move has created an elite “Purple Club” for the customers of the XUV500 and have hired 300-350 people across India as Relationship Managers and trained them in Chakan. We also have Mahindra XUV 500 car review for your leisurely reading.

posted by carazooblog @ Friday, September 30th, 2011 Comments Off links to this post

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September 30, 2011

Mahindra Launches XUV 500 at Rs 10.6 lakh

Mahindra-XUV500 launch
Mahindra and Mahindra, India’s leading manufacturer of utility vehicles has today launched the XUV 500 in the Indian market. The Mahindra XUV 500 prices starts from Rs 10. 80 lakhs (ex-showroom Delhi) and goes up to Rs 12.88 lakhs for the top end variant.

Though the global SUV was launched today, the festivities began yesterday in the evening with the XUV500 being unveiled before a select group of journalists at Mahindra’s manufacturing unit at Chakan near Pune. The SUV has been launched in three variants to begin with.

Before we get into the technical specifications of the XUV 500, we would just want to remind you that this beat of a vehicle from Mahindra will be pitted against the likes of Toyota Fortuner, Chevrolet Captiva, Mitubishi Outlander, Honda CR-V, Ford Endeavour and the likes. This fact pretty much gives you an idea of the segment in which Mahindra has set its foot. Before anybody can brush Mahindra aside, do recall the launch of Scorpio and its impact in the Indian auto market about almost a decade ago. It was almost the same effect Bolero had when it was first launched. No wonder Bolero is still the reigning leader in the SUV market in India since many years now.

Mahindra, with the XUV500 is now eying the niche market where only big players rule the roost. And for this Mahindra certainly has laid a strong foundation. The XUV 500 also holds the distinction of being the country’s first indigenously developed monocoque SUV and also the first to offer a transverse engine layout. Mahindra spent over Rs. 650 crore to develop the XUV500 and is the first product from its Chennai research and development centre. The Mahindra XUV500 being a global vehicle, was conceived and designed with global standards of quality, technology, testing norms, regulations and emissions right from the very beginning. Oops, before we forget, a total of 200 engineers toiled for 4 years at the MRV facility in Chennai to give us this wonder machine.

No wonder Pawan Goenka, M&M President (Automotive and Farm Equipment) regards the product high on the Mahindra product list and also states that “the new vehicle would redefine M&M as the Scorpio did nine years back”.

Mr. Anand Mahindra, M&M Vice-Chairman, head held high during the XUV500 with pride, said the XUV500 was another cult brand in the making. He said the XUV’s characteristics are the embodiment of a Cheetah’s – Elegance, Style, Agility and Relentlessness.

The Mahindra XUV is powered by 2.2 liter M-Hawk engine CRDI diesel which pumps out 140 bhp of raw power and 330 Nm of torque. The numbers are very much for our liking so is the fuel economy which stands at 15.1 kmpl (ARAI-Certified). Salivating already? Who wouldn’t? The transmission is also unique for an all Indian Vehicle. The car gets a six manual gearbox completely developed in-house by Mahindra itself as is the front wheel drive transfer case. The Base models will be front wheel drive while another version will have an all wheel drive layout with a torque on demand mechanism also delivering drive to the rear wheels.

The grille of the XUV 500 is different while the front end treatment with projector headlamps, LED day-time running lights, large front bumper with streaked air dam and recessed fog lamps make for a menacing look.

The car has disc brakes abound on all four wheels and in addition there is ABS, EBD plus ESP to ensure safety. There are driver and front passenger air bags, start/stop is standard equipment and there is also hill descent control for the top line offering. So, no compromise on safety here. As far as the variants are concerned, Mahindra XUV500 has been launched in three variants such as W6 four wheel drive priced at Rs 10.80 lakhs, W8 two wheel drive priced at Rs 11.95 lakhs and W8 four wheel drive priced at Rs 12.88 lakhs.(All-Ex-show room Delhi)

mahindra-xuv500-photo-1

Watch out for this space as we trickle in with more info on the Mahindra XUV500.

posted by carazooblog @ Friday, September 30th, 2011 Comments Off links to this post

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September 28, 2011

Fiat to broaden its reach with the export of Fiat Linea

fiat-linea
In an attempt to boost the sales of the sagging Fiat products in India, Fiat India is finally looking to market its products beyond India. Fiat India Automobiles Limited today announced its intent to increase its focus on exports under which they have exported the Fiat Linea to Sri Lanka. In Sri Lanka the inauguration is set for on 29th September, 2011. As far as the dealership is concerned, Speed Italia is rightly going to be taking charge.

Though Fiat Linea is currently being sold in three engine options and 10 variants in India, the car’s penetration in the Indian car market have been very minimal compared to the competition. Fiat India expects to receive a good response to the Linea 1.4 emotion pack in the Sri Lankan market. The first batch of cars which is set for the export comprises of 72 cars of which 50 cars have been allotted to the Sri Lankan Air Force officials on delivery at the time of the inauguration.

As part of this strategy, Fiat has also begun testing new growth opportunities overseas with sharp focus on countries such as Bhutan and Australia as well which are both right hand drive countries. The car market size in Sri Lanka is around 20,000 units per annum. We have targeted to achieve 5 percent in the first year itself.

The company commenced its exports to South Africa and early this year commenced exports to Nepal. The exported batch of Linea is similar to the one driven on Indian roads. Fiat’s products – The Fiat Linea and The Fiat Punto have been well received in South Africa and Nepal.

fiat-grande-punto-2

Speaking on the initiative, Mr. Rajeev Kapoor, CEO, Fiat India Automobiles Limited said, “The Fiat Linea has been very well received by customers and auto enthusiasts in India as it has redefined the segment with its superior design, stylish looks, performance and precision engineering. The export of the Linea to Sri Lanka plays a significant role in reaching out to the international markets and establishing our presence globally. We are confident that we will be able to procreate the success of this car overseas as well and thereby expand our footprint and brand identity across markets. This is a step in the direction of reaffirming our position as an international auto giant.”

Since the company commenced exports from India to right hand drive markets, the company has exported near to 4000 numbers of the Linea & Punto.

posted by carazooblog @ Wednesday, September 28th, 2011 Comments Off links to this post

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September 27, 2011

Hamilton takes Bangalore fans on a joy ride ahead of Indian GP

Lewis performing a burn out -1
It was a dream come true for F1 fans in Bangalore today when British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton stepped on the gas to enthrall his fans on a 500-metre stretch on the outskirts of Bangalore in a McLaren Mercedes F1 car.

Not minding the scorching sun over their heads, some 20,000 odd frenzied fans had assembled on the either sides of an unused road of the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) Ltd. Though this event was a promotional event sponsored by Vodafone, a telecom major, it was an out and out a motor head’s motor bash.

The 26-year old Hamilton drove the McLaren Mercedes MP4-23 F1 car, the same car in which he won his maiden world championship in 2008. Amidst the cheering crowd, Hamilton accelerated his car from the pits and within seconds he was in the other end of the track in a jiffy.

Lewis enthralling the crowd with a doughnut

Hamilton showed his super driver’s skills by swaying the car zig-zag in breakneck speeds and going in circles (making doughnuts) with the front wheel locked while rear tyres turned rapidly emitting thick smoke. He also displayed some breathtaking stunts, including back-up spin over (reversing, tucking around and straightening) with deafening screeching sound.

To bring more charm to the event as if the presence of Lewis Hamilton just was not enough, the sponsors held some contests and for the first 30 lucky patrons who won the pass were allowed to watch live action of racing star. Addition to this, select lucky people and celebrities had a chance to drive with the speedster, demonstrating his extraordinary motor racing skills and expertise in handling sports cars with panache.

As thousands of fans missed his first race demo due to unprecedented rush and chaotic scenes at the open venue, a sportive Hamilton readily agreed to do another round of race before the curtains came down on the one-hour show of speed, brute force and bravado.

Lewis Hamilton SLK

With the maiden Indian Grand Prix to be held at Greater Noida near New Delhi on October 28-30, excitement gripped the young, trendy and die-hard motor sports fans, who came to the venue in droves for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness a racing superstar and an F1 car.

Lewis scorching the track

posted by carazooblog @ Tuesday, September 27th, 2011 Comments Off links to this post

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September 27, 2011

Honda Brio launched in India at Rs 3.95 Lakhs

Honda Brio Launch
Well, the wait is finally over. The much awaited small car from Honda, the Brio is here in India with a sticker shock to the customers in a good way. The car was first showcased at the 2010 Indian Auto Expo held in New Delhi and the response for the car was tremendous ever since. Honda, which has been associated with the premium pricing for its cars has reversed the trend this time around and has launched the Brio small car with a sticker price of Rs. 3.95 lakhs (Ex-Showroom-Delhi).

If you might recall, though the car was conceptualized for the Indian market, the car was first launched in Thailand earlier this year and has been quite a hit in the Thai market. The Honda Brio is a product of high localization and improved production efficiencies and hence the shocker of a price tag. Small car buyers can look forward to buy a Honda given the right price tag the car is associated with.

The Brio in India starts at Rs 3.95 lakhs for the base variant and goes all the way up to Rs 5.1 lakhs for the top end variant (all-ex-showroom Delhi prices). The guys at Honda certainly have learnt their lessons the hard way with the Jazz which was launched in India with an inflated price tag. The target group for Honda Brio, however, remains the younger car buyers who look out for a car that is contemporary and is light on their wallet.

honda-brio-photo-gallery interiors

The price is just not the highlight of the car. The engine which features in the Brio is the same old reliable 1.2 litre i-VTEC petrol engine, lifted straight off the Honda Jazz, though the engine is tweaked to return with good fuel economy numbers. The Brio can boast of 88 bhp power and 109 Nm of peak torque bundled in the engine. When compared with the Jazz, the number still stands good with a minimal 2 bhp chopped off from the Brio. The Honda Brio returns with a magical number of 18.4 Kmpl (ARAI Certified), which is enough for any small car buyer to head over heels to book this car right away.

The Honda Brio is offered in four variants such as E, S, S Option and V. The base E variant features power steering, air conditioning and beige interiors. The S variant is a culmination of all the features present in the base E variant added with power windows and a few other comforts. The S-Option variant features airbags and ABS with rest of the features that we had mentioned earlier in other variants. The prices of the Honda Brio Variants are as follows E – 3.95 lakhs, S – 4.35 lakhs, S(O) – 4.9 lakhs and V – 5.1 lakhs (all-ex-showroom Delhi prices). The Honda Brio is offered in Six colors – Blue, red, titanium, silver, white and black.

With this potent equation of pricing, fuel economy and features well in place in the Honda Brio, Honda can now worry about meeting huge demands rather than worrying about the sales.

honda-brio-interior-photo-gallery interiors 2

Now what makes Honda to offer this small car in such an awesome pricing you might ask? Well, the answer to that question is localization. Currently, the localization of the Honda Brio stands at 80%, which Honda plans to increase all the way up to 95% in the coming few months. Honda has the potential to do a Maruti Suzuki act pretty soon with this car alone, provided Honda works on the servicing needs of the tier 2 and tier 3 cities. Moving in towards the hinterlands is one of the last tricks Honda should attempt in order to reach that glitzy No 1 position in India.

The Brio has been designed with Honda’s “Man Maximum, Machine Minimum” design philosophy and this means that the Brio is more driver centric than other cars. This design philosophy is present in almost all of the Brio’s functional areas such as the interiors, the safety and the overall driving experience of the car. Also, Honda has consciously reduced the Brio’s overall impact on the environment by adopting greener production processes.

posted by carazooblog @ Tuesday, September 27th, 2011 Comments Off links to this post

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September 26, 2011

Tata Nano becomes a flaming issue for Tata Motors

A-Tata-Nano-on-fire-in-Chennai
Tata Nano seems to be a jinxed product for Tata Motors right from the start. Ratan Tata’s dream of making India mobile through the Tata Nano, has hit rough weather ever since the car was launched.

As soon as the car was launched in India, environmentalists cried foul stating the carbon footprint the car would leave behind in India if the car was mass produced. Then came the next biggest salvo against the Tata Motors, the farmer’s agitation to close down the Nano factory in Singur. Soon Tata Motors had to set up an alternate production unit for the Nano at Sanand in Gujarat.

Just when Tata thought it could heave a sigh of relief as the deliveries of the car began, the problems such as dwindling car sales and flaming Nanos began to crop up. Tata Motors soon issued a press statement giving a clean chit to the Nano describing the burning Nanos were some isolated incidents. Tata Motors, watchful of the trend recalled the Nanos to fix a faulty combination switch and insulated the engine compartment of the Nano. In the process the Nanos were updated with ECU software to avoid over cranking of the engine. Despite this quickfix solution, we still have heard and seen a lot of Nanos burning.

Probably, this is one of the reasons behind the dwindling sales of the Nano. Or else how would you explain the cheapest car available in India not burning the sales graphs. Just day before yesterday, a Nano was gutted in Chennai and even before the fumes could settle down we hear another Nano going up in flames in New Delhi.

It is high time Tata Motors gets back into the drawing board fix the niggling problem before the Nano could dent the Tata’s image permanently.

posted by carazooblog @ Monday, September 26th, 2011 Comments Off links to this post

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September 22, 2011

Renault Koleos launched in Bangalore

Renault India, which launched its Koleos premium SUV on the 8th September in New Delhi, launched the SUV in Bangalore today. The Koleos is the second offering from Renault in India after it came out with its premium sedan Fluence in May 2011.

With the launch of the Renault Fluence and Koleos, Renault has partially attained the goal of introducing five cars in India by 2012.

Speaking during the launch of the Koleos at Renault Palace Orchards, the exclusive Renault showroom in Bangalore, Len Curran, VP sales and Marketing, Renault India said, “ It is another proud moment for all of us at Renault India to launch our brand new SUV Koleos in the Indian market. The New Koleos made its world debut last week at the Frankfurt Motor Show. We are highly optimistic about the product and we are confident it will cater to the needs of all customers who are looking for a premium SUV, which combines both style and dynamic abilities.”

The Renault Koleos just gushes out the oodles of French Flair through its elegant design and features carefully finished interiors. The SUV is built on a 4×4 platform with full blooded SUV dynamics and delivers the best in class performance, safety and comfort.

The Renault Koleos is available in a single model, single variant at the moment with a 2 litre dci diesel engine pumping out a maximum power of 150 bhp and a peak power of 320 Nm. Th carbon foot print also has been taken care off in the Koleos as it proudly boasts of having the lowest emission standards in its category. The Koleos will be available with a 6-spped automatic gear box and boasts off the best of real-off-road capabilities.

The Renault Koleos is feature loaded and it shows. Gadgets such as rear parking sensor, hands free entry and ignition though is a talking points of this SUV, the stand alone feature is the top-of-the-line BOSE sound system, which is a first for the Indian market in this segment.

The SUV, which can seat 5 adults in comfort has spacious interiors and a MPV feel to it. Automatic dual-zone climate control system features in the Koleos with Flow control. The Koleos gets 450 litres of boot space. But this is where the story begins. The Renault Koleos boasts of 71 litres of smart stowage all around the cabin. The dashboard gets a cooled 15-litre glove box which again is one of the biggest glove box in the segment. A smart feature has been provided in the Koleos in the guise of under floor stowage space which amounts to 28 litres.

The pampering never seems to end in the new Renault Koleos as the rear passengers benefit from folding tables, complete with cup holders that are mounted on the back of front seats.

Another feature that is worth mentioning is the ‘Clamshel’-type split opening tailgate. The seating in the Koleos is great as the Koleos features the 60/40 split rear seat which also is called as Renault’s easy estate system that enables the seats to be folded from rear in a single operation to free up carrying of 1,380 litres.

Attention towards safety has been a unique feature with the Koleos. The Koleos has ABS coupled with Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD) and Emergency Brake Assist (EBA) with understeer control as standard fitments. The chassis has been engineered to incorporate programmed front and rear crumple zones, while the cabin’s structure serves as a protective cell in case of an accident. The Koleos also has 6 airbags, load limiters, Isofix child seat anchorage to name a few.

posted by carazooblog @ Thursday, September 22nd, 2011 Comments Off links to this post

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September 22, 2011

Fiat India charts out festive discount to boost Linea, Punto sales

fiat_logo_10cm
Smarting out from their old mistakes, Fiat India had made sure that they would bring in great products to entice Indians in their second outing and they certainly did. But Fiat India somehow fell short somewhere to woo the Indians with their Punto, Linea and other cars.

No, Fiat India cannot be blamed for anything. They actually had charted out some great offers and deals to stay afloat in the market. Some agreements such as Tata-Fiat joint venture to share the dealer space and other minute things though was supposed to have worked on Fiat’s favour did not actually leave the ball rolling for them. But they certainly cannot be blamed.

Fiat Punto and the Fiat Linea are two excellent cars that we have seen on the Indian roads recently but as did mention above, these cars somehow did not make the expected impact in the Indian automotive space. Fiat India, with an intention of leaving the sour grapes behind, first broke away from the Tata-Fiat joint dealerships and is setting up standalone Fiat dealerships. But that’s not just enough to woo the customers and Fiat India knows that.

Fiat-Festive-Discount-Offer

Fiat India has now counting on the on-coming festive season and has already lined up some mouth-watering offers in store for the customers. After all, It’s been quite a while since Fiat India saw its sales charts in the Green.

As part of the large discounts Fiat India is offering, Linea’s price could be slashed upto Rs. 1.3 Lakhs and Punto’s upto Rs 75,000. Well, there is more on the offing. On the Linea, the exchange bonus if worth Rs. 20,000 while Fiat offers you the first year insurance at Rs. 1, a 50,000 Km free roadside assistance and a gift cheque to make for the total of INR 1.3 Lakh. For the Punto, the discount totaling Rs. 75,000, you get an exchange bonus of Rs. 15,000, while Fiat offers you the first year insurance at Rs 1, a 50,000 Km free roadside assistance and a gift cheque.

posted by carazooblog @ Thursday, September 22nd, 2011 Comments Off links to this post

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September 20, 2011

Nissan Sunny launched at Rs 5.78 lakhs; Sunny days back for Nissan India?

2011-Nissan-Sunny-2012
Well, we had earlier given you a detailed report on the Nissan Sunny. Though, what was conspicuous with its absence in the previous blog on Nissan Sunny was the price. But today, the good guys at Nissan Motors India have come out in the open with the price of Nissan Sunny Sedan. The price certainly has been a jaw dropper in every sense which is good for its success in India. The Nissan Sunny has been priced at Rs 5.78 lakhs (ex-showroom-Delhi) for the base XE variant.

Now, that price certainly could turn anybody’s head towards the sedan. The Sunny was unveiled sometime back in India ad was launched today at New Delhi. The Nissan Sunny has been launched in three variants such as XE, XL and XV. Other variants of the Nissan Sunny sedan also have been strategically priced. The mid-range XL is priced at Rs 6.68 lakhs while the top end XV is priced at Rs. 7.68 lakhs.

The Nissan Sunny right now has been launched only with a 1.5 L petrol engine with an output of 97 bhp and 134 NM, while the diesel version of the Nissan Micra will be launched during January 2012. The numbers, however, will not excite most of them, but who is complaining when the ARAI certified fuel economy figures stands at 16.5 kmpl. And this could be possible only because of the overall weight of the car which is just over 1000 kgs.

Nissan Sunny competes for that highly coveted space in the sedan segment against the likes of Ford Fiesta, Honda City and Hyundai Fluidic Verna. The Nissan Sunny like its counterparts in the sedan segment is feature-laden. Gadgets like power steering, air-conditioning, driver’s side airbags and ABS-EBD comes as standard fitment which should make any potential sedan buyer salivate. This particular thing also lay emphasis on the growing concern of occupants safety in the c-segment cars in India.

The mid-version XL variant of the Sunny sedan comes with rear defogger, wheel caps, climate control, beige interiors, steering mounted audio controls, electric adjust mirrors, rear blower vents, keyless entry, CD player with aux-in and passenger side airbags. The top end XV features all the features of the earlier mentioned variants along with electric folding mirrors, automatic control, push button start and 15-inch alloys.

nissan-sunny-rear

The Nissan Sunny carries itself with aplomb with the spaciousness being it’s USP. Rear space is what sets the sedan apart from the other sedans which are being sold in India. Rear occupants will be sitting in the lap of luxury in the Sunny sedan. The fact that the Nissan Sunny is 150 mm longer than the Micra hatchback it selves substantiates the claim on the Sunny’s spaciousness. This, though the Sunny is built on the famed Renault-Nissan V-platform, the same versatile platform on which the Micra Hatchback also is based on.

The bookings for the Nissan Sunny commence from today and the deliveries will begin from October 3rd.