Maruti to fix oil leakage in 6,000 Altos
Maruti Alto
Maruti Suzuki has announced fixing of the 6,000 Altos that are reported to have an oil leakage causing engine starting problem. The cars affected by the problem are the ones produced during the month of April. The company has given orders to its sales network centres and service workshops to check and repair the affected Altos and denied it of being a recall. Read more
Maruti Suzuki Alto K-Series Spotted at the IIMS 2010
Suzuki motors has put on display their latest Indian offering the Alto K-Series at the IIMS 2010 Indonesia. The car has already created a buzz in the Indian auto blogosphere with its spy pics and leaked brochure image. It is expected to go on sale sometime next month in the Indian market.
Company is displaying the car at the show as a prospective launch in the Indonesian market. It is reported to have the same 1.0L engine mated to a CVT transmission for Indonesia while the Indian version will get a 5-speed manual transmission.
Jump over to see more images of the car Read more
Skoda Octavia replacement based on Volkswagen Vento?
2011 Skoda Octavia
Skoda is Volkswagen’s subsidiary and the whole world knows that. What most folks don’t know is that the Skoda Laura and Superb share plenty of components with Volkswagen cars ranging from DSG gearboxes to Volkswagen TSI engines. After the tank like Skoda Octavia was finally discontinued in India, it left Skoda India with a gaping hole in it’s product portfolio. Read more
“How’s that for a punchline?”- Nissan UK takes on Porsche and Audi
The resurrection of the GT-R “Godzilla” has transformed Nissan to a force to reckon with in the premier league of sports cars. Now with the new Nissan 370Z fetching rave reviews even from the hard-to-impress Jeremy Clarkson, competitors of “the Z” are having sleepless nights. To stab the rivals deeper in their hearts, Nissan UK has come up with a double-edged ad campaign featuring its Frankenstein monsters which challenges them Germans head-on. Read more
Rolls Royce Ghost unveiled at Hyderabad Autoshow
Super luxury car maker Rolls Royce has given the Hyderabad Autoshow visitors a taste of the best things to come by taking the wraps off the new synonym of grandeur on wheels. They call it the Ghost.
The show’s chief guest Mr. K. Rosaiah, the Honourable Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and Sharad Kachalia, director of marketing, Navnit Motors Pvt. Ltd, the authorised Rolls-Royce Motor Cars dealership for Mumbai jointly unveiled the moving piece of perfect craftsmanship at the Rolls Royce stand. Read more
Porsche Launches 2011 Cayenne In India : Starting INR 59.22 Lakhs
Mr. James Bourne Regional Manager Porsche Middle East and Mr. Ashish Chordia CEO Precision Motor Cars India
Porsche, the German sports car maker has launched 2011 edition of their hot selling SUV Cayenne in India. The car now gets a much awaited diesel engine and a Hybrid variant. Prices starts at 59.22 lakh rupees for the diesel Cayenne and go upto 1.27 crore rupees for the top of the line Cayenne Turbo. Read more
Official : Alto K-Series to a give a mileage of 20.2 Kmpl
Only a few hours have passed since we shared a spy pic of the upcoming Alto K-Series with you, and people at overdrive have manged to get a shot of the car’s brochure. The pic reveals car’s front looks and clearly mentions mileage of 20.2 kmpl, true to our previous prediction of 20+kmpl. The car gets a new headlamp shape and a redesigned bumper with foglamps. The grille has been made wider with a thin chrome strip on top to give it an upmarket look. Read more
Toyota Corolla Altis Diesel Launched at 10.95 lakhs: Mileage of 21 KMPL
Toyota Kirloskar Motors today launched their much anticipated car, Corolla Altis diesel into the market. Keeping up with the diesel trend, the car is fitted with a 1.4L in-line 4-cylinder D-4D Common Rail Diesel Engine that generates 85.78bhp of max power and a peak torque of 205 Nm.
The car is available in three 6-speed manual transmission varaints D-4D J, D-4D G and D-4D GL priced between 10, 95, 000 and 13, 75, 000, ex-showroom Delhi. Toyota claims an ARAI-certified figure of 21.43kmpl which is very impressive for a car of its size. Read more
Alpina B5 Bi-Turbo: Next generation BMW M5
For Ferrari it is called Scuderia, for Mercedes Benz it is called AMG, for BMW it is “Alpina”. The car which have made it’s world debut in the Goodwood festival of speed has the capability to push itself up to an unrestricted top speed of 308 kmph. 0 to 100 kmph sprint of 4.7 secs. It produces 500 bhp at 5500 rpm and an earth shaking 700 N-m of torque at 3000 rpm. The engine drives the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic gearbox made by ZF. Read more
OO7 – License to Drive: Collection of James Bond Wheels
The name’s Bond. James Bond. Vodka Martini, shaken not stirred. The life of the famed British spy has been something that unites generations in thought. The question is why don’t we talk in awe about Jason Bourne or the Manchurian Candidate or any other run of the mill secret agent? No it’s not because we as Indians still like to obsess about anything connected to our British Raj roots. Think Guns, designer custom made clothing, classy watches, great locales, chicks and of course mind blowing cars. Already made your mouth water? That’s the answer. But Mr. Bond wouldn’t be so famous today if it weren’t for his cars. Like Confucius the car thief once said, The wheels maketh the man. And in keeping with his teachings, we decided to take a look at James Bond and his cars over the years. Read more
SR-71 Blackbird Mustang and it doesn’t transform into an alien robot!
Shelby and Roush have been associated with the Ford brand for decades with both showing an enthusiastic interest in the manufacturer’s Mustang range of muscle cars. Shelby has a history of creating some of the most legendary Mustangs ever made which include the GT500 and GT350 and they continue to make Mustangs that astound enthusiasts. Roush isn’t tame either, with its bulked-up range of Mustangs that battle the other major pony car modifier in town – Saleen. So what happened when Ford invited Roush and Shelby to the same workshop and asked them to work together to create a one-off Mustang inspired by an iconic military aircraft known as the SR-71 Blackbird? Surprisingly, they agreed. Read more
Mercedes launches SLS AMG in India
Dr. Wilfried Aulbur, Managing Director & CEO of Mercedes-Benz India along with Mr. Debashish Mitra, Director - Sales and Marketing, Mercedes-Benz India
Mercedes-Benz India launched their flagship sports car SLS AMG today in the country making India one of the first right hand drive markets to get the Gullwing super sports car within the first few weeks of its production. The car is priced between 2 and 2.5 crores rupees and comes with a waiting period of 6-8 months after booking. The company also announced about 10 confirmed bookings for this car until June 2010. Read more
FIAT Grande Punto 90hp diesel launched
Fiat India has brought in the more powerful sibling of their hot hatch Grande Punto. The car now comes with a 1.3L multijet diesel engine with 90hp of power on tap. The 90hp Punto diesel has been priced at Rs 6.79 lakh ex-showroom Delhi.
The engine is equipped with company’s acclaimed Variable Geometry turbo which the company claims would give a mileage of 20 km per litre. The Punto 90 hp has been launched in the Emotion trim only for now and will co-exist with the Punto 75 HP.
No one’s hot about the hot- hatch?
You’ve heard me rant about the traffic and the need for realpolitik but before you take me for a middle aged, wrinkly, fuzzy haired motor mouth, read on.
I like cars that have more go than show and I love cars that have a bit of both even more. A bit of practicality never hurt anyone nor did a bit of extra oomph under the hood. Couple this to a non-inflammable price tag and we’re in business. I’m particularly talking about hatchbacks.
Ever since the Maruti 800’s of yore, people have become a rooter of the bootless soldier. The sheer affordability coupled with unbridled practicality prompted the car-starved Indians to overlook the sappy 37 odd hp engine. Moving forward, admirers of the peppy town runabout multiplied like an amoeba on steroids.
Sure it was way ahead of the Ambassadors and Padminis and got the Indians rolling but could you really term that as a hot hatch?
By the time Indira Gandhi handed over the first keys to the 800 to Harpal Singh, someone named Wilkins was already cruising around in a 109 bhp Golf GTi or a 90 bhp Peugeot 205 GTI, now those were hot hatches. Before the 800’s time, there was the Lancia A112, a very quick car.
Harpal Singh in his spanking new 800, Image Courtesy: Outlook
The 800 was a re-badged, re-waxed Alto. Since 1984, we have been the dumping ground of the world’s automotive garbage. And for the love of God, we realised that. Read more
India calling for the 2011 BMW X3!
2011 BMW X3 Crossover
More and more Beemers seem to be moving away from Chris Bangle’s radicality. How else do you explain the 2011 BMW X3 with it’s new headlights, that could have easily been mistaken for an Audi or a Mercedes Benz SUV if not for the prominent BMW kidney grille up front. The new BMW X3 is significantly larger than the outgoing model in all aspects of exterior proportions. Read more
