MAN Aerobus spied in India, launch soon

The luxury bus market is booming in India, thanks to development of good roads for these vehicles to ply. First it was Volvo, World Largest luxury bus manufacturer who foot in to India with its B7R buses. Soon Mercedes and Tata followed with their luxury buses.

MAN, the German luxury bus manufacturer is eying a share of pie in the luxury bus segment in India. The MAN Aerobus was spied testing in India and soon could be launched in the market. MAN entered India in 2006 with 50% JV with Force Motors and in 2011 bought the complete shares to form its fully owned subsidiary in India.

MAN Aerobus is a 45 seater inter-city air-conditioned, front engine luxury bus with full air suspension. It is powered by legendary MAN D-0836, 220 HP, BS3 complaint, diesel engine developing 800 Nm @1200-1800 rpm. The engine is mated to a six speed ZF GS 850 gearbox.  The MAN Aerobus is expected to deliver better fuel efficiency compared to its competitors. MAN had showed the Aerobus at this year’s Auto Expo at New Delhi. The Aerobus is expected to be launched early next year. Currently MAN has Tipper, Haulage and Special Applications range of trucks in India.

MAN Aerobus

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Scoop: Honda teases Brio sedan in its Thailand website

          This is the first picture of Honda Brio sedan which has been teased in Honda’s Thailand Website. Have a look at the picture and post your comments...

Like the Brio hatch, the sedan version of Brio will be first launched in Thailand and then will make it to India by March next year. Honda will bring in its first diesel in India through Brio sedan followed by Brio hatch diesel. The Brio sedan will be less than 4 meters in length and hence will enjoy 12% excise duty.

Honda has already started testing its 1.2L diesel motor in India. We in our earlier post had posted some spy pictures and videos of diesel Brio test driven all over the country. As per sources, Honda is testing diesel Brio 16 to 18 hours a day and why not Honda is known for its quality products and hence do not want to compromise with its first diesel offering in India. The 1.2L diesel is a scaled down version of 1.6L diesel which Honda recently resealed at an International Auto Show. With Honda’s track record of delivering high performance vehicles, expect the diesel Brio to be as exciting as that of its petrol sibling.

As seen from the above picture, Honda has carried over the arrow shot design from City. The tail lamps look very familiar to the City’s and so do the overall rear profile. With the launch of Brio sedan diesel, the segment enjoyed currently by Swift Dzire and Tata Indigo will have a new competitor which is going to start from the top of the table.

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Chevrolet Spark facelift launched, priced at Rs. 3.16 lakh

General Motors today launched Chevrolet Spark facelift with starting price of Rs. 3.16 lakh ex-showroom, New Delhi. The Spark facelift features refreshed exterior and interior which make the car look fresh though being a decade old.

Exterior changes –

New Clear Glass Jewel Effect Headlamps

Chevy Signature Twin Port Chrome Lined Honey

Comb Grille

Stylish Rear Tail Lamps

Satin-Silver Roof Rails

Interior changes –

Dual Tone Interiors & Optimax Cabin

Silver Finish Dash And Décor

New Wing Inspired instrument cluster

2-Din Music System

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Nissan to hike car prices from November 1st

After Maruti, Mahindra and Renault, its Nissan now this is increasing its car prices. Nissan will hike its car prices from 1st of November. The quantum of hike could be between 1 to 2% on all its cars except Evalia, since it has been launched recently and Nissan does not want to meddle with Evalia’s price. Nissan quoted rise in input cost and logistics due to fuel price hike for its reason to increase the prices of its cars.

Press Release

Mr. Nitish Tipnis, Director – Sales & Marketing, Hover Automotive India said, “The prices are being revised to partially offset appreciation in input and transportation costs. While all leading automobile companies raised prices earlier this year, we at Nissan absorbed rising input costs and held back the price hike. Although we have now reached the stage where we have to make an adjustment, I can assure all customers that both Micra and Sunny will continue to represent outstanding value within the market.”

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Hyundai’s discount bonanza on i20 and Verna this festive season

In our earlier post we had mentioned about the discount offers on i10 petrol. Now Hyundai has introduced discount offers on i20 and Verna (petrol models) as well.

If you buy a Hyundai i20 or Verna this feative season, you could save up Rs. 37,000/- and Rs. 25,000/- respectively. The discount is available only on petrol models and is in the form of free insurance, corporate discount and exchange/loyalty benefit.

Discount on i20-

Free Insurance worth – Rs. 17,000

Corporate discount – Rs. 3000

Exchange/Loyalty benefit – Rs. 20,000

Discount on Fluidic Verna –

Corporate discount – Rs. 5000

Exchange/Loyalty benefit – Rs. 20,000

The offer is valid for limited period only. For more details enquire with your nearest Hyundai dealer.

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Honda City CNG launched, adds new AVG grade

After launching Honda Brio Automatic, Honda has yet another launch in its portfolio. This time it is the City sedan which gets a CNG fitment and also a new AVN variant is being added to the existing line up.

The City CNG is basically the ‘V’ model which is CNG kit ready. The CNG kit can be installed at 45 selected Honda dealerships at 28 cities where CNG fuel option is available. Honda has optimised the 1.5L engine for bi-fuel operation and the suspension has been worked as well to accommodate the CNG kit.

The City CNG is available at Rs. 9.54 lakh ex-showroom, New Delhi without the CNG kit. An additional Rs. 50,200 plus installation charges will have to be borne by the customer. The City CNG comes with a 2 year warranty and gets ABS, BA (Brake Assist), Dual SRS Airbags,  pre-tensioner seat belts as standard fitment.

Honda has also added an “Integrative Intelligence” AVN Grade model, available in V variant. This AVN (Audio Visual Navigation) Grade model include features such as Touch Screen, Audio Visual Navigation, Bluetooth, DVD player in addition to CD player, USB/iPod/Aux-in connectivity and Leather upholstery with leather wrapped steering wheel and leather wrapped gear shift knob (in MT).

Press Release:

Mr. Jnaneswar Sen, Sr Vice President, Honda Cars India Ltd. said “Honda City is one of the most successful car brand in the country and certainly the most desirable sedan in its category due to its unmatched values of performance, mileage and overall reliability. We are extremely happy to bring the City with a CNG option for our customers. Adapting the CNG technology is another step to keep low cost of ownership for our customers and will add to the appeal of the car, as it will not only be cheaper to run and maintain but also eco-friendly.”

Honda City now has 10 models in its line-up -

City Corporate

Honda City E

Honda City S MT

Honda City S AT

Honda City V MT

Honda City V AT

Honda City V (Leather with sunroof) MT/AT

Honda City V (AVN) MT (New)

Honda City V (AVN) AT (New)

Honda City V MT CNG (New)

Source: MotorBash

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Autocar Performance Show 2012 from Nov 1st

This year’s Autocar Peformance Show (APS) will be held from Nov 1^st to 4^th. The four day event is the best platform for high-performance cars and bikes, accessories and in-car entertainment technology. Brands such as Audi, Jaguar, BMW, Lamborghini, Land Rover, Rolls-Royce, Volvo, BMW motorcycles and Yamaha will be participating in the event.

The event offers an excellent opportunity to meet the target audience, create brand awareness and build customer base in a cost effective manner. Over 80,000 visitors are expected at the event. You can book your tickets for the event at bookmyshow.com

Event Timings:

Nov 1^st – Thursday – 2 PM to 8 PM

Nov 2^nd – Friday – 11 AM to 7 PM

Nov 3^rd – Saturday – 11 AM to 8 PM

Nov 4^th – Sunday – 11 AM to 8 PM

Venue:

MMRDA Grounds, Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai

Event Partners:

Kotak Mahindra - Presenting Partner 

MapmyIndia - Navigation Partner

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Tata introduces Special Edition Nano

Tata Motors has launched Special Edition Nano, which the company clams has features worth Rs. 25,000. These features come as free as there is no hike in the price of the car. The Special Edition is available in LX and CX (without body graphics) variants and not in the base model. The Special Edition Nano is available only in West Bengal, Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Kerela, Assam, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura.

Tata Nano Special Edition has following added features –

Special Edition Sticker

Uniquely placed stickers on either side of your Nano, for everyone to know how special the Nano is.

Body Graphics

Uber trendy door decals that are guaranteed to invite a second look.

Alloy Wheels

A customised set of rims to ensure that each time you drive, you arrive in style.

Glove Box

You never run out of space with left and right side glove boxes.

Car Audio System

A state-of-the-art audio system with an MP3 player, iPod connectivity, USB and AUX support and two front-door speakers.

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Hyundai offering discount on i10 A/T, Asta and LPG varaints

On this festive season to boost sales, Hyundai is offering discount of up to Rs. 51,000 on i10. The discount offer comes with many raiders details of which are below:

On Hyundai i10 Automatic and Asta variant –

Free insurance worth Rs. 14,195

Gift cheque of Rs. 12,000

Corporate discount of Rs. 3000

Exchange or Loyalty bonus of Rs. 25000

All this adds up to Rs. 51, 195 which is 10% of the car’s total cost. Even if you do not exchange any car or do not own a Hyundai before, the discount will be Rs. 29,195.

On the LPG variant of i10 the discounts are-

Free insurance of worth of Rs. 13,614

Gift cheque of Rs. 4000

Corporate discount of Rs. 3000

Exchange or Loyalty bonus of Rs. 25,000

All this adds up to discount of Rs. 42,614.

Here are the prices of Hyundai i10 in Pune after discount -

Hyundai i10 1.1 D-Lite : Rs 4.39 Lakh (without discount)

Hyundai i10 1.1 ERA  : Rs 4.44 Lakh

Hyundai i10 1.1 MAGNA : Rs 4.61 Lakh

Hyundai i10 1.2 MAGNA : Rs 4.79 Lakh

Hyundai i10 1.2. SPORTS : Rs 5.09 Lakh

Hyundai i10 1.2 ASTA : Rs 6.01 Lakh

The offer is available for limited period and delears are promising delivery by Diwali.

Source: MotorBash

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Nissan Urvan/Caravan spied testing in India

The next big launch from Nissan in India could be Urvan/Caravan, a MPV with 10-14 seater capacity. Thanks to an autocarindia reader who could manage to click some spy pictures of Urvan/Caravan being tested near Chennai. Nissan recently launched Evalia MPV in India and now with Urvan being spotted, Nissan seems to be aiming high on mini mass transportation segment.

India could be a great market for mini mass transportation segment as we have only one vehicle in the form of Tata Winger which could carry 10 to 14 people and most of you would agree Winger will not give a good comfortable ride. The only other vehicle which could carry 10-14 people comfortably was the Mercedes Benz MB100 van which is now discontinued from the market. The Urvan/Caravan has 4 rows of seats with flexible seating configuration and will provide a better comfort travelling than most of the MPVs.

         The Nissan Urvan/Caravan has a sliding door which makes entry and exit easy. The flexi seating and comfortable seats promises tireless long journey’s. The proven Nissan diesel technology will give unmatched fuel efficiency and power. In Philippines, the Urvan/Caravan is powered by a 3.0L 4 cylinder diesel engine which pumps out 105 Hp of power and 209 Nm of torque. The same engine could make it to India as well. We are sure, Nissan wont fint the same 1.5L Renault sourced diesel engine in Urvan/Caravan, otherwise it is sure to kill a winner in the making. 

Picture Source: Autocarindia

Nissan Urvan/Caravan pictures

Nissan Urvan/Caravan front	Nissan Urvan/Caravan rear
Nissan Urvan/Caravan dashboard	Nissan Urvan/Caravan interiors

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Mahindra launches SsangYong Rexton in Inida, priced at Rs. 17.75 lakh

Mahindra today launched SsangYong Rexton in India. The Rexton is priced at Rs. 17.67 lakh for manual variant and the automatic one is priced couple of lakhs more. The Rexton will be manufactured in South Korea and assembled at Mahindra’s Chakan plant.

The Rexton is poered by a 5 cylinder 2.7 liter turbo diesel engine sourced from Mercedes and will be offered with 5 speed manual and 5 speed automatic transmission. The engine has been tuned as required for manual and automatic gearbox to give different power outputs. The manual gearbox vehicle has 162 Bhp of power and 34.7 Kg of torque where as the Automatic one has 184 Bhp of power and 42 Kgm of torque.

The Rexton comes in tow variants RX5 and RX7. The vehicle delivers fuel economy of 12.4 Kmpl (Manual) and 11.18 Kmpl (A/T) (ARAI certified). In India, Rexton competes with Toyota Fortuner, Hyundai Santa Fe and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport. 

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Honda Brio Automatic launched, priced at Rs. 5.74 lakh

Honda today launched the Automatic variant of its small car Brio. The Brio Automatic is priced at Rs. 5.74 for S(O) A/T and Rs. 5.99 lakh for V A/T (both prices ex-showroom, New Delhi). The Brio AT is available in S(Optional) and V trim levels. Along with A/T variant, Honda has added a EX trim level to the existing line up.

Honda Brio Automatic bears a 5 speed automatic transmission currently doing duty on the Honda City. The Brio A/T competes with Hyundai i10 A/T and Maruti A Star A/T in Indian car market. 

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Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 launched in India at Rs. 2.44 lakh

Maruti Suzuki today launched the much hyped small car ‘Alto 800’ in New Delhi. The Alto 800 prices starts from Rs. 2.44 lakh for STD variant going up to Rs. 3,56,000/- for LXI CNG variant (all prices ex-showroom, New Delhi). The Alto 800 will not replace the existing Alto and Alto K10, instead will sell along with them. The Alto 800 indeed replaces the Maruti 800 which has been a highly successful car in automotive history.

Maruti has worked on the engine for the new Alto 800 to give better fuel efficiency, torque and power. The car is 15 mm wider and taller than the Alto, as a result of which headroom and legroom is quiet good now. However the car’s length has been reduced by 20mm because of better engine packaging. The suspension has been tweaked for a better ride.

Other than that, there are no changes to Alto 800 on paper. The ground clearance is 160 mm, as of the Alto and so do the engine capacity which is 3 cylinder 796 cc. The einge is coupled to the same Alto’s 5 speed gearbox. The car returns fuel efficiency of 22.74 Kmpl for petrol and 30.46 Km per Kg of CNG (ARAI figures).

Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 Prices (All prices ex-showroom, New Delhi):

		Metallic	Non Metallic
Maruti Alto 800 STD	:	Rs. 2,44,000/-	Rs. 2,40,776/-
MARUTI Alto 800 STD CNG	:	Rs. 3,19,000/-	Rs. 3,15,776/-
Maruti Alto 800 LX	:	Rs. 2,76,500/-	Rs. 2,73,276/-
Maruti Alto 800 LX CNG	:	Rs. 3,37,000/-	Rs. 3,33,776/-
Maruti Alto 800 LXI	:	Rs. 2,99,000/-	Rs. 2,95,776/-
Maruti Alto 800 LXI (AIRBAG)	:	Rs. 3,14,000/-	Rs. 3,10,776/-
Maruti Alto 800 LXI CNG	:	Rs. 3,56,000/-	Rs. 3,52,776/-

Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 available colours:

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Ford Figo facelift launched at Rs. 3.85 lakh

Ford India has launched the Figo facelift priced at Rs. 3.85 lakh for base petrol and Rs. 4.81 lakh for the base diesel variant. The facelift include redesigned front bumper, slight changes in headlamp and tail lamp cluster. The Figo facelift is not just cosmetic changes to the exterior. There are host of new features added to the car.

New features added to Ford Figo:

Bluetooth and iPod connectivity.

New fabrics and seat design.

New ‘Reviera Blue’ instrument panel colour.

New colours – ‘Bright Yellow’ and ‘Kinetic Blue’ added.

Double Bulb weather strips on the door.

Redesigned head rests on the front seats.

New alloy wheels carried over from Fiesta.

Ford has also worked on the gearshift which is now smother and takes less effort to change gears. The front seats lumbar support has also been improved. 

New Ford Figo Petrol Prices (All prices ex-showroom Delhi):

New Ford Figo 1.2L Duratec LXI: Rs. 3,84,999/-

New Ford Figo 1.2L Duratec EXI: Rs. 4,22,999/-

New Ford Figo 1.2L Duratec ZXI: Rs. 4,52,999/-

New Ford Figo 1.2L Duratec Titanium: Rs. 5,01,999/-

New Ford Figo Diesel Prices (All prices ex-showroom Delhi):

New Ford Figo 1.4L Duratorq LXI: Rs. 4,81,999/-

New Ford Figo 1.4L Duratorq  EXI: Rs. 5,20,999/-

New Ford Figo 1.4L Duratorq ZXI: Rs. 5,50,999 /-

New Ford Figo 1.4L Duratorq Titanium: Rs. 5,99,999/-

New Ford Figo Colors:

1.       Sea Grey

2.       Diamond White

3.       Colorado Red

4.       Bright Yellow (New)

5.       Kinetic Blue (New)

6.       Panther Black

7.       Moondust Silver

8.       Chill Metallic

9.       Diamond White

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Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 receives 6500 even before launch

Maruti Suzuki’s big day of recent times is just a day away and guess what? the new Alto 800 has already received 6500 bookings. Maruti Suzuki opened bookings for the car just 15 days back through its teaser website www.marutisuzukialto800.com. The teaser website has received over 3,50,000 hits already. The new Alto 800 has arrived the dealerships in Bangalore. Mandovi Motors has already displayed the covered car with some balloons sticked on it.  

Mr. Mayank Pareek, Chief Operating Officer, Maruti Suzuki India - "Despite the price remaining unknown to customers, who have not seen the car fully, we have received 6,500 bookings of the new Alto. At this rate, we are confident that it will cross 10,000 when we launch the car on October 16”.

The new Alto 800 though not as pretty as the Nano, will sell in good numbers and Maruti wants it to start from where the old Alto left. In September, Alto sold over 30,000/- units and with the new model Maruti wants to increase the sales numbers still further. With the new engine dynamics, better fuel efficiency and new interiors, the Alto 800 is definitely better than the old model, but as we have been saying for some time, Maruti could have designed the new model much better!

Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 Specifications

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PVC Flooring in Cars

PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) is a type of plastic. PVC matting can be seen on the floor and walls of buildings which can also be used in the floor of a car. Sheets of PVC are cut and glued and laid over the OE carpet of the car. The advantage of PVC flooring in cars is, the floor of the car can be cleaned easily with a wet cloth unlike the OE carpets. Rubber mats on the PVC flooring can be put to enhance the ambiance of the car.

How is PVC flooring done in cars?

PVC sheets are available in market and come in 3x4 ft size. Before staring both front and rear seats are removed by loosening the nuts/bolt. The carpet is cleaned neatly with the help of vacuum cleaner. 4 PVC sheets are necessary for the 4 foot wells of the car. Each PVC sheets are laid on the carpet in the foot well and cut according to the elevations and glued together. The sides of the PVC sheets are then tucked inside the sidewall beading/plastics. The procedure takes 1 to 2 hours depending upon the skill of the person who does the job. The work needs high skill of craftsmanship and an experienced person can do a good job to your car. PVC sheets are available in 4 colours - Ribbed Black, Grey, Beige And Transparent.

Advantages:

1)       The OE carpet does not get expose to dust, hence gets protection.

PVC sheets are water resistant and any spillage of water can be wiped with a cloth.

2)       The floor of the car can be wiped and cleaned with a wet cloth – helpful in rainy seasons.

3)       Cheap and would cost Rs. 1500/-

Disadvantages:

1)       Unskilled craftsmanship can ruin the job otherwise neatly done by an experienced person. Also the glue might spill on the carpet and could get damaged if you want to remove the PVC flooring.

2)       Have to remove the seats which are a cumbersome work.

3)       Though PVC matting helps maintain cleanliness of the car, it spoils the ambiance of the car.

4)       There could be fungal growth beneath the PVC sheets which may damage the carpet and may cause corrosion of metal floor of the car. 

5)       The smell of the PVC sheets is not acceptable to all. 

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Toyota introduces Limited Edition Corolla Altis

Off late Toyota has been launching limited edition of its vehicles in India. The latest limited edition from Toyota is Corolla Altis limited edition. To remind our readers, Toyota earlier launched a limited edition Corolla Altis named Aero. Last month Toyota launched Aero edition of its MPV Innova. 

As most of the manufacturers launch limited edition of top end models, Toyota this time has done other way round. The limited edition of Corolla Altis is available in base Petrol and Diesel variants. The Corolla Altis limited edition gets following additional features -

New distinctive grill
Reprofiled rear combination lamps
Mildly modified rear bumper
Limited Edition badge
5.8 inch touchscreen audio system with Bluetooth connectivity
New four spoke steering wheel
Key less entry

All this features adds essence to the otherwise bare base petrol and diesel variants of Toyota Corolla Altis. The limited edition Corolla Altis marks 10 years anniversary of Corolla in India.

Distinctive Grill

Dashboard – Touchscreen and 4 spoke steering wheel

The new limited edition Toyota Corolla Altis is priced at Rs. 11.45 lakh for base petrol and Rs. 12.84 lakh for base diesel variant respectively (all prices ex-showroom, Mumbai).

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Nissan giving discounts and offers on Micra and Sunny this October

Nissan is giving attractive offers and promotional schemes on Micra and Sunny this October to boost sales. The offers and discounts come in line with other manufactures who are trying to woe customers this festive season.

Promotional schems on Micra and Sunny -

1) Refund of the car amount for lucky dip winners.

2) A contest is organised where winner of will get 500 gms of gold worth Rs.     16.5 lakh.

3) Exchange bonus of Rs. 10,000

4) Low EMI

5) Extended warranty on all purchases

6) Assured gifts ranging from 2g gold to accessories

*All the above mentioned offers are available only during festive season. Nissan has not defined ‘festive season’, so we believe it to be Diwali period.

Press Release-

Mr. Nitish Tipnis, Director – Sales & Marketing, Hover Automotive India - “Nissan believes in Innovation and Excitement for everyone and this season, we are providing much more benefits than just the car. The attraction of winning gold worth more than Rs 16.5 lakhs as well as getting ones car free surely makes this offer difficult to resist. To make the product purchase convenient for our customers, we are also offering 100% finance and various low EMI options.”

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Ford Ecosport, the next big launch in Indian Automotive Market

Indian car market is slowly shifting towards mini SUVs and no wonder; every player wants to have a mini SUV in their portfolio. Renault and Mahindra by launching Duster and Quanto has started the mini SUV revolution in India. The next big launch in Indian automotive market will be the Ford Ecosport mini SUV which will be launched early next year.

Ford has started testing the Ecosport in India and spy pictures of test mules were taken near Chennai where Ford has a manufacturing plant. We came across some clear spy pictures of Ecosport through our friend MotorBash, and what is interesting is Ecosport will have an automatic variant as well. The Ecosport automatic variant will be the first vehicle in its class to have an automatic transmission which helps to easily manuover the vehicle in tight traffic. The interiors look very similar to the All new Fiesta, so Ford will share the parts and keep the Ecosport competitive.

The Ecosport will come in both Petrol and Diesel engines. Ford’s revolutionary 1.0L Ecoboost petrol engine will maket its India debut with Ecosport. Though being just 1.0L, the Ecoboost petrol engine produces 125 Bhp of power and 200 Nm of torque, thats why Ford calls it ‘Revolutionary Engine Technology’. The diesel engine will be carried from All new Fiesta which is a 1.5L common rail engine with 90 Ps of power.

 Regarding pricing of Ecoboost, Ford has already announced it will price Ecoboost less than the Duster. Being less than 4 meters in length, the Ecoboost enjoys 12% tax as compared to 24% for other vehicles. Sharing of parts will futher help Ford to keep the price competitive and having seen the success of Figo (which has been priced very competitively) Ford will price Ecosport at around Rs. 7 lakh for base petrol variant and Rs. 7 to 8 lakh for base diesel one.

We here at Automobile Planet are eagerly waiting to see the Ecosport on the roads soon and we guess many would be having same thoughts as we do...

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Maruti releases pictures of Alto800, launch on Oct 17th

Maruti Suzuki has released clear pictures of soon to be launched small car Alto800. The car will be launched on 17th of October and will replace the highly successful Maruti 800 and Alto. Maruti last week released a teaser website which received over 1 lakh hits in just 7 days.

As seen from the picture, the car is extremely different from the Maruti 800 and Alto. Maruti has tried to give the new Alto800 fresh looks by incorporating (can read copy) designs of successful car from other makers in recent times. The front resembles that of the Figo and the side and rear you can have the tinge of i20 in it.

We have been telling from our earlier post that Maruti could have done a better job. A good design is what the car needed as it backed everything from Maruti right from technology to service back up. Maruti is banking big on the Alto800 and wants to repeat the success story of 800 and Alto. But we feel, the automotive industry has changed and in spite of selling in good numbers, Maruti might not live up to its expectations with Alto800. Well.... let’s wait and watch.

The new Maruti Alto800 will be available in two fuel options – Petrol and CNG and will come in 7 colour shades. The car will be priced around Rs. 2 lakh (ex-showroom).

Our archive on Maruti Alto 800

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Tata Indica Vista with 90 Hp Quadrajet engine and Manza dashboard spied

It is a known that Tata Motors tries various permutations and combination on its vehicles. Here is a good example of Indica Vista spied which has 90 Hp engine and a dashboard of Manza sedan. Earlier last year, Tata Motors changed the Vista front with that of the Manza claiming the vehicle to be in ‘Sedan Class’. Now the company has gone one step further with fitting a 90 Hp Quadrajet engine in the Inidca Vista. The surprising factor is the change is the dashboard.

Currently Tata offers Vista in 4 engine options – 1.2L 65PS Safire petrol, 1.2L 90PS Safire Petrol, 1.4L TDI Diesel and 1.3L 75PS Quadrajet Diesel.

As seen from the picture the vehicle spied was ZX (top end) variant marked with ‘ZX90’ at the rear. You can also see ABS sticker below the ZX monogram. On the left front fender ‘Quadrajet 90’ monogram can be seen which makes us believe that the car is powered by a 90 Hp Quadrajet engine.

 A change in the dashboard can be made out. The dashboard looks like to be borrowed from Manza and Tata Motors want to give its customers a super hatch in the form of ZX variant. A CR4 engined Vista was spied few days back and with a 75 Ps Manza ‘Club Class’ coming soon, Tata will have battery of launches in coming months. 

Source: Motorbash

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Mercedes Benz to launch cars under Rs. 20 lakh in India

Mercedes Benz is the first of the three German luxury car companies to come to India. Mercedes Benz entered India in 1996 and transformed the luxury car segment which was still in infancy. Then followed BMW and Audi but the irony is, Mercedes Benz has been pushed to 3rd spot, thanks to the new launches from BMW and Audi, mainly of their small SUVs.

In order to regain the lost ground, Mercedes recently launched B Class which is just over Rs. 20 lakh and now is planning to launch cars costing less than Rs. 20 lakh. Mercedes A Class is the smallest car in the Mercedes stable and hence is the vehicle which will be launched under Rs. 20 lakh in India.

Mercedes plans to invest Rs. 250 Cr. in India as its strategic investment till 2014. The company intends to have 40% of its vehicles to be under Rs. 25 lakh, which means, the A and B Class will be the focus model for the Mercedes in the near future.

Mercedes also plans to develop mini SUVs on the A and B Class platform to avail versatility to its customers. If priced well in India, the A Class might be a new segment maker and turn the fortune of Mercedes Benz.

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