Now book a Tata Bolt online for Rs. 11,000

        Tata Motors has opened the online bookings of its upcoming redesigned hatch ‘Bolt’, the second model in Tata’s Horizonnext philosophy. The first model under Horizonnext was ‘Zest’ which was launched in August 2014 and received good appreciation from the customers.. The initial booking amount for Tata Bolt hatch is Rs. 11,000, and you can book the car through following link – Book Tata Bolt.

        Tata Bolt will be available in both petrol and diesel engine options. The petrol model gets power from 1.2L turbocharged Revotron MPFi petrol engine which makes 89 Bhp of power and 14.27 Kgm of torque. The diesel model of course will get 1.3L Multijet engine with 75 Ps of power and 200 Nm of torque.

        Tata Motors has concentrated on quality of Bolt hatchback. Each parts supplied by the component makers were put through strict check before it went into the assembly line. Tata Motors had held a 5 day event for all component suppliers of Zest and Bold and emphasised about the need for quality products in its upcoming cars. 

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Nissan Terrano to get All Wheel Drive variant in 2015

        Nissan will launch an All Wheel Drive variant of Terrano SUV in 2015. Earlier this year Renault Duster AWD was launched which received good appreciation from the customers.

        As the Terrano is just a facelifted Duster, not much testing of an AWD variant is needed. Both Duster and Terrano is powered by Renault’s 1.5L dCi diesel engine producing 110 Bhp of power transferring to all four wheels through 6 speed manual transmission.

        Like the Duster AWD, the Terrano AWD too get features such as Electronic Torque Control, ESP, Anti Skid Resistance, Hill Start and a dial switch used to change between 2WD and 4WD. Terrano AWD too is expected to come in two trims and of course with a price hike compared to 2WD models.

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Maruti cars to be costlier from 2015

        India’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki has announced that it will hike the prices of its cars from 2015. The price hike will be in the rage of 2-4% and the step is taken to compensate the impact of raising input costs on the company.

"We are planning to increase the prices in the range of two-four percent across our entire range of products from January. It was in October 2013 that we had taken our last price hike," Maruti’s executive director (Marketing and Sales), R S Kalsi told Press Trust of India. He also said that the company is absorbing the high input costs for some time without transferring it to the customers owing to poor market conditions.

        Along with Maruti other manufacturers such as Hyundai, BMW, Mahindra and Tata Motors are also joining the price hike band.

Source: ACI

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Renault developing a new small car concept ‘Value Up’

This is not the actual picture of the Value Up concept.
Shown here just for reference

        French auto maker Renault is developing a small car/hatchback concept called ‘Value Up’. The ‘Value Up’ concept will be lightweight, efficient and will keep the costs lower for the company. It is being worked upon purely for research purpose to help develop future models.

        The ‘Value Up’ concept is built on a new 3.8 m length platform and is likely to underpin some of the future cars from Renault. The concept fits between Renault Twingo and Clio models.

        The concept makes use abundant of bamboo in the cabin to lower the weight. It weighs 830 Kg and is supposed to be powered by a 1.0 three cylinder petrol engine.

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2016 Next Generation Audi Q7 unveiled

        German luxury automobile manufacturer Audi has unveiled the next generation Q7 SUV which will make its world premier at 2015 Detroit Motor Show. The second generation Audi Q7 is less bulky and offers more room for passengers and luggage than the current model. It weighs 393 Kg lighter and is 26% fuel efficient.

        The next generation Audi Q7 2016 is based on Volkswagen’s MLB platform. It gets Audi signature Matrix LED headlights and is expected to carry on with 6 and 8 cylinder engines with some modifications to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.

        The new Audi Q7 dimensions are 5.05 x 2099 x1.97 meters (length x width x height). It weighs 1995 Kg and has less centre of mass than the current model.

        Driving the car will be an all-wheel drive system (Quattro) powered by a 3.0L TDI(Diesel) or 3.0L TFSI(Petrol) with 272 hp and 600 Nm and 333 hp and 440 Nm outputs respectively. The new Audi Q7 can do 0 to 100 Kmph in 6.3 seconds with diesel and 6.1 seconds in petrol versions with a top speed achievability of 234 Kmph and 250 Kmph respectively.

        The new Audi Q7 gets new Audi virtual cockpit, new MMI all-in-touch control unit with large touchpad, Audi tablet for the rear seat passengers, the two sound systems with 3D audio, Smartphone integration with Google Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

Safety systems include rear parking aid, cruise control, adjustable speed limiter, rest recommendation and Audi pre sense city.

Later on by the end of 2015 Audi will introduce Q7 e-tron Quattro powered by a 3.0L TDI diesel coupled with an electric motor paired to an 8 speed triptronic transmission. The Q7 e-tron delivers fuel efficiency of 58.82 Kmpl and CO2 emissions equivalent of under 50g/km.

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Audi launches A3 Cabriolet, priced at Rs. 44.75 lakh

        Audi A3 Cabriolet, which is basically a A3 sedan without a solid roof is launched in India. The A3 Cabriolet is priced at Rs. 44.75 lakh and looks very sporty. It costs more than the A3 sedan as it is imported as fully CBU.

        Audi A3 Cabriolet was first showed at Auto Expo 2014 held in New Delhi. The design of A3 Cabriolet is similar to the A3 sedan and so do the features and equipment list. It retains the bi-xenon headlamps with daytime running LEDs and LED tail lamps of A3 sedan.

        The car has two doors and four seats. The fabric roof can be retracted in 18 seconds and up to 50 Kmph. The diesel engine has been dropped and A3 Cabriolet is available in only petrol option with 1.8L TFSI petrol engine with 177 Bhp of power. The engine is mated to a seven speed S-tronic dual-clutch transmission. 

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Jaguar adds cheaper Executive Edition to XF sedan in India

        Jaguar has launched a new Executive Edition of XF sedan which was earlier offered only in the luxury trim. The Executive Edition is a cheaper version and misses out on some of the features the luxury trim has.

        The Jaguar XF Executive Edition does not get memory function for driver seats and mirrors, sunroof and a TV tuner. The leather seats are replaced with fabric and interior is kept simple. It gets rear parking sensors but no rear view camera.

        There is no change under the hood. The XF Executive Edition is powered by the same 2.2L diesel engine with 140 Kw power coupled to an eight speed automatic gearbox.

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Datsun’s low cost car redi-Go to be launched in May 2015

        According to reports by Business Week, Datsun will launch its low cost redi-Go in India by second quarter of next year. Datsun has showed the redi-Go concept at the Auto Expo 2014 held in New Delhi.

        The redi-Go concept is based on an all new low cost platform which is likely to be shared by Renault’s soon to be launched small car in India codenamed XBA. The redi-Go project codenamed Datsun I2 is taking its shape at Renault Nissan Techonology Business Center India.

        Datsun redi-Go is also likely to share its powertrain with the Renualt’s small car which will be powered by all new 3 cylinder 800cc petrol engine. The car is reported to be light weight with kerb weight of 760 Kg.

        Datsun will position redi-Go below the Go hatchback. Since the small car market is dominated by Maruti, it will be hard for Datsun to compete having seen very little success with Go hatch.

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Suzuki YRA hatchback revealed, spied without camouflage

        Just couple of days ago we had posted about Suzuki YRA hatchback spied with little camouflage. Now pictures of the car without any camouflage have surfaced on the net, probable taken somewhere in Europe.

        Suzuki YRA hatch looks much bigger than the Swift and though the front end carries the Suzuki design language, the YRA hatch rear is completely new to the company’s design philosophy. The rear looks more European with raked C pillar, seen first on Suzuki hatches.

        Suzuki YRA hatchback will compete with Hyundai Elite i20 and Honda Jazz. We believe Suzuki will waste no time in bringing the car to India as they are known to capture the market sooner than any other car company.  

        Suzuki YRA hatchback will be positioned above Swift and expected to be priced around Rs. 8 lakh. It is expected to come with 1.2 and 1.4L petrol engines and 1.3L DDiS diesel. 

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Mercedes Maybach S Class makes its official debut at Los Angeles

        Daimler AG unveiled the Mercedes Maybach S Class luxury sedan at the Los Angeles Motor Show 2014. The Maybach nameplate had gone into woods from some time and the company is making its come back in the form of S Class.

        Mercedes Maybach S Class is 200m longer than the regular Merc S class and now stands 5453 mm long. Because of this there is added wheelbase which now measure 3365 mm.

        There are minimal changes in the exterior except for the “Maybach” badging and lettering and shorter rear doors to accommodate the rear quarter glass which is embedded in the C pillar.

        Most of the changes have occurred in the inside of the car. The rear passengers get to enjoy the additional legroom and the backrests now can be adjusted separately. The cushion can also be adjusted individually (inclination and horizontal).

        The Mercedes Maybach S Class will get the tag of “quietest car in the world” thanks to special seals optimizing the noise insulation along with the installation of additional sound deadening material.

        Scheduled to go on sale in February 2015, first the Maybach S Class will be offered in S600 variant with a twin turbo V12 6 liter engine with 530 Hp of power and 830 Nm of torque followed by less powerful S500 and S400 4MATIC variants.

Mercedes Maybach S Class video

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Toyota Prius V facelift 2015 unveiled at Los Angeles Motor Show

        Toyota has unveiled the 2015 Prius V facelift at Los Angeles Motor Show. The 2015 Prius V facelift looks more aggressive now with new front bumper, a revised grill and redesigned headlamps.

        The car now gets new colour themes - Attitude Black Metallic, Absolutely Red and Toasted Walnut Pearl. There are no much changes in the interior except a 8 way power driver’s seat (with power lumbar support) and an Entune infotainment system with 6.1 inch display.

        The Hybrid Synergy Drive system remains the same 1.8 liter Atkinson-cycle engine with electric motors. It produces a combined maximum power output of 134 Bhp and returns around 40 to 44 miles per gallon.

Source: worldcarfans

Toyota Prius V facelift 2015 video

Toyota Prius V facelift 2015 more pictures

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Renault’s new low cost mini SUV spied for the first time

        These are the first spy pictures of Renault’s low cost mini SUV being tested in Europe. We are not sure whether the mini SUV will make it to India in the near future, but it will definitely bring Renault into one of the top car makers in India.

        As seen from the pictures, the front grill gives us a thought that it is a Dacia vehicle. Dacia is the sister concerned company of Renault which makes low cost cars for European markets. In fact the Duster SUV was famous as Dacia Duster before it was launched in India with Renault name.

        The test mule seen looks to be smaller than Duster, which means it might come under 4 meter length mark. The styling of the vehicle looks to be basic and the single wiper gives us the idea what Renault is trying to do, to develop a low cost SUV, which will suit better for developing markets like India.

        If launched in India, the Renault mini SUV will compete with Ford Ecosport, soon to be launched Hyundai min SUV and Mahindra S101, the test mules of which are seen many times on Indian roads.  

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New Mini Cooper launched in India, available in both 3 and 5 door options

        German luxury car maker BMW which owns Mini Cooper has launched the iconic third generation Mini Cooper in India. The new Mini Cooper S is available in both 3 and 5 doors options and is priced at Rs. 31.85 lakh and 35.20 lakh respectively (both prices ex-showroom).

        As of now Mini Cooper is available in only diesel option. The petrol powered Cooper S will come to India in early next year.

        The Cooper S features an all new 1.5 litre twin turbo diesel engine with 114 Bhp of power and 27.5 Kg of torque. Power is delvered to front wheels by 6 speed automatic gearbox. The new Cooper gets a new front and rear suspension and sits on the new UKL platform.

        The new Cooper S is bigger than the earlier model. In the exterior there are some changes such as bulbous and prominent nose, contrasting roof and some decals. In the interior, the speedometer has been moved behind the steering wheel and the central screen makes the pride of the dashboard. 

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Mitsubishi unveils 2015 Triton pickup in Thailand

        Mitsubishi has unveiled the new 2015 Triton pickup in Thailand. The Triton gets an upgrade 9 years after its launch which has been the best selling vehicle in one ton pickup market.

        The new Mitsubishi Triton gets a newly developed 2.4 liter turbo diesel engine that produces 181 Ps of power and 430 Nm of torque. A 2.5 liter variant with 178 Ps and 400 Nm and a 2.4 liter petrol with 128Ps and 194 Nm of torque will also be available when launched. The new Triton will be available in single, double and club cab variant options.

        The triton features 5 or 6 speed manual transmission or a 5 speed automatic one depending up on the engine. A rotary 4WD controller allows the driver to switch between 2WD and 4WD modes.

        The Triton pickup forms the base for the next generation Pajero Sport SUV which is expected to be unveiled for global markets in 2016. 

Mitsubishi Triton 2015 pickup video

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Volkswagen developing low cost MQB platform for emerging markets

        Volkswagen is currently developing a low cost MQB platform for a series of low cost models for emerging markets like India and China.

        Volkswagen’s low cost MQB platform could serve as foundation for Dacia like sub brand which the company mentioned to create in the upcoming markets.

        Volkswagen is planning to cut costs by using less of high strength steel and aluminium. There could also be simpler suspension, more basic interior cabins and also more emphasis on localisation of components depending up on where the car is assembled. 

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Toyota unveils Mirai fuel cell vehicle, has 300 mile range

        Toyota has unveiled the production ready Mirai fuel cell vehicle which has a range of 300 miles before it runs out of hydrogen. The Mirai fuel cell can refill hydrogen in just 5 minutes.

        Mirai meaning “Future” in Japanese gives Toyota an opportunity to get the tag line “the future has arrived”. Toyota Mirai will reach dealerships in japan in April 2015 and later will make its to North American shores as well. Toyota Mirai will cost around $60,000 when launched in Japan. 

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Honda unveils all new Fuel Cell Vehicle concept in Japan

        Honda has unveiled an all new Fuel Cell Vehicle concept in Japan which is expected to be launched in Japanese market by early 2016. Honda aims to sell the FCV concept in international markets as well, especially North America and Europe in future.

        Honda FCV concept is the second concept from Honda. The first being the FCX Clarity which was shown at Los Angeles Auto Show 2013.

        The FCV is powered by an electric motor which does 134 bhp, an increase in 60% compared to the FCX Clarity. The fuel stack size of FCV concept has also been reduced by 33%.

        According to Honda, FCV is the first vehicle to feature an entire fuel cell powertrain in its engine bay. Honda claims FCV can do 482 Km with full tank of fuel and refuelling time has been redued to just 3 to 5 minutes.

        Competing FCV concept will be Toyota’s fuel cell car Mirai, and Hyundai’s hydrogen powered ix35.

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Next generation Suzuki Alto unveiled in Japan, for Japan market

        World’s largest small car maker Suzuki has released images of the next generation Alto for Japanese markets. The next generation Suzuki Alto will be launched in Japan on December 22, 2014. It will replace the earlier model which made its debut in 2009 Tokyo Motor Show. Will it come to India, probably not as Maruti has recently launched the Alto K10, which is basically a modified Alto 800.

        Looking at the design Suzuki designers have tried to give a distinct identity to the car. The unusual shaped headlamp, fiat inspired front grill and upward kinking of rear door window is something we see for the first time in a Suzuki car. There also a sportier looking model with dual tone colours theme with black bumpers, hood scoop and side cladding.

        The new Suzuki Alto could be powered by the same 660cc 3 cylinder petrol engine that pumps out 54 Ps of power at 6,500 rpm and 63 Nm of torque at 3,500 rpm. It might also get a CVT gearbox along with 5 speed manual and 4 speed automatic.

        The most interesting fact is the new Suzuki Alto will be offered in 2 and 4 Wheel Drive options. Fuel efficiency is expected at 21 Kmpl. A more powerful turbocharged engine is also on the offer.

        A small car with 4 WD option? That’s the vehicle suited for India roads. Suzuki, are you listening. 

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Tata Zest gathers 6 months waiting period

        Tata Zest, the compact sedan from Tata Motors developed under its “Horizonnext” strategy has gathered waiting period of up to 6 months for some of its variants. This brings a long gap for any Tata vehicle to gather this much of waiting period. Its was Nano small car when launched in 2008 had managed to gather some waiting period.

        The long waiting period for Zest is attributed to supply chain constraint and inadequate production capacity. In the month of October 2014, Tata Zest sold more than Honda Amaze, and such popularity of the car had created demand more than the production. Till date Tata Motors has sold over 10,000 units of Zest since its launch in August 2014. According to company sources, the petrol variant of Zest is also gathering momentum in sales. 

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Tata Nano discounts November 2014

        Tata Motors is offering huge discounts on its range of Nano cars. The discounts range from Rs. 80,000 for the regular model and Rs. 35,000 for the Twist and eMAX CNG models.

 

        The problems with Tata Nano persisted right from its launch. Firstly the transfer of its factory and later the fire issues made things difficult for Nano. Also the build quality and the engine noise issues worsend the problems for the car.

 

        Tata Motors has worked hard to revive the brand name Nano. They bought in lot of changes in the interior as well as exterior to make the car more valuable. Addition of a power steering was a good move, however the sales of the car did not pick up even then. Tata Motors sold just 1,654 units of Nano in October 2014 as compared to 2,120 units in the same month last year.

 

        Upcoming additions like automatic transmission, bigger fuel tank and openable rear tailgate give some hope of the car. As of now its the best time to buy a Nano car. If you are planning, just go and buy one. 

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