New Fiat Uno heads South America, will it come to India?

     The new Fiat Uno as you see in the picture is headed towards the South American market. Uno has been a very popular vehicle in Brazil and the new model which is a totally different vehicle might rewrite the history for Fiat.

     The new Uno is more practical, stylish, compact, mini SUVish and less boxy unlike the its preceder. It has all the essence of an urban mini car. It measures 3770 mm long, 1643 mm wide and 1490 mm high and wheelbase of 2370 mm. It positions between the Panda and Grande Punto and will be manufactured at Fiat’s Bentim plant in Brazil.

     Two petrol engine options are considered - 1 L 75 bhp and 1.4 L 85 bhp. Both the variants will have 5 speed manual transmission. An all wheel drive variant is also expected.

     The new Uno seams to be a tailor made for Indian markets. Its multipurpose role might create a new segment here. Hope Fiat thinks serious about it and launch it soon in India. With a price tag of Rs 5 lakh it could be a serious killer for the higly selling Swift and Ritz. Watch out Suzuki…

Bajaj ultra low cost car to cost Rs 1.10 lakh

     Finally the cost of the ultra low cost car on which Bajaj, Renault and Nissan were working is out. It would cost Rs 1.10 lakh and will take on the world’s cheapest car Tata Nano.

     Currently Nano is price between Rs 1.23 to Rs 1.72 lakh ex showroom, and weather the Rs 1.10 tag for the ultra low cost car is ex-showroom or onroad is still not known, we guess it will be the ex-showroom price for the very basic variant.

     The ultra low cost car project took off 2 years ago and because of the price tag constraints, the project has been delayed. We can expect the car to be launched by 2012. Bajaj has been focusing on the mileage and durability of the car all these days and with Renault and Nissan co-operation it has finally decided to launch a car which will eventually become the world’s cheapest car.

All new BMW 5 Series (F10) launched in India

     BMW today launched its latest model ‘5 Series’ (F10) in India at a ceremony at Hotel Grand Hyatt in Mumbai. The new BMW 5 Series is priced between Rs 38.9 lakh to Rs 58 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai).

     The new 5 Series is available in two petrol variants - 535i and 523i and two diesel variants – 530d and 525d. It can be ordered at any BMW dealerships across the country.

Mahindra developing a mini SUV for Indian market

     Home grown Mahindra & Mahindra is developing a mini SUV along the sidelines of it Global SUV expected to be launced next year. The mini SUV is being built on the Logan platform and is designed to come under 4m length mark to enjoy the small car benifits.

     The engine capacity, of course of the diesel one is kept under 1500cc which is basically the 3 cylinder version of Mahindra's 2.2L mHawk engine with little modifications. A 1.2L petrol engine will be sourced from outside.

     The mini SUV will be positioned under Scoropio with a price tag of Rs 6 lakhs. It will directly be pitted against the lone competitor Premier Rio. A mini SUV was all we wanted, and Mahindra is trying to answer us with its new mini SUV.

Ford show start concept - The future of Ford small car

“App My Ride” VWs Open Innovation Contest

     World’s largest automaker Volkswagen AG has announced the details of the contest it is sponsoring called “App My Ride” to create a new software applications to be part of multi-media platform in VW cars. VW aims to create the best of car infotainment systems in the industry.

     "Our aim is to invite the international developer community to take part in designing a future system," said VW Group research Chief Prof. Dr Jurgen Leohold.

     The inspiration for the project has been from the smart phones and its applications which enable users to access Internet and Social Network from hand held devices.

     The "App My Ride" project takes it inspiration from the boom in smart phones and the applications that come with them that drive consumer trends such as social networking and viewing Internet content on hand-held devices.

     Cash and non-cash prices of worth upto 14,000 euros are in the offering. There will as be separate price for student participation. The winner will be hosted by VW at a new car presentation in a major auto show later this year.

Kawasaki thinking big for India

     Japanese super bike manufacturer Kawasaki is planning to launch more of its products in India. It has re-launched itself in India as India Kawasaki Motors Pvt. Ltd. reconfirming that they have officially re-entered India for some good business.

     Currently Kawasaki sells its Ninja 250R model through Bajaj Probiking centers. It aims to sell at least 1000 bikes in a year with the launch of new models. The new models will be assembled as CKDs at Bajaj’s Chakan Plant.