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VW starts Vetno production in India

Volkswagen has started the production of its mid sized sedan Vento at its plant at Chakan, Maharashtra. Vento is the sedan version of the small car Polo which was launched couple of months back.

Vento will be positioned to rival segment bench marker Honda City. It would be hard for VW to match a Honda product, the diesel option will surely make it a definite winner. Thanks to the competition, Honda is also considering to power its cars with diesel engines now.

Vento is expected to be launched by August-September this year. It is expected to be priced competitively between Rs 7 to 9 lakh.

Nissan Micra bookings opened in India

The much awaited small car from Nissan is not far away from launch. Nissan has opened the bookings for its Micra small car from 25th March 2010.Nissan Micra will be currently available in four variants all of which are powered by a Petrol engine. Nissan claims a mileage of 18.06 km per litre for Micra.

Micra received overwhelming response when it was displayed at showroom and bookings opened. A Nissan dealer in Bangalore received 15 bookings for the car on the first day.

Prices in Bangalore

Delivery of the vehicle will commence from July 15th 2010. The Nissan showroom in Bangalore is expected to get 75 cars per month. Booking amount is Rs 50000/-. Terms and conditions of supply will be as per contractual document to be signed at the time of booking.

Tata Indica Vista Drivetech 4 with free maintenance and free insurance

Tata Motors is leaving no stone unturned for success of its popular hatchback Indica Vista Drivetech 4. The company is offering a free maintenance for 3 years and free insurance on the new Vista Drivetech 4. This is not the end. There is also a buy back scheme in which you can sell your car for 60% of its value after 3 years. Exchange bonus and corporate discounts are also available. This is something which we are seeing first time in India. Its for sure that "more car per car" tag is changing now to "much more car per car".

Next Generation VW Beetle rendering

The world's most beautiful car (though according to me) will soon ceases production. An independent designer David Cordoso has his version of the next generation Beetle. David's forecasts the next generation Beetle would be emission free with fully electric powered motor.

Tata Indigo e-CS launched, claims to be the most fuel efficient car in India

Tata Motors has launched Indigo e-CS and claims it to be the most fuel efficient sedan in India with ARAI certified fuel efficiency figure of 20.03 kmpl from its 1.4 litre common rail diesel engine. The Indigo CS which is a compact sedan based on the Indigo platform has been relauned with e-CS badge.

     The car is priced competitively at Rs 5.13 lakh ex-showroom New Delhi for the diesel version and the petrol car and be yours at just Rs 4.07 lakh ex-showroom.

     Indigo e-CS is available in 1.4L common rail diesel and a 1.2L petrol engine. With less than 4 meters length and good fuel efficiency of over more than 22 kmpl, it is sure to give a run for the money for the small cars, let alone the entry level sedans. Both the engines are BS IV complaint which means the car will be available in all parts of the country including the 13 major metros.

     Indigo e-CS comes with host of many features. On the outside there a new grill, body colored bumpers, chrome inserts on rub rails and indicators in the rear view mirrors. Interior has been borrowed from the Indigo XL including the new centre console and steering wheel. Blue tooth enabled music system and electric controls for the rear view mirrors add value to the car.

     The car will be available with an unlimited run warranty of 18 months and will be sold through 230 Tata Motors dealerships across the country.

Tata Nano gets " absolutely safe" tag

Tata Motors has claimed that its mini car Nano is “absolutely safe” after the probe team found “no manufacturing defects” in it. Tata Motors had initated a comprehensive investigation into the fire accidents which involved two Nanos couple of months back.

The investigation was done by a 20 member team from Tata Motors and an independent forensic expert from UK. The investigators revealed that the fire incidents were not related. Tata Motors has started pre-emptive checks on all Nanos on road starting from May 24 this month. However the company declined to term it as a recall.

Press release:

"The Tata Nano has undergone all the necessary validations before delivering to customers - this includes more than 300 prototypes which together covered more than 2 million km of safe operation in all conditions," as said by a company official.

According to the company spokesperson, "Each customer will be contacted personally for the check and we will be providing service free of cost, including additional protection, wherever required."