Nissan Micra Diesel booking commences

     Nissan India has started the booking of the Micra diesel. The Micra diesel will be on Indian roads in December 2010. Micra diesel can be booked with an initial booking amount of Rs 50,000 through all 20 Nissan dealership in India.

     The Micra diesel will be  powered by 1.5 liter dCI engine which currently powers the Mahindra Logan. The engine pumps out maximum power of 65 bhp and 16.3 Kgm of maximum torque. Nissan has not revealed the price of Micra diesel but it is expected to be priced between Rs 4.50 lakh to Rs. 5.70 lakh.

Press Release:

Speaking on the occasion, Kiminobu Tokuyama, MD & CEO, Nissan Motor India says, “The success of petrol variant of Micra in the domestic market has given us huge confidence to introduce diesel variant within six months from the launch of petrol version. We are confident that the diesel-powered Micra would fulfill the discerning needs of Indian Customers.”

All new Ford Fiesta spied testing in India

     The all new Ford Fiesta has been sped testing in India. This means the new Fiesta will be on Indian markets very soon. The new Fiesta is slightly bigger than the current one sold in India and of course more eye-catcher with the Ford’s global kinetic design.

      The new Fiesta is likely to get a 1.6 liter petrol engine with 118 bhp and a 1.6 liter diesel motor with 90 bhp, unlike the current 1.4 liter 68 bhp one. Also could be on offer will be a DSG like dual clutch automatic gearbox. The new Fiesta is expected to be launched by Jan-Feb 2011 and will be priced between Rs. 6.80 lakh to Rs 7.70 lakh. 

Piaggio NT3 City Car revealed

     Italian scooter manufacturer Piaggio has come up with a new three seat city car concept which could be launched by late 2013. The concept of a small city car was conceived in India to battle the Tata Nano and to be launched Hyundai Ha and Maruti’s sub 600cc car codenamed YE3.

     Piaggio NT3 City Car concept has been revealed at the Milan Motorcycle Show. The cabin consists of 3 seats – front driver seat and twin rear seats same as the McLaren F1 and BMW’s concept Z13. The NT3 is based around Piaggio’s three wheel Ape – the classic three wheel commercial pick up and van which is hugely popular in India. Powering the NT3 would be a 200cc to 300cc motorcycle engine.

Press Release:

Piaggio boss Roberto Colannino told Reuters that he had “very big sales numbers in mind for India” and that sales are also planned for “Asia and Europe”. No factory location or sales launch dates were revealed, although Piaggio is planning to start production “within three years.”

Source:Autocarindia

New Fiat Palio rendering

     Palio played a long lone battle for Fiat in India before the entry of Grande Punto. Palio was recently pulled up from the Indian market but it does not mean an end to the iconic model. Launched in 1993 Palio has come a long way and played a big role in Fiat's fortunes worldwide. Fiat is planning to launch a new version of Palio in the International markets by middle of next year. Codenamed Project -326 the new Palio is nearing its completion. Here is rendering of the upcoming new Palio.

Tata Nano price to be increased by Rs 9000

     Tata Motors has announced that they will hike the prices of Nano by Rs 9000 on an average across all variants in response to the sharp increase in raw materials such as steel and rubber over the last two years. The company is intending to launch a deluxe version of the Nano in India by 2012 which will feature a larger, more powerful engines, power steering, air bags and ABS. The deluxe version would cost much more than the current LX variant and if Tata Motors can keep the price below Rs 3 lakh, it could put a cat among the pigeons in the luxury small car segment. 

Euro NCAP Ratings for Cars Sold in India

The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is a European car safety performance assessment programme founded in 1997 by the Transport Research Laboratory for the UK Department for Transport and now the standard throughout Western Europe.

Mercedes Benz C Class: 5
Mercedes Benz E Class: 5

LandRover Range Rover: 4
LandRover Freelander: 5

Hyundai Atoz/Santro: 3
Hyundai Getz: 4
Hyundai i10: 4
Hyundai i20: 5
Hyundai Sonata Embera: 4
Hyundai Tucson: 4

Honda CRV: 4
Honda Jazz: 5

Ford Fusion: 4

Fiat Grande Punto: 5
Fiat 500: 5

Daewoo Matiz: 3

Chevrolet Beat: 4
Chevrolet Spark: 2.5
Chevrolet Aveo: 1.5
Chevrolet Captiva: 4
Chevrolet Cruze: 5

BMW 3 Series: 5
BMW 5 Series(2004): 4
BMW X5: 5

Audi A4: 5
Audi A6: 5
Audi Q5: 5
Audi Q7: 4

Suzuki Baleno: 1.5
Suzuki A-star: 3
Suzuki Grand Vitara: 4
Suzuki Ritz: 4
Suzuki Swift: 4
Suzuki SX4 Hatchback: 4

VW Passat: 5
VW Touareg; 5

Toyota Corolla Altis: 5

Skoda Octavia: 4
Skoda Laura: 4
Skoda Fabia: 4
Skoda Superb: 5

Nissan X-Trail: 4

Mitsubishi Outlander: 4
Mitsubishi Lancer: 1.5

Source: Team-Bhp

J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2010 India Customer Service Index Study