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January 20, the National Day of the Beetle in Brazil

Exactly on this day way back in 1959 the iconic beetle was started manufacturing in Brazil in Sao Bernardo do Campo. The Beetle won the hearts of millions of Brazilians simply because of its design, robustness and unbreakable image. The Beetle name is still very iconic all over the world, thanks to Sir Ferdinand Porsche Sr.

Maruti Suzuki Kizashi India launch on Feb 2nd

India

’s leading automobile manufacturer will launch its maiden luxury sedan in the country on February 2^nd this year. The luxury sedan ‘Kizashi’ will be imported as CBU from Japan. The car will be priced around Rs 12 – 15 lakh.

The Kizashi will compete with VW Jetta, Skoda Laura, Honda Accord and Toyota Camry in Indian market.

“This [Kizashi] is our attempt to be future ready, as we believe the A4 and A5 segment is going to grow. It is small at the moment but the way the economy is growing, this segment is going to be big,” Maruti Suzuki India managing executive officer (Marketing & Sales) Mayank Pareek said.

“There are nine million Maruti Suzuki customers at present. Many of them want to move up and have been asking after the SX4, what next? What we are doing here is to provide them options in luxury segment,” Pareek added.

Honda Jazz facelift spied in India

According to the pictues from Autocarindia, Honda has been testing its facelifted Jazz in India. This means facelfited Jazz will be launched in India anytime soon. There will be only cosmetic changes both front and rear, do not expect anything to change under the hood.

The suspension has been tweeked to give a better ride and so do the steering wheel to get a better feel. A CVT option might also be launched in view of rise in demand for automatics in India.

Mitsubishi’s India bound small car - Eco

The first picture of Mitsubishi’s India bound small car has been released. The car will be showcased at the Geneva Motor Show starting from first week of March 2011. Last December Mitsubishi had released the concept sketches of this small car.

The car is known as Mitsubishi Eco car in Thailand. As the name suggests it will create minimum damage to the environment. Production of the car in Thailand will commence from March 2012 and probably will make it to India by the end of next year.

The Mitsubishi Eco may be powered by a 1.0 L or 1.2 L petrol engine with Start-Stop technology. A CVT gear box will transmit the power to the front wheels. To maximize the efficiency, Mitsubishi might utilize regenerative breaking system in this small car.

Audi R8 5.2 FSI V10 launched in India

Audi has launched its supercar R8 in India with V10 engine. R8 is already on sale in India with a V8 engine. The R8 5.2 FSI V10 is priced at Rs. 1,32,49,000/- (ex-showroom Mumbai) as compared to V8 priced at Rs. 1.17 crore.

The R8 V10 features unique styling difference from V8 with different alloy wheels, prominent V10 badge on the side, oval exhaust pipes and LED headlamps. The V10 engine of R8 produces maximum power of 518 Bhp and maximum torque of 54.1 Kgm. The car does 0-100 Kmph in just 4.1 seconds and moves upto 160 Kmph in 9 seconds.

The R8 V10 will compete against the Lamborghini Gallarado which is priced at Rs. 2 crore. Audi aims to dominate the supercar segment in India and build on its success in the SUV segment with plans to launch Q3 in competition to recently launched BMW X1.

Toyota Prius c Concept unveiled at Detroit Auto Show

Toyota has unveiled Prius c Concept at the North American International Auto Show (Detroit Auto Show) being held at Detroit.

Toyota Prius c Concept Video

Toyota Prius c Concept Pictures

2012 Toyota Prius v unveiled at Detroit Auto Show

Few days ago we had posted about the Prius MPV with some teaser images. Toyota has unveiled the 2012 Prius v at the Detroit Auto Show. After years of speculation, Toyota has officially announced plans to launch a Prius sub-brand.