Toyota Etios Liva launched in India, starts at Rs. 3.99 lakh

     Toyota has launched its much awaited small car Etios Liva in New Delhi today. The Etios Liva is priced between Rs. 3.99 - 5.99 lakh ex showroom New Delhi. This is the first car from world's largest automobile manufacturer Toyota in India. Earlier in December 2011, Toyota had launched the Etios sedan in India creating a flutter in the entry level sedan segment.


     The Etios Liva is powered by a 1.2L 4 cylinder petrol engine with 80 Bhp of power at 5600 rpm and 10.6 Kgm of torque at 3100 rpm. Toyota has worked extensively on reducing Etios Liva's weight which is just 890 Kg. This low weight helps the car to deliver good fuel efficiency of 18.3 Kmpl (ARAI certified).

     The Etios Liva has been built for India keeping in mind the conditions prevailing in the region. A lot of effort has been put for cost reduction to make the car competitive. In spite of reducing in the production cost, Etios Liva promises to deliver a decent performance.


     The Etios Liva will be available in 4 variants. The company aims to sell 1,00,000 units of Etios sedan and Etios Liva in the first year.


     Speaking on the launch of Etios Liva, Mr. Sandeep Singh, MD Toyota Kirloskar Motors said that Toyota now has become a complete manufacture in India with range of cars from small car to high end SUVs. He commented that Etios Liva is a stylish compact and a useful car.


     With the launch of Etios Liva and pricing it competitively, Toyota has created a price war in the B segment category. Other manufactures would definitely feel the heat and do not be surprised to see some price correction in the segment.


     As for the diesel Etios Liva, there is no news about it as of now. But Toyota indents to launch its small car Liva with its frugal and efficient diesel engines some time next year. It is the diesel Etios Liva which the industry is waiting for to compete against the market leader Swift. Since the diesel Liva would take some more time to come, Maruti can breathe easy for a while.

Honda City revamp in India soon

     Things are definitely not going well for Honda in India. First it was the Tsunami disaster which made to company to stop production for a while and then the launch of Volkswangen Vento and redesigned Hyundai Verna which is eating substantial share in City segment. The petrol price hike has given a bigger blow as Honda has only petrol vehicles in its portfolio. Honda City slipped to 4th spot in the C segment cars in which it dominated for 13 years. In a damage control move Honda reduced up to Rs. 66,000 on City’s price.


     Few days back we had reported that Honda City will get a facelift to stay in the competition. Now the news of not just a facelift but a revamp of the model is out. Along with the facelift the City will get top notch optional features such as sunroof, new multimedia and infotainment additions like Bluetooth and iPod connectivity and new colour combination.

     The tail lamps could get an LED treatment and some internal changes such as modifications with instrumental panel, new interior trim and a new CD player system will be done in the new City.


     As far as the diesel City is concerned, the company is working hard to get one as soon as possible. The sooner the better for Honda.

2012 Fiat Panda design revealed

     The next generation Fiat Panda design has been revealed in a recent patent filing. The new Fiat Panda will be more aerodynamic with rounded hood. It features a wider grill, swept back headlights, prominent air intake, small rear quarter widow and a sloping roofline.


     Fiat might bring in 500’s 2 cylinder 900cc Multi-air engine to the new Panda which goes on sales next year.

Source: alvolante.it via Autoblog.nl via Worldcarfans

Sachin sells his gifted Ferrari, buys a Nissan GT-R sports car

     Sachin Tendulkar has sold his red Ferrari 360 Modena gifted to him by Fiat to a Surat based business man for an undisclosed amount. Souces say the decisicon to sell the car was a tough one for Sachin as it was gifted to him by Fiat through Michael Schumacher when he equaled Bradman’s 29th Test Century in 2002. Sachin friends reveal that, since people were aware of Sachin’s Ferrari, it was difficult for Little Maestro to drive on Mumbai roads as people would identify him and get attracted towards him.


     The little Maestro after selling his Ferrai has bought himself a Nissan GT-R sports car priced at $87,000 which is around Rs. 4 crore in Indian currency. The new Nissan GT-R sports car was flown from Dubai along with 2 engineers who demonstrated the vehicle at Sachin’s home in Bandra. With the Nissan GT-R sports car, Sachin has now 4 cars in his garage – 2 BMWs, a Skoda and Nissan GT-R.

Diesel price hiked by Rs. 3

     Govt. of India has hiked the diesel price by Rs. 3 from 25th July 2011. A litre of diesel which earlier costed around Rs. 42, now will cost around Rs. 45 per litre. Prices vary from city to city depending up on tax in that region.

     Insurance companies have raised the premium for diesel car by over 30% as insurers plan to compensate themselves for higher liabilities in the segment. Raising interest rates have already slowed down the cars sales and the hike in diesel prices have come as a salt on the wound. Car sales might not do well this year as compared to the bull run last year.

Toyota Fortuner facelift rear spy photo

     In our earlier post we had showed you how the facelifted Toyota Fortuner would look. We have the rear photo of the vehicle with redesigned tail lamp and chrome strip over the tail gate with Fortuner written on it. We guess Toyota will take some time before its launch in India since the current model still has waiting period.

Force One SUV teaser image on net

     BS Motoring has posted a teaser image of the Force One SUV. From the picture the Force One SUV does not look familiar to the Guangdong Foday Explorer III. We guess Force Motors could have done some facelift jon on the SUV.