Though it is not a teaser photograph of the vehicle, Honda has displayed a picture of a road under tunnel with the 2012 Honda CR-V tag on it in its US Website. Last month we had showed you the spy picture of the 2012 Honda CR-V with stretched rear end to accommodate the third row of seats.
The 2012 CR-V looks to be based on the current CR-V platform with a bulky rear end. The tail lamp resembles very much with that of Volvo's XC series SUVs. As we all know Honda is good at creating a vehicle with a futuristic design, the 2012 CR-V could also like an SUV from the different planet. The front end could get a sharper theme as that of the new Civic.
As for as the power train is concerned, we expect the Accord's 2.4L diesel will find its place under the new CR-Vs hood. It might take little time to come to India but the rumours of new CR-V has already created flutter in the already crowded SUV segment.
Royal Enfield has introduced a new line of Enfield clothing in Indian market. The company plans to create a niche for itself in the luxury cruiser category.
The Enfield clothing include T-shirts, mugs, helmets, exhaust, visors and now designer boots, jackets, AGV helmets that are RE branded, office bags, saddle bags, bandanas and rain gear etc. The company also plans to start special counters across all their major dealer outlets offering their customers a whole new ownership experience.
Renault's small car for India will be an all new car developed on its V platform and will take on the Wagon R. The car will have similar architecture of that of Wagon R with a tall stance and wide doors. However expect the car to stylish than the Wagon R as Renault will give a French touch to it.
The small car has been developed in Renault's technical center in Mumbai. Since the car has been designed and developed in India, expect to see lots of India specific features. The teaser image with the car covered has been shown to a select group of journalist in New Delhi by Renault. With the teaser image it is evident that the car will be tall resembling that of the Wagon R. Well Renualt's has already got a tall vehicle in its portfolio - the Twingo, but the Twingo will not be launched in India.
Powering the Renault's small car will the same Micra's 1.5 CRDi and 1.2L petrol engines. Renault will share Nissan's manufacturing facility at Orgadam near Chennai to produce the small car. The small car will make its official debut at Auto Expo 2012 in January.
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.
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.
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.
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.
