Honda Brio Amaze teaser video

In our previous post we had mentioned that the Brio sedan will be called Amaze. In fact the Brio sedan will be named as Brio Amaze in Thailand and we guess the same nomenclature will follow in India as well. The Honda Thailand website has posted a teaser video of the Brio Amaze and we thought we will bring it for you. The Brio Amaze will have a new distinctive grill and from the rear (we feel) it looks very similar to the Honda City. What do you say? Have a look at the video

Honda Amaze Interior Pictures

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Fiat announces next generation Grande Punto by 2014

Italian auto maker Fiat has announced that it will bring in the next generation Grande Punto in another two years. Which means the all new Fiat Grande Punto will make its debut in 2014 and hopefully come to India in the same year.

Grande Punto though being a good car has not able to turn Fiat’s fortune in India. The lack of after sales service and marketing by Fiat has costed the beautiful and well built car suffer in competition with half baked Japanese, American and Indian cars.

The next generation Grande Punto will have a much more dynamic design and come with latest technologies from Fiat. The more advance Multi-jet engine is also expected to come through the new Grande Punto. With a good design, more interior space and higher ground clearance, the next generation Grande Punto has something promising for the future in India, and of course Fiat has to work really hard on the marketing and after sales service. Fiat recently split from Tata to open their own chain of dealership franchise in the name of Fiat Cafe. 

Its official, Honda Brio sedan to be named AMAZE

Yesterday we bought you the news that Brio sedan could be named as ‘AMAZE’. Now the Honda Thailand website has confirmed that the name of the Honda’s new sedan will be ‘AMAZE’ indeed. The good news is Honda Amaze will be launched in Thailand on 23^rd November and will make it to India by March next year.

Honda Amaze will be launched only in petrol model in Thailand where as in India we will get both petrol and diesel models. Honda has announced that it will keep pricing of ‘AMAZE’ competitive by increasing the local sourcing and production.

Honda Amaze Interior Pictures

As the Honda Amaze is built on Brio platform, it offers smaller exterior dimensions with higher interior space. Honda has stuck to its philosophy of Man Maximum Machine Minimum which is evident from the design. The ‘AMAZE’ diesel will be indeed an amazing car when launched in India and we at AutomobilePlanet.com are furious to see one. 

Honda Brio sedan could be named ‘AMAZE’

Honda AMAZE, is indeed an amazing name to one of the going to be amazing cars in India. This is because Honda will bring in its first diesel in India through Amaze/Brio sedan. Off late lot of interesting news of the Brio sedan is coming up and the name ‘AMAZE’ is the latest one.

GTO of team-bhp has mentioned that a friend of his has dropped some information about the Honda Brio sedan. According to him the Brio sedan will have a 5 alphabet letter which could be ‘AMAZE’. He has also mentioned that the new diesel engine will be a light aluminium one with 24 Kmpl of fuel efficiency.

AutocarIndia has posted a nice rendering of the Brio sedan but the teaser picture on the Honda Thailand has a different thing to say. The changes in the rear door and C pillar are evident and the new Brio sedan will not just be a Brio with the boot. The Brio sedan/AMAZE was thought to be powered by a 3 cylinder 1.2L diesel engine developed by eliminating one cylinder from Honda’s recently revealed 1.6L i-Dtech eninge. But sources say the Brio sedan/AMAZE will have a 1.5L 4 cylinder diesel which again has been downsized from the 1.6 L iDtec to get benefits of tax sops in India.

Honda Amaze Interior Pictures

More details about 1.5L 4 cylinder i-Dtec engine

The engine is believed to have two different power outputs, so that Honda could use the same engine in its range of cars. The lower power one which could deliver 75 Ps power could be used for Brio and Brio sedan/AMAZE while the higher is likely to use a Variable Geometry Turbo (VGT) to deliver 100 Ps power, could do the job for the City and Brio based MPV.

Suzuki to exit US market, files for bankruptcy

The Suzuki brand may be big in India but on the other side of the world it is facing big problems. Suzuki operates in the name of American Suzuki Motor Corporation in USA which has filed for bankruptcy. The ASMC is facing low volume sales from past 2-3 years and its latest models SX4, Kizashi and Grand Vitara has not managed to pull the company from losses.

Suzuki mentioned that it was difficult to make decision to stop selling its car in US but it was inevitable under current situations. However Suzuki will continue to sell motorcycles, all terrain vehicles and marine outboard in the US market. The bankruptcy doesn’t involve the parent Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan. ASMC debt ranges from $100 to $500 million.

A Suzuki statement -

“These challenges include low sales volumes, a limited number of models in its line-up, unfavourable foreign exchange rates, the high costs associated with growing and maintaining an automotive distribution system in the continental U.S. and the disproportionally high and increasing costs associated with stringent state and federal regulatory requirements unique to the U.S. market.”

Maruti Ritz with Automatic Transmission

Along with the facelifted Ritz, Maruti Suzuki has silently added an Automatic Transmission variant in petrol VXi model. The Ritz Vxi AT comes with ABS and EBD as optional safety features and delivers 17.16 Km per litre of petrol (As per ARAI). The Ritz Vxi AT uses a 4 speed automatic gearbox which ensures you smooth ride in the hectic city traffic.

The price of the Ritz Vxi AT has not yet been announced. We expect it to be priced little higher than the regular Vxi model. The automatic variant of Ritz gives the customers an option of easy driving with good comfort in a small car. So after the Ritz, will it be the Swift. May be, but an automatic diesel variant is what the people are waiting for. We hope Maruti and other manufacturers are listening...

Das WeltAuto, the Volkswagen’s used car business in India

Volkswagen today entered used car business in India through its subsidiary Das WeltAuto with its first dealership opened in Mumbai. Currently VW has commenced operations with 15 dealerships across country which will be increased to 21 by the end of next year.

Das WeltAuto deals not only deals with VW cars but also cars from all manufactures will be traded. VW with its stringent 160 point checklist ensures the car provides a hassle free ownership experience. It offers 1 year warranty on all VW cars and 6 months warranty on non VW cars.