Force Motors SUV India launch soon

     Force Motors is ready with its SUV to be launched in India. A showroom owned by the company in Pune is getting finishing touches for the SUV launch. Force Motors has been relying heavily on the SUV to click in Indian Market. The company known for its utility vehicles in India is launching an SUV for the first time in the country.


     The Force Motors SUV is basically the Foday Guangdong Explorer III, a Chinese SUV. The company has bought the tooling for body from China and the interiors has been sourced from Thailand. No names have been announced yet, but we are sure it will not bear a Chinese name.


     The Force Motors SUV is not a great looking vehicle. It looks just like a big box on four wheels. But the company is making up by underpinning with some sturdy materials. The body-on-frame chassis with robust ‘C-in-C’ construction is suspended by a torsion bar set-up in front and coil springs at the rear. Powering the massive SUV is the Mercedes OM 611 2.2 liter common rail turbo diesel engine with 140 Bhp of power and 35 Kgm of torque, coupled with a five speed manual transmission.


     Thought the Mercedes OM 611 is a decade old, it still meets the BS4 emission norms and perform better than any other Indian SUVs. The ride and handling has been tuned by Lotus of UK. The SUV is expected to be priced at Rs. 10-12 lakhs and will come with lots of features such as airbags and ABS.

Source: ACI

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Audi preparing A9 coupe based on A8, to replace A8 as its flagship car

     German luxury automobile manufacturer Audi is preparing an all new A9 coupe based on the A8 limousine. The company will replace the A8 limousine with A9 as the flagship car brand of the company.


     The A9 will come with a four-seat coupe configuration. It will be placed above BMW 6 Series but below Mercedes Benz CL. A convertible is also expected later on.


     The A9 is expected by 2015 and will be built on the A8 platform. It will be manufacted alongside the A8 and R8 supercar at Audi’s Neckarsulm factory.


     Unlike the A8 which is powered by a 3.0 liter turbocharged V6, the A9 is expected to get a more powerful 4.4 liter V8 with twin turbochargers. A 3.0 liter V6 TDI and a 4.2 liter V8 TDI could be offered as the diesel option. Quattro will be standard and so do the 8 speed automatic transmission.

Source: Automobilemag

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Fuel price rise haunts us again

     Its been a common seen now a days to see huge rush at petrol bunks. People flood the bunks with the news of the fuel price hike, to fill the fuel their tanks and same some buck. Least are they bothered about the extra money they have to shell out for the same fuel after the price hike.


     Reserve Bank of India has urged Indian Government to immediately hike the prices of petroleum products. According to RBI, the subsidies given to petroleum products is increasing the fiscal deficit, with could potentially damage the country’s financial health.


Here is the letter from RBI Governor Mr Duvvuri Subba Rao

The critical assumption that petroleum and fertiliser subsidies would be capped is bound to be seriously tested at prevailing crude oil prices. Even though an adjustment of domestic retail prices may add to the inflation rate in the short run, the RBI believes that this needs to be done as soon as possible. Going forward, high oil and other commodity prices and the impact of the RBI’s anti-inflationary monetary stance will moderate growth. The outlook for crude oil prices in the near future is uncertain given the geopolitical situation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). In any case, the likelihood of oil prices moderating significantly is low.

     This means there could be another fuel price hike very soon. Already at the price of Rs. 65/liter of petrol and Rs. 42/liter of diesel, people in the upper middle class are finding hard to run and maintain the cars. Most of the middle class people who are dependent on the two wheelers for their daily community to work place are the most hit. Now thinking of the common man, he has to perish as always. Time to think better and switch on to electric … are you ready?

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Will Fiat Linea and Punto get a facelfit?

     A Forum topic at Team-Bhp says that Fiat is going to get a facelift to its Linea and Punto models. As it is just a rumor we are tight lipped about the news. However some of the points seems to be worth thinking about the Linea and Punto.


     Since Fiat is struggling to maintain the sales of Linea and Punto it is likely that there will be some changes in the exterior and interior to make the cars look fresh. The Linea might get some facelift in the front and some attention could be given to the interiors as well. As for Punto, it might get an all beige interior like the Linea and an integrated stereo system which will make its hot hatch to buy. However there could be no changes under the hood.

     Fiat has withholded the 1.6L Multijet diesel and Dualogic transmission options in its cars. With the news of some changes in Fiat cars we could as well expect the powerful 1.6L Multijet diesel making into the Linea and an automatic variant being added to the Linea portfolio.


     As we already stated, these are just the rumors, so shall keep the fingers crossed.

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India car market sales data for April 2011

Chevrolet

Optra : 368
Cruze : 939
Aveo : 155
Aveo UVA : 148
Tavera : 1908
Spark : 3887
Beat : 2444
Captiva : 172

Fiat

Linea : 810
Punto : 1220
Palio : 19

Ford

Fiesta : 1092
Endeavour : 214
Figo : 6013

HM-Mitsubishi

Lancer : 12
Cedia : 8
Pajero : 76
Outlander : 42
Montero : 10
EVO X : 0
Ambassador : 397

Honda

City : 1542
Civic : 253
Accord : 83
Jazz : 112
Crv : 22

Hyundai

Santro : 8133
i10 : 12415
i20 : 8068
Accent : 1114
Verna : 1854
Sonata : 20
Santa Fe : 32

Mahindra 

Verito (Logan) : 1006
3 wheelers + GIO + Maxximo : 9869
Xylo : 2214
Scorpio : 4144
Bolero : 7345
ST + Marshal + Maxx : 750

Maruti

M800 : 2528
Omni : 7577
Alto : 25462
Estilo : 2342
WagonR : 12229
Dzire : 11797
SX4 : 2102
Eeco : 5445
Swift : 10622
AStar : 1525
Ritz : 5263
Kizashi : 35
Gypsy : 210
GVitara : 7

Nissan

Micra : 1198
X-Trail : 2
Teana : 7
370Z : 0

Porsche

Boxster : 3
Cayman : 1
Panamera : 3
Cayenne : 57

Skoda

Laura : 421
Fabia : 1561
Superb : 332
Yeti : 132

Tata

Nano : 10012
Indica : 4250
Indigo : 5282
Sumo : 2007
Safari : 1193
Aria : 286
Venture : 357

Toyota

Innova : 3464
Altis : 776
Fortuner : 739
Etios : 4657
Camry : 25
Prado : 19
Landcruiser : 1

VW

Jetta : 162
Passat : 196
Beetle : 16
Polo : 3755
Vento : 2866
Phaeton : 1
Touareg : 4

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Tata Nano sales mark cross 10,000 in April 2011

     For the first time Tata Motors could manage to sell over 10,000 Nanos in a single month ever since its launch. According to the company reports 10,012 Nanos was sold in April 2011 with 184% jump in sales.


     The sales of Nano had been hit due to fire issues haunting the company for over 6 months. Slowly Tata Motors is gaining confidence among the customers looking for an affordable car. Also a major step taken by Tatas to sell the car at BigBazzar seams to be working well.

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How can Tata Indica eV2 give 25 Kmpl?

    As in the Tata Indica eV2 ad, in which a customer is surprised to know the mileage of the Indica eV2, you could as well be equally surprised. How can the same Indica which was launched 12 years ago with around 20 Kmpl could deliver 25 Kmpl now? Here is how it happens


     Tata Motors have done some technical changes to the Indica eV2 which makes it the most fuel efficient car.




1. The front end of the car has been reworked to be more aerodynamic, with the air flow around the front end is now smooter.
2. Brake calipers have been redesigned for smoother passage of air. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software was used to design the caliper
3. The tyres have been changed to low-rolling resistance rubber one which delivers better fuel effecicenty as the rolling friction is less. The wheel and tryes weigh less now.
4. New bearings on the suspension work well with the new tyre-wheel configuration
5. DICOR engine has been tuned to meet BS4 emission norms. ECU mapping and injection systems have been revised.
6. The engine cranks only if the clutch is engaged there by protecting the starter motor.

     We at Automobile Planet think, if Tatas can do this to Indica why can’t they do it to the other vehicles as well. Or, do we see such technology being used in other Tata vehicles in the near future?

Source: Indianautosblog

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