Toyota Etios diesel on test run, will be launched in September

     Toyota is already testing the Etios diesel in India. The recent AutocarIndia magazine has a picture of Etios diesel testing somewhere in Kerala. The Etios diesel is expected to be launched in September this year which is the time when the car sales will be on a high in India.

     Toyota Etios diesel will be powered by the same 1.4L diesel engine which also powers the Corolla Altis. The difference is, the diesel engine in Etios will not have variable turbo geometry, which means the Etios diesel will have power of 75 Bhp as compared to 87 Bhp of Corolla Altis. With 75 Bhp of power, the Etios diesel will have sufficient power to drive the car as Etios is much lighter than the Corolla diesel.


     The Etios diesel will be mainly tuned for fuel efficiency more than the performance and about the performance, who cares now as the fuel prices are rocketing. The Etios diesel will be priced Rs. 1 lakh more than the petrol model. After the launch of Etios diesel, Toyota will also launch the Etios Liva diesel soon.

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Tata Indica Vista facelift launch on 22nd August

     Tata Motors will launch a facelifted Vista on the 22nd of this month. In our earlier post we had showed you spy pictures of facelifted Vista on a test run.


     The facelifted Vista features twin barrel headlamps, borrowed from Manza, chrome slabs between the lights (again from Manza), chrome surronund on the fog lamps, new colour options (Yellow is definitely one), sterring mounted audio controls and power outside rear view mirrors. There are some cosmetic changes in the rear as well with minor changes in the tail lamps and a black strip below the rear windscreen.


     With the launch of new Swift, which will be on 17th August, Tata Motors want to pose the Vista in a new avatar to get its sales going. The Vista sales have suffered in previous months, and the facelift could be a desperate effort from Tata to keep the Vista going.

     We have also got news about the 3rd generation Indica which is on the drawing board. Do we see it in the Auto Expo 2012?

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Mahindra mulls to launch a small car at Rs. 3 lakh

     After Tata, Maruti & Nissan, it is Mahindra now who wants to enter into the bottom most segment of Indian car market. The company is planning to launch a small car which will be priced at Rs. 3 lakh.


     A car under Rs. 3 lakh is the vehicle which the people in India are looking for. The sales of Maruti Alto, which sells over 25,000 units a month is a classical example. Though Tata could able to make a car under Rs. 2 lakh, the Nano could not make a big impact because of quality issues.


     So what can we expect from Mahindra? Since Mahindra is known for its rugged vehicles, we might see a small car which can withstand tough Indian roads. Again the quality is an issue with Mahindra. Mahindra has to really work hard on the quality before its small car comes on road. Otherwise it too will bite the dust like Nano.

     Mahindra has a four wheeled passenger vehicle – Gio Cab for the rural market. Knowing the company for its versatility in sharing the products, the Gio platform might well be used to build the small car.
Watch this space for more updates…

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Top twenty car sales in July 2011 in India

Maruti Alto : 24974
Maruti WagonR : 10629
Hyundai i10 : 8828
Mahindra Bolero : 7817
Maruti Omni : 7408
Maruti Ritz : 7307
Maruti Eeco : 5971
Tata Indica + Vista : 5850
Hyundai i20 : 5627
Hyundai Santro : 5409
Ford Figo : 5273 
Chevrolet Beat : 5240
Tata Indigo+Manza : 4877
Toyota Innova : 4816
Hyundai Verna 4724
Mahindra Scorpio : 4308
Toyota Etios : 4095
Honda City : 4092
Volkswagen Polo : 3507
Tata Nano : 3260

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GM India minivan (Wuling Hong Guang) pictures

   General Motors will soon launch Wuling Hong Guang minivan in India which will compete against Mahindra Xylo. We found some pictures of Chinese Wuling Hong Guang and thought will share with you people...

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GM India minivan (Wuling Hong Tu) pictures

     General Motors will soon launch Wuling Hong Tu minivan in India which will compete against Maruti Eeco. We found some pictures of Chinese Wuling Hong Tu and thought will share with you people...

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GM’s minivans for India spied again

     We in our earlier post had posted some spy pictures of the GMs mini vans being tested in India. GM in association with China’s SAIC will bring in its minivans to India.


     Of the two mini vans, one is the Maruti Eeco challenger. The Eeco challenger is similar in dimensions with Eeco and come with flexi seating arrangement. Being under 4 meters in length it too well be eligible for small car tax sops. In China, this vehicle is called as Hong Tu and we are sure GM will come up with a new name for it in India. The Hong Tu is powered by a 1.2L 85 bhp petrol engine which GM might continue the same in India. A possibility of GM’s new 1.0L diesel engine cannot be ruled out in a later date.

     The other minivan is the Xylo competitor which caters to the luxury mobility segment. It too will come with flexi seating arrangement. This vehicle is named as Hong Guang in China and like the Hong Tu, the Hong Guang will also bear a new name here in India.


     The Hong Tu and Hong Guang will expand GM portfolio of having a vehicle in all the segments in India. The Hong Tu and Hong Guang are expected to be priced at Rs. 4 lakh and Rs. 7.5 lakh respectively.


Watch this space for more updates on these vehicles…

Hong Tu

Hong Guang

Image Source: Carwale

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