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Zoom in on superior transport services

Targets have been set for the year to develop urban public transport in the Klang Valley, giving commuters something to look onward to. The Government plans to increase the capacity of public transportation with the addition of more facilities.

200 new buses will be added, along with four new bus express¬way transfer corridors. Mean-while, 800 bus stops will be upgrade.RapidKL's Kelana Jaya LRT line will see 26 new four-car trains, probable to triple the system’s ability when fully deployed.

The Key Performance pointer for urban public transportation is to boost public transport usage and advance accessibility and connectivity. This means by the end of the year, 75% of the population will be living within 400m of public transport routes.

There are already many signs of progress:

• The realignment of 45 RapidKL routes, improving reporting from November 2009.
• Arrival intervals for KTM Komuter trains have been cut from 20 minutes to 15 minutes with the use of additional train sets last November at high traffic segment.
• Four new four-car trains set were added on the Kelana Jaya LRT line last December.
• The launching of the RM150 RapidKL included travel passes allow unlimited travel on all Prasa-rana services, Rapid KL buses, Kelana Jaya LRT, Ampang LRT and Mono¬rail.

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Recreating Classics: Want A Brand New '69 Camaro?

2011 Chevrolet Aveo U-VA

These are the very first images of the 2011 Chevrolet Aveo U-VA that will surely make it to our shores. The Aveo looks like the best interpretation of Chevrolet’s new design language so far. In fact it looks much more sophisticated that the Beat and the Cruze.



The interim facelifted Aveo U-VA didn’t make it to India. We believe that was a good move by GM as internationally the facelift did more harm than good to the U-VA’s image.

Going by GM India’s frightening (for its rivals) pricing strategy for the Beat, the competition has good reason to be scared. Expect the car to come with modern petrol as well as diesel powerplants and follow in the footsteps of the Aveo sedan after a gap of a couple of months. Stay tuned for more juice on this car.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

GM to build own electric engines from 2013

One does not need an MBA degree to understand that 'Tough times call for tough measures'. To excel during tough times one also needs to indulge in cost-cutting. General Motors, which is currently going through 'tough times' intends to do that by developing their vehicular components in-house rather than sourcing them from others.

General Motors has officially announced that it will be manufacturing electric motors for hybrid vehicles in house from 2013. The American automotive marquee is currently sourcing the engines from various suppliers. The decision to self manufacture the electric engines has been taken to improve their quality, reliability and reduce the costs involved in making them. The manufacturer intends to invest to around $246 million for the purpose. As of now GM has not announced which manufacturing facility will be utilized for building their electric engines. The manufacturer intends to launch a hybrid vehicle in 2013 which will be powered its own electric engines.
During a conference call with reporters, Pete Savagian, Engineering Director for electric and hybrid vehicles, said that the company needs to not only buy the parts but also to really understand them. He also revealed that GM had started work on developing an electric engine in 2003 and will shortly become the first American manufacturer to build its own electric engines. The manufacturer has some prior experience in building these engines. It had developed one to power its electric car EV1 in the mid-90's. In fact, the engineers which had earlier worked on that project have been roped in for developing their new electric engines.

Nano to cost 3 times its price

Tata Motor’s ‘Ultra Low Cost’ creation christened the ‘Nano’ has become famous worldwide as the “cheapest car.” Costing a little more than a lakh INR (base model ex-factory) in India, the Nano indeed is the cheapest car out here. Tata Motors made use of the Detroit Auto Show as a platform to unveil the Nano in North America for the first time. There were rumors that the Americanized Nano would cost as little as $5,000. However, the Detroit News reported that according to a source within the company, the car would be priced at $8,000 which is approximately a whopping Rs 360,000, almost triple of the price prevalent here in India. The car is reported to hit the American streets in the next three years.

See More about Tata Nano Cars:

• View Various Tata Nano Models Here
• Tata Nano On Road Price in India
• Car Reviews on Tata Nano
• Used Second Hand Tata Nano Cars

Maruti reports record profits

The Board of Directors of Maruti Suzuki India Limited recently approved the financial results for the third quarter of 2009-10 (October – December 2009). The firm has claimed to have achieved net sales (net of excise) of Rs 73,338 million during the third quarter of 2009-10. This increase is equivalent to 62.5 per cent as compared to the third quarter of the previous year. The company has registered a net profit of Rs 6,875 million which is an increase of a whopping 221.9 per cent compared to the third quarter of 2009-10.

Maruti Suzuki’s domestic sales volume grew by 37.8 per cent to 218,910 units in the October – December 2009 quarter. The cars that led the sales in this period of time were the Alto and WagonR. The firm’s domestic A2 segment and A3 segment sales volume grew by 38.6 per cent and 41.7 per cent respectively as compared to the sales in October – December 2008. The firm’s exports observed a growth of over 167 per cent to 39,116 units as compared to the 14,634 units exported in October – December 2008.

The company stated that favorable conditions in the domestic market supported by the government’s stimulus package and ease of automobile finance facilities helped achieve the good sales during the quarter. Commodity prices too were favorable for a major period of the quarter. However, the last few weeks observed considerable price rise. The firm also cites the successful export figures of its A-Star as a reason for its good sales.

Along with this, the Board of Directors also confirmed the approval of the investment in capacity expansion at the firm’s Manesar plant. Maruti Suzuki has invested a sum of about Rs 1700 Crores for the expansion of the production capacity of its plant. The plant will be able to manufacture 250,000 cars on an annual basis.

Discounts of up to Rs 40,000 on Honda Jazz!

When most car manufacturers are presently busy with the price rise trend, Honda Siel seems to be doing exactly the opposite for its Honda Jazz. The Honda Jazz features a 1.2-litre petrol engine and is priced at around Rs 7 lakh (Ex-Showroom Delhi) which is almost equivalent to the price of Honda’s very own City. However, the City features a much powerful 1.5-litre petrol engine along with a more spacious boot and many more goodies which are absent in the Jazz.

Honda Siel had produced as much as 1000 units of the Jazz in December 2009. But, the firm only managed to sell 300 units of the car that month. As a measure to boost the sales of the Jazz, Honda dealers are reportedly offering a discount of almost Rs 40,000 and interest rates of less than 6% on loans for the Honda Jazz. Even though dealers are said to be providing discounts on the car, Honda Siel has not announced any plans to reduce the cost of the Jazz yet.

CSX 4Q Earnings Rise, but Shipping Volume Falls

The nation's third-largest railroad- CSX Corp, said Tuesday the economy improved modestly in the fourth-quarter, but its shipping volume dropped from a year ago as demand for coal to produce electricity remained weak.

CSX, based in Jacksonville, Fla., said fourth-quarter net earnings rose 23 percent compared to a year before — a period weighed down by a loss related to the company's sale of the money-losing Greenbrier resort. Excluding that year-ago loss, earnings from enduring operations fell 16 percent.

Shares fell more than 3 percent in after-hours trading, after concluding up 47 cents in the regular session to close at $50.51.

Railroads are seen as gauges for nation's economic health since they carry so many consumer and industrial goods — everything from toys to lumber to trucks. Analysts look to CSX, the first railroad to report fourth-quarter earnings, and its competitors to calculate how the larger economy is faring.

The railroad said gains in its transfers from trucks — a key indicator of consumer spending — and the Automotive segment were more than offset by rejects in shipments of coal and food. Stimulus programs including Cash for Clunkers and inventory restocking aided boost consumer and auto-related segments.

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Nissan launching Micra in July

Nissan yesterday confirmed that it will launch it's much awaited global city car, the Micra/March in India in July. The car, based on the V-Platform, will begin production in India in May 2010. Nissan-Renault's Chennai plant will be up and running by March this year and the Micra will be the first car to roll out of the factory. The Japanese carmaker will start exporting the small car from end of 2010 to European markets. While speaking to Dow Jones Newswires, Kiminobu Tokuyama, Nissan India's managing director, "We are well on track to open the new factory in March. Production will start in May and the first hatchback... will be sold from July."

Nissan aims to make a strong hold in the Indian market with a mass production vehicle like the Micra, as compared to small volume players like the Teana and the X-Trail. With a competitive price tag for the Micra, Nissan aims to take on its Japanese competitors like Suzuki, Toyota and Honda along with other players like VW, Tata and FIAT. Kiminobu Tokuyama concluded saying, "It's not too late, we are ready to challenge. We have come here to become a major player..."

Detroit auto show report: GM, Ford load up small cars for bigger profits

At the Detroit auto show, General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. revealed their comeback strategy for small cars: Adorn them with features seldom seen in domestic econoboxes, such as roomy computer gadgets, interiors ,turbo charged engines and sporty sheet metal.

For example, the redesigned 2012 Ford Focus—Ford’s biggest splash at the show—has touch-screen controls for navigation, climate contro ,phone and entertainment. The car, due in early 2011, also can download applications utilized on Apple’s iPhone.

The small-car segment, which has been taken over by Asian auto makers, will be a key battleground as gasoline prices rise and federal mileage standards get tougher. But many Americans who equate small with cheap may balk at high stickers on small cars.

GM and Ford are offering a range of high- and low-end versions of the new cars. At the high end, Ford wants to present consumers “aspirational” small cars that appeal to affluent buyers, said Jim Farley, Ford’s group vice president of global marketing.

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Tata and M&M join the Price Hike bandwagon!

Joining the recent list of car manufacturers who have increased prices of their vehicles are Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra. Tata Motors has increased prices of its Indica and Indigo variants by around Rs.5000-8000. While M&M has increased the prices of its Xylo variants by around Rs.4,500, Scorpio variants by around Rs.6000-9,000, and Bolero variants by around Rs.5,000.

According to Arun Malhotra, Senior Vice President of Automotive Sector, Mahindra and Mahindra, the Primary reason for price hike across all vehicles is the rise in prices of the inputs required to make them.


BMW and Honda Siel Cars India have recently increased prices of their cars with Maruti Suzuki following suit. The main reason for the above manufacturers in increasing prices was also the rise in input costs along with the appreciation of foreign currency Yen. Hyundai is also expected to announce a price hike shortly.

According to Jnaneshwar Sen, Vice President Marketing, Honda Siel Cars India, the value of Yen has appreciated in the last few months along with the import content in their cars ranging from 24% in the City to 100% in the CRV which has increased the costs of manufacturing.

Volkswagen Phaeton will be launched in March

VW announced that their luxury saloon is slated for an official launch in March this year. The VW Pheaton will retail for around Rs.75 lakhs. The luxury saloon is offered with two engine options namely a 3.0 litre TDi V6 one developing 240Ps and the 6.0 litre W12 petrol one which produces 450PS.

Every Phaeton is hand-built at VW's glass factory located at Dresden in Germany. A buyer has the option of seeing his Phaeton being assembled from the intial stage when a chasis is selected. Onc e the luxury saloon goes on sale in the country, even our desi buyers will have the option of going to the factory and seeing their Phaeton being assembled or customised.

Speaking to the media after the unveiling , Neeraj Garg, Member of Board of Directors, Volkswagen Group Sales India, said that once the Phaeton is launched in March it would mark the manufacturer's foray into the high-end luxury segment.

Nissan 370z to be launched on 20th January

Expected Price: 45 Lakh (On-Road).
Specs: 3.7-litre V6, 332 bhp @ 7000 rpm, 366 Nm @ 5200 rpm


Just 2 days remain to the ‘Z’ cars launch in India. One of Japan’s most popular coupes will soon be landing up in Nissan showrooms across the metros. Known as one of the most entertaining coupes to drive, the 370Z stands in stark contrast to its clinical German adversaries. Elsewhere in the world it is also priced a good couple of lakh rupees cheaper than its rivals. It also debuts with a clever gizmo which automatically blips the throttle and matches the revs to the engine speed on downshifts, even with the manual gearbox!



But as the 370Z is coming through the CBU route, India will get only the top of the line versions, just like the Boxster. Sadly, the real ‘value for money’, variants won’t make it to our shores thanks to the 40,000$ minimum price limit enforced by our government on CBU imports. The Z car might not be anywhere in the league of its big brother GT-R but it will be a worthy adversary to German coupes be it the Porsche Boxster, Audi TT, BMW Z4 or the Mercedes SLK.
 

 

Maruti Suzuki Cars are now costlier!

Maruti Suzuki follows suit after Honda Siel Cars India and BMW recently increased the prices of their cars owing to rise in input costs, including that of steel. Most of the models will observe a rise in its price tag from the range of a few hundred rupees to as high as Rs 10,000 per car. The prices may vary as per on-road prices of various cities.

The company stated that the average increase in prices would be around 0.6 per cent. But, the Ritz VDi and the Swift Dzire LXi models will witness a rise of 0.12 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively. However, the firm did not comment about the hike in terms of Rupees.

Maruti Suzuki also confirmed that it’s recently launched multi-purpose vehicle Eeco and the petrol engine powered Swift and Gypsy models will be spared from the price hikes.

A Maruti Suzuki official confirmed, “The price increase is to partly recover the increase in the input costs arising out of raw material costs over the past one year. For some models the increase in the costs are being absorbed by the company.”

Along with this, the company also confirmed that the introductory prices introduced in August last year for its refreshed Estilo has been withdrawn. As a result of this, the Estilo will now be costlier by Rs 1,234 to Rs 2,486 as per variants.

Maruti’s Swift and Swift Dzire get a more efficient engine

The cars within the stable of Maruti Suzuki which feature the K series engine will witness the addition of the Swift and the Swift Dzire within its family. Both the Swift hatchback as well as the Swift Dzire sedan will finally come with a K-series engine almost 7 long months after the same engine made its debut in the Ritz hatchback. This engine will be a 1.2-litre Bharat Stage – IV (BS – IV) compliant petrol engine, the BS-IV norms being the reason why Maruti finally had no choice left but to drop the archiac 1.3 litre unit. Maruti claims that the new engine along with a revised five-speed transmission system will boost the fuel efficiency to a whooping 17.9kmpl up from the old 1.3 litres 15.8 kpl. The diesel variants of both the cars also feature an upgraded engine which is compliant to the BS-IV norms. Ritz and A-Star are amongst the other models which are powered by the new K-series all-aluminium engines.

The new K12 Engine that powers the Ritz and A-Star will now be fitted to the Swift and Swift Dzire. This change has brought about an increase of Rs 10,000 to the price tag of Swift Dzire. However, the Swift's price remains unchanged.

New Chevrolet Aveo unveiled in China

Contrary to everyone’s expectations, the new Chevrolet Aveo did not make it to the 2010 Auto Expo. It was unveiled today in China by Shanghai GM as the Chevrolet Sail. The small sedan has been co developed by Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC) and Shanghai GM, both of which belong to the GM-SIAC group, which now owns a 50% stake in GM India as well. The modern lines and overall turn-out are way ahead of its predecessor. Even the interiors seem to be more in line with its newest rivals.

The Sail/Aveo is available with a choice of two petrol engines, a 1.2 litre S-TECH II and a 1.4 litre S-TECH III. The base 1.2 litre variant retails for just 3.9 lakh rupees in China. However, don’t expect it to cost anywhere below 6 lakh rupees in India. If priced competitively in India, this car can easily take on the might of established rivals like the City, SX4, Fiesta, Linea and even the upcoming Etios Sedan.

Mahindra receives awards from the automotive media

Mahindra seems to be starting the New Year by filling up its bag of awards at a very high rate. To start with, India’s first ‘Sedan Plus’ from the Mahindra stable christened XYLO recently bagged three awards from the automotive media namely, MUV of the Year from the NDTV Profit Car and Bike Awards, UV of the Year from the CNBC TV 18 Overdrive Awards and MPV of the Year from the Zigwheels Car and Bike Awards!

NDTV Profit Car and Bike Awards also declared the recently launched Mahindra Duro Power Scooter as the Scooter of the Year.



M&M’s path-breaking FuelSmart system with Micro Hybrid technology also bagged the Auto Bild India Golden Steering Wheel for Technology of the Year award. The environment friendly and economic technology was developed by the Mahindra Research & Development team along with the assistance of M/S BOSCH.

Hyundai Genesis Showcased in Auto Expo

The Hyundai Genesis sedan which was first launched in the Korean and the North American market won many accolades for itself including the coveted title - ‘North American Car of the Year 2009’ and the prestigious ‘Canadian Car of the Year 2009’. On display at the Hyundai pavilion this year will be the all new high performance Genesis Coupe – the sports variant of the Genesis sedan with focus on performance and luxury. The new Genesis Coupe highlights upscale new design, responsive driving dynamics and class-leading technology. The Genesis Coupe which followed the Genesis sedan comes in two performance-focused engine variants - a 212-horsepower, 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and a range-topping all-aluminum 306-horsepower, DOHC 3.8-liter V6 engine with the new rear wheel drive architecture.

Maruti launches Eeco MPV

Maruti Suzuki has launched its Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV) at the Auto Expo. The five-seater variant of the MPV has been priced at Rs.2,59,000 while the seven-seater variant will retail for Rs.2,75,000. The manufacturer had earlier also unveiled an electric version of the vehicle. Maruti Suzuki intends sales of the Eeco to hover around the 40,000 unit mark annually. The electric EECO's will be on taxi duty at the 2010 commonwealth games, while the petrol powered EECOs go on sale from today.



The electric Eeco is powered by a 5KW lithium ion battery pack which gives the MPV a range of 100kms and pushes it a top-speed of 100kph.

Toyota reveals Etios Hatchback and Sedan

Toyota has announced that the Etios Hatchback will retail for around Rs.4.5-5 lakh and will be powered by a 1200cc petrol engine. The Etios will mark Toyota's foray into the B+ car segment and will compete against the likes of Hyundai's i20, VW polo's and Maruti-Suzuki's Swift. The Etios sedan will be priced around the Rs.10 lakh mark and will be powered by 1500cc petrol engine. It will compete against the current C segment offerings like Ford's Fiesta and Honda's City top name a few.

Toyota officials did not release any more information as the scheduled launch of the Etios concept is in December 2010. Toyota is expecting tthe Etios to register sales of around 7,000 units in the first year of its launch.

Speaking to the media at the Auto Expo, Kazuo Okamoto, Global Vice-President, Toyota Motor Corporation, said that the manufacturer is very excited to finally showcase the Etios Concept which has been specially developed for customers in India. He further said that Toyota's tagline of 'World First, India First' represents the manufacturer's choice of India for the global premier of the Etios concept following which exports to other countries will be evaluated.

 Okamoto also said that India is a very important market globally for Toyota. He further commented that the developed markets will not grow at the pace of the comapny's needs and it will be the emerging markets like India and Brazil that will grow faster. Speaking about the manufacturer's future plans, he said that India will play a pivotal role in Toyota's global expansion plans and the time has come for us to strategically accelerate our growth here. He also revealed that Toyota is aiming for a 10% share of the car market by 2015.

The Etios, orginally known as the EFC or the Entry Family Car will don a 1.4 litre diesel engine that's housed in the Yaris and a 1.2 litre or 1.3 litre petrol engine. T It also has the I-real mobility tool. Toyota will set up a new plant and supplier base where the Etios will go under production. The Etios will be initially avaialble in 10 cities including Mumbai, Cochin, Lucknow, Chandigargh and Ahemdabad by the end of this year.

Fiat Linea 110 bhp turbo petrol, Punto 90 bhp diesel & Punto CNG-petrol flex fuel on display

Fiat India showed a nice mix of vehicles lined up for their Indian debut on day 2 of the 2010 Auto Expo. Fiat unveiled the 110 bhp turbo-petrol Linea, to overcome its power deficit compared to rivals like the Honda City. The new turbo petrol might be a a couple of bhp down on power, when compared to the City, but it more than makes up for the power deficit with 55 more torques compared to the City. There were also a couple of Puntos on show. The most important of them being the one with the Linea's 90 bhp, 1.3 diesel. Fiat also showcased a CNG-petrol flex fuel variant of the Punto and some interesting design editions.

Price: Rs. 9.4 lakh (On-Road). It will be available only in the top-end Emotion trim.
Launch: Q1, 2010.
Engine Specifications: Petrol (l4) 1.4L 16V Turbo Jet (T-Jet).
Displacement: 1368cc
Max. Power: 110 bhp @ 5000rpm
Peak Torque: 200 Nm @ 2500rpm
Timed, Sequential Electronic Multi-Point Fuel Injection
5-speed, Dualogic semi-automatic gearbox.
Rivals: Honda City, Toyota Etios sedan, Maruti Suzuki SX4, Ford Fiesta 1.6 Petrol



Grande Punto Sports: 1.3 Multijet90

Price: Rs. 6.5 lakh (On-Road). It will be available only in the top-end Emotion trim.

Launch: Q1, 2010.
Engine Specifications: 1.3-litre Multijet diesel with variable geometry turbocharger. (same as the Linea),
Max Power: 90 bhp @ 4000rpm
Peak Torque: 205 Nm @ 1750rpm
Rivals: Maruti-Suzuki Swift, Toyota Etios hatchback, Maruti-Suzuki Ritz, VW Polo, Ford Figo, Skoda Fabia.

BMW unveils Gran Tourismo, X1 & the X6M

BMW just unveiled the new 5 series Gran Tourismo and X1. The GT will come with a price tag of Rs.63 lakh and only 100 of these kinds will be produced. Also on display in the BMW pavilion were the BMW X6 M and the 760 Li. The 5 Series GT will come with a price tag of Rs.63,00,000, the new BMW X6 M will be priced at Rs. 1,30,00,000, and the BMW 760 Li will cost Rs. 1,29,00,000.

The 760 Li houses a mighty 6.0 litre v12 engine with Twin Power Turbo technology, High Precision Injection and double VANOS camshaft and is able to churn out a max torque of 750 Nm at just 1,500 rpm. The 7- Series comes with brand-new eight-speed transmission, with its innovative gear set configuration, offering additional gears while maintaining the dimensions and weight of a conventional six-speed automatic.