Jaguar launches XKR special edition at Rs 1.27 crore

Tata Motors-owned Jaguar today said it has launched the XKR special edition luxury sedan in India, priced at Rs 1.27 crore (ex-showroom, Delhi).

"New XKR special edition models are available to order now in both coupe and convertible form from July 2012... The special edition models introduce enhancements to the XK's already luxurious hand-crafted cabin in addition to discreet exterior changes," the company said in a statement. 

The car is powered by a 5.0 litre direct-injection V8 petrol engine, it added. 

The company said the car is fitted with a six-speed automatic transmission that offers manual driver control via steering-wheel mounted paddles. 

In June, global sales of luxury brands from Jaguar Land Rover were at 28,215 units, up 39 per cent from the same month last year. 

While sales of luxury sedans of Jaguar brand decreased by 5 per cent last month at 3,829 units, Land Rover sales were up 49 per cent at 24,386 units.

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Buy an Audi with just a Touch at Audi City - Images

Buying a car might not have been this much fun, but Audi just raised the bar. By launching Audi City near Piccadilly in London, now customers can have a detailed look at the entire range electronically.The new digital showroom leads potential buyer to three massive screens that Audi calls 'power walls'. It's almost like walking into a video game. So once the model you want to analyse has loaded, you can pick a colour, the trim and other details.

That's not it. You can watch it drive and hear the opening and shutting of doors and the engine noise through overhead speakers.Then you can move over and pick from life-like paint finishes and trims. Once you're through that, your desired car will show up. The guys at Audi City will save the car and its details on a memory stick, and you can walk into any Audi dealership and make the purchase.

By 2015, Audi hopes to open about 20 more digital stores.

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VW engineers to work more on Up! for the emerging markets

Volkwagen Up! has been caught several times by our team at Delhi & even in Pune. This makes us reassure that the germany based car maker is serious about launching this small car for mass market in India.

Autoesporte reports that the German engineers are working on expanding dimensions of the UP! Volkswagen will be increasing the space at the rear for the emerging markets. The UP! was introduced as a four seater in Europe. However, in emerging markets rear passenger space is a plus point if it can carry 3 people.

Volkswagen will increase the bootspace by moving the spare wheel below the body. The capacity of the fuel tank will also be increased. We expect the interior and exterior design to also go through some changes to make it cheaper to manufacture.

Volkswagen India has always conveyed that it is very keen to introduce the UP! in India. However, the final decision will be taken only by 2012 year end. VW India wants to grab the market share from the Hyundai i10, Maruti Suzuki Wagon R and Chevrolet Beat to become a dominant player in India. A re-engineered VW UP! will not only be cheaper to manufacture but can also be aggressively priced against the competition in a price sensitive market.

Stay tuned for more information.

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Another combination of a hatchback - New Polo and Sedan under development by Volkswagen India

Volkswagen India has already seen the hit dual combo of Polo and Vento. Also Skoda, the brand managed by Volkswagen, where in the production takes in same plant, also worked under the same strategy of launching a hatchback-sedan duo of Skoda Fabia and Rapid. This makes the customer share platforms thus sharing lots of initial costs and thereby providing more features at a lower price to the customer, as demanded by the emerging markets like India.

It has been brought into light that the German car maker, Volkswagen India is now working on a similar combination - however the company officials claim this would be another deadly combination of New Polo and a sedan based on same platform. The company is still under discussion with the auto component players for localization of parts and would like to reduce the costs to a minimal basis, thereby increasing the features for the Indian customer.

The new duo will hit the market somwhere in early 2014, however no confirmation has been given on the same by the company officials.

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Scania Commercial Vehicles conduct ground breaking ceremony for their new plant in Bangalore

Scania Commercial Vehicles India today laid the foundation stone for its newindustrial plant in Narasapura, Bangalore, which will assemble trucks andbuses for the Indian market.

The ground-breaking ceremony was held at the manufacturing site in Narasapura (20km from Hosakote). The new plant will feature a completely knocked-down (CKD)assembly unit for truck and bus chassis, along with planned bodybuilding of city busesand coaches. The facility has been specially designed to be in line with the globalstandards of the Scania Group.

Henrik Fagrenius, Managing Director, Scania Commercial Vehicles India, laid thefoundation stone for the new plant. Sivakumar Viswam, Director Sales, SureshEkambaram, Director After Sales and Stefan Wiklund, Director Finance were also partof the ground-breaking ceremony.

The new plant demonstrates Scania’s commitment to India. Scania plans to investINR 2.5 billion (SEK 322 million) in the new production facility over the next year andwill employ up to 800 people in this facility over the next five years. The CKD plant willbe constructed on an area of about 140,000 m2, and the first rollout of trucks andbuses is expected in early next year.

Henrik Fagrenius, Managing Director, Scania Commercial Vehicles India, said, “Theground-breaking ceremony signifies an important landmark for Scania in India. Weaim to produce and sell 2,000 heavy trucks and 1,000 intercity buses and coaches peryear within the next five years. With this new assembly unit in Bangalore, we areconfident of meeting the requirements of our customers.”

Scania’s strategies for India are innovative, offering value through lower total cost ofownership for customers and bringing in the best products and services. TheNarasapura manufacturing facility is expected to further boost the company’s salesand service offering, bring in a wider selection of models and shorten delivery times.Scania’s high service levels ensure high uptime and low operating cost for customers.

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Government might start construction of Gujarat plant within next three months

Country's largest car manufacturer,Maruti Suzuki, could begin construction of its proposed manufacturing unit in Mandal taluka near here within the next three months, a top state official said here. 

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi recently metSuzuki Motor Corp Chairman & CEO Osamu Suzukiduring his Japan tour. "Chairman of Suzuki has said they will start the work on setting up car manufacturing plant at Mandal soon, and assured that a large number of vendor units would also come up there," state's Principal Secretary (Industries) Maheshwar Sahu said. "I think they would begin construction work within next three months," said Sahu, who was a member of delegation accompanying Modi, talking to PTI. 

The company had faced a serious bout of violence at its Haryana plant recently, and there was some speculation that it might focus more on the planned plant in Gujarat. The government has already allotted two parcels of land to Maruti Suzuki, measuring 160 hectares 70 hectares, for its proposed expansion in Gujarat. The company is set to invest Rs 4,000 crore -- its biggest investment outside Haryana -- to set up the greenfield project near Becharaji, Mandal taluka, by 2015-16. Besides, components suppliers of the company are also likely to make an equal investment. 

The plant will be set up in a phased manner, with initial investment of Rs 4,000 crore by 2015-16. The overall capacity in the first phase will be 2.5 lakh units. "They (Japanese) are very serious about making investments in Gujarat in sectors like automobile industry. A exclusive vendor park for Japanese industrial houses is proposed near Mandal," Sahu said.

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Volkwagen's engine design stolen by its JV partner in China

German auto giant Volkswagen has become the victim of industrial espionage in China, where its local partner has allegedly stolen engine designs, the business daily Handelsblatt reported on Friday. 

For several months now, Chinese group FAW -- with which VW has a joint venture -- is believed to have copied one of the German group's engines in what sources described as "systematic and planned" espionage, the newspaper said. 

FAW plans to sell a model equipped with the engines in Russia, in competition with VW and Skoda models, the report continued. 

"It's quite simply a catastrophe," it quoted a VW manager as saying. 

China is VW's most important export market and it sold a total 2.26 million cars there last year. 

China does not allow foreign automakers to build their own cars there but requires them to work together with domestic companies in joint ventures where the Chinese partner holds the majority stake. 

Contacted about the Handelsblatt article, a VW spokesman said: "We're examining the issue very closely. On the other hand, we've always worked together with FAW very successfully and very trustfully in the past."

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New BMW 3 series launched at price of Rs 28.9 lakh to rs 37.9 lakh

The new BMW 3 series is now launched here with an attractive price tag. We had earlier shown you the teasers of the car and also promotions of the BMW 3 series on the roads of NCR. The car is now here with the prices as below

• BMW 320d - 28.9 lakh
• BMW 320d Sport Line - 31.5 lakh
• BMW 320d Luxury Line - 31.5 lakh
• BMW 320d Luxury Plus - 36.9 lakh
• BMW 328i Sport Line - 37.9 lakh

The new BMW 3 Series will be offered in a choice of two engines. The diesel 320d engine is being offered along with petrol 328i. 320d is fitted with a 1995cc motor offering 181 bhp power with capabilities to sprint from 0 to 100 kmph in 7.8 seconds while the petrol 328i engine is capable of 241 bhp. This engine is light weight and compact 2 liter inline and four cylinder with abilities to speed from 0 to 100 kmph in 6.4 seconds with abilities to reach a top speed of 250 kmph. Suspension of the new BMW 3 Series has been raised specially for Indian markets and is fitted with run flat tyres.

Styling both interior and exterior play a major role where this new vehicle is concerned. The changes in the new car are as follows

• Space Improvement on Interiors
• Wide Screen showing iDrive infotainment
• New grille on outside
• New Improved Angular headlamps

The image below could be zoomed by clicking for an enlarged view of features across its variants.

We would also like to highlight here that since the vehicle is made of lighter material it is 40kgs lighter than its predecessor.


Click here to view more Images on our facebook page.

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Rani Mukherjee gets Audi A8 W12 as a gift from Aditya Chopra

It was reported on July 25, 2012, that filmmaker Aditya Chopra gifted a Audi A8 W12 car worth a whopping Rs 1.25 crore ($ 240000) to his lady love Bollywood actress Rani Mukherji.

An eye witness said, “Adi brought the car to Rani’s bungalow on Tuesday evening and asked her to step inside the car just to go for a spin. After the ride, he left the car inside the bungalow’s premises and left in his own car which was driven in by his driver.”

Rani might shout from the roof of the house that she and Adi are thick friends and there is no any love relationship between them but people know very well what is their actual relationship.

Rani Mukherji, after starring in a string of hits in Bollywood, has not been seen for a while. Hopefully the actress will start acting soon.

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Live - Mahindra launches facelift Verito starting Rs 5.27 Lakh

Mahindra has launched refreshed Verito today. The new refreshed Verito will be available in both petrol and Diesel options with price ranging from Rs 5.27 lakh to Rs 7.14 lakh ex-showroom price. As we had already revealed the leaked brochure of Verito yesterday, click here for more details & images.

• New refreshed almost similar to Skoda's grill
• New Alloy wheel design
• Mahindra Scorpio like Music system - 2 DIN
• XUV 500 like LED strip on front head lamps
• New fog lamps - looks to be more stylish
• Two tone instrument panels
• Driver information system which gives the usual data with respect to fuel and distance
• Door handles are new
• Number plate is now at center of boot lid.

The prices of the revised variants are as follows:

1.4L Petrol G2  - Rs. 5.27 lakh

1.4L Petrol G4 - Rs. 5.49 lakh

1.5L Diesel D2 - Rs. 6.26 lakh

1.5L Diesel D4 - Rs. 6.48 lakh

1.5L Diesel D6 - Rs. 7.14 lakh

The car might give competition to the current rivals present in the  market,  however we should still wait for some time for the market to respond how is this going to change market share of Mahindra in Passenger cars.

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HC gives deadline to all Gujarat registered vehicles to get converted to Natural Gas in a year

In an order which could impact lakhs of vehicle owners in Gujarat by Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice J B Pardiwala that all vehicles to be converted to Natural gas within an year.

Further, the court gave two months to the state government to issue necessary orders to impose stringent restrictions to reduce pollution by fixing levels of emission to the minimum, at par with international norms. The order applies to both public and private vehicles running on petrol and diesel.

The order said, "The state is directed to pass necessary orders compelling owners of all vehicles having registration in Gujarat to use natural gas and, if necessary, even at higher prices within the shortest possible period, not exceeding one year from today for the protection of lives of citizens."

The Gujarat high court also directed the central government to allocate natural gas for domestic and vehicular use to the city of Ahmedabad at the same rate as it is supplied to Delhi and Mumbai. "This is to enforce the right of equality," the judges said.

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Nikkei to set up plant to manufacture Aluminium alloy wheels at Bawal near Manesar

Japan's Nikkei MC Aluminium (NMA) today made an entry into India's Rs 7,500 crore aluminium alloy market in a joint venture with domestic major Century Metal Recycling (CMR)."We will form a joint venture for setting up a plant for manufacturing aluminium alloy, used in automotive sector, at Bawal in Haryana with Rs 50 crore investment," NMA's President Shuzou Hammamura said.A 55:45 joint venture between Nippon Light Metal Co and Mitsubishi Corporation, NMA is the second largest aluminium alloy maker of Japan. It had clocked $600 million turnover last year. 

NMA has eight plants including three outside Japan with a total capacity of 2.4 lakh tonnes a year.Aluminium alloys, made adding zinc, silicon and manganese among others with the mother metal, is being increasingly used in the automotive space to reduce car body weight and increase fuel efficiency.Hammamura said work on the proposed Haryana plant would start soon. It would go on stream by the end of the current year. The facility, with 42,000 tonnes a year capacity, would cater to the automobile companies in the vicinity.

Bawal is in the neighbourhood of the Manesar-Gurgaon belt which has a large concentration of automotive firms, including Maruti and Honda.Asked about the future plan of the joint venture, he said nothing has been decided yet, but it might look at putting up plants in other parts of India. CMR will hold 74 per cent in the joint venture and the rest will be with Nikkei, he added.CMR, which claims to be the No. 1 firm in India in the aluminium alloy making space, has four plants and had clocked Rs 1,000 crore revenue last year.

The NMA and CMR joint venture would import aluminium scrap from overseas to use as raw material for making alloys.CMR Chairman G S Agarwala said every year India consumes around five lakh tonnes of aluminium alloy, valued at Rs 7,500 crore, and the market has been growing by 15-20 per cent each year.

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Chevrolot brings out its MPV Spin

The Tavera has been GM's workhorse for ages now, but with the all new Spin, Chevrolet wants to home in on that very lucrative family MPV market. One look at the sales figure of the Toyota Innova which has been around forever is enough to tell you that a 'well made' MUV is a sure-shot formula to success. And now with the recently launched Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, this segment boiling and how. And it's easy to fathom why this is such a popular segment. There is lots of space, an efficient oil burner under the hood and now thanks to the Ertiga, smart compact dimensions as well.

GM not wanting to stay behind has just debuted its all new MPV, the Chevrolet Spin at Sao Paulo in Brazil. Looking at the pictures, the Spin comes across as quite a funky looking MPV. It has a Chevrolet family face and as a result cannot be mistaken for anything else. In the front, Spin has Chevrolet's traditional split grille along with narrow headlights that reinforce its unique personality and visual appeal. Its rugged visual appeal is further accentuated by impressive side lines and a high belt line.

With the wheelbase at 2,620 millimeters, the Spin can provide space for up to five passengers in the two-row LT version and up to seven passengers in thethree-row LTZ version. Theater-style seating ensures those in all rows a clear view of the road ahead while maximizing roominess. There are up to 23 different combinations of positions for the seats. Its glove box and storage space in the front doors can hold 2-liter water bottles. Everything is within reach, from the instrument cluster to the 32 accessory pockets. GM definitely has the practicality bit covered.

Interiors look pretty refreshing too with the two-tone instrument panel having a "jewel effect" with a silver finish and chrome accents. Gauges have an exclusive font and Ice Blue illumination found in other Chevrolet models. Spin also has a USB port along with an analog tachometer and digital speedometer. While internationally the Spin is powered by a 1.8 litre petrol engine, expect an oil burner or a multi-jet unit from the Fiat stable to power the Spin once it makes its way on Indian shores.

The Spin as of now will be produced at GM's Sao Caetano do Sul plant in Brazil for markets in South America, followed by production at GM's Bekasi manufacturing facility in Indonesia. We think an Indian debut will follow suit soon. If GM gets the engine and the pricing right, the Spin has everything it takes to tickle the buying buds of the Indian consumers and more. Keep watching this space for more.

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Petrol , Diesel & LPG prices hiked again

Petrol and Diesel prices have hiked yet again. The price increase has been for Kolkata and Mumbai, while a price cut for Chennai has been announced. For Delhi, there is no change in prices of Diesel or Petrol.

The price increase / decrease region wise are as follows

Kolkata - Petrol - Increased by Rs 2.52. Diesel - Increased by Rs 0.92
Mumbai - Petrol - Increased by Rs 0.91. Diesel - Increased by Rs 0.89
Chennai - Petrol - Decreased by Rs 0.97. Diesel - Decreased by Rs 0.12

Domestic LPG price has been hiked by Rs 19.43 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Assam, by Rs 9.16 in Bihar and Rs 8.72 per bottle in Maharashtra. LPG will cost Rs 9 more at Rs 423 in Mumbai but there will be no change in rates in Delhi where it is sold at Rs 399.26 per bottle.In Kolkata prices have come down by Rs 4 to Rs 401 and in Chennai by Rs 7 to Rs 386.50

But the rates of domestic cooking gas have been cut by Rs 10.18 per cylinder in Gujarat, by Rs 7.01 in Tamil Nadu, Rs 3.86 in West Bengal and Rs 4.15 in Odisha. It costs Rs 405 in Kolkata and Rs 393.50 in Chennai.

In totality, petrol and diesel were hiked in 7 states while it was slashed in 11 states. These rates are over and above the hike announced yesterday

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DC modifies Tata Winger - Images inside

DC has converted Tata Winger into a palace on wheels. The new car gets modifications like

• Laminated wood accents
• Plush carpeting
• Powered curtains on windows
• Leather seating
• Four powered captain chairs
• 26″ LCD televisions
• DVD player
• Two component speakers
• Driver communication intercom
• 12 V refrigerator
• Computer system with wireless keyboard
• Satellite television
• An inverter to run the electricals on board

For more images of Tata Winger, click here however in case you want to view modified Tata Aria by DC, click here

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Spied - New Mahindra Verito brochure, to be launched on 26th July 2012

Mahindra could launch the new Verito for the Indian market tomorrow, 26th July 2012. The car has been spotted many times testing across the roads in India, however now it is the time for the car to be in front of every body. The car which was earlier branded under Mahindra Renault brand is now under Mahindra after the split. And with this facelift, Mahindra has tried to get rid of the earlier Logan like look and has now come up with a totally changed and refreshed looks. Below are the changes mentioned:

Click here to view our special report & images for Live launch of Mahindra Verito.

• New refreshed almost similar to Skoda's grill
• New Alloy wheel design
• Mahindra Scorpio like Music system - 2 DIN
• XUV 500 like LED strip on front head lamps
• New fog lamps - looks to be more stylish
• Two tone instrument panels
• Driver information system which gives the usual data with respect to fuel and distance
• Door handles are new
• Number plate is now at center of boot lid.

We also expect the right positioning of Power window controls in the new car.

The Mahindra Verito Refresh will be launched (national launch) in New Delhi on 26th of July. The event will be presided over by Mr.Pravin Shah, Chief Executive, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra. Following this event, the vehicle will be launched in Chennai on the 27th July 2012.

Customers will get a wide variety of 8 body colors to choose from – Twilight Blue, Fiery Black, Java Brown, Mist Silver, Toreador Red, Rocky Beige, Diamond White, Dolphin Grey.

Stay tuned for more information on Mahindra Verito as it gets launched.

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Eicher Motors and Polaris signs a 50:50 Joint Venture, will we get cheaper ATV's ?

Eicher Motors has signed a strategic joint venture agreement with US based powersports major, Polaris Industries, to set up a greenfield project in the automotive sector.

The definitive agreement, signed between Siddhartha Lal, MD & CEO, Eicher Motors and Scott W Wine, CEO, Polaris Industries envisages the creation of a 50:50 joint venture company.

The joint venture company will design, develop, manufacture and sell a full new range of personal vehicles suitable for India and other emerging markets. The manufacturing facility will be located in India and the joint venture partners are currently evaluating locations to set up the facility, with production expected to start in 2015.

Under the collaboration, the joint venture company will be governed by a board with equal representation from both the companies. The overall investment in the joint venture company over a three year period will be approximately Rs 250 crores.

"The joint venture company brings together Eicher's expertise in frugal engineering, lean business model and in-depth understanding of emerging markets with product development capabilities," said Siddhartha Lal, Managing Director & CEO, Eicher Motors.

Currently, we are present in the commercial vehicle and motorcycle categories. The collaboration with Polaris Industries Inc will allow us to enter into a new vehicle segment, Lal said.

"This agreement reinforces Polaris' position as a global leader, instantly expanding our presence in India and our access to additional emerging markets around the globe." said Scott W Wine, CEO, Polaris Industries.

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Petrol price hiked by 70 paise per litre, could be raised again

State oil firms have raised petrol rates by Rs 0.70 per litre from Tuesday as international crude oil prices have breached the $100 a barrel mark once again after a gap of 45 days and rupee is still week against dollar. 

Indian Oil Corp (IOC), India's biggest fuel retailer by volume, said in a statement that the hike was partial and it could be raised again depending on volatility of international oil prices and exchange rates. 

At present IOC is incurring losses of about Rs 1.41 per litre on petrol, the company said. "However, as the price movement is quite volatile, it has been decided that an increase of Rs 0.70 per litre (excluding state levies) may be effected at this juncture and the situation watched for some time depending upon which a further view will be taken at an appropriate time," the statement said. 

The oil ministry officials said this was politically opportune time for oil companies to raise petrol prices because the crucial Presidential poll was over. "They could not raise prices close to the Monsoon session of the Parliament, starting on Aug 8," an official said requesting anonymity. 

"Petrol price hike is expected to attract political uproar and the government could be forced to defer its plan of raising prices of diesel, kerosene and cooking gas," the official added. The government controls retail prices of diesel, kerosene and cooking gas. 


Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) are theoretically free to charge market rates for petrol and often revise its rate fortnightly. But in practice, they need tacit approval of the oil ministry to charge pump rates of petrol. They last increased its price by Rs 7.50 a litre in May, which had invited wrath of the opposition and some of key allies of the UPA government such as the Trinamool Congress. 

Executives of oil companies said they would not follow any predictable timetable to revise petrol rates as prior knowledge affected supply of the fuel. "We will revise its price as and when it is sustainable," chairman of a state oil firm said. 

Companies said the current price increase would vary between 0.70 paise and 0.91 paise in different cities depending on local levies.

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Ford EcoSport caught with Powershift Automatic Gearbox for India

Ford EcoSport is yet back into action with another addition and surprising news for its fans across the world including India. Ford was displayed at 2012 Auto Expo and got a huge response from the fans and that's how Ford decided to gear up the production and launch it early 2013 in India.

However, after the launch of Renault's Duster in India, Ford has fastened up the process of EcoSport. However, Duster with already grabbed 6,000 bookings has done the initial killing to Ford. Getting the first mover advantage it has grabbed attention of many SUV lovers but now Ford has also decided to increase the attention of its fans.

Ford has now decided to launch an automatic variant of this model. The same has been caught testing across the roads. One can also notice the SYNC badge near the shifter, Ford’s in-vehicle communication and entertainment system, that gives drivers directions, ability to make voice-activated phone calls, listen to text messages, etc. This technology is on its way to India through the EcoSport.

The automatic gearbox option would provide some leverage to the Ford EcoSport over arch rival Renault Duster. Renault India has no plans to launch the Duster in automatic for now.

Stay tuned for more information on Ford EcoSport in India.

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Ford Brazil receives 1300 pre bookings for EcoSport

Ford EcoSport which will be launched in early August has already grabbed attention of many and has already been booked by 1300 persons in Brazil. Meanwhile, Ford will launch this product in early 2013.

Ford is expecting 2500 bookings via the website till the month of September. The booking amount is kept minimum at 5000 Brazilian Real ( 1.36 lakhs in INR). Ford Brazil also claims that all the marketing activities that Ford is carrying out for the EcoSport has attracted many consumers to Ford showrooms in Brazil.

The Renault's Duster has already grabbed more than 6,000 bookings in India and has got the first mover advantage, however there are many as die hard Ford fans who have been waiting for this and have let the Duster launch. Afterall this is the era of Compact SUV's now.

Click here to read all about Ford EcoSport in Brazil.

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Maruti Suzuki to delay the launch of its small 800cc car - New Alto

Maruti Suzuki's top brass Mr. Shinzo Nakanishi conveyed it to media regarding the delay in launch of its much anticipated new small 800 cc car for India. Earlier the company had planned to launch the car during Diwali however the car maker has said due to the recent violence at the factory the production of the small car will get delayed, the production of which was slated to start some where within a week or two.

The car maker has also said if we are able to recover from the situation early, then we might launch the car as planned however nothing can be confirmed as of now.

It is understood that MSI has upgraded the existing engine and platform of the Alto instead of a complete overhaul in order to reduce development costs. 

The company has stopped selling its bread-and-butter model M800 in specific cities, where Bharat Stage IV emission norms are applicable as the car does not meet the stringent parameters. 

Although MSI is still selling its first model in the country in other places, it had categorically ruled out upgrading it. The M800 will be naturally phased out once emission norms are upgraded in rest of the country. 

Alto is MSI's best selling car so far. However, in recent times, the monthly sales have fallen to about 20,000 units, including Alto K10, from about 30,000 units earlier due to factors like high interest rates and rising petrol costs. Huge stock of petrol cars are lying at the dealers level now. 

In fact, MSI had in May stopped production of petrol models, like the Alto, M800, A-Star, Estilo and Omni for three days to prevent inventory pile up.

Meanwhile, the car maker is also reported to said for working upon a small 800 cc 2 cylinder Diesel engine which could deliver a mileage of 30 Kmpl.

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BMW 3 series comes to India on 27th July 2012 - All details, specifications inside

All new BMW 3 series will land here on 27th July 2012. As we had already shown you the spy images of  new BMW 3 series and also the promotional activities by the car maker. Finally the day is nearby when the car will be available at the BMW stores near us. Also, the impact of the new car launching is the company wants to set off the old inventory and is thus offering a discount of INR 7 Lacs on earlier version of BMW 3 series.

The German based car maker will be launching the car in two engine options.  The diesel variant gets 3 trim levels and the petrol model will be available in 2 features options. The 328i series of variants get a turbo petrol motor with 245 bhp at disposal.

The new 320d series will come with the tried and tested 4 cylinder 180 bhp diesel motor and should contribute to the major portion of sales.Both these engines will be mated to an 8 speed auto transmission that was first seen in India on the new 5'er. Start Stop and brake enrgy regeneration are standard on all models. BMW is claiming a Fuel Economy of staggering 18.88 kmpl for 320d and a decent 14.79 for the 328i.

Stay tuned for more information on BMW 3 series.

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Volvo buses with food and toilet facilities launched in Bangalore

If you are waiting to travel in a bus which will offer you food and toilet facilities without having to get down at designated stops, then here it is!

The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has launched such services in select buses. Six multi-axle Volvo buses will have chemical toilets and two of them will also have in-house pantry services.

The Airavat buses with toilet facilities will now be called Airavat Superia and those with both toilets and inhouse pantry will be named Airavat Bliss. KSRTC had announced such an initiative on April 20 to make long-distance travelling a world-class experience for its passengers , particularly for elderly and those with kids.

KSRTC officials said that the toilets will be cleaned by maintenance staff of KSRTC and the food provided will be outsourced to a private vendor.

"We will later outsource the entire pantry service to the vendor, depending on the demand. Also, buses which ply for more than 10 hours, like the ones to Mumbai and Pune, will have a full-fledged in-house pantry service," KSRTC officials said.

Of the six buses to have such facilities are the ones bound for Chennai and Tirupati.

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Mercedes Benz 2012 B Class unveiled at Buddh International Circuit

Mercedes Benz finally unveils the B Class for Indian market at Buddh International Circuit. The car maker which has been losing market share to BMW and Audi has now planned to launch a sub INR 25 Lakh car in India. This will be Mercedes cheapest offering for the Indian market.

The 2012 B Class will be introduced in India as India’s first Sports Tourer. To promote it, Mercedes has launched The ‘Ultimate Touring Trail’ which is on the similar lines of Mahindra Great Escape. Fellow Mercedes B Class owners will be invited to exciting adventure activities such as sky diving, SCUBA diving etc.

The new B Class will be loaded with features like-

• Speed Limit Assist
• Active Parking Assist
• Brake Hold and Hill Hold Function
• Distronic Plus
• Blind Spot Detection System
• Adaptive Headlamp Assist

The car maker makes a point to specify that it is just a display / unveiling of the car and not the launch. The car maker also claims that the mileage that this car will deliver will be 30-40% over the sedans. For now, the B Class will be a volume model for Mercedes India. Hopefully, it will be the cheapest Mercedes that money can buy. Mercedes is trying to garner 15-20% of the 20-25 lakh rupee segment with the B-Class. One could say, that the B Class is a stop gap arrangement until the GLA crossover hits the stand in 2014. Also, a new website which says readytobe.in is launched by Mercedes. 

Stay tuned for more information on Mercedes Benz B Class.

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Must watch Images - Tata Safari converted into a Range Rover Evoque

You must have seen Toyota Innova and Fortuner getting roomier and spacious after being tuned by DC with the modified interiors. But here is some thing, even we could never imagine of - A Tata Safari being converted into a Range Rover Evoque being named as "Moon Rover"

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Source : Bigdaddycustoms

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