Honda City Diesel to be launched on 7th January 2014

Honda's most awaited car, City Diesel with two engine and three transmission options is ready to enter Indian market soon. Yes, launch date in India has been announced on 7th January 2014.  

The fourth generation City Diesel will be powered by 4 cylinder 1.5L SOHC i-DTEC Diesel engine churning out 100PS of power and 200NM of torque powerd by 6 speed manual transmission and a 4 cylinder 1.5L i-VTEC Petrol motor delivering 119PS of power with a 5 speed manual transmission and CVT transmission as well. 

The petrol variant delivers 18 Kmpl of fuel efficiency whereas the diesel variant returns 26 Kmpl as per ARAI. 

The 2014 Honda City expresses Honda’s new design concept “Exciting H Design” and will be the first model in India to adopt this new design language, which promotes unique character and strong presence. This design concept boasts of a Solid Wing Face, Well Toned Athlete Form body and Finely Honed Surfacing on the exterior.

The 2014 Honda City measures 4440 mm in length (same as the outgoing model), 1695 mm in width (same as outgoing model), 1495 mm in height (10 mm more than the outgoing model) and the wheelbase measures 2600 mm (extended by an additional 50 mm over outgoing model).

Stay tuned at Wheel-O-Mania for more details. 

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Spied - Hyundai Grand i10 sedan continues testing before Feb 2014 launch

Hyundai Grand i10 sedan continues testing even the launch date is nearby. The compact sedan is expected to be launched on 4th Feb 2014 as already briefed to you a couple of hours before. The Auto Expo 2014 will be opened for media people on 5th & 6th Feb however for the masses the same will be opened on 7th Feb until 12th Feb 2014.

The compact sedan segment is one of the fastest growing segment as of now with sales of Dzire and Amaze being on top of the charts and both grabbing one of the top 10 positions. Honda's recently launched Amaze has sold 55,000 cars till date.

Built on the BA platform underpinning the Grand i10, the sedan will share engines and gearboxes with the hatchback. The petrol engine is a 1.2-liter four-cylinder with Hyundai’s Dual VTVT technology. It produces 83 PS at 6,000 rpm and 11.6 kgm of torque at 4,000 rpm, and comes mated to a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic transmission.

The car will also be equipped with 1.1L Diesel engine producing 71PS of power at 4,000 rpm and 16.3 Kgm of torque mated to a 5 speed manual transmission.

The Korean carmaker also plans to launch Santa Fe on 6th February 2014 at 2014 Auto Expo. 

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Video - MINI starts marketing campaign with a new TVC

2014 BMW Mini gets a new commercial TVC. The new Video features Spike who is puzzled by looking at the new Mini.

The new Mini is 98 mm longer, 44 mm wider and a whole 7 mm taller than the current Cooper. The interiors are more spacious, and the cargo space is around 30 percent better, at 211 liters capacity. Its design follows the protocol laid down by the Mini Vision Concept. In accordance to the concept, the 2014 Mini gets full-LED headlights, a new hexagonal grille and a central dual exhaust system.

Power for the Cooper petrol comes from a 1.5-liter three cylinder unit. The engine develops 134 bhp and a peak torque of 170 Nm. The Cooper diesel also gets a 1.5-liter engine that develops 114 bhp and a maximum torque of 269 Nm. The Cooper S gets a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine that makes 189 bhp and a peak torque of 299 Nm. All versions get a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission. 

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Hyundai's Grand i10 sedan to launch on 4th February 2014

Hyundai's next big thing for India - the Grand i10 sedan shall launch in the market on 4th February 2014 as per the reports. This is a day before the grand event - 2014 Auto Expo opens for the media people. The car will compete with likes of Maruti Suzuki Dzire, Chevrolet Sail, Mahindra Verito and Honda Amaze.

The new sedan will share a lot with the Grand i10 hatchback. Things like the high-quality dash, front seats, rear air-con vent and the long equipment list are likely to be lifted directly. The 1.2-litre petrol and 1.1-litre diesel are likely to be carried over too; the i20’s 1.4-litre diesel engine will not make it to the small saloon because it would be too large to fit into the small engine bay.

Since the new car will be sharing lot of parts with the hatchback, we expect the car to be competitively priced. Stay tuned for more on the launch date. 

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New Hyundai Santa Fe to launch on 6th February 2014 - at Auto Expo !

Hyundai will launch the all new Fluidic Santa Fe on 6th February - which is supposed to be a day earlier than the Auto Expo 2014 will be opened for the common masses. The media people will be invited on 6th February and the new cars including Santa Fe will be officially displayed there.

Developed on an entirely new platform, this next-generation car is larger than the car it will replace – it is 40mm longer and 5mm wider, although the roofline is 45mm lower and it retains the same 2,700mm wheelbase. The new Santa Fe will also carry over Hyundai's powerful and refined 2.2-litre VGT (variable-geometry turbo) diesel engine from the current model.

The new Santa Fe will be offered with six speed manual and automatic transmission with the same power and torque figures. However, the engine will receive few upgrades in the form of piezo injectors which will bring lower emission and higher fuel efficiency.

The car will be localized and will be produced out of Hyundai's Chennai plant and thereby reducing the price to make it more competitive and place it against the market leader - Toyota Fortuner. 

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Nissan online sales via Google's GOSF India 2013

Nissan India recently started selling its cars online following the foot prints of Skoda India Pvt. Ltd.

Customers will be able to book their cars by paying with a credit card. The car will then be delivered to the customer by the nearest Nissan dealership, the company said in a statement. Skoda had started this service in October this year. A customer can book a Skoda vehicle by making an advance payment of Rs5,000. The customer will be fully refunded if he chooses to cancel the booking.

Japanese automaker Nissan was late in entering the Indian market and it started selling its products in India from 2010. It has at least 100 dealerships with only six in the national capital region, a Nissan India spokesperson said It sells models including the Micra, Sunny and Terrano.

Praveen Sinha, co-founder and managing director of Jabong.com, said if Nissan could crack the markets and customize the delivery options to consumers, it has the potential to fulfil a latent demand, especially in smaller towns.

Nissan cars will be retailed online from December 11th to 14th, 2013, as the company participates in the Great Online Shopping Festival (GOSF) 2013. Google has extended this mega event by a day following overwhelming response from shoppers which included over a million users visiting the site in the first 24 hours. You could see discounts of upto Rs 2.3 Lakh on Evalia, upto Rs 75,000 on Sunny, upto Rs 10,000 on Terrano and upto Rs 40,000 on Micra.

Nissan buyers will need to visit www.nissan.in/gosf over the period of this Great Online Shopping Festival make their bookings and will be able to make their payments online. These customers will then be contacted by Nissan dealers with details with regard to other formalities and delivery status of their booked models.

Mr. Nitish Tipnis, Director, Marketing, Hover Automotive India said, “We are delighted to partner Google India for this exciting Shopping Festival. Nissan’s association with this hugely popular festival is yet another expression of our commitment to market our vehicles uniquely. Partnering with Google helps our associaton with the digital medium to enable brand Nissan and our dealers provide easier and convenient ways to purchase cars in India. This partnership strengthens and widens the customer base to the entire internet audience including smartphone users which is the largest traffic geenerator.

”We want our consumers to experince the globally renowned Nissan cars well known for technology, luxury and comfort –all at an affordable price point and low cost of ownership. Nissan has always been on the forefront of innovation both in the cars we produce and also how we present and communicate our brand,” added Mr Tipnis.

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Hyosung GT 250R Signature edition launched at Rs 2.97 Lac, 125cc in planning

Hyosung Motorbikes which is available in India through their Joint venture with DSK Motowheels Club, have launched GT 250R Signature edition by the hands of Mr. Shirish Kulkarni, Chairman of DSK Motowheels today.

Called GT 250 R LE, this new superbike production is limited to just 50 units and is now available for bookings across all Hyosung dealerships in India. Offered in just one color option of Hurricane Yellow, the new limited edition Hyosung 250 GT R comes with the same engine, a 249cc V twin engine offering 27 PS power at 10,000 rpm and 22 Nm torque at 8,000 rpm. The engine is mated to a five speed Constant Mesh gearbox. The bike can accelerate from 0 to 100 kmph in 8.33 seconds and reach a top speed of 149 kmph.

Currently the company sells the bike in three colour combinations - white-red, red-black, silver-red. With the addition of this new limited colour, the bike’s colour line-up looks very attractive and offers a wide range of choice for its customers. Launching limited edition models in India is not new. It is either done to celebrate some accomplishments or sometimes just to clear the inventory. But at the end it’s the Indian consumers who will benefit the most from such launches.

Commenting on the launch, Shirish Kulkarni, chairman DSK Motorwheels, said "Driven by popular demand from our discerning customers, we decided to introduce this signature edition of the GT250 R. What better way to introduce this faired beast that the first anniversary of our exclusive superbike club, the HyRyders."

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Indian Motorcycles to be launched in India on 22nd Jan 2014

Indian Motorcyles, as reported earlier is supposed to be launched in India on 22nd January 2014. The American bike maker would be launching their range of cruiser bikes in India soon.

The three cruisers, Indian Chief Classic, Indian Chief Vintage and Indian Chieftain are all powered by an all-new Thunder Stroke 111 engine and come with a 6-speed transmission. The engine is aptly named as it displaces 111 cubic inches (1,819 cc) and produces 161.6 Nm of peak torque at 3,000 rpm.

Indian motorcycles will rival Harley-Davidson’s bikes which have been on a dream run since its launch. What we do know is these cruisers will launch housing Indian’s latest 111 Thunderstroke engine which was recently updated on the Indian model line-up in international markets. Stay tuned for more news and updates on Indian motorcycles’ India launch next month.

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Audi A3 sedan caught testing in Mumbai

Audi's A3 sedan, so far anticipated to be the lowest price car from the German carmaker has been spied testing around in Mumbai a couple of times.

Audi began producing the A3 sedan in Gyor, Hungary in early June. European dealers have the car on sale, that offers the same comfort of the hatchback variant (has seen sales of 3 million units in 17 years across 117 countries), but with an extra spacious 435 liter boot.

Audi is banking upon the emerging markets like China and India for garnering volumes for the yet to be launched car. The car has earlier also been spotted testing in Mumbai and here are the spy shots of the same. 

The A3 is offered with three engines in the EU – 1.4L TFSI, 1.8L TFSI and 2.0L TDI. The 1.4-liter TFSI makes 140 hp and 250 Nm and is paired to a seven-speed AT, the 1.8-liter TFSI makes 180 hp and 250 Nm and is paired to the same gearbox, while the 2.0-liter TDI churns out 150 hp and 320 Nm and is matched to a six-speed manual gearbox.

The new car would be showcased at the upcoming 2014 Auto Expo here in Greater Noida.  Stay tuned for more. 

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Mercedes builds helipad to fly in luxury customers

In perhaps the first of its kind in automotive marketing, Mercedes Benz has built a helipad within its factory premise in Pune to fly in potential customers of its coveted AMG brand to a specially-built arena that would house luxury wheels ranging from the Rs 2.5 crore SLS AMG roadster to other power-packed versions from its extensive range of cars.

The company, which is fighting a stiff battle with compatriot Audi for a leadership in the Indian luxury car space, wants to boost the number of super-luxury cars it sells in India and the latest move is aimed at giving an all-new experience to potential customers, company MD Eberhard Kern told TOI after driving in the SLK55 AMG priced at Rs 1.26 crore (ex-showroom, Delhi).

AMGs deliver enhanced power and driving experience. All AMG engines are hand built, using a "one man, one engine" philosophy at the company's AMG plant in Affalterbach, Germany. Each AMG engine builder stamps the engine they produce with an engraved plaque depicting their signature.

Mercedes has sold more than 200 AMG cars in India since it introduced the line-up around three years back. "It is a small target group, but growing. We see a rising demand for high performance cars in India," Kern said. Speaking about the construction of a helipad within the facility, he said it has been done to offer a unique experience to potential buyers. "Not only that, we have customers who own helicopters and are keen to fly down to our plant."

The company will initially start the fly-in visits to the factory from Mumbai, and later add other cities. "We had to take special permissions to build the helipad, and this will result in providing a high degree of convenience to our customers." 

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Audi confirms Q1 Crossover, to enter into production by 2016

Audi's R&D head Ulrich Hackenberg recently confirmed that the German Luxury carmaker will further go down in its crossover segment to produce the low end SUV at its Ingolstadt plant starting 2016.

Audi CEO Rupert Stadler said that the Q1 is part of the company’s broad-based SUV strategy. Designed based on the modular transverse engine concept (Audi’s way of saying that it is a front-wheel drive car), the Q1 would be the smallest member of its SUV family.

The Q1 is part of a bigger model strategy of having 60 models in Audi showrooms by 2020 as compared to 49 models today. The goal for Audi in 2020 is to sell 2 million cars a year. Since the first Q model in 2006 (Q7), Audi have delivered 1.5 million SUVs.

Stay tuned for more details.

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Fast and Furious star, Paul Walker dies in a car accident

An unfortunate news for a Sunday morning is something everybody would have never expected.

Just a few hours back, One of the leading actor in the Fast and Furious franchise, Paul Walker was killed in a car crash. The car being driven was a Porsche GT. His friend was driving the car and he was a co-passenger. Unfortunately, both of them died during the accident.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's department said the crash happened in community of Valencia. The Santa Clarita Signal reports a red Porsche crashed into a light pole and tree and burst into flames.

Walker was working on the latest "Fast & Furious" movie at the time of his death. He also starred in the suspense drama, "Hours," a movie that is set for release this month.

The exact details of what caused the accident are yet to be analysed, but passer-by confirmed that the car went out of control and crashed into a light pole, causing a dangerous single car crash.

Kyle Cox managed to record a Video of the scene which is as shown below.

Bill Townsend, an entrepreneur who helped build several global companies, said, “I was with Paul today. He was surrounded by friends, talking about cars, seeing hundreds of gifts brought for kids to give out by charity. The news is terribly sad. The world lost an angel and Heaven gained one. I’m going to commit to helping ensure the Paul’s charity lives on and that his love of cars and people, especially children, will be remembered forever.”

The image below was shared by Paul Walker on his Facebook page yesterday, with the tag – The boys are back. Will you be ready?

RIP Paul Walker. You will always be missed by Wheel-O-Mania team and all its readers. We also know that FnF from now on will never be the same !

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