The Micra from Nissan has been doing luke warm numbers in the Indian market despite having a diesel engined variant, something which Indians in general and South Indians in particular seem to love. It is an efficient car that deserves better numbers than it is doing today. But if the Sports Compact Concept that Nissan displayed in Shanghai were to become production reality, the car may become a complete game changer. With more and more youngsters going in for cars rather than bikes, and with rich parents pandering to their wishes it is perhaps a good thing to have a car that can set the pulse racing. And the Micra Sports Compact can be just that. Hope Nissan brings it soon.
Yearly Archives: 2011
Volvo has unveiled a concept car called the Concept Universe at the Shanghai Auto Show. It has all the safety features that are de rigeur in every Volvo car and more. It has all the makings of luxury barge and looks like it will be a match for the Mercedes S Class and the BMW 7Series feature for feature. If Volvo can actually translate the concept’s potential into a production car, they surely have a winner on their hands. And that should make the Chinese car company Geely happy, since they now own Volvo.
You can read our design story on the Concept Universe here.
The humble Alto has given something to Maruti and Suzuki to cheer about. The little gem of a car has been going from strength to strength in the last few years. In the first year of its launch the car received a luke warm response from buyers barely managing 1500 units per month. But given Maruti’s astute marketing the car’s sales picked up and till last year it has been consistently breaching the 20,000 mark every month. The introduction of the K10 model has only added to the numbers and now the car sells comfortably over 30,000 units every month. And to understand the enormity of that success just compare only the Alto’s monthly sales figures with those of all models of Yamaha and Suzuki motorcycles. Yamaha barely pushes about 22,000 motorcycles per month whereas Suzuki manages around 28,000. That should put things in perspective. The great news now is that not is the Alto the largest selling car in India but now it has taken that position in the world as well.
In an interview with Business Standard, Prasan Firodia the young and dynamic MD of Force Motors, it has been revealed that the much photographed and talked about SUV is round the corner with the teaser ads likely to start from this month end and the vehicle being launched in June. Mr. Firodia has claimed that 85% of the vehicle will begin with indiginisation and that it will have a C in C chassis which is the work of Force Motors and that it will have a 2.2 litre common rail diesel engine sourced from Daimler but manufactured by Force Motors. When questioned about the Guangdong Foday connection (a number of internet sites have published pictures of the Chinese made Guangdong Foday Explorer III and compared it to the camouflaged pics of the Force SUV), Mr. Firodia was non-committal, just saying that the body panels were all going to be made by Force itself. Please read the full interview at bsmotoring.com.
Official sources at the Renault are supposed to have revealed that the month of June is when Renault will launch its first car independently in India. The model selected is the Fluence and later on in the year Renault will also launch its own soft roader Koleos. Renault has a website running and this shows these two as the models that will be launched this year. Renault’s previous model the Logan was initially well received but its sales tumbled when a growing spat between Renault and its JV partner Mahindra threatened to derail it completely. The sales of the Logan are yet again on the upswing after Mahindra bought out Renault’s stake and has concentrated on pushing the car in the market.
Autocar India has said that Land Rover maybe considering a redesign of its iconic Defender. Recently when the Mercedes G Wagen was launched everybody spoke about how the vehicle was unchanged for most its life since inception. That is also true of the Defender which has been in production for an even longer period of time and has many off roading enthusiasts swearing by it. Well it now seems that the Defender could get a makeover of sorts. Here at Riot Engine we wonder if that is necessary. Didn’t the Americans famously say “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”?
The cutesy little Beetle also fondly called the Bug by its afficianados made a comeback to a tumultuous reception from its fans and supporters a few years ago. Since then the car has been selling well and making enough money for Volkswagen to want to continue making the car and also launching a newer model. At the Shanghai Auto Show the new for 2012 Beetle has made its debut. Auto pundits are saying that while the changes are very subtle and classy the new Bug looks closer to the original than does the existing car. Perhaps there are good times ahead for the new Beetle and its maker Volkswagen.
The much disliked MotoGP Champion, Jorge Lorenzo says that he cannot imagine himself in a team other than Yamaha. This is his fourth year and the team and with the exit of the much loved Valentino Rossi who made his dislike for Lorenzo very clear, it seems that Lorenzo is finally comfortable in the Yamaha team. The presence of the mild mannered Ben Spies surely must contribute to this feeling of comfort. However, to realize his ambition Lorenzo will have to develop the Yamaha into a world beater, otherwise Yamaha may want to look elsewhere. Also Lorenzo himself could suffer from greed and move on to a team that waves a thicker wad of currency notes.
We have reported in these columns that the new Circuit of the Americas coming up at Austin, Texas has signed a ten year deal with MotoGP promoters Dorna for holding the Moto GP races starting from the year 2013. Apparently this move has started causing some anxiety to the other two promoters of MotoGP races in America, Laguna Seca and Indianapolis. Laguna Seca holds only the Motogp race and not the Moto2 and 125cc (to be Moto3 with 250cc four stroke engines) from next year on, the Indianapolis Speedway hosts all three categories. Austin has signed to host all three categories as well and this is causing concern especially at Indianapolis whose contract to host MotoGP races expires at the end of this year. Laguna Seca came into prominence due to the efforts of racing legend Wayne Rainey and perhaps it is the least threatened of the two existing circuits. It is also possible that there will be three races in the USA. Already Spain has four races. If new circuits in other parts of the world have to host MotoGP races, some of these existing ones may have to be dropped.
The Jaypee International Circuit which will host the first ever Indian Formula1 GP is supposed to have been named Buddha International Racing circuit and also that prices of tickets will range from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 30,000. The most expensive tickets will be the grandstands and the least expensive ones are supposed to be farther on the circuit. If the reports are true then indeed it is going to be very expensive to watch the race at the circuit and while we are on it, what a strange choice of name for a racing circuit. Buddha? One would have thought a sage like him would have considered motor racing to be infernal. But stranger things have happened such as Sri Venkateshwara Chicken or Shiva Wines.