The web is teeming with news that Peugeot has shortlisted the 508 model car and the 3009 MPV for an Indian launch sometime this year. Peugeot is trying to ensure that it does not make mistakes in India again. It is believed that Peugeot will start its operations with CBUs of the models just cited and will go for a full fledged assault in India in the year 2013 when its new plant in India will be fully functional. Sources say that its new plant will be located either in Andhra Pradesh or in Tamil Nadu. It is believed that the Andhra Pradesh government has made an incredible offer of land at Re.1 per acre near Tada which is very close to Chennai since Peugeot wanted a port nearby. However, Peugeot seems more inclined towards Tamil Nadu and is waiting for an answer from the new government that will be elected to power following the impending elections. Peugeot has said that it will announce the location of the plant after the new government is sworn in Tamil Nadu, around the month of June or July.
Yearly Archives: 2011
Tata Motors has been stung by criticism of its Nano and also the fiasco around fires that broke out in brand new cars. Its sales have been nowhere near the targets that Tata had in mind. So after dismal sales towards the end of last year, Tata has aggressively been marketing the Nano. It also started selling it from Big Bazaar outlets. Apparently that strategy has met with success because the numbers of Nano are increasing and Tata seems to have decided to also sell it from its own superstore Westside. Daewoo did this with its cars, especially the Matiz in the United Kingdom to target women customers. That strategy met with some success but the company collapsed in South Korea under allegations of corruption.
In the last two matches of the IPL involving the team Deccan Chargers one say Yamaha on the caps and helmets of players leading to speculation about the role of the company in the team. It has now been confirmed that Yamaha has become a strategic partner of the team and that it will figure in all communication emanating from the team. The Chargers fared dismally in seasons one and three but won the championship in South Africa in season two. Its two matches so far have resulted in the side losing to Rajasthan Royals and the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Wheelsunplugged.com is talking about Vibgyor Vehicles expanding their portfolio to accommodate a new scooter and a three wheeler. Vibgyor apparently sells motorcycles from 100 cc capacity to 150 cc. Presumably they are made in collaboration with some Chinese manufacturer. The only time anyone heard about this company was only when they along with their brand ambassador Saurav Ganguly were pulled up by a court of law for some kind of malpractice. Their bikes can be seen on bikedekho.com and their own website. What is intriguing is where do they sell their bikes? Like Vibgyor, another West Bengal based company, Xenitis also launched some bikes a couple of years ago and even advertised them on TV. But they seem to have sunk without a trace. Before the sinking they showed an ambitious plan of making everything from two wheelers to trucks. Wonder if Vibgyor is also headed that way. Heck, they did not even show up briefly like a rainbow.
Looks like everybody in the world is trying to crossover. To where is the question? Like all manufacturers Subaru has also been bitten by the crossover bug and is scheduled to unveil it at the Auto Shanghai in China. The concept crossover which is being called the XV is based on the Impreza platform. Fuji Heavy Industries, the owner of the name Subaru are also expected to show some Chinese specific models as well.
Yeah, you are thinking what is new. There is a Danica Patrick and a Susie Stoddart, so what is all this excitement about. There is a reason for excitement, be assured. Last weekend the 2011 FIM World Motocross Championship kicked off at Sevlievo in Bulgaria. In this the first round of the 2011 championship the venue also hosted the first round of the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship. Now that is a cracker if there ever was one. Many years ago Damon Hill suggested that women be given their own championship separately as it happens in all other sports to attract more women to motorsport. The FIM seems to have heard him. So will there be a separate road racing championship for women bikers as well? Let’s hope so. Meanwhile the FIA and the FOM also should think along on these lines, right? What say you?
Anything that involves Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso has to be fun. They looked wonderful fighting each other on the track during the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang last weekend. Alonso even gently nudged Hamilton to remind him of their rivalry. Prior to that Lewis Hamiltion weaved more than once on the pit straight to break a tow and in the process breached the rules of racing which allow weaving only once. Last year too Hamilton did the same and got away with it. This time too he did, probably to see if the stewards were sleeping or maybe to tease Alonso who was behind him. Alonso responded by nudging and the stewards by penalizing both for their misdemeanours. The best part is both said they expected and accepted their penalties.
Well it seems driving some cars on the racing circuit is itself a dangerous activity!! Hispania Racing Team asked their drivers Narain Karthikeyan and Vitantonio Liuzzi to stop their cars before the race was over for reasons of safety. Narain’s car was literally boiling and Liuzzi’s had a backend that was entirely loose and threatened to come apart. Imagine one car exploding to pieces and the other disintegrating to pieces!!! Colin Kolles said that if it was not for these minor glitches the cars had the pace to keep up with the rest. Whew.
Technical Director of Red Bull Racing, Adrian Newey has told his drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber that the problem that the team is having with KERS is unlikely to be fixed by this weekend for the Grand Prix of China in Shanghai. He said attempts will be made to fix the problem but given the small window of only a week between the two races at Sepang and Shanghai, those attempts aren’t likely to be enough. It will be great to see if the problem will inflict itself only on Mark Webber’s car and if so what would Helmut Marko have to say to that? Can’t wait at all.
Nicky Hayden also got an opportunity to test next year’s Ducati GP 12 the Motogp bike. He too came back with a big smile and thanked the Ducati team for giving an opportunity to test the bike after Rossi did. It is believed that Hayden has a contract with Ducati only till the end of this season. So by giving him an opportunity to test, has Ducati silently committed itself to Hayden for another season at least? Now that remains to be seen. It is well known that Hayden is not likely to find another factory bike so he would probably want to stay on. Also riders are probably not falling over each other to get the Ducati factory ride considering the fact that the bikes from this factory could so far be ridden to victory only by Casey Stoner.