Yearly Archives: 2011

Everybody thought that the Vento like saloon car from Skoda based on the Fabia would be called the Rapid.  An immodest name but one that at least made sense.  However, Autocar India.com has broken the news that the sub Laura sedan will be called Lauretta.  Some may say what’s in a name and we would say “a lot”.  If the Laura’s relative success is anything to go by, to the Indian customer names don’t matter too much even if they can be punned upon horribly.  Good to see Skoda push the naming envelope.

Picture Courtesy: Autocar India.com

Despite rumblings from both Fiat and Tata about how their JV was not working very well, it has now emerged that both sides have decided to continue with it in India.  A few months ago Ratan Tata himself talked about the necessity to critically take a relook at the JV to see what was going wrong so that the goals of the JV could be met successfully.  However the motoring press has been speculating that the two JV partners could part ways.  Now it has emerged that that will not be the case.  Both parties have a lot resting in the JV and parting ways could spell disaster especially for Fiat whose reputation in India plummetted thanks to a failed JV with the erstwhile Premier Automobiles Limited.  Tata too uses Fiat engines, both petrol and diesel, in its Indica and Indigo range of cars and it is also in its own interests to ensure that the JV works.

BS Motoring.com has reported that the next passenger vehicle that will be launched by Force Motors which has been announced as an MPV will be based on the Viano.  The report on BS Motoring.com suggests that it is actually the Viano for which Force Motors will acquire rights from Daimler AG and manufacture it in India. The report also suggests that Force Motors is in the process of acquiring the plant itself from Daimler AG.  The Trax which is also a rugged people’s mover is also getting a make over.  Here is what BS Motoring.com has to say

Maruti Suzuki which has just launched the newer version of the Swift is likely to give a facelift to the Ritz and the A Star next year.  The Ritz which is internationally known as the Splash is based on the older Swift platform and while not being a runaway success has managed to do decent numbers at the hustings.  The A Star though is a different story.  The car has been the international replacement for the Alto (the Indian Alto is therefore one generation old) and Maruti makes this car for Nissan which sells it as the Pixo with changes made to the front end.  In India however, the A Star has not taken off, surprising considering the fact that some of the design cues on the A Star have come from Indian aesthetics and the front is supposed to be the face of an elephant.  However, Maruti is known to be a stubborn company with an uncanny knack for selling cars that do not take off very well.  The present Alto and the original Wagon R were both non starters initially for the company but strong and persistent marketing turned things around and made both the cars best sellers.  The A Star though has not received that much attention from Maruti, a situation that the company will rectify, we are sure.

The C Class from Mercedes Benz has been given a facelift in the recent past internationally.  Keeping in tune with the trend of bringing into India the latest latest, Mercedes is going to launch the facelifted C Class on the 1st of September, 2011.

Autocar India.com has reported that the new small car from Hyundai that will take on the Alto from Maruti Suzuki is going to be called Eon.  The car built on the Santro platform will be a little smaller than the Santro and will feature an 800cc engine.  It is likely to be priced aggressively to take on the Alto which is the highest selling car in India by a good margin. The launch date though is not yet known.

Image Courtesy: Autocar India.com

Colin Edwards has been in MotoGP nearly a decade now and while he showed promising results he never actually won a MotoGP race.  Edwards started his career in MotoGP on an Aprilia and went on to the factory Yamaha team after Aprilia withdrew from MotoGP.  Later he moved to the satellite Tech3 team still riding Yamaha equipment.  Now his future is up in the air.  The ageing Texan though known for development skills has not been producing consistent performances.  Earlier in the year there were rumours that Edwards was bound for World Superbikes probably with Castrol Honda with whom he won the title a couple of times.  However, Edwards has ruled that out with preference to remain in MotoGP but his unlikely to stay at Tech3 despite the fondness his team boss Herve Poncharal has for him.  Edwards has been saying positive things about CRT machines and that has now led to his being linked to the NGM Forward Racing Team on a Suter BMW but Edwards has queered the pitch by saying that if at all he went to a CRT team then his preferred motorcycle should be ideally powered by the R1 Yamaha engine.  However, Pramac Ducati rides could also be available to him with Loris Capirossi set to retire at the end of the season and Randy De Puniet considering moving to World Superbikes if he finds a competitive ride.

Ducati saw four of its six riders not being able to complete the race at Indianapolis while all six Hondas, the four Yamahas and the lone Suzuki went on to complete the race.  This must be agonizing for the team that has seen its fortunes hit the rock bottom after Casey Stoner has left the team at the end of last year.  Vittoriano Guareschi who is the team manager of Marlboro Ducati team and also the test rider says that urgent action is now required to pull something back for this season.  It goes without saying that this season can be considered a write off but what must be a source of tremendous worry is the fact that Ducati are ill prepared for next year as well since the GP11.1 machines being ridden by Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden are actually next year’s machines with the engine destroked to make it 800cc.  Ducati find themselves in the unenviable position of having to do something radical to get to the front end of the field again for the remainder of the season and for next year.  Valentino Rossi who was in a flattering fourth position in the championship has now been demoted to sixth with Dani Pedrosa reaching the fourth position and Ben Spies fifth.  Both riders had falls in previous races and Pedrosa actually missed a few races.  Marco Simoncelli could also overhaul Rossi quite easily if he finishes races in decent positions.

Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner rode a very fast and blemishless race to take victory at the Indianapolis round of the MotoGP competition.  Stoner was on pole for the race but was bogged down at the start and that saw Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa get the hole shot ahead of him.  By the end of the first turn Stoner was only in fourth place.  Ben Spies on the beautifully liveried Yamaha was starting second on the grid but by the end of the first turn found himself demoted to 9th place.  Stoner got past the Yamaha of Jorge Lorenzo and set out to hunt down Dani Pedrosa on the second of the Repsol Hondas.  Within a few laps Stoner was able to pass Pedrosa and rode off into the distance.  Meanwhile Spies passed all the people in front of him and overhauled Lorenzo towards the end of the race to get on to the podium.  Spies had genuine pace and had he had a good start he may well have challenged at least for second place if not the first itself.  Nicky Hayden on the Ducati GP11.1 got off to a flyer even as his more illustrious teammate Valentino Rossi on a similarly specced machine was struggling at the back of the field.  However, after a few laps Hayden started dropping like a brick and found himself in last place.  Prior to that front end problems and front tyre wear saw Loris Capirossi on a Pramac Ducati, Karel Abraham on the Cardion AB Ducati retire from the race.  Meanwhile Rossi was making excursions off the racing track and losing places.  Hayden too retired when the motorcycle became unrideable and Hector Barbera on the Mappfre Ducati tried valiantly to continue in the race but his front tyre had had enough and he crashed out.  That left only Rossi and Randy De Puniet on the Pramac Ducati to finish the race towards the tail end of the field.  Marco Simoncelli promised to be in podium position taking pace but his tyres were shot and the San Carlo Gresini Honda rider was demoted to seventh on the grid.  It was a good day for Suzuki with Alvaro Bautista finishing sixth on pure merit after having overtaken many riders including Marco Simoncelli.  Fifth place went to Andrea Dovizioso on the third Repsol Honda machine while fourth went to Jorge Lorenzo whose hopes of title defence are fading with every race.  Now only a disaster of epic proportions can separate Stoner from the World Championship this year.