Yearly Archives: 2011

For months now we have been hearing about a motorcycle called the Boxer from Bajaj.  Bajaj has been saying that it has rationalized is portfolio on three platforms; the sporty Pulsar, the executive commuter Discover and the workhorse bike the Boxer.  The last of these aimed mainly at the semi rural and rural markets.  Indiancarsbikes.in has now put out a picture of what the final version of the Boxer 150 and says that there is a possibility that the motorcycle maybe launched today.  TVS have stolen the first mover position in the rural market with the launch of the Max 4R which has 4 shock absorbers at the rear.  The bike is really meant to be a load carrier.  The Boxer is not so outright a beast of burden.  It looks more rounded and has greater styling elements than the Max4R from TVS.

Picture Courtesy: Indiancarsbikes.in

Autocar India.com is carrying pictures of the latest iteration of iconic 911 car from Porsche ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show.  This model is internally in Porsche called the 991.  The 911 is one of the most endearing and enduring designs that has evolved over the years while maintaining the general DNA of the original even in the looks department.

Picture Courtesy: Autocar India.com

According to the Economic Times a whopping percentage of Maruti’s car are diesel powered when it comes to models such as Swift, Dzire, Ritz and the SX4.  Maruti has been making the 1.3 litre  Multijet Diesel engine under licence from Fiat and badging it as the DDiS.  The agreement has been between the parent Suzuki Company in Japan and Fiat of Italy.  It has now emerged that Maruti is interested in asking Fiat to make the engine for them from Fiat’s Ranjangaon plant to overcome capacity constraints, since Maruti also exports the engine to Hungary.  However, Mr. R. C. Bhargava has said that the engine that is made by Maruti is slightly different from the one that is made by Fiat and therefore it was not a simple buy and strap on case. While the possibilities are being explored it might also be that nothing will emerge out of these consultations.

After tantalizing and titillating people’s imagination for nearly nine months, Yamaha has decided to launch the Version 2.0 of the R15 on the 6th of September, 2011.  The launch will happen in Delhi.

Picture Courtesy: Motoroids.com

Honda had the shocked the country by slashing prices of its City by Rs. 66,000.  Now the car maker has introduced a facelifted version of the Jazz with a price cut of Rs. 1.5 lakhs.  The car is available in three trims S, Select and X priced at Rs. 5.50 lakhs, 5.75 lakhs and Rs. 6.06 lakhs ex showroom Delhi.

Pictures Courtesy: Motorbeam.com

Volkswagen have launched the new Jetta in India with prices starting from Rs. 14.12 lakhs.  The car is available with a two litre Tdi engine that also does duty in the Skoda Laura and makes 140 PS power.  The car will be available in 4 trim levels starting from the Trendline which will be available with a manual gearbox to the Highline which will come with a six speed DSG automatic gearbox.

Picture Courtesy: Indianautosblog.com

Maruti Suzuki have launched their new Swift with mouth watering prices for the petrol variant.  The prices start at Rs. 4.22 lakhs for the Lxi variant Ex showroom Delhi.  The Vxi costs Rs. 4.76 lakhs and the Zxi Rs. 5.53 lakhs.  The new Swift also has variable valve timing in its petrol engine that bumps the power up to 86PS.  The prices of the diesel range ex showroom Delhi are LDi – Rs. 5.17 lakhs, VDi – Rs. 5.61 lakhs and ZDi – Rs. 6.38 lakhs.

Picture Courtesy: Autocar India.com

IAB has posted pictures of the Toyota Etios Sedan and the Etios Liva hatchback being tested with diesel engines.  Both the cars are likely to come equipped with the same engine of about 1400cc according to Indian Autos Blog.com

Picture Courtesy: Indianautosblog.com

Yet another picture of the Hyundai HA the 800cc Alto challenger has emerged on Indian Autos Blog. This time around the entire roof line is without any covering and the shape of the front grille pretty clear even through cladding.

Picture Courtesy: Indianautosblog.com

Tata pioneered the concept of a compact sedan when it launched the Indigo CS on the previous generation Indica/Indigo platform.  The Indian fetish for a car with a rump was exploited by Tata when they chopped the boot of the Indigo to bring the car under the four metre length stipulated by the government for tax and duties rebates.  The Indigo CS did good numbers but the car on the previous generation platform has grown pretty long in the tooth.  There have been rumours for sometime that Tata was going to chop the boot of the second generation Indigo, the Manza to start selling bigger numbers.  Tata is in the unenviable position where their cars’ sales figures are falling despite having diesel alternatives.

Picture Courtesy: Carwale.com and Auto Bild India