New graphics on the side, front, rear and roof make the A-Star Aktiv exterior. The limited edition model also gets the A-Star Aktiv Logo, red mirrors on the outside, red spoiler, red bumper, blacked out B-Pillars and a red sculpted plate in place of the fog lamps.

Inside the theme continues with new stylish seat covers, steering wheel cover, floor mats, rear parcel tray, door sill guard and a keyless security system. Maruti Suzuki says the exciting 14 new features on the A-star Atkiv have been valued at an Rs. 14,990 which probably means a price increase of the same value.

Explaining the outlook on A-star Atkiv, Manohar Bhat, Vice President (Marketing) Maruti Suzuki India Limited said , “A-Star is one of the most vibrant brands in our product portfolio. Some of its high points such as contemporary styling, dynamic handling and ride quality, best in class turning radius, power, flat torque and superior performance has made A-star a popular choice especially amidst the youth. The stylish modifications in the A-Star Aktiv are in line with our plans to offer our young and energetic customers a sleeker, more stylish and feature packed A-Star. We are confident that this special edition will bring pride to the select owners who get to possess it.”

While we aren’t big fans of the trend of swapping c’s for k’s, we think the A-Star Aktiv looks ‘zingy’ and is a much needed refresh for the aging model. Unless of course, you prefer the newer Alto 800.

Mike Manley, Chief Operating Officer for Asia and President and CEO – Jeep Brand was here in India on December 6th 2012 to announce that the Jeep brand will be launched in India officially. Fiat India will launch nine new or ‘significantly refreshed models’ under the Fiat and Jeep brands in the next few years including the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Grand Cherokee. The Jeep models will be imported as CBUs and should go on sale toward the end of 2013. Jeep vehicles will be sold through a Jeep dealer network that will piggyback on the service and parts support offered by an expanding Fiat dealer network.

“Our vision for India will revolve around a three-pronged strategy,” said Mike Manley. “First, introduction of new vehicles that will soon include the legendary Jeep brand. Second, the expansion of our independent dealer network and, finally, strong marketing initiatives that will continue to improve our awareness and brand perception in the market.”

IAB also reports that Jeep will launch a B-segment SUV in 2015 and a C-Segment SUV in 2016.

Manley also said that the dealer network will expand from the current shared TATA FIAT dealers to approximately 120 independent dealers by 2013. Part of the dealer experience will include Fiat Caffe, which is surprising considering no country has more than one Fiat Caffe.

Jeep vehicles will be distributed at launch in metropolitan cities through exclusive outlets utilizing the infrastructure created by the FIAT exclusive dealers.

IAB says that Fiat India will have a B-Segment SUV in its portfolio by 2014 (supposedly the 500X) and also bring home Abarth in 2013 in addition to four other launches in 2013.

“Initial interest from the investors has proved to be strong. Therefore, we will be able to establish 120 independent dealers by 2013,” said Enrico Atanasio, Managing Director of Fiat Group Automobiles India Private Limited. “We are optimistic about our prospect for growth in the Indian car market, which grew 12 percent in 2011 and is rapidly becoming one of the major markets in the world. With the launch of the Jeep brand, new Fiat products, an expanding dealer network and upcoming marketing initiatives, we will be in a strong position to capitalize on this growth.”

If you weren’t convinced by the Panda 4×4 , Fiat has built for you a Monster Truck in collaboration with Mercurio Cinematografica, set designer Andrea Faini and the Fabio Gementi Workshop to highlight the off-road performance of the Panda 4×4.

Fiat borrowed a Jeep CJ7 4200 floor panel from their friends at Chrysler and fit road tractor wheels shod with “High Speed” tyres, 150 cms in diameter and 50 cm wide. The ‘bigfoot’ Panda, is 390 cms tall, 380 cm long and 250 cm wide. Fiat says this prototype was built in two weeks.

Fiat has put out a video (minus the audio) of the Panda Monster Truck that can be found on YouTube. Come 2013 and we should probably see this video on television as a full blown ad telling the story of four friends who set off for a weekend in the mountains. The Panda 4×4 will be the star as you would expect and will be shown transforming into a Monster Truck to climb up to the hostel.

The blue oval reaffirms its status as one of the most creative automotive brands in India that can use social media to its advantage with its new ‘Throw a Pillow’ app that lets you ‘keep your friends awake’ for the Ford Midnight Sale to be held on 5th December 2012 across the 160 Ford dealerships in the country. The Midnight Sale is the start to Ford’s month long ‘December Dhamaal’ campaign.

As with previous midnight sales, various benefits are being offered on the Ford models.

The midnight sale is bigger this year with gifts worth Rs. 3.5 crores for the taking. All customers who book a Ford on December 5 will get a chance to win assured gifts such as LED TVs, washing machines, home theatre systems, microwave ovens and more.

Customers can drop in at any Ford from as early as 8.00 in the morning and as late as 12.00 midnight on 5th December 2012.

The Macan will be smaller than the Cayenne and will be based on the Audi Q5 chassis with changes to make it more Porsche.

The Macan will play a very important role in Porsche’s Strategy 2018, the intention of which is to expand Porsche’s model line up. The site in Leipzig ,Saxony is being expanded into a fully-fledged production plant including body assembly line and paint shop. The 500 million Euro investment is one of the biggest building projects in Porsche’s corporate history. Porsche also says this will create 1000 new jobs.

The SUV will start coming off the production lines in Leipzig in 2013.

A three door version, and a hybrid shouldn’t be too far down the line.

Damian Dinning loved two things as a kid – cars and photography. In his own words ‘With regards to the latter, I wanted to be able to take photography from the nerdy or for special occasions only use it was at the time, to being part of everyday life.’ Which is exactly what he did with arguably three of the best smartphone cameras in the market – the N8, PureView 808 and the recently launched Nokia Lumia 920.

For a multitude of reasons, Damian Dinning has now seen it fit to pursue his other love – cars. In an exclusive statement to the PureView club, Damian Dinning said “As for my future, I am moving to an industry I’ve wanted to be part of for a very long time. My experience in telecoms and smartphones provides me with a great opportunity to make a difference in a company whose own development is inspiring at a time of great change. I am thrilled that I’ll shortly be joining Jaguar Land Rover where I’ll take a role driving future innovations in the exciting new field of Connected Car.”

Jaguar Land Rover has always been at the frontlines with its infotainment system and with Damian Dinning it can only get better.

Remember the bucketloads of fun Jeremy Clarkson had with the Surround Camera System of the Range Rover?

More than just the scope for improvement of existing systems in JLR products, it is the ‘shiny’ new innovations that could take their place in JLR products courtesy of Dinning that have us in a frenzy. Dinning’s crowning achievement has to the PureView 808, with its 41 megapixel sensor. Who would’ve thought that even remotely possible? Yet it was done and a long look at the PureViewClub samples should give you an idea that there just doesn’t seem to be anything impossible with the 808. There have been often repeated comparisons of the 808 images with those from DSLRs and we can only imagine what the mind behind all that could do given the blank canvas of a Range Rover or an XJ.

While we understand you’d rather read about Audis with wheels, we could point out at least two regulars at Riot Engine who might have a word or two about this ‘Made in Germany’ Classic Chronograph wristwatch priced at Rs 21,499. The watch is available only in Black and as Audi says, ‘Crafted with perfection in design & engineering’. The chrono also has a date display, double stop function, tachymeter scale for measuring speed, with the internals being Swiss Ronda 5020.B quartz movement. It is water resistant to 5 atm.

‘A large chunk of luxury car buyers expect their accessories to reflect their style statement along with their car. To cater to this need of discerning luxury enthusiasts, we have a range of Audi Accessories that are in line with our motto of sportiness, sophistication and progressiveness. Etched with four rings insignia, the Classic Chronograph wristwatch testifies progression in our growth story in India and reiterates our commitment to offer Indian customers a comprehensive product range to meet their luxury needs’, said Mr. Michael Perschke, Head, Audi India.

That’s a little too much optimism, if we may say so Mr. Perschke. We’d guess the discerning Audi customer in India would rather splurge on the £1,500 Audi Design Square rather than the 21,499 rupee Classic Chrono simply because the former is much more expensive. There’s a better chance that you would see the Classic Chrono on my wrist while I’m zipping through the city on my Pulsar 220!