Honda Civic Hybrid Launched

The country’s first hybrid has been launched by Honda Siel Cars Ltd. The car will cost almost twice the normal car and at close to Rs. 21Lakh, it isn’t cheap.

The car features a 1.3 liter engine coupled with an electric motor and uses a CVT instead of a normal automatic. The car also features a 3 stage i-VTEC system and claims a 47% improvement on the fuel efficiency front as far as the 1.8 liter engined car is concerned.

How many Honda will sell is a question many would ask. But Honda says that figures are not a priority at this time.

Honda Civic Hybrid Launch Tomorrow

Honda Siel have announced the launch date of the Civic Hybrid and it's tomorrow, 18 June. The car will be available for a test drive at all the dealerships from tomorrow itself. Price and other details later.

Previous Post:
Honda Civic Hybrid – What Does It Mean For Honda

Yamaha YZF R15 Launched - Detailed Specs and Wallpaper/Pictures

Yes people the R15 is out and on sale right now. Remember the poll about the power figures? Well get ready to be disappointed, because it doesn’t make anything even remotely close to the 220. It makes a grand total of 17, yes you read it right, a grand total of 17PS of power. But then it’s lighter than any of its competitor and the company claims a top speed of 140 kays. Here are the specs from the company website.

Engine
Engine type - Liquid-cooled, 4-stroke, SOHC, 4-valve
Cylinder arrangement - Single cylinder
Displacement - 149 .8cc
Bore x Stroke - 57×58.7mm
Compression ratio - 10.4:1
Maximum power - 17PS / 8,500rpm
Maximum torque - 15 N.m / 7,500rpm
Starting system - Electric Start
Lubrication - wet sump
Engine oil capacity - 1.0 liters
Fuel tank capacity - 12 liters
Fuel supply system - Electronic fuel injection
Ignition system - T.C.I
Primary/Secondary reduction ratio - 3.042 / 3.000
Clutch type - Constant-mesh wet multi-plate
Transmission type - Return type 6-speed
Gear ratios - 1st=2.833, 2nd＝1.875, 3rd:=1.364,4th=1.143, 5th=0.957, 6th=0.84


Chassis
Frame type - Deltabox Frame
Caster / Trail - 26° / 100mm
Tire size (Front / Rear) - 80/90-17 / 100/80-17
Brake type (Front / Rear) - Hydraulic, single disc (Front / Rear)
Suspension type (Front / Rear) - Telescopic / Linked type Monocross
Headlight - 12V35W / 35W＋35W


Dimensions
Overall length x width x height - 1,995mm x 670mm x 1,070mm
Seat height - 790mm
Wheelbase - 1,290mm
Minimum ground clearance - 160mm
Dry weight / Curb weight 120kg / 131kg

Previous Posts

Poll Result

Yamaha R15 Videos

Yamaha R15 Launch Due 12 June

Yamaha R15 Pictures and Review

Yamaha Bike Station, MGF Mall, Saket, New Delhi – Pictures

Yamaha Bike Station, MGF Mall, Saket, New Delhi

Yamaha India Auto Expo R15 Pictures, FZ Pictures and Gladiator SS Pictures

Poll Result

The results are in, and though the votes (ahem) haven’t been too many, a result is a result. And by the looks of it most would be happy if the Yamaha R15 made a healthy 20bhp or more. Interesting isn’t it, what people want. Now let’s see what the company gives us tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

The next poll is about where would you put your hard earned money.

Car News Update

Hyundai has introduced the CNG version of the Accent. It seems like a bid to prolong the models life and improve sales. This has led to the increase in price of the car by about 56,000 rupees. So that takes the price of the car to around 5.55lakh ex-showroom. Right in the ball park of the diesel sedans from the competitors, but you will save on running costs (CNG prices were reduced to around 18.60 rupees per kilo).

Tata will be introducing their latest acquisitions, Jaguar and Land Rover by next year. The stunning new XF is most likely to make it to our shores. From the Land Rover stables the baby rover, Freelander looks an obvious choice. Although Jaguar has no dealer in the country, Mumbai based Navneet Motors have been selling the Range Rover and the Range Rover Sport for a while now. All the models are most likely to come in as CBUs.

Staying with Tata Motors, the Nano which is going through testing and a trial production run right now will be out by October and the dealers will start bookings by mid September. Incidentally the Nano will be produced not at one, not at two but at three different units to minimize the distribution costs.

In other news, Maruti Suzuki India has upstaged its parent company yet again. This time though it is not in terms of units produced but by being named the fourth most reputed auto manufacture in the world ahead of Suzuki Japan in the "Global 200: The World's Best Corporate Reputations" list, compiled by US-based Reputation Institute. It is also ahead of BMW at fifth and Daimler AG at sixth. In the overall list, Maruti is 77th and Suzuki Japan is at 139.

Apple iPhone 3G Launched For $199

The new iPhone 3G is here, well not exactly but it will be by the end of the year. Anyhow the 8GB version now sells for $199 and the 16GB one for $399. Oh, also here's a link whith five reasons not to buy the new iPhone 3G. You decide.

Yamaha R15 Videos

Here is the bike on test on the road

Here is another one with the bike on track probably in the south.

Yamaha R15 Launch Due 12 June

The R15 is due for launch in another few days. Do check out the Yamaha Website and the teaser.

2009 Yamaha VMax - The Bad Boy Is Back

Yes, the legendary cruiser from the Yamaha stables is back. The specs are mind boggling and the looks remain faithful to the original too. Here are a few pictures. Enjoy

Honda Civic Hybrid – What Does It Mean For Honda

Every time someone talks about a hybrid vehicle, the first thing that comes to mind is the Prius from Toyota. It has been a Hollywood favorite for a while now and has sold more than a few for Toyota to keep making it. Honda’s attempt at a hybrid, the Insight, was not a match for the Toyota though and Honda cut its life short.

Honda has already gone on record saying that the Civic Hybrid will be launched in India. Undoubtedly it will cost a lot more than the regular Civic, since it will be a CBU import. Honda will be happy even if they sell a few in the country.

Now why would Honda launch a hybrid in India knowing that it’s a cost sensitive market and that the car itself is not going to be anywhere near the regular car in cost as well as performance fronts. Actually Honda have played a brilliant round. One should not forget that ours is a country where mileage kitna hai is second only to the buying costs. The launch of the Civic Hybrid is a good thing in the long run. Here’s how.

There are (were) no regulations in the country for a Hybrid drive systems in cars. Honda has worked closely with ARAI in laying down the rules and regulations for a Hybrid Drive System for car. Everything they will be using in the car has to meet certain laid down rules. These rules have been put down by ARAI in conjunction with Honda. This will benefit Honda in the future and force other manufacturers to meet the same standards and functional requirements in their cars. Now Hybrid technology is relatively new as compared to the internal combustion engine, and all those developing their own versions of the same are going to differ. And no one is willingly going to share their intellectual property with others.

Secondly, with the fuel costs soaring virtually everyday the day isn’t far that hybrids become a common place. By then the costs involved in making a hybrid drive system would also have come down substantially. And with India being one of the largest car markets in the world, selling hybrids would also mean big business for the manufacturers. This is where Honda will definitely take a lead.

Also by introducing the Civic Hybrid, Honda would make a name for itself in the country as the one to go for as far as alternative fuels/hybrid systems are concerned. The FCX which Honda has shown on numerous occasions runs on the Fuel Cell technology and if the Civic Hybrid is able to garner the kind of attention Honda want, and fuel cells being the future, Honda will go up against the rest of the field.

So, again it seems that Honda has played their cards well and read the situation better than the rival Toyota. It will be a great see how Toyota reacts to this particular move by Honda considering it is a leader in this field in the foreign markets.

2009 Porsche 911 Upgrade

Porsche has been known to stick to their evolution theory ever since the first 356 rolled out. When manufacturers were bringing out new models every year, Porsche stuck to improving upon the existing models. This has been their ideology for the past fifty or so years.

The 997 is the purest iteration of the Carrera, after the 993 (the last of the air cooled generation). For the 2009 model year the Carrera has been given a once over. The changes are quite subtle on the outside and quite noticeable on the inside.

The headlamps now feature day time LEDs and bi-xenon headlamps which are now standard equipment across the range. The tail lights are all new and also feature LEDs. The exhausts are two ovals on the Carrera and a pair of twins on the S.

The big change is the introduction of direct injection (first introduced on the Cayenne), which not only boosts power but also improves economy. The 3.6 liter flat six gets a boost of 20bhp while the 3.8 liter unit on the S gets an increase of 30bhp. 0-100 times and top speed have improved as a result. The other major change is the introduction of a seven speed dual clutch gearbox which has been named PDK.

Tata Nano Caught - Video

The Tata Nano has been caught testing before, and here is a video of it testing on road.

Do You Even Know What A Banshee Is?

I don’t know if you have ever realized this, but a lot of motoring jurnos seem to use the phrase ‘revs like a banshee’ with a regularity that matches the regularity of Bush's bloopers. Anyhow, it all sounds nice, but do they even know what a banshee is? I’m not sure they do.

A banshee is:

A 2D shoot-em-up released by Core Design, circa 1994.
A banshee is also a member of the X-Men and first appeared in 1967.
It is also the name of an audio player for Linux OS.
And last but not the least; the banshee is a part of the Irish folk lore, supposed to be some sort of a crying ghost women.

The last one is quite interesting. It is derived from the term bean si. The term was used to describe the women who would cry at funerals. The louder they cried, the better it was and more the demand for them (check Rudali for Indian counterpart). Later they were referred to as the ghost who would cry and wail and warn of an impending death in the family.

Now if, according to these jurnos, the engine ‘revs like a banshee’, do they mean that the engine is warning of an impending death? If yes, then whose death is it? The car or themselves? I think the term has been used way too often by this ignorant lot. Maybe they ought to use something else too. Just for a change.

Motorcycle News Update

I don’t know what went wrong or where it did. So I guess I made a little error in not posting this earlier. Motorcycle manufacturers have gone into ‘upgrade’ mode it seems. This usually is the time when it happens. Although sales figures for April have shown a positive trend, but with nothing new on the horizon (for some), it seems a nice time to play with paint and stickers.

Yamaha will launch the R15 this month, but before they do that they have given the Alba an electric start. Only other 100cc commuter with an electric start that comes to mind is the TVS Star. Also a new set of graphics for a slight increase in price.

Suzuki are supposed to launch their own 150, but there doesn’t seem to be any news of that. Or are they going to surprise all of us? Let’s hope they do. In a good sort of way I mean. Till that happens, Suzuki have freshened up their 125s. The Zeus has been given a new fairing (ugly) with a set of air intakes. It (Zeus and Heat) also gets new graphics, a small mudguard on the rear wheel and a stainless steel throttle cable.

Honda have brought out the Unicorn with a black treatment all round. The exhaust is all black. There is a new toe only shifter and bar end weights. The tank gets an embossed Honda wings logo. The engine though remains the same.

On the other hand, there are a few launches lined up, that are not just paint and sticker jobs. The most talked about is the R15 from Yamaha. TVS will try and upset some with the fuel injected RTR160. Bajaj has the Blade lined up for an assault on the 125s in the scooter segment. It will be nice to see how the four valve twin spark engine fares and will be a good indication of the performance of the upcoming motorcycles featuring the four valve layout.

On the other end of the market, Ducati launched their entire range of bikes. The 696 is being homologated while the rest are available as I write this. The range starts at 15lakh and goes upto a half a crore rupees. That R1 looks cheap now, don't it?

Fuel Prices Hiked Again

The fuel prices have gone up again. Extra five a liter for petrol and three for diesel. Nice time to buy a CNG car don't you think? The most stupid thing though is the price of crude has gone down by $4 in the international market. Taking us for a ride? Damn right you are.

When was the last time the prices were hiked? I'll tell you. It was February.

Would You Buy A Tata Nano?

The most eagerly awaited car launch of the decade, if not the century, is almost upon us. A few more months and Tata’s most ambitious car project will bear fruit. Some might say that buying Jaguar-Land Rover is big, but the Nano is even bigger, despite the name.

Nano is not just a car. It is THE CAR. For whom, one might ask. The answer to which, Tata think they have. Ours is a big country, second biggest in terms of population and seventh biggest in terms of area. The economy might be on the rise, but the number of people who can actually afford to own a car is still miniscule compared to the whole crowd.

Also, owning a car has more than just utility attached to it. It is a status symbol as well. How come? Well, why would one buy an X5 when a Safari seats you in equal comfort? This is where the brand’s snob value comes in and also the costs. This is also where I think Tata is going to have some trouble in the urban market. They can thank is some part to the media for it (labeling it a lakh rupee car), as well as their first success, the Indica. Nano is a cheap car, and this is as much a problem as it is an advantage.

Now I don’t want to sound like one of those detractors who dismisses stuff without as much as a glance, and neither have I conducted any survey, but I have a gut feeling that the Nano is not going to be a roaring success in urban India. I repeat, ‘urban India’. I hope I am wrong though.

Now this is not to say that it will be a failure. Far from it I say. Apart from the metros there are a whole bunch of small cities and towns with large enough population and good enough roads. These are the markets that I think where the Nano will be lapped up in millions. Owning a set of wheels still means a 100cc Hero Honda for most. These towns and cities are where the Nano will be right at home. Also countries in the African continent, Eastern Europe and Central and Latin America would be huge markets for the car.

On the other hand, I don’t think anyone in cities like New Delhi, Bombay or Bangalore would like to be seen driving around in a ‘cheap’ car, no matter what it looks like, except maybe a cab driver who wants a reliable product and wants to save on costs.