Tomotaka Ishikawa Joins Bajaj Auto

Talk about catching the big fish. Bajaj Auto has successfully poached the former head of Yamaha India, Tomotaka Ishikawa. Poached you ask? Well Ishikawa san did say that he was in India to turn around the Yamaha operations. But then he suddenly vanished, without a convincing explanation from the company. He is all set to join Bajaj Auto as a full time advisor from April 1.

Mr. T. Ishikawa

Ishikawa san has been a miracle man for Yamaha in the past, turning around many a loss making Yamaha units, read Thailand. He had been entrusted the job of turning around Yamaha in India as well. The Yamaha models that will be launched in the near future were all developed under him.

Given his past record, I wouldn’t be surprised if he does a bit of magic for Bajaj Auto in the international markets. Bajaj Auto as we all know is very bullish about its overseas operations along with KTM.

Jaguar - A History Lesson

Now that Jaguar is an Indian brand…hehe…lets learn a little bit about it shall we.

Swallow Sidecar company was founded by William Lyons and William Walmsley, in 1922. As the name tells they made motorcycle sidecars from their factory at Blackpool. Lyons started making cars in 1927, powered by 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 liter engines. They later moved to Browns Lane, Coventry when the Austin Swallow proved to be a great success and demand exceed the production capacity. In 1931 came out the SS1.

In 1935 came the first model with the Jaguar name, the SS Jaguar. After the WW II the whole company was named Jaguar, since any resemblance to Germany’s finest would have been frowned upon. The first post war model was the Mark V. Later that year came the XK120 with a 160 bhp output. The 120 signified the top speed in miles. This was the norm for quite some time. The model was followed by the XK140 and the XK150.

The company came out with the Mark VII saloon in the summer of 1951. Five years later the car won the Monte Carlo Rally. This was followed by the Mark VIII and the Mark IX. The Mark X was a completely new design which came out in 1961.

As far as the sports cars are concerned, a variant of the XK120 was developed for racing, giving birth to the XK120C, more popularly known as the C-type. This was in 1951. The C-type was followed by the D-type, garnering in all five wins at the LeMans in ’51 and ’53 with the C-type and in ’55 to ’57 with the D-type.

This was followed by the most beautiful Jaguar ever, the E-type. Seventy thousand, yes seventy thousand of these luscious beauties were produced over a time period of thirteen years. The design rivals other greats like the Miura.

The company meanwhile had changed hands and had its fair share of acquisitions and mergers since the 60’s right through to the late 80’s when Ford took over. In between this period, the company merged with British Motor Corporation and Austin Morris to form the British Motor Holdings. Later combining with Leyland the company changed to British Leyland Motor Corporation and later British Leyland. Daimler was still a part of Jaguar.

In ’84 the company was floated separately as a result of the nationalization drive of Margaret Thatcher’s government. By 1990 Jaguar ended up with Ford.

While all this was going on, Jaguar notched up two more LeMans victories in ’88 and ’90. Jaguar was also a part of the Formula One till the 2004 season, although it didn’t have much success. If you remember though, it was with Jaguar that Narain Karthikeyan had his first Formula One test.

Jaguar also had for a little while the fastest production car in the world in their lineup, the XJ220.

Tata JLR - The Cat’s In The Bag

I never for a second doubted Tata Motors ability to buy out Jaguar and Land Rover. But I must confess the build up to the sale has been nerve wracking none the less. Every few weeks, there’s something in the papers saying that the deal will be through in a couple of weeks, and same thing would be in the papers again in a couple of weeks time.

If Tata could afford to buy Corus for more than $12 billion and incorporate it in the scheme of things without any problems, I was pretty confident they would be able to pull off this deal too. There is a sense of calmness about how they go about this business of taking over companies.

The thing that also went in their favor was the reputation for sticking to their word. There has been no job cuts or out sourcing of any kind in either Tetley or Corus, their previous Brit takeovers. This is said to be the major factor the Union went for Tata.

Never in their wildest imagination could have one thought that a company from a former colony would take over the two most heritage rich brands in the British auto industry. Lyons and Walmsley must be banging their heads together up in heaven. No offence.

Whatever detractors might say, Tata have a reputation of making sound financial decisions and have proved many a pundits wrong in the past. If they thought they can do without Jaguar and Land Rover, they would not have bid in the first place I’m sure. Although the markets have reacted negatively to the buy out, the long term seems positive.

Here’s to a company doing us Indians proud.

Previous Posts:

Tata Buys JLR

Tata Buys JLR

It’s official. Tata Motors is the new owner of the two Brit luxury car brands. Tata will shell out $2.3 billion for the two companies. This by the way is less than what Ford paid for either when it bought them.

The deal though is expected to be completed by the second quarter of the current fiscal. The two companies were put up for sale by Ford in September last year. Tata out bid Mahindra & Mahindra and One Equity for gain control of the two companies.

This is Tata’s second biggest take over. Before this, Tata had earlier bought Corus for more than $12 billion.

Suzuki Swift Dzire launched

What the Indica is to the Indigo, the Sail was to the Corsa and the Palio was to the Sienna, the Swift is to the Dzire. Yup, the Dzire is the booted version of the hatch. Big butt…err…boot at that (full 440 liters of it).

The Dzire was launched by Suzuki yesterday amid much fan fare. The car comes in both a petrol and diesel. Both engines are of roughly the same cubic capacity. On the outside the only noticeable change are the two chrome strips in place of a honeycomb grille in the hatch. The rear gets a SX4 like bumper, new design tail lamps (same profile though). The boot gets a chrome strip running along the full length. The boot is very BMWish, and the whole package looks a touch odd with a high rear and a low swooping front.

On the inside you get a music system integrated in the dash, climate control, new upholstery and steering mounted audio controls. On the down side, the wheelbase is the same and hence not a millimeter of extra space over the hatch.

The big news though is the pricing. The petrol starts at about Rs 4.50 lakh (ex-showroom) going up to Rs. 5.90 lakh (ex-showroom). While the diesel is priced higher starting at Rs 5.40 lakh (ex-showroom) going up to Rs 6.70 lakh (ex-showroom). The diesel is expected to account for a bulk of the sales.

The pricing is pretty competitive, but the competition still has it covered. What will work in the favor of the Dzire is the brand value the Swift has garnered.

Indian Motorcycle Of The Year 2008

Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTs-Fi has won the Indian Motorcyle Of The Year award for the Year 2008. This is the first year of the awards. The other motorcycles in the fray were the TVS Apache RTR 160, Hero Honda Hunk and the Bajaj XCD 125.

The jury members were from the leading automobile magazines - Autocar India, BBC Top Gear, Bike India, Overdrive and Business Standard Motoring.

Super Hot Chevy Spark/Matiz Ad - Part 2

Another one.



Roll that tongue in!!

Super Hot Chevy Spark/Matiz Ad

Check out this ad for the Spark. Look closely and you just might see the car. :D

Never thought it could be so hot!!. The car, THE CAR!!

2008 Bajaj KTM 125, 250 And 500 Twin On The Way

The Bajaj KTM tie-up is going to bear its first fruit in a very short while. The two companies reported earlier that they will be working on 125cc and 250cc motorcycles to be sold under the KTM name in Europe and Bajaj in India.

According to the latest news, if it’s true that is, the 125cc road bike is all but ready to enter showrooms. The work is going on, on the 250cc as well. But the big news is that these two will be followed by a 500cc V-Twin. All the three will be available in Road, Enduro and Super-moto models, as is the norm with KTM. Production will take place in India, and if production will take place in India, how long can Bajaj keep them off the local market?

This is going to be great for the Indian motorcycling scene as well. Imagine an Indian company with an enviable range of motorcycles ranging from 125s (KTM) to 180-200-220(Bajaj), up to 250(KTM, Kawasaki), 300(Bajaj), 500(KTM) and 650(KTM, Kawasaki) in the middle. Topped off by 1000(Kawasaki)-1200(KTM) super bikes.

Maybe I’m just dreaming right now, but don’t you just wish it came true.

Previous Posts
2008 Bajaj Motorcycle Model Lineup - Bajaj Auto, KTM, Kawasaki
Bajaj Pulsar 200 - Good looking maniac!!

Happy Holi

Have a colourful and a prosperous Holi everyone.

Small Cars, Big Plans

In the next couple of years there is going to be a lot of activity in the Indian car market. Not that there hasn’t been any in the past, but next few years is going to see a renewed interest by the major automobile manufacturers of the world. And most of this is going to come in the lower end of the market.

Small cars have always been big business in the unique car bazaar that our country is. This has recently received a boost thanks to the government giving excise duty relief to the manufacturers making cars which are less than 4000mm long and are powered by engines of capacities less than 1200cc for petrol and 1500cc for diesels. That last bit I think is totally stupid.

The barrage of small cars will range from the new segment created by the Nano all the way up to the Fabia. Every car maker in the world was stunned when Ratan Tata unveiled his baby to the world. They said it couldn’t be done, and most of them have now gone back to the drawing board trying to emulate the same. Bajaj and Renault-Nissan will be the first to respond to the Tata’s challenge. The little info that is available is that it will cost a wee bit more but will be more fuel efficient.

Hyundai have confirmed that they have started work on their own version. Even GM has said that they will launch a car smaller than the Spark in a couple of year’s time. Now one wonders why so much interest in a segment which is yet to be established. You see India will become the testing ground for a whole lot of these car models competing against each other in a segment which was as yet either lying dormant or been ignored.

The ones that will be successful will not only rule the lower end of the car market (more numbers means more revenue) here in India but other markets like ours around the world. These are the developing economies of South and Central America, Africa, South and South East Asia and Eastern Europe. But to do that, they have to slug it out here.

Above this particular segment is the bread and butter segment for the likes of Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata. All have their various models ready for launch in a short while. From Maruti will come the Splash, the Wagon-R replacement around the world, will sell alongside it here in India. It will be available with a petrol initially and a diesel later. The A-Star will join in the party soon after. It is the Alto replacement, but again you shouldn’t expect Maruti to axe its largest seller.

Hyundai will be coming out with the i10 diesel by the end of this year. Also to be produced at its new plant will be the i20. Although initially for export, I would count on Hyundai to bring it to the local market soon.

Tata on the other hand have the new Indica ready. It’s slightly bigger than the current car, but it looks a lot like it. It will be a good model for Tata to launch in Europe. And since the current car is not on sale there I don’t think it will be much of a problem. But I’m still not so sure when it comes to the local market. I mean they will have to distinguish it from the current car, but it looks so much like it in profile, I don’t think its going to be an easy task. Naming it something else than an Indica would be a good start. X1??

Tata’s partner Fiat has the Punto. The car turned around the company’s fortune in Europe. Fiat engines will power both the Punto and the new Indica. Punto is bigger on the inside and the build quality is superb too. Ford too, have big plans for a small car. They are currently testing the Fiesta based hatch and it is expected to be out by 2010. That is the same time the new Fiesta platform will be ready.

Both Honda and Toyota have got their sights on the segment too. While Honda will get the Fit/Jazz here, Toyota have a new small car under development already. Volkswagen too will have something based on the Up, kind of spiritual successor to the Beetle with the rear engine rear wheel drive layout.

So all in all, a lot of excitement in store for you and me in the next few years.

Honda Fit/Jazz Coming To India In 2009

The new Honda Fit/Jazz small car is coming to our shores by the next year. The latest iteration has been showcased at the New York Motor Show recently. The car sports a 1.5 liter 4 cylinder engine with a five speed manual gearbox. Lots of space to be had, making it one of the most spacious hatch when launched.



There is also something called the ‘Fit Sport’ option which includes apart from a Navigation System, a USB compatible music system and a 6.5” display a paddle shift auto box. Although don’t expect it to come to India.

For India most likely engine will be the 1.5 i-DSi engine that does duty on the City. But that will not make the car eligible for the duty cut. Honda products always come for a premium and I am sure the buyers won’t mind it either. Excise cut or not.

The new City is also due soon, which will be based on the new Fit/Jazz. Only been eleven years or so and the City has already been upgraded three times.

Nissan GT-R Wins Debut Race

Well, they are at it again. I was personally wishing for the GT-R to win its maiden race, and man my wishes have been granted. The XANAVI NISMO GT-R number 23 won the inaugural Super GT series at the Suzuka circuit in Japan. The best part is that not only did they win, they finished 1-2. The number 22 car came in second. One can just imagine what must be going on in the minds of the competetion after this.
The number 23 was piloted by Benoit Treluyer and Satoshi Motoyama. They started at the second place on the grid behind the number 22 GT-R of Michael Krumm and Masataka Yanagida. They lost a position because of the decision to go in with harder compound tires after the pit stop. The 23 car went in with the softer set.

Let’s hope for a year of complete domination of the racing circuits by the GT-R. Let’s also pray that they don’t get banned this time around. He he.

To Win You Need The Finn

“To win you need the Finn”. A great man once said this. He was the one who put the fear of god into that supposedly ‘great’ German. The winner of two world champions titles Mika Hakkinen knew what he was talking about. McLaren knew this. That is why Kimi was chosen to step into his boots when the great man decided to take a ‘sabbatical’.

But last year it seems Ron Dennis forgot the words of wisdom left behind by the genius. Although Ferrari remembered the same, and guess what, they won the championship. This year is not going to be any different either. Now that Kimi has got one title under his belt, he’ll be more than happy to get another one. Pressure no doubt will be more this time around than last year. This year again though we have a Finn at McLaren. Only time will tell what will become of Heikki Kovalainen.

I hate Ferrari and McLaren used to be my favorite till middle of last years season. That’s when they decided to play Sneak-a-Peek with Ferrari. Now they have lost all credibility as far as this particular fan is concerned. On top of that both their drivers knew about the whole incident. The youngest world champion even threatened the team to go public about the whole thing. Guess one has to stoop to newer and lower lows to win. Obviously the step fatherly treatment that was meted out to him from the team was as important an ingredient in the whole one-year-stand.

But the Spaniard cannot be let off the hook so easy. Crying hoarse in front of the home media doesn’t garner you any points and, well, the young English men has to be blamed equally for the loss of last year. I wish McLaren never win a title again, not till either of their last years drivers are still racing in the championship.

Well this leaves one with a thought to ponder over. ‘Who to cheer for this year?’ Thanks to Vijay Mallya, this is not a big problem anymore. I’m cheering for Force India F1. As far as the drivers go, I’m pinning my hopes on the Finn. No matter how much I hate Ferrari or the fact that Ferrari powers Force India. Let’s hope for another cracker of a season. Amen.

Mercedes M-Class Upgrade

“What the hell is this?” You are most welcome to ask this question if you own an M-Class. If you don’t, what the hell, you can ask too. You see this is exactly what I hate. You are a big luxury brand, have a great brand value, a huge number of faithful customers and make loads of money too. But you still have to do this. There can only be one logical explanation for this gaffe. You have been bitten by the Chinese Copycat Bug. Either that or the designers are running out of ideas.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the upgrade to the M-Class. Now if you’re wondering that you have seen this car some place before and can’t place it exactly, let me assure you that this is not the case. What you saw was the Honda CR-V, which incidentally is cheaper than the cheapest Merc sold in India. Heck, even the double-grille is the same.

If this goes on at the current rate, the day is not far that the only thing differentiating a Ferrari from a Mazda will be the badge.

Oh and before I forget, there are a host of upgrades too. New interiors, new headlamps, tail lamps, bumper, ORVMs etc etc. The AMG ML63 gets the V8 with 510bhp, 20 inch (21 inch optional) wheels, AMG Speedshift transmission.

I’m counting on the next upgrade to ‘go back’ to the original. Bets anyone?

Blogging - I Love It

Been almost three and a half months since i started blogging, and quite frankly i'm very much into it. Not to the extent of an "addiction" but yes there or there abouts. Why am i writing all this? Hhhmmm...maybe because a few days ago when i was in a hurry to get back and a friend wanted to know what the hurry was all about...i told him about the blog, and he said "You must really like doing it". Guess what mate, i do.

Renault/Dacia Sandero - The Logan Based Hatch

Would you believe me if I told you that this thing is based on the Logan? I knew you won’t believe me, but it’s the truth. This is the new Logan based hatch and it’s called the Sandero. Check out the new Dacia logo. The styling is nothing like the three box. The design is pretty chic. Thank god Renault realized that cheap can be good looking too. Case in point the Nano. The front doors look a lot like the ones on the Logan. The grille though has more than a passing resemblance to the Accord!! The car has been introduced in the football crazy Brazil. Engine options are a 1 liter and 1.6 liter petrol. Both engines can run on a high alcohol diet…err…ethanol mix I mean. A 1.5 diesel can be expected shortly.

So now that it has been introduced in South America, how long before they get it here. I hope not too long. The current engines can do duty, no issues there. That diesel is not much of a drinker. The one small glitch is going to be the length. It’s more than four meters long. It has to be less than that to qualify for the duty cut. But, nothing that a new bumper can’t handle.

Fiat Palio Diesel 1.3 MultiJet

Its here folks. No, no not the Palio. It’s been here a long while. I mean the 1.3MJD engine under the hood. Come to think of it, it’s been here long too, and quite popular as well. Ask Maruti if you don’t believe me.

Okay so the company which actually built the award winning engine finally gets to use it in their own models. How good the engine actually is can be gauged by the fact that Autocar India gave away an award to Maruti for the engine they never built. Go figure.

Anyhow, the Palio has got it now. Makes 75bhp and will be fuel efficient as well. The best part is pricing. It undercuts a comparable Swift by almost twenty five grand. So dump that Swift if the waiting time has been a concern and buy the Palio. You’ll save some cash.

Fiat had said earlier that their new models will be priced competitively, and this here is just the beginning. Linea and Punto are up next. Yum Yum.

TVS Re-Launches Flame With New Engine

TVS Motors has re-launched the Flame with a new engine sporting a single spark plug. The price has been kept at Rs. 46,000 ex-showroom. Seems right for a 125. Not much change in styling. The big change is the single spark plug for the engine. The engine has been developed in collaboration with AVL from Austria. Hopefully they won't be getting into any trouble with this one. The bike still sports three valves and the trick carb. There is a lot riding on this bike for TVS.

See more news here, here and here.

Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe 101EX Sold Out

Yes you read it right. The company has sold all the 200 units planned (for now), and the amazing bit is that two-thirds have been bought by new owners. The car has just been showcased at the Geneva Motor Show.

The coupe comes with the same 6.75 liter V12 making more than 450bhp and reaches an electronically limited top speed of 250 kmh. New to the coupe isa star effect roof with tiny LEDs giving an impression of open sky at night.
The Coupe is touted as a sporty alternative to the Phantom. More for the ones who like to drive than be driven. Considering it is almost 5 meters long, I’m guessing the Scaglietti can rest easy. Not so for the Bentley Brooklands though.

Also if you live in Delhi, and have wanted to buy yourself a new Rolls Royce, guess what, the new showroom, Select Cars Pvt Ltd will be operational by the middle of this year.

Yamaha To Export Motorcycles From India

Yamaha is going to export motorcycles to Europe from guess where?? India!! I'm not making it up, the company president says so himself. Found this interesting bit of information here.

For Yamaha to consider exporting India centric models to Europe, it sounds like a desperate effort to salvage something out of its investments. The company has been making loss ever since parting ways with Escorts in 2001.

This news comes just as the company is restructuring its operations and forming joint venture with Mitsui in India.

I hope none of this will have an impact on the models in the pipeline.

Volvo XC60 For India Launch

After launching the XC90 and the S80 in the country, Volvo is planning to launch its new SUV the XC60 in the country by next year. I thinks its pretty smart on the part of the company, given the penchant for lapping up SUVs by the rich in the country.

Volvo is currently showing the model at Geneva. The concept was first shown at Detroit in 2006, and the production model is pretty close to the original concept.

It looks like a typical Volvo, with the ridge from the hood making its way back to the tail gate and the typical Volvo tail lamps. It has some sort of off road capability for sure, given the permanent all wheel drive and an ability to raise the suspension.

A 2.4 liter five cylinder diesel is available in either 163 or 185bhp form. A 2.9 liter twin turbo V6 is also available making 281bhp. That’s a lotta power I say.

Yamaha Motors India To Become India Yamaha Motors Pvt. Ltd.

Yamaha has not had much success in India since they bought over the stake from their erstwhile partner Escorts in 2001. Sales have been dismal and the company has been in loss. Yamaha yesterday announced that Yamaha Motors India (YMI) will be replaced by India Yamaha Motors Pvt. Ltd.(IMY), a 70-30 joint venture between Yamaha Japan and Mitsui, the second largest trading company in Japan. Mitsui had picked up a 3% stake in Yamaha in May last year.

The company has said that they are targeting a sales turnover of 1000 crores in the nine month period starting April 2008 till December 2008, after the restructuring will be over. The plan is to “aggressively introduce new high value-added models and promote a sales network strategy that includes expanding the establishments of directly-run showroom/dealerships”.

What this means is new models, both motorcycles and hopefully scooters as well. The company will be shortly introducing two new 150cc models. Last year the company had introduced two CBUs, the R1 and the MT-01.

Previous Posts:
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
Scoop!! Yamaha 150cc beater

Lamborghini Gallardo LP560

When everybody was expecting an upgrade to the Murcielago, Lamborghini go and do this. This is the new Gallardo LP560, on the lines of the LP640. Eagle eyed amongst you will notice the slightly altered styling, specially the front intakes and how they protrude outwards. The rear end gets new lights like the ones on the Reventon and also a new diffuser improving down force by about 31%.

As you must have guessed by the name, the engine now makes more power, 560 bhp from the same 5.2 liter V10. Also weight has been further reduced by about 20 kilos. 0-100 time comes down a wee bit Carbon ceramic disk brakes are also on the options list as is Alcantra leather for the seats. The E-gear system has been altered and gear shifts now are 40% quicker. There are no less than five modes that can be selected. Namely normal, sport, corsa, thrust and automatic.

Reversing woes have been taken care of. A rear camera is provided so can actually see where you are going and not be afraid of smashing the car into the wall. Now where is that Murcielago upgrade?

Audi Q7 V12 TDI

The numbers first. 6, 12, 500, 1000, 5.5 and 11.9. They mean liters, cylinders, bhp, Nm, sec to 100 kmh and kmpl respectively. What you see in this picture is not just another Q7 (there are more than a few in Delhi). What you see is total insanity on the part of Audi. They have been showing the concept for some time now, but this is absolute lunacy.

A 12 cylinder twin turbo diesel is what will propel this heavy weight to a top speed of 250 kph, and it sips diesel, can you believe it. Doing the duty of handling that mountain of torque is a six speed Triptronic transmission. The famous Quattro all wheel drive is a no brainer.

Audi says the engine under the hood is a cousin of the one found in the LeMans winning R10. Talk about race bred technology entering ‘normal’ cars. If you can call it normal that is. Oh yes, it will give you almost a dozen km to a liter, as much as a Chevy Captiva would.

Don’t expect it to come to India any time soon. It goes on sale in Europe in the later half of this year. Also expect it to cost a bomb!