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!