Wednesday, October 05, 2011
MINI unveils limited edition cars to celebrate the 2012 London Olympic Games
Inspired by the 2012 London Olympics the limited edition MINIs will come with Union Jack colour themes and a single sport stripe that will run over the bonnet, roof and rear tailgate of the car. The limited edition run will be limited to the MINI Cooper, Cooper D, Cooper S and the Cooper SD. All cars will have the 2012 London Olympic graphic on the roof. The cars will also come with unique 17 inch conical spoke alloy wheels. The side scuttles will also have the London 2012 Olympics graphic on them.
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Sunday, October 02, 2011
Mahindra XUV500 Launching Event
The time has arrived for the most anticipated car from the Mahindra stable to be launched. We are at the launch of the Tata Aria killer, which is all set to be unveiled in a few minutes. The XUV is indeed a step ahead for Mahindra as it’s their first offering which is set to debut on a global scale. The XUV500 features a Monocoque chassis and is powered by a 2.2-liter, transverse engine which uses a 5th generation variable geometry turbocharger. This mHawk motor (also seen on the Scorpio) has been tuned up on the XUV500 producing 140 BHP of power and 330 Nm of torque. There are talks that Mahindra will later introduce a twin-turbo which will pump the power figures to an astonishing 170 BHP. The mHawk engine is mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox which is cable operated and developed with Ricardo. Mahindra will be launching the XUV500 in South Africa soon and the attention to detail is unheard of for an Indian vehicle.
Updates from the press conference (29/09//2011)
The Mahindra XUV500 features a 6-speed manual gearbox and has an ARAI certified mileage of 15.1 kmpl. The SUV features 17-inch 5-spoke alloy wheels, ESP, 6 Airbags (front, side and curtain), roll mitigation, hill hold control, hill descent control, voice commands, 4-channel ABS, 6? touch screen infotainment system, micro hybrid technology, Dual mass flywheel, fully automatic temperature control with dual HVAC, static bending projector headlamps with LED parking lights, cruise and audio controls on steering wheel, smart rain and light sensors, Tyretronics (tyre pressure monitoring system), Intellipark (reverse parking assist system), power foldable and adjustable ORVMs, leather seats, 8 way adjustable drivers seat, lounge like mood lightning, tilt and telescopic steering and flat folding second and third row seats. The Mahindra XUV500 is available in 7 colours and the W8 AWD variant is available with all wheel drive with interactive torque management. There are three variants on offer – W6, W8 and W8 AWD. Mahindra intends to give buyers an extremely pleasant experience and have highly trained staff to sell their latest offering in the Indian market. The prices are invitational prices and will be hiked in the subsquent month. Mahindra expects to sell 2000 units of the XUV500 every month.
Mahindra XUV500 Prices (ex-showroom, New Delhi) -
XUV500 W6 – Rs. 10.8 lakhs
XUV500 W8 – Rs. 11.95 lakhs
XUV500 W8 AWD – Rs. 12.88 lakhs
Difference in W6 and W8 variants – What are the features between variants? There are only two variants, which have different features. The W6 and W8. While W8 and W8 AWD variants have the same features, except the fact that the AWD variant has all-wheel drive. The W6 variant doesn’t have colour touch screen display (instead a monochrome one), GPS navigation, DVD player, tyre-tronics, side and cutrain airbags, ESP (with roll over mitigation), hill hold, hill Descent control, alloy wheels, telescopic steering and leather upholstery.
Updates from the press conference (29/09//2011)
The Mahindra XUV500 features a 6-speed manual gearbox and has an ARAI certified mileage of 15.1 kmpl. The SUV features 17-inch 5-spoke alloy wheels, ESP, 6 Airbags (front, side and curtain), roll mitigation, hill hold control, hill descent control, voice commands, 4-channel ABS, 6? touch screen infotainment system, micro hybrid technology, Dual mass flywheel, fully automatic temperature control with dual HVAC, static bending projector headlamps with LED parking lights, cruise and audio controls on steering wheel, smart rain and light sensors, Tyretronics (tyre pressure monitoring system), Intellipark (reverse parking assist system), power foldable and adjustable ORVMs, leather seats, 8 way adjustable drivers seat, lounge like mood lightning, tilt and telescopic steering and flat folding second and third row seats. The Mahindra XUV500 is available in 7 colours and the W8 AWD variant is available with all wheel drive with interactive torque management. There are three variants on offer – W6, W8 and W8 AWD. Mahindra intends to give buyers an extremely pleasant experience and have highly trained staff to sell their latest offering in the Indian market. The prices are invitational prices and will be hiked in the subsquent month. Mahindra expects to sell 2000 units of the XUV500 every month.
Mahindra XUV500 Prices (ex-showroom, New Delhi) -
XUV500 W6 – Rs. 10.8 lakhs
XUV500 W8 – Rs. 11.95 lakhs
XUV500 W8 AWD – Rs. 12.88 lakhs
Difference in W6 and W8 variants – What are the features between variants? There are only two variants, which have different features. The W6 and W8. While W8 and W8 AWD variants have the same features, except the fact that the AWD variant has all-wheel drive. The W6 variant doesn’t have colour touch screen display (instead a monochrome one), GPS navigation, DVD player, tyre-tronics, side and cutrain airbags, ESP (with roll over mitigation), hill hold, hill Descent control, alloy wheels, telescopic steering and leather upholstery.
New Honda Civic Hatchback
Honda has just announced the new Civic which has been specifically developed for the European market. When the next generation Civic was unveiled earlier, we all were very disappointed and thought the design was a step backward. However the European version has been designed in the right direction and looks the part. This 5-door hatchback will never make it to India and we will get the US version of the 9th generation Civic. However, that doesn’t stop us from drooling over this extremely hot hatchback. Now the European Honda Civic does take heavy influence from a Honda motorcycle, which is sold in India. Yes the new Civic does look alot like the Honda CBR250R at the front. We have no clue why Honda has done so but it seems to work very well for them.
New Bajaj Pulsar Coming Soon...
The Bajaj Pulsar has been around for a long time now without any drastic changes made to it. However as Rajiv Bajaj has declared the arrivals of the all new Pulsars this festive season, we can’t wait to find out what the next generation of Pulsars will feature and we sure neither can Pulsar fans wait. There will be 4 models for the 2012 Bajaj Pulsar series, just like the current generation and the P135 LS might not be the first to get the changes. We expect Bajaj to launch the 2012 Pulsar 220 first and follow it with the launch of the 2012 Pulsar 180 and 2012 Pulsar 150 models. But what can we expect?
Now it is almost certain that Bajaj Auto will give the new Pulsar 220 a full fairing along with an increase in power and decrease in weight. However what is uncertain is the engine which will do duty in the new Pulsar series. Bajaj might just take the current crop of engines (150cc, 180cc and 220cc) and give it 4-valve technology, leading to a significant boost in power and refinement. Bajaj also has the option of planting in a 200 cc engine from the KTM Duke. Earlier on, Rajiv Bajaj has said that part sharing between KTM and Bajaj bikes will be done.
One of the weak points of the Pulsars are the weak gearbox and unreliable engines. These are certainly set to be addressed in the new Pulsars. However what is still certain is whether Bajaj will opt for an all new design from ground up or will built up on the current styling. Either which way, knowing Bajaj, the prices of the new Pulsars will be as competitive as always and we expect segment firsts to feature on the next generation Pulsars, which are just around the corner. What are your expectations from the new set of Pulsars?
Now it is almost certain that Bajaj Auto will give the new Pulsar 220 a full fairing along with an increase in power and decrease in weight. However what is uncertain is the engine which will do duty in the new Pulsar series. Bajaj might just take the current crop of engines (150cc, 180cc and 220cc) and give it 4-valve technology, leading to a significant boost in power and refinement. Bajaj also has the option of planting in a 200 cc engine from the KTM Duke. Earlier on, Rajiv Bajaj has said that part sharing between KTM and Bajaj bikes will be done.
One of the weak points of the Pulsars are the weak gearbox and unreliable engines. These are certainly set to be addressed in the new Pulsars. However what is still certain is whether Bajaj will opt for an all new design from ground up or will built up on the current styling. Either which way, knowing Bajaj, the prices of the new Pulsars will be as competitive as always and we expect segment firsts to feature on the next generation Pulsars, which are just around the corner. What are your expectations from the new set of Pulsars?
