Limited edition Maruti Suzuki Swift RS launched

Sportier version of the popular hatchback

The only other limited edition Swift model India has seen in recent times was the one million edition, which celebrated the company’s sale of a million cars. To be very honest it was a rather poor aesthetic commemoration of a very commercially successful car. Sportier versions of the Swift hatchback however have been pleasing crowds at international motor show for years now, leading to the fundamental question, which is “When are they coming to India?”

Well the 'Car Gods' have answered to that question with the entry of the third generation Swift hatch in India with new styling and graphics that give it a distinct sporty character and looks. There’s that slight Volkswagen world rally car inspiration to the choice of black and blue colours, and a RS badge which is reminiscent of the brand with the four rings.

The exterior comprises of 3 piece aerodynamics package doing a front rear enrichment, rear roof spoiler and fluorescent color theme to give it a sportier feel and attract the younger generations. The is also attached with black alloy wheels, first of its kind in Indian  market.

On the inside the Swift RS provides its passengers with upholstery crafted in art leather with black and blue colour combinations like on the outside. The floor mats carry forward the same rally RS theme. For entertainment purposes the special edition Swift has a high-end music system with CD player, AUX-in and USB facility. 

With an extra payment of Rs.24,000 the price is undoubtedly justified. But Swift RS is entirely concentrated towards younger customer so its reach for appeal is completely subjective to the personal's taste.

source: Indian autos blog 

Bosch, Daimler, BMW executives see a window of hope for self-driving cars

With its six eyes (cameras) and six ears (radar sensors), the new Mercedes S class can see and hear enough to drive itself at speeds up to 60kph (37mph). Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche says the S class “marks the start of the era of partially autonomous driving.”

The European Giants of automotive industry (Daimler, BMW) are cogent about the future of automated driving but they say it will take time for regulations to catch up with technology. They also say that no one wants to remove the fun of being behind the wheel.

According to the Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche the main aim is to remove the boring bits of driving like driving in traffic while still retaining the fun bits of the driving. "We will never automate the cool part of driving … the uncool part, though, we can do without," he said during the Mercedes S-Class launch.

Wolf-Henning Scheider, who oversees Robert Bosch's chassis systems unit was also heard echoing same views. He said to have fully automatic driving, the car needs redundant sensors. "We need at least two sensors to measure the same thing and then check between them. And there is certainly still some development necessary to have both in place; they are not ready."

Another obstacle to overcome is making sure the system works flawlessly even when rain, snow or other elements reduce the car's ability to see and hear. Scheider said that by using cloud computing, car-to-car infrastructure and different sensor principles, it is possible to overcome the hurdles created by weather and other factors. "But there are many other questions to be answered to bring a fully automatic driving car on the road," he added.

BMW M has announced the end of production for the 4th gen BMW M3 Coupe at its Regensburg plant today. 

BMW sales boss Ian Robertson said that the technology available today is "more than capable" to drive the car in many situations but regulation requires that drivers keep their hands on the wheel. "We're in phase where technology has overtaken regulation, and the question is how quickly do the two align," he said in an interview.

Government regulators are being cautious. A 2011 EU study on autonomous driving concluded that a number of key questions still need to be answered, such as:

• What effect does higher automation in the vehicle have on the driver?

• How to improve the driver interface without over loading them with information?

• How to achieve standardization for automated vehicle control and interface design without legislation?

• How to improve driver training for automated systems?

• Should the EU continue to allow a gradual migration of skill or introduce some form of universal training?

• How to integrate automated vehicles with other road users?

• Will other road users also require training?

But many of the countries including U.S. are asking the automotive giants like Audi, Toyota to keep the self driving technologies to an experimental basis only as this system still cant be relied on a day to day commuting life.

This actions hints that the cars with self driving capabilities will still not be used in the coming years even though  the tech giant Google Inc., which is also working on the technology -- have suggested that fully self-driving cars may be as little as five years away from the market.

Report: New range of 4-door Fiat 500 to replace the existing Fiat Punto by 2015

Current version of Fiat Punto

The ageing Punto is set to be replaced with the fresher version Fiat 500. After being eight years in the production with minor exterior and interior refurbishing, the model seems to be running out of steam, with recording poor sales all over the world the Italian carmaker are rethinking of replacing the model itself with their much popular Fiat 500 model.

Artist rendition of four door version of Fiat 500

The overall dimension Fiat 500 is set to be larger than the current 2-door version to make it comparable enough with other competitors in the B-segment.

So why is Fiat opting for a 10 year lifecycle given that competitors like VW choose a 7 year cycle with Hyundai and Kia bringing it down to 5? Speculations are rife that Sergio Marchionne, Fiat CEO, was not happy with the earlier proposed designs he had received from his designers. Another reason cited was deliberately delaying investments until the financially weak Europe recovers.

The new 7-seater Fiat 500-living

The challenge to make the Fiat 500 liable enough for B-segment seems to be a rather easy one for Italian giant with demonstrating  their flexibilty by making cars as small as a city hatchback to a 7-seater MPV(see the above pic) and the upcoming B-Segment SUV, while retaining the overall looks of the 500.

The Fiat may thus follow the trend of maintaining the same overall conceptual design while modifying it according to the segments like the ' New Fluidic design' of Hyundai, Volvo, Volkswagen which will be interesting to see as the new Fiat 500 may inspire the looks of its whole range of product.

Source: Auto edizone

Peugeot 208 FE technology brought into light

Peugeot 208 FE front end

Peugeot has disclosed some the technological details on the ultra modern, ultra efficient concept hatch.

The French carmaker is trying to live up to initials put on the concept car FE which stands for  'Fuel Economy' and 'Fun and Efficient'. The will share the technology currently available in 208 GTi and is aiming to match its performance while giving lesser CO2 emissions. The concept is reported to clock 0-60 mph (0-100 km/h) at around 8 seconds and give in a mileage of 112.mpg or 47.7 km/lit.

The reason for this humongous mileage is the car being feather weighted, 200 kg(440 lbs) lighter than the base model 1.0-liter VTi 208 which tips the scales at 975 kg (2,149 lbs). The concept is also aerodynamically more potent with rear spoiler. The innovation to watch for in this model is the fiber glass 'blade' suspensions which will replace the conventional suspension performing as a wishbone, spring and anti-roll bar combined thus saving 15kg (33lbs) on each axle. To make the already light concept even lighter the company has installed a smaller fuel tank (20 liters).

Rear end of 208 FE

The powertrain of the concept consists of a 1.2 liter engine bored out of the factory produced 1.0 liter one giving better combustion. The transmission is 5 speed EGC semi-automatic and some of the other features borrowed from its racing sister Peugeot 908 HYbrid 4 Le Mans are a racing cylinder head and diamond carbon coating for smoother running. 

Battery pack of the concept 208 FE

The concept also has a electric motor 174 bhp directly paired with the transmission powered  from90-cell lithium-ion battery pack - giving a pure electric range of between nine and twelve miles (19.3 kms).

The hybrid concept will come with a choice of three driving modes: zero-emissions, hybrid and sport.
Once the car is finished there will be media drives in October.

There are no plans at the moment for a production model.

Source: autoexpress, uk

2014 Royal Enfield Continental GT Cafe Racer sighted again

RE Cafe Racer credits: Team-BHP.com

The soon to be launched Continental GT Cafe racer was spotted again doing tests nearby there manufacturing plant. This beast is rather different and unique than any other products present currently in the grunting thumpers' family.

Spied shots, credit: motoroids

The Continental GT is built around as a cafe racer, a style which is rather unfamiliar in India. The cafe racer was made popular in the 60s in Europe where conventional bikes would be modified to make it race worthy shortening the handle bars and modifying the seats to change the ride position.

Enough of the history lessons, the Continental GT will offer the RE riders a sporty feel which is contrary of the classic cruising feel offered by the other products of Royal Enfield.
 Like the classic version this model will also come in two variants- single seater and double seater version.

Single seater version of RE Cafe Racer

 The thumping heart of this model will be 535cc single cylinder 4-stroke, twinspark, fuel injected. The engine may be retuned to give a sporty feeling by increasing the mid range torque but its a speculation. The model is expected to reach top speed of 150 km/hr. This model will be the lightest ever offered by Royal Enfield.

Two seater version RE Cafe Racer credits: motoroids

   Keeping the theme of cafe racer the model has a slender fuel tank to help getting a body hugging stance for the rider and the handle bars are short and adjustable.

The model is own of its kind and is in absence of any potential competitors in India. The mode lis expected to be priced in and around Rs.2 lakhs and thus will be placed in a segment which is blossoming rapidly.

The racer is set to be launched in the later half of this year or early next year and is to be produced in the newly opened Oragadam plant thus giving RE fans like me something to cheer about.

Source : motoroid.com

M&M, GM hike prices Maruti, Audi, others to follow suit as rupee continues to perform poorly against dollar

Following the weaker performance of rupee against dollar, the car manufacturers in India have started to hike the prices on most of their vehicles.

Despite poor demand and negative sales car companies like Mahindra & Mahindra has raised the prices by Rs. 6000 on most of their models while General Motors has hiked the prices on their newly launched Enjoy by Rs.10000.

Chevrolet Enjoy

Other car manufacturers including Mercedes-Benz , Audi India, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor, Toyota Kirloskar are likely to follow the trend but will wait for market conditions to improve before doing so.

The decision to hike the price was taken Mahindra following a recent slump in sales last month.
The company faced a 13% declination of sales and so hiked the prices of all their models except their flagship model XUV 500 and the South Korean import Ssangyong Rexton by upto Rs. 6000 as  stated by Pravin Shah, Mahindra's automotive division chief executive.

General Motors India had reported a decline in sales by about 10%, had raised prices of its other hatchbacks and sedans in June to offset the increase in logistics costs. In order to dampen the impact and atone the suppliers, P Balendran, vice-president (corporate affairs) at General Motors India said "We have decided to increase the prices of all Enjoy models by Rs 10,000 with effect from July 1". This desperate decision has been taken as the rupee breached the 60 mark against dollar recently.

The poor performance of rupees is set to impact the European markets also as most of the critical parts, engines of the cars is manufactured in India. Michael Perschke, India head of luxury carmaker Audi has decided to raise the price by 3% as the expensive sedans, supercars have to be imported from oversees. 

New Maruti Swift RS

Some other carmakers including Maruti Suzuki have refrained from hiking the prices as they are still reviewing the situation and will decide on the following month. The company's sales had declined by 12.6% on the month of June. 


  

New 2014 Camaro concept to feature in Transformers 4

Concept Camaro for Transformers 4

Micheal Bay has just got a new toy to play with '2014 Camaro Concept'. The concept Bumblebee is set to feature in the next installment of the popular film franchise Transformer 4.

1967 Chevrolet Camaro for Transformers 4

 Earlier in May, Micheal Bay had announced that the 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS is set feature for the character of Bumblebee but it seems as if the classic model will only play a part for the main character.

2014 Camaro Concept

The model to feature in the movie has a modern front facia which is significantly different from the 2014 facelifted Camaro to be launched later. Other changes to be noticed in the car are the new door handles, wider - muscular rear fender with air inlet to cool off the brakes and a swanky looking aerodynamics kit.

The Transformers 4 is slated to be released on 27th June 2014. 

Hyundai to launch its New Fluidic i10 by August 2013

Spied shot of new i10 credit: worldcarfans.com

Hyundai's new fluidic design i10 is expected to make its global debut by august 2013. The new model seen doing tests extensively near its Sriperumbudur factory, Chennai. The model codenamed BA was seen in multiple parts of the world will replace the current version globally.

Based on the spy shots though heavily camouflaged, the new model is supposedly larger than the current version and may be introduced in India at a higher price bracket than the current i10 thus slotting the model between current i10 and i20, making their brand available to a wider spectrum of customers.

For India, it is expected that the new i10 will be offered with a new 1.1-litre three cylinder turbo diesel engine. Moreover, a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine will also be offered along with the 1.2 Kappa engine. Also, Hyundai is likely to build the 1.1-litre diesel engine in its Chennai facility, which currently being imported from Korea. 
Reports of launching the vehicle is being made based on the tweet from Siddharth Vinayak Patankar (NDTV), the new Hyundai i10′s Indian launch has been advanced to August 2013.

The next generation i10 will be priced starting close to Rs 4.5 lakh, while the top-end variant diesel variant close to Rs 7 lakh.

2014 Mercedes-Benz GLA class spotted

2014 Merc GLA class spied shots credits: motorauthority.com 

Here are the spied shots of the  Mercedes-Benz GLA class compact crossover.

A compact crossover by Mercedes made its debut in Shanghai Auto Show as a concept in 2013.
The compact SUV is based on MFA platform currently found in the latest A-class and B-class. The GLA class is aggressively styled,  from the hood’s SLK-inspired power domes to the CLS-like drooping shoulder line, emphasizing width and avoiding slabby-sided styling.

The car is not heavily camouflaged bringing in notice that the model must be the final version for production. Much of its body is undisguised and the design seems to be inspired by Merc A-class European version.

2014 Merc GLA class spied shots credits: motorauthority.com

The engine of  2014 Mercedes GLA-Class range will also remain identical and will be based on a pair of Renault 1.6L petrol engine with 120 hp and 154 hp and Mercedes’ 2.0L petrol unit with 208 hp. The offer would later have to find a sports version of the AMG 2.0L twin-turbo engine and about 330 HP. For fans of diesel, there are 1.8L engine with 108 HP and 134 HP and 2.2L engine with 168 HP. Power will be transmitted to the front wheels, or optional all-wheel drive, through the choice of six-speed manual and seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. Mercedes promises to offer electronics  in order to attract more younger customers. 

The GLA class will be introduced to compete with vehicles like the Audi Q3, BMW X1 and Range Rover Evoque. The production version is likely to be introduced in the Los Angeles Auto Show, and to be launched in the earlier half of 2014.

Source: motorauthority.com

2013 Audi A8 spied, to be a worthy competitor of 2014 Merc S-class

Spied shot of the new A8 credits: Automedia

What you see is the updated version of the much anticipated 2013 Audi A8. This model is set to compete with 2014 Mercedes S-class

Looking at the pictures it seems as if the model has gone under knives slightly and is not heavily modified. Some of the noticible changes are the new split tail lights and the new head lights with the revolutionary Matrix LED lights but these minor tweaks on the executive limousine is only done to take on the new Merc S-class .

What makes the lights revolutionary? It has got a mind of its own, it has an array of 25 high beam LEDs emitting crystalline sheen light that will dip the relevant sections of the high-beam headlights. The system will blank out light that would shine directly onto oncoming and preceding vehicles, but continues to cast the high beams with full power on all other zones between and beside them. The closer an approaching vehicle gets, the more LEDs are deactivated or dimmed. When there is no more oncoming traffic, the high-beam headlights then resume full power, including the sections that had previously been off. This particular system activates automatically when the car at a speed between 30 km/hr to 60km/hr. 

Audi has also brought up a new design in daytime running lights.

Audi has always been the frontrunners in the race for unique headlamp design and with the Matrix LED light they have left their competitors gasping for breath. 

As for the engine the Audi is planning to introduce the e-hybrid engine, a same technology used in Porsche Panamera S other than that 6.3-litre W12 remains to be a standard in their flagship model.

The new model will decorated with an ornament of technologies as the VW's luxurious daughter is ready to take on its battle with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Jaguar XJ, Lexus LS and BMW 7-Series in the full-size luxury saloon segment.

Sources: autoexpress.co.in and indianautosblog.com

MINERVA J.M. BRABAZON: Latest entry in the family of Supercars / Hypercars having a million horsepower!

The supercar consists of V12 engine with two turbochargers and believed to have a topspeed at an excess of 400 km/h

Minerva: The Goddess of Automobiles, this is what was known of them in the earlier last century announced their revival with the announcement JM Brabazon supercar.

Minerva Automobile may be as old as history but their supercar is loaded with goodies found in the latest brands of the supercar. The engine is a V12 encased with twin turbo chargers fitted in the middle. Following the newest trend in the automobile industry the company has fitted two electric motors to the front two wheels to make the supercar hybrid.

Minerva J.M. Brabazon Source: Minerva Automobiles

Named after the British race driver J.M. Brabazon, the car includes other features like kevlar carbon monocoque body making the power to weight ratio very close to 1:1, a F1 sequential transmission, a limited slip differential, regenerative brakes and a Traction Control that offers five different modes: economy, normal, sport, race and safe.

0-100 km/h specs are yet dislosed but taking other specs into consideration this car can hit the top speed at an excess of 400 km/h.

Source: Minerva via world car fans and autofans.be

      

GM cancels plan for ultra luxurious Cadillac sedan

Though CIEL concept car might never see the light of the day in production but some of its elements could be implmented on future cars.

General Motors has scraped the plans for developing a rear wheel drive range topping flagship model.

Rumors started to gather pace of introducing a flashy flagship model when the eye riveting CIEL concept debuted in 2011 at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. This particular concept was the marquee of the 2003 concept debuted in Detroit Motor Show 'Sixteen Concept' which made it seem like rumors were materializing into reality but this news has put a rest to it.

   

Through these past five years Cadillac researched about the feasibility the product and came to a conclusion that the model had to be launched at a starting price of 100,000 USD which involved high investment and given that the production would be of low volume, the project seemed to be a little far fetched so they have decided to abandon the project.

The company is currently developing a rear wheel drive model to compete with its German nemesis like BMW 7-Series, Audi A8 and Mercedes-Benz S-Class which is expected to be launched in the latter half of 2016 or early 2017. The model will be based on a new platform entitled Omega designed for large, rear-wheel drive models.

Cadillac sells a large sedan, the front-wheel-drive XTS. But the brand wants a large rwd sedan as it continues to position its lineup head-to-head against the German luxury brands.

It is speculated that the new rear wheel drive sedan will replace the XTS model.

Micheal Bay announces the latest addition to the cast of the film Transformer 4: 2014 Freightliner Argosy

 Freightliner Argosy for Transformers4

Micheal Bay always had the habit of playing with the newest toys (read cars) for his film Transformers and Freightliner Argosy is the latest addition to the eye dazzling line-up of cars to be featured in the sequel of "Transformers: Dark of the Moon".

The 2014 Freightliner Argosy cab-over truck from Daimler Trucks North America which is believed to play one of the following three characters: Motor Master, Nemis Prime or Ultra Magnus.

Other cars included in the line-up are a vintage 1967 Camaro for new form of Bumblebee, a custom-built Western Star truck for Optimus Prime's upgraded look, a 1,200-horsepower Bugatti Grand Sport Vitesse and a C7 Corvette Stingray, a Lamborghini Aventador for unspecified Autobots. 
A 2013 Pagani Huayra was last car to be added to the fleet last week.

Transformers 4 is due out on June 27, 2014.  

Ford showcases their latest innovation 'Electronic Brake Light System'

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader, manufacturing and distributing across six continents has introduced their latest innovation 'Electronic Brake Light' system which promises to bring more safety into a car by helping driver to avoid or abate collisions.

The technology consists of a car to car communication feature which alerts the driver to brake ahead by illuminating a caution signal light on the dashboard. This technology is effective even around corners and through traffic. Numerous testing were made by Ford in Germany and they arrived at a conclusion through this technology could avoid or decrease collision all together. 

This technology has been tested by Ford as a part of Safe Intelligent Mobility- Testfield Germany (SIM-TD), a four year joint industry research project. This technology is among the 20 systems being developed by SIM-TD in an effort to reduce congestion and thus improve safety. 
Further technologies which is being developed for SIM-TD include Public Traffic Assignment, which used forecast traffic scenarios to be encountered travelling and In-car Internet Access which, enables drivers to get information about available parking spaces and traffic hotspots.  

Volvo's Electric Roads Concept : A new start towards battery free Electric Vehicle Future

Volvo Group, one of the leading manufacturers in of trucks, buses, construction equipment, drive systems for marine and industrial application, also leading innovators in safety and fuel conservation solutions has come up with an idea which could be the first step towards 'Battery Free' vehicles.

Richard Sebestyen, leading member in Volvo's Research Team with the current collector connected to the rear of the test truck

 Volvo sees our future long-haul trucks and buses consuming energy they need from the road itself, making vehicles with large batteries look like dinosaurs of the past. In addition to this they are also making a considerable research in making their diesel engines more fuel efficient. As a member of a large research project, along with the Swedish Transport Administration, Vattenfall, Alstom, other vehicle manufacturers and suppliers, and several universities, the company is looking at ways to supply constant power to long-haul vehicles from an external source.

This technology has been put to test at a 400m test track  in a facility near Gothenburg since last year.

Volvo in collaboration with power generation and transport firm Alstorm has constructed a testing facility consisting of 400 meter(1,312 ft)- long track in Hällered near Gothenburg to test a truck fitted with a collector drawing energy from rails installed on the surface of the road. This technology has been modified from one that is used in trams to supply electricity and could be the next big innovation in reducing the dependence on battery.

The setup consists of two power rails running along entire road length. One is the positive pole and the other is used to return the current. Volvo has also implemented some safety measures by sectioning the lines so that the live current can only be supplied to the collector mounted on the truck if appropriate signal is sensed by installing a radio emitter on the vehicle where if an electric vehicle passes a road segment with a proper encrypted signal, then the road will energize the segments that sense the vehicle which enables it move at a speed greater that 60 km/h.

Research and technical development of the setup is still going which once completed could be retrofitted in existing roads and replace the costlier Overhead Cable System and there is also a possibility of adapting this technology to deliver AC in future. Preliminary vehicles to use this technology will be hybrids rather than full EV to overcome the shortcoming of short power interruptions. Volvo is still reluctant to introduce this technology as of now but once introduced could be a game changer in EV Transport Sector.

New kid on the blog ready to bring you the latest updates in AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

Hey! This is Soham Chowdhury. A graduate in Mechanical Engg (by education) and a complete automobile fanatic (by heart).

Since childhood I've been very enthusiastic about anything that had wheels on them, but as a teenager I realised my passion for cars and bikes when I was falling in love with the latest models of cars and bikes, with the sweet melodious thumping sound of Enfield Bullet rather than falling in love with prettiest girls in my class! From there I turned my enthusiasm to passion and starting knowing anything related to automobiles.

Its time to share my passion to others so stay tuned for my latest updates in Automobile Industry.