Oct 4, 2014

Renault EOLAB Concept Car Claimed to Return 100Kmpl

Renault, the French automaker, yesterday unveiled a hybrid concept car called the 'EOLAB' at the 2014 Paris Motor Show. The new prototype is claimed an ultra-low fuel economy of 100Km/l, while producing as low as 22gm of CO2 per Km.

Powering the Eolab concept is a three-cylinder 1.01 petrol engine and an electric motor, capable of churning out maximum power of 74bhp and 67bhp, respectively. Mutually, both the powertrains generate a power of 141bhp with 200Nm of torque, while maintaining an electronic speed limit of 118.4Km/h.

What favours the car achieve ultra-low fuel consumption/ zero emissions is the Z.E. Hybrid technology, refined aerodynamics and light-weight body construction. The EOLAB concept is a cleverly designed car, which is build on three pillars with light-weight magnesium roof, aluminum doors and thermoplastic bonnet.

Though Renault hasn't disclosed if the Eloab concept will be developed or not, we hope that the company uses this ultra-low fuel consumption technology in its future cars.

"For Renault, the purpose of EOLAB is to remain true to the company's DNA by ensuring that ultra-low fuel consumption becomes a reality for as many people as possible. This in turn means making its technologies available at a price that people can afford.", the company said in a statement.

Mercedes-Benz Unveils New B-Class

Its one of the most successful models for Mercedes-Benz in recent times, selling over 350,000 units since its second generation launched in 2011. That is the B-Class that has been seen as not just a big hatch, but also the creator of what's now called the Sports Tourer segment in Europe. In India too Mercedes-Benz brought in the B-Class in 2012, at a time when no one imagined it would succeed in our market. But the reverse has been true, and so the anticipation would be there for the facelifted B-Class to arrive in India.

The updates on the car have been revealed here in Paris. At the outset let me tell you the exterior changes are subtle, so it's not a revolutionary facelift. The big changes are the front and rear bumper, which have been resculpted to appear sportier and less heavy. The daytime running lights have moved from being an LED strip in the bumper, up into the headlamp cluster, like the rest if the range. And this does look much nicer, with a more defined Mercedes-Benz signature now setting in.

The interiors have undergone bigger changes. The focus was to make to car seem younger - and more appealing to younger customers too! So again sporty has dominated - complete with a flat-bottomed steering wheel that is now standard. You also get the option of an AMG trim - previously not on offer with the B-Class. With it you have metal inserts, carbon fibre finish dash, and red stitching on the seats and steering. You also now get 12 ambient lighting themes in the car - again a first for the B.

Mercedes-Benz understands that the competition is hotting up with the BMW 2 Series Tourer, i3 and Audi A3 Sportback like cars, and so has also introduced electric and natural gas options for the B-Class for Europe. Also available now - 4MATIC or all wheel drive versions. The rest of the engine lineup remains unchanged. The facelifted B-Class will be in India in the first quarter of 2015.

Automobile Sales in India - Gainers & Losers of September 2014

With auto industry continuing on the revival mode, major car makers including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Honda, Toyota and M&M today reported good domestic sales growth in September ahead of the festive season.

Others like Tata Motors, General Motors and Ford India, however, reported decline in sales in September during which the 15-day 'shraadh' period, considered inauspicious by some Hindus for new purchases, was observed.

Maruti Suzuki said its domestic sales during the month stood at 99,290 units, up 9.8 per cent from 90,399 units in September last year.

The company's sales were driven by its compact cars, comprising Swift, Estilo, Celerio, Ritz and Dzire, which clocked 43,304 units as against 36,679 units in the year-ago month, up 18.1 per cent.

Sales of mini passenger cars including Alto, A-Star and WagonR were down 13.4 per cent at 35,547 units as against 41,061 units in the same month previous year.

Rival Hyundai Motor India sold 35,041 units last month in the domestic market as compared to 30,601 units in September 2013, up 14.5 per cent.

HMIL Senior Vice President (Sales and Marketing) Rakesh Srivastava said the domestic growth was on the back of strong performance of new models, including the new Elite i20 that clocked 8,902 units.

"In this festive season, we are seeing a significant increase in first time buyers and exchange buyers which is very encouraging as it will accelerate the positive momentum already being experienced in the last few months," he added.

Honda Cars India also reported 45 per cent increase in domestic sales in September 2014 at 15,015 units as against 10,354 units in the same month last year.

"We continue to perform strongly with strong demand for all our models during this festival period," HCIL Senior Vice-President (Marketing and Sales) Jnaneswar Sen said.

He added that the company has resumed production of its flagship model Honda City during September 2014 and in coming months, the firm would be able to ensure better availability and timely deliveries to fulfil the huge demand.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) said its sales in domestic market stood at 12,552 units during the month, up 4.46 per cent as compared to 12,015 units in the same month last year.

TKM Senior Vice President (Sales and Marketing) N Raja said: "We have registered growth this month. The industry is beginning to gradually turnaround. Positive market sentiments combined with the festive season is expected to boost sales in the coming months as well." .

Homegrown auto major Mahindra & Mahindra's domestic sales grew by 4.5 per cent to 42,408 units last month as against 40,574 units a year earlier.

M&M Chief Executive Automotive Division and International Operations (AFS) Pravin Shah said: "The sales numbers for September have been encouraging and we are glad that the automotive industry is turning the bend."

He further said: "We expect the ensuing festive season to bring in some much needed cheer with a slew of new launches from manufacturers... We do hope that the recently launched New Generation Scorpio will continue to be a trendsetter."

General Motors India, however, reported 37.38 per cent decline in September sales at 4,413 units as against 7,048 units sold in the same month of last year.

GM India Vice President P Balendran said: "There is some positive movement in the market due to the festival season and new entries. However, the complete recovery of the automobile industry is still some time away."

Ford India's domestic sales also declined 36.22 per cent to 6,786 units in September as against 10,640 units in the same month previous year.

In the two-wheeler segment, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) reported 33.32 per cent growth in domestic sales for September at 4,38,521 units as against at 3,28,907 units in the same month last year.

Yamaha Motor India also reported 26.78 per cent increase in domestic two-wheeler sales at 59,325 units in September as compared to 46,790 units in the same month last year.

Chennai-based TVS Motor Co said its domestic two-wheeler sales grew by 29 per cent at 2,17,447 units in September 2014 as compared to 1,68,598 units in the same month last year.

Bajaj Auto reported 7.14 per cent increase in motorcycle sales at 3,47,010 units during the month as against 3,23,879 units in the corresponding month of previous year.

Oct 3, 2014

Volkswagen India to Bring Polo-based Sub-4 Metre Car to India

We've however curious what Volkswagen Republic of India is upto and aside from their recent facelifts - the Polo and Vento- above all, the German maker did'nt have abundant to its name. However, once it launched the DSG autobox in their one.5-litre diesel Vento, many folks scraped our beards and puzzled if there have been a lot of suprises in keep.

Well, for Europe, there square measure quite an few except for Republic of India there's an enormous one. aside from the compact SUV's that we have a tendency to spoke regarding, VW {india|India|Republic of Republic of India|Bharat|Asian country|Asian nation} are conveyance a really India specific product - a sub-4 metre Polo. Clearly the success of this niche section that has been drawing plenty of attention was an excessive amount of of temptation for Volkswagen.

Dr. Heinz-Jakob Neusser, Member of the Board of Management, VW Brand, talked regarding conveyance this sub-4 metre automobile to Republic of India terribly shortly. The sub-4 metre automobile are supported the Polo and consistent with him, it's quite sensible trying. So, we will safely say that VW Republic of India is prepared with the merchandise. However, he went on to mention that increasing localisation content within the automobile are the kkey to its sucess, because it can keep the value and therefore the quality of the merchandise in restraint, therefore as we will speculate, creating it cheap.

VW already has all the correct engines, thus expect the one.2-litre TSI and one.5-litre TDI to form their manner below the hood of this automobile.

Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Hyundai, Mahindra square measure already therein section and VW Republic of India clearly has established players to beat. we will solely wait and see what the merchandise are like compared to the one's it's rivals has.

Discovery Sport Kicks Off New Family of Vehicles For Land Rover

The SUV specialist includes a strategy I 1st detected concerning at the 2013 la machine Show. Going forward there'll be 3 families of car lines beneath the Land Rover umbrella - vary Rover, Discovery and Defender. meaning the Freelander plate can disappear into the sunset somewhere, and there'll be over one Discovery and Defender! Well merely place expect a minimum of three of every - like there square measure 3 Rangeys!

So a small, medium and large? Well, not exactly! there'll be a rugged hardy attractiveness to the Defenders, a utilitarian Discovery family and also the luxurious vary Rovers. thus what will the invention Sport look like? Well Land Rover discharged pictures of the automobile digitally period past, however its solely currently we've got the assembly automobile within the flesh to check and see.

It's a compact SUV, one which will combat the Audi Q5, BMW X3, Volvo XC60 and also the like, once it debuts on road in 2015. the thought is straightforward - take those on alright, however at intervals similar (in truth slightly additional compact) proportions, supply bigger cabin house, complete with a 7-seater choice. affirmative - 3 rows indeed! however patrons will want a 5-seater too - that merely implies that the spare wheel goes within the boot, as hostile beneath the automobile like the 7-seater. Why? to supply identical boot house in each cars!

Okay thus it's spacious, and being a Land Rover its additionally fairly premium. lots of the new technologies on the just-revealed cat element have so created their approach onto the invention Sport. however i'll get to it in an exceedingly bit.
The Discovery Sport is made on identical platform because the vary Rover Evoque. however having same that, it uses five hundredth new elements compared to it automobile. the main target of the engineering and style team was to make a automobile that will be additional compact, and nonetheless hold additional folks and bags. The new integral multilink rear suspension has allowed for the engineers to relinquish the automobile the 5+2 seating choice. the corporate has been terribly candid in language the third row of seats is primarily for teenagers, up to the age of thirteen - tho' is appropriate for adults on shorter drives. The 3 rows square measure place into the automobile - arena vogue, that means every row is more than the one prior to it - to afford a higher read and feeling of house to every dweller.

This is a family automobile and then there square measure lots of convenient bits to spotlight personal comfort AN convenience - like lots of bottle and cup holders, individual USB charging points (yes five of them), AC vents galore and plush animal skin seats too.

Unlike its pricier siblings this automobile is not made from metallic element - well some metallic element anyway however not all! The roof, hood and tailgate square measure metallic element - however of the remainder of the steel body, 2 hundredth is created from high strength and element steels - which is over any previous Land Rover.

This automobile isn't a replacement for the present Discovery, however in some ways that may be termed together for the Freelander a pair of. It's lighter than that automobile, and additionally has V-E Day higher aeromechanics than it.

There will be three powertrains on supply at the beginning, and that they square measure acquainted to us: the two.0 Si4 hydrocarbon with a nine speed ZF automatic gear case, and the 2.2 TD4 & SD4 diesels - which is able to have facultative nine speed machine or six speed manual transmissions.

The Discovery Sport can have facultative instrumentation just like the fully-loaded motion-picture show system that is additionally debuting on the cat element. This touch-screen crystal rectifier system has JLR's InControl Apps that permit you integrate your on-line desires with the automobile, in addition as your smartphone and its existing apps, your music and additional. just like the element, it additionally permits you remote practicality, thus you'll lock and unlock your automobile, track its location - even get alerted if it's stolen!

An facultative Wi-Fi hotspot is feasible due to a 3G simcard slot, that enables up to eight gadgets at a time, to converge and log on. And there's the currently acquainted South Dakota card primarily based satellite navigation system that has been additionally updated to incorporate 3D views. The discotheque Sport has five color choices of close lighting themes (hence my switch to Disco!).

Being a Land Rover suggests that cross-country capability and then it boast a 600mm walk capability, and a replacement updated parcel of land Response system for driving on completely different surfaces. The parcel of land Response currently includes a Dynamic mode (with adaptational Dynamics) for blandish cornering, and sharpy steering. The car's braking system imitates the impact of a force vectoring differential for improved cornering stability and lightness too.

Safety systems embody face-level airbags for all occupants, and additionally a pedestrian airbag mounted into the hood on the wiper line. This activates on impacts once driving at speeds of 25-50 kmph to forestall major injury. The automobile additionally includes a stereo camera mounted behind the rear read mirror that helps with autonomous braking, lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition, and machine high-beam assist.

The automobile additionally borrows the XE's new optical maser primarily based head-up show system with higher clarity and colors. and also the Discovery Sport has parking assist. Land Rover can supply a a pair of wheel drive version next year, except for currently it is a four wheel drive. The 4X4 system distributes force to the wheels as they have it to carry traction - and might send the maximum amount as 100 percent force to merely one wheel if required. a vigorous driveline switches to 2WD with 100 percent force to the front wheels after you square measure cruising at a gentle speed on a swish road.
Land Rover says the invention Sport offers higher drive dynamics, and increased ride comfort than its past Discovery or Freelander a pair of. And it is also additional powerful and quicker. Well, i'll got to wait to drive the automobile to understand if that is true. and albeit i might have liked  the styling to be less like its vary Rover siblings, and have a additional distinct identity. however style director Gerry McGovern insists that they've done enough to stay the families distinct, whereas still showing the planet their larger relation and lineage. Well, perhaps I merely want time for that concept to grow on Maine - or just the invention Sport's styling itself! Seen in isolation, the automobile is sweet trying, well proportioned and really fashionable. The clam-shell hood is often Land Rover, as is that the grille. The interiors seem sensible and well finished.

So again, i will simply say this - might I please have one to drive - and soon?

2014 Paris Motorshow: Lamborghini Asterion Hybrid Unveiled

Lamborghini has undraped the craniometric point LPI 910-4 idea at the 2014 Paris Motorshow. For those of you United Nations agency area unit inquisitive what craniometric point suggests that, well, it's a legendary creature; a Minotaur. This infact makes North American nation perceive the philosophy behind the craniometric point. A Minotaur may be a creature from the classical mythology that had the top of the bull and also the body of a person, therefore it absolutely was a hybrid and affirmative that's precisely what the craniometric point is; a hybrid.

Yes, it's the primary time Lamborghini has created a plug-in hybrid however that doesn't mean it's any less power. The idea boasts of a five.2-litre natural aspirated engine V10 that puts out 610bhpfrom the Huracan with 3 electrical motors packing an additional 300bhp beside a seven-speed DSG. This hardware setup has created the foremost powerful Lamborghini ever capable of unleashing a mighty 910bhp.

All this power helps the craniometric point idea do a 0-100km/h sprint in barely three seconds and achieves a prime speed of 320km/h. once it runs only on wattage, the craniometric point will attain a prime speed of 125km/h and might last 50km. Used as a hybrid, the craniometric point incorporates a combined fuel consumption of solely four.2 liters / one hundred metric linear unit.

In terms of style, the Lamborghini craniometric point LPI 910-4 idea adopts a pointy angular style wrapped around in an exceedingly Blue Elektra glittered color. Inside, Lamborghini has enforced a minimalistic layout with 2 seats placed higher compared to usual Lamborghinis as a technique to grant a lighter ride.

Well, you have got to recollect although that this can be simply a plan and zilch over that, however, {we will|we will|we are able to} see that a hybrid can create its solution of the Lamborghini stable.