Designer Tata Nano From Dilip Chhabria

The world's cheapest car is all set to have a revamped look. Designers of world class repute have taken keen interest in the car and the Tata Nano will get a facelift from the combined efforts of Dilip Chhabria and Maruti Suzuki India chief, Jagdish Khattar.

Dilip Chhabria, the promoter of Dilip Chhabria design said "We have retained the original look but have made it more stylish. One can spend a premium of Rs 80,000 to get the new look." He added "We plan to sell at least a couple of hundred, designer Nanos."

Dilip Chhabria's DC Design and Jagdish Khattar's Carnation Auto entered into a partnership in September this year, to provide car customization kits at 11 carnation outlets across India. Carnation is into selling used cars and multi brand accessories in addition to offering services.

Talking about the revamped car, Dilip Chhabria said "We call it Hot Nano." He added "we will finalize a brand name for the redesigned vehicle. We have a wait list as a lot of people want their Nanos redesigned," said Chhabria, refusing to divulge more details about the design changes. When asked about any changes in the interiors he said "We have not planned many changes in the interiors."

The ace designer is looking at scaling up operations. He said "Hence, the tie-up with Carnation Auto". He has designed over 2,000 cars, including Limousines and sports cars in the past 16 years. His clientele include Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Geet Sethi among others.

Dilip Chhabria is contemplating a foray into healthcare sector by designing ambulances. Talking about his plans he said "Around 100 ambulances would be designed, to enhance comfort levels of patients. Apollo group has already shown interest in buying a few".

Although his company designs 60-80 cars in a year, Dilip Chhabria is scaling up the number to about 200-300, in the wake of increasing demand for customized cars as lifestyle products.

'Volkswagen Polo' Small Car

The Honorable Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri Ashok Chavan and Prof. Dr. Jochem Heizmann, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, with responsibility of 'Group Production', formally rolled out Volkswagen India's first locally manufactured Polo from its plant in Chakan, Pune. Other honorable guests who graced the occasion with their presence were Shri. Rajendra J. Darda, Minister of Industries and Employment for state of Maharashtra, Shri. Sachin Ahir, State Minister of Industries and Housing Development as well as His Excellency Mr. Thomas Matussek, German Ambassador to India.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Dr. Jochem Heizmann said, "Today's start of production of our Polo is more than just the rollout of a car. It marks a milestone in our journey together into a successful future for the Volkswagen Group in India."

Since India is a strategic market for the Volkswagen Group and holds enormous potential for it, Prof. Heizmann added, "We aim to achieve a market share of eight to ten percent in the next four to six years with the three Volkswagen Group brands, Audi, Skoda, and Volkswagen by ambitious plans for India. We offer outstanding products, which will soon be joined in the market by another one - the Polo. These products - and in particular our Polo - will help us to increase our market share of this growing market significantly."

"The Polo is eagerly awaited here in India", he added "And quite rightly so, because our Polo stands for first-class German engineering and superior state-of-the-art technology. It is a young, fresh and cosmopolitan car. We have aligned the current model systematically and uncompromisingly with our customers' expectations."

In Europe, the Volkswagen Polo has become the benchmark for the small car segment and has now created its own class - the Polo class. Volkswagen has received more than 130,000 orders since the new model was launched in May this year. The Volkswagen Polo has also been voted The Car of the Year - one of the oldest and most prestigious honors.

According to Prof. Heizmann, "Customers need to be convinced of the benefits of owning a Volkswagen Group car and must want to buy it. Ultimately, the customer is a brand's best ambassador. We are dead certain that we will bring forward the European success story of our Polo to India."

Volkswagen starts production of first India car

Volkswagen AG started production of its first compact car in India on Saturday, hoping to capture up to 10 percent of the country's fast-growing automobile market within the next six years, the company said.

The Polo, a compact hatchback, rolled off the lines at Volkswagen's factory in Pune, an auto hub a few hours outside Mumbai, shortly before noon. The factory, opened earlier this year, is part of a 580 million euros ($846.8 million) investment, which the company says is a "key element" in its India strategy.

The factory can produce up to 110,000 cars a year, and will be used to manufacture the Skoda Fabia, Polo and a sedan to be launched in the second half of next year, the company said.

It did not reveal the price of the Polo, which has gotten 130,000 orders since its European launch in May.

"We aim to achieve a market share of 8 to 10 percent in the next four to six years with the three Volkswagen Group brands, Audi, Skoda, and Volkswagen," Volkswagen Group board member Jochem Heizmann said in a statement.

Global auto majors Volkswagen, General Motors, Ford and Nissan have been slow to awaken to the particularities of Indian consumers, who overwhelmingly prefer small, affordable cars rather than the more luxurious models that sell well in the U.S., Germany and China. Now, as developed world sales slow, they're racing to catch up.

To do so, they must make cars in India, which allows them to avoid hefty import taxes and keep production costs competitive. Volkswagen said it aims to boost localization to 80 percent of total production from 50 percent now.

Ford says its made-in-India compact, the Figo, will go on sale in the first quarter of 2010. Nissan says its first India-made car — a new version of the hatchback that now sells under the Micra brand in Europe and the March brand in Japan — will roll out in May 2010. General Motors started India production of its pint-sized Chevrolet Spark in September 2008, and is reportedly planning to launch a new model, the Chevrolet Beat, in the first half of next year.

Volkswagen also bought a piece of India's rising prosperity with the purchase of a 20 percent stake in Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp. Suzuki's Indian subsidiary, Maruti Suzuki, sells one of every two cars in India.

JD Power forecasts car sales in India will grow from 1.7 million in 2008 to 3.2 million in 2015, while auto sales in China will surge from 8.8 million to 16.0 million over the same period.

Audi A7 Sportback Concept

The quest to fill market niches is not over yet: some carmakers are creating new vehicle categories and others are reintroducing classic shapes from the past. Returning from the old times is the four-door fastback, which enjoyed a rather brief period of popularity—mainly in the 1970s. In their heyday, beautiful models like the Rover SD-1 or the Citroën CX were the avantgard alternatives to the more conservative sedans by BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

In the 1980s, most fastbacks faded into oblivion. Saab continued to offer a few quirky models, but everyone else returned to the good old notchback sedan—or, in Europe, to modern station wagons. Now the fastback is returning with a vengeance. The BMW 5-series GT, Porsche Panamera, and the not-for-us Audi A5 Sportback have been launched within a few months. BMW's X6 combines a fastback with SUV proportions, and Honda (Accord Crosstour) and Acura (ZDX) are adding crossover hatchbacks as well.

Specifications

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 5-door wagon

ESTIMATED BASE PRICE: $60,000

ENGINE TYPE: turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve V-6 diesel, iron block and aluminum heads, direct fuel injection

Displacement: 181 cu in, 2967cc
Power (SAE net): 225 bhp @ 3750 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 406 lb-ft @ 1750 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 7-speed dual-clutch automated manual

DIMENSIONS:
Length: 194.9 in Width: 76.0 in Height: 55.1 in
Curb weight (mfr’s est): 4000 lb

PERFORMANCE (C/D EST):
Zero to 60 mph: 6.7 sec
Top speed (governor limited): 152 mph

FUEL ECONOMY (MFR’S EST):
European combined cycle: 40 mpg

2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon

There are times when a person can only conclude that good looks, refinement, and sensible design don't count for much in the American car market. Witness General Motors' 2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon, a new European-style station-wagon version of Cadillac's CTS sedan. So far, the Sport Wagon has barely made a ripple in the market while sales of the far more brutish-looking new Cadillac SRX crossover tripled in November, to 3,004.

Come on, folks. The Europeans have a point on this one. In the Old World, the station-wagon version of a given model often sells nearly as well as the sedan. In the U.S., by contrast, the CTS wagon is considered a "boutique" product, a General Motors spokesman says, with a much smaller customer base than crossovers. Wagon-buyers tend to be "better educated," "more affluent," and more "sophisticated," he says. In other words, sport wagons appeal mainly to the cognoscenti who value driving dynamics over the steroidal, quasi-SUV profile of a crossover vehicle—i.e., people who admit they're probably never going to drive off-road.

I'm not denying that crossovers have their appeal. They tend to be cheaper than comparable wagons, for one thing. But the new CTS Sport Wagon deserves more respect than it's getting. So do the sport-wagon versions of such German models as the Audi A4 and A6, Volkswagen (VOWG) Jetta and Passat, BMW (BMWG) 3 and 5 Series, and the Mercedes E-Class. With a diesel engine, the German models will get 50 miles per gallon or more, and all sport wagons have excellent cargo capacity while retaining much of the quickness and cat-like handling of a sport sedan.

The CTS Sport Wagon is a case in point. Remarkably, it has nearly perfect 51/49 front/rear weight distribution (52/48 with the optional all-wheel drive). Those are numbers that Porsche strives to achieve. It also has a low profile that gives it road-hugging capabilities similar to those of the CTS sedan. Cargo capacity, meanwhile, is nearly double that of the sedan, with 25 cu. ft. of space behind the rear seats and 53.4 cu. ft. with the rear seats down.

To my eye, the Sport Wagon also is Cadillac's best-looking model. Its narrow windows, sloping roofline, and odd-shaped rear side windows make its profile particularly attractive. Up front there's the big, distinctive egg-crate grille and oversize Cadillac Crest logo. And I love the taillights, which must be three feet tall and run up each rear corner of the body, coming to a point at the roofline.

There's a choice of two engines, both providing adequate if not breathtaking oomph. The base powerplant is a 3.0-liter, 270-horsepower V6, with the alternative being a 3.6-liter, 304-horsepower V6. The only transmission is a six-speed automatic. All-wheel drive is available on all trim levels.

Happily, there's almost no mileage penalty for going with the larger engine. The standard engine is rated to get 18 mpg in the city and 27 on the highway; mileage only drops to 18/26 with the 3.6-liter engine. Another plus: The CTS runs on inexpensive regular gasoline. Unfortunately, no diesel-powered version of the Sport Wagon is planned anytime soon, GM says.

Premier Rio Lx first drive

The Rio marks Premier’s comeback in the passenger car segment after many years. The last passenger cars which Premier sold in India were the Fiat range - the Uno and Siena, after which Fiat set up its current base in Ranjangaon and parted from Premier. But just before the Fiat tie-up, Premier had a JV with Peugeot and although the 309 was a fairly competent car, it never really set the sales charts on fire and eventually went off the market. A few years ago, Premier made an entry into the Light Commercial Vehicle segment with its mini pick-up Roadstar and commercial van Sigma (both based on older Mitsubishi designs) which came from a tie-up with CMC Taiwan. Having taken a concious step to being in the passenger car business, but not wanting to be part of the overcrowded hatchback segment, Premier decided to enter a niche and the RiO SUV will be the first of its kind in the Indian market, due to its compact size.

The Rio’s design is the same as the Daihatsu Terios, which is now built by Zotye, a Chinese car manufacturer which bought the Terios dies from Daihatsu after it launched the next-generation Terios. Currently, the Zotye sells the Rio as “Nomad” in China.

The good quality paint finish and the alloys make the Rio look good, not to forget the 215/70R15 tyres and the compact design. The Rio has grey and blue-coloured interiors like the typical 1980s Japanese cars sold in America and Europe. The plastic quality inside is not satisfactory – the hard plastics, flimsy feeling hazard light button, inconsistent gaps between the panels, and the peel-off Premier stickers could have been much better. The grab handles feel flimsy and should have been sturdier. The Rio comes with a four-speaker CD player and radio system which has the radio antenna on the left hand side A-pillar, as Chinese cars are left hand drive and shifting the antenna to the right side would have increased the cost.

The Rio isn’t just compact from outside, but is congested inside as well. Both rows lack adequate space, especially the second row but the boot has a fair amount of space. The seat cushioning could have been better. The steering wheel feels a little small and even though the headlights are twin-barreled, they don’t turn on high and low beam together which would have helped visibility by a lot during night driving. The electrically adjustable mirrors are a welcome addition to the Rio.

Tata Indigo Manza

Indigo Manza will be an interesting addition by Tata to its exquisite range of customer friendly cars. The Manza will be an upgraded version of the Tata Indica Vista. The car will join the luxury car segment of the country. The car is built on the J300 platform similar to the one found in Tata Indica Vista.

Tata Manza side profile photo

The Indigo Manza is a sedan that has been launched by Tata after a period of seven years. The highlight of Tata Manza, which will be spotted with a modified look of Indica Vista and uses the same technology, is its spacious interiors and high-class designing. Similar to Indica Vista, Manza will have steering mounted audio control system. Likewise, Manza shares many features and technology with Tata Indigo and Indica.

The Aqua, Aura, Aura ABS and the Aura + are the four variants of the Indigo Manza. Available in two engine options, 1.4-litre petrol and 1.3-litre diesel engine, the car will have an engine that has been sourced from Fiat. The Manza, with its customer oriented features, will make a great a family car. And with its affordable pricing and high-tech features, Manza will pose good competition to Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire, Ford Fiesta, Ford Ikon, and Mahindra Renault Logan. The features housed in the Indigo Manza draws up the customer expectations of a mid-size sedan. And the car is too big an offering for an entry-level sedan.

The Tata Indigo Manza is the best looking Tata car on road. The mid-size sedan is modern, contemporary in design and makes a bold styling statement. The front fascia of the Indigo Manza is endowed with striking wraparound three barreled headlamps that add to the linearity and deliver a feline aggressive appearance to the car. The front bumper of the Manza features a big air dam which is finished in black shade and houses the powerful round fog lights. The front grille consists of four chrome horizontal lines and is dominated by the big Tata logo and chrome finish upper lip. The chrome inserts on the side impact strips and outer door handles lends a classy look to the Indigo Manza. The new rear monolithic angular shaped tail lamps calls for attention. The Manza stands on 15-inch wheels ensconced in flared arches that give the sedan a higher and more commanding stance.

The Tata Indigo Manza is a big car, with a length of over 4.4 m, a width of 1.7 m and a wheel base of 2,520mm. On the interior side, the cabin is a fine blend of technology and luxury. The rich double tone fabric endows the cabin with a warm feel. The tilt adjustable power steering with a height adjustable driver seat allows a comfortable driving posture. The Tata Manza comes equipped with electronically adjustable and controlled Outer Rear View Mirrors. The driver information system on top of the central console provides information on fuel consumption and ambient temperature, while the sporty instrument cluster shrouded in the swoop of the soft-feel dashboard completes the styling statement.

The Tata Indigo Manza is designed to offer the very best in comfort compared to any other cars in its category. The spacious and comfy inclination rear seats with the centre armrest give a relaxed and comfortable ride. The Manza can boast of tremendous storage space as it comes with a trunk capacity of 460 litres. The sedan comes equipped with a 2-DIN music system. The three Aura variants will come with a first time on its class new infotainment system using Blue5 as a standard feature along with stereo controls on the steering wheel. The Aura ABS and the Aura+ come with ABS and the top model Aura + boasts dual frontal airbags as well. Other safety features in the Indigo Manza include a collapsible steering column, engine immobilizer and the central locking system.