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Electric vehicles dominate auto expo
Bangalore, dhns:
At a time when the entire country had virtually come to a standstill following the petroleum strike, the Bengaluru Automotive Expo offered a timely reminder of the possibilities of alternative energy. The expo showcased a number of electrically operated vehicles along with stalls from leading car and bike manufacturers in the country
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Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, through a written message, appreciated the effort of the organisers for bravely going ahead with the expo despite ‘troubled times’ for the automobile industry. The main attractions at the otherwise lacklustre expo were undoubtedly the All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) Stall and the two stalls set up by engineering students of RV college. The event also featured a number of stalls with automobile paraphernalia and parts.
Golf Buggies, Electric bikes and other ATVs that were on display at the ‘Powersport’ stall were high on novelty value for visitors. The marketers of the vehicles claimed that they were highly fuel efficient and were ideal for estates. The engineering students showcased ‘Project Garuda’, which featured two cars built by the them. The distinct looking cars were built with the help of financial aid from GE and assistance from local mechanics and strategic partners.
Bharat Sharma, a final year mechanical engineering student and the leader of the proud team said “The engines and the designs were developed from scratch and the team has spent sleepless nights to build them.” According to claims made by the students, the cars returned astronomical mileage numbers under testing conditions.“The car’s mileage is 180 kilometres per litre under test conditions but the idea is to incorporate the engine into conventional cars and enhance their fuel economy,”
KPCC President R V Deshpande, Minister for Large and Medium Scale Industries Murugesh Rudrappa were both present during the inauguration of the Automotive expo.
Abhijeet, the answer is yes.Abhijeet wrote:Ok, I take it the answer to the question is no.
Can people give me some recommendations for cars in the Rs.5-10 lakh range? I know the Honda City is generally highly rated - thoughts on that?
Roughly what percentage of pre-tax salary in India is considered reasonable to spend on a car, rent etc? Just trying to get a broad sense.
December Auto Sales at All-Time Low Of 18 Per CentNEW DELHI -(Dow Jones)- India's car sales grew 1.7% in 2008, sharply down from 16% in the previous year, as higher loan rates, increased fuel prices, an economic slowdown and fears of job cuts led customers to defer purchases of new vehicles.
Sales rose to 1.20 million cars from 1.18 million a year earlier, showed data issued Monday by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, or SIAM.
Car sales have declined in five of the past six months, leading various automobile and auto parts makers to cut production to reduce rising inventory.
Car sales fell 7% in December - the second-biggest decline since July 2005 - and 19% in November, the sharpest drop in eight years. They dropped 6.6% in October, 4.4% in August and 1.7% in July.
The struggling Indian automobile industry reported yet another worst ever performance with overall domestic sales declining by 18.2 per cent in December 2008, as commercial vehicles and two-wheelers sales crashed heavily.
The total vehicle sales in the domestic market stood at 5,97,622 units in December last year as against 7,30,603 units in the same month in 2007, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). The previous worst overall sales was in November 2008 with a decline of 17.98 per cent at 7,11,281 units as against 8,67,243 units in the same month previous year.
The decline in sales was led by the beleaguered commercial vehicles (CV) segment, which recorded a dip of 58.28 per cent at 17,920 units in December 2008 as against 42,961 units in the corresponding month the previous year. Passenger cars segment performed relatively better than expected inspite of a decline of 6.9 per cent in December 2008 to 82,105 units, from 88,272 units a year ago. SIAM had expected a 15 per cent decline.
Motorcycle sales in the country, during the month, was down by 22.9 per cent at 3,35,820 units, against 4,35,925 units in the year-ago period, while total two-wheeler sales were down by 15.4 per cent at 4,61,302 units, compared with 5,45,485 units in the same month previous year. SIAM, which has updated its records, said this is the worst sales performance by the CV segment in 11 years.
The previous worst ever sales in the CV segment was in July 1997, which witnessed a decline of 51.76 per cent, SIAM Senior Director Sugato Sen said.
At the centre of the Mumbai International Auto Show is a stall that features no known automobile brand or faces familiar within the industry -- only eager students who are eager to explain their work to onlookers. Confident and poised, they answer every question that comes their way.
These are students of the K J Somaiya College of Engineering.
Three years ago, these enterprising kids embarked upon a small college project with a dream of building their own Formula 1 car and today, their creation is set to receive its third official entry into the Formula Students Design Competition in Germany.
The engineering students have christened their formula team Orion Racing. Explains a team member, Rohit Gupta animatedly, "This is our third car. The first, which we called the Barracuda B150 was actually a prototype just to test our abilities, to see whether we really had the potential to achieve this dream. The B150 was actually created using an autorickshaw engine!"
Autoblog wrote:
Bloomberg wrote: By Vipin V. Nair and Anil Varma
Jan. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., India’s largest maker of sport-utility vehicles and tractors, said third- quarter profit tumbled a more-than-expected 99 percent as currency losses mounted and sales fell.
Net income in the three months ended Dec. 31 dropped to 12 million rupees ($245,000) from 4.05 billion rupees a year earlier, the Mumbai-based company said in a statement. That is Mahindra’s smallest quarterly profit since at least since 2003 and the fourth straight decline, according to Bloomberg data. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of nine analysts was for a profit of 1.09 billion rupees.
Mahindra incurred a currency loss of 1.2 billion rupees as the rupee dropped for a fourth straight quarter, completing the steepest slide in 17 years. Its utility-vehicle sales fell 26 percent in the quarter as banks tightened credit and rising job insecurity hurt sales in Asia’s fourth-largest automotive market. The Indian partner of Renault SA shut most of its plants for three to six days in December due to weaker demand.
“People are either postponing or canceling vehicle purchases as the slowdown has affected sentiment,” said Anup Maheshwari, an analyst at Mumbai-based K.R. Choksey Shares & Securities Pvt., who recommends investors “sell” Mahindra. “If you are unsure about future earnings, you are in a saving mode.”
India’s rupee fell 3.5 percent in the three months through December, taking its decline in 2008 to 19 percent. That was the currency’s worst performance since a balance of payments crisis in 1991 forced the South Asian nation to pawn its gold to pay for imports. The rupee was the second-worst performer last year among the 10 most-active Asian currencies outside Japan.
‘Recessionary Conditions’
The foreign-exchange loss was due to “cancellation of forward covers entered into by the company to hedge certain anticipated exports,”
The last quarter was extremely challenging for both automobile and tractor industries, the company said in the statement. The “paucity of retail finance, its high cost and lukewarm consumer sentiment in the wake of the global financial turbulence saw volumes decline.”
Tata Motors Ltd., the Indian truck maker that owns Jaguar and Land Rover, yesterday reported its first quarterly loss in seven years as currency fluctuations aggravated the impact of falling sales in the last quarter.
Inflation, Rates
India’s central bank said Jan. 27 the nation’s economy may grow 7 percent in the year to March 31, lowering its earlier forecast of between 7.5 percent and 8 percent.
To revive growth, the Reserve Bank of India has reversed four years of monetary tightening and the government announced economic stimulus plans. On Jan. 28, India cut retail fuel prices for the second time in less than two months. The central bank cut its policy rates this month for a fourth time since October to record lows.
Mahindra rose 2.7 percent to 302.25 rupees in Mumbai trading yesterday. The stock has gained 10.1 percent this year.
Cheaper crude oil, slower inflation and the Indian central bank’s measures to make money cheaper and more easily available in the financial system may reduce Mahindra’s costs in the coming months, the company said.
India’s inflation rate halved from a 16-year high touched in August. It was at 5.64 percent in the week ended Jan. 17, near an 11-month low. Crude oil has declined more than 70 percent from a record high of $147.27 per barrel reached in July.
Exports of passenger cars during the 10-month period of the fiscal stood at 2,71,999 units compared with 1,66,859 units in the year-ago period, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
Depends on what kind of bike you want. A light weight fast modern bike or a heavy slow cruiser? As far as I am concerned RE can badge and re-badge all their products but they are just selling 60 year old technology with "face-lifts" that still leak oil and gives crappy performance. My cousin and one of my closest friends had the Machismo and the bikes are very unreliable. I would buy a TVS/Bajaj/HH/Yamaha/Honda bike any day over Enfield. Royal Enfield is the Hardley run Davidson of India in terms of technology, performance and reliability. They don't sell bikes but lifestylesnikhil_p wrote:Need advice fron the people here!!!!
I am planning to buy the RE Machismo 350...kinda like the bike.
Could someone tell me answers to the following three things
How good( read fun) is it to maintain compared to the Std (cast iron engine) 350.
What is the kind of mileage i could expect (35-40???)
any other suggestions for a new bike?
Good luck to Nano, hope it succeeds and brings mobility to mango-aadmi.NEW DELHI: Tata Motors on Thursday said it will launch Nano, touted as the world's cheapest family car, on March 23 in Mumbai and bookings will start from April this year.
The car was unveiled at the auto expo in Delhi in January 2008 and a function on March 23 would mark the car's commercial launch.
"The cars will be on display at Tata Motors dealerships from the first week of April 2009. Bookings will commence from the second week of April 2009," the company said in a statement.
The company said that the booking process and other details of the Rs one lakh car would be announced on the day of launch.
"Tata Motors is making arrangements for the widest possible network to book the car, so that prospective customers can conveniently avail of booking facilities at their locations, across the length and breadth of India," the statement said.
The company had also displayed the Nano at the Geneva Motor Show last year and had triggered competition, including Nissan-Renault, to announce plans for building low-cost family cars. The economic crisis has, however, forced them to put the plans on hold.
Are they sure the chicoms didn't order for the 4 legged variety esp. given the drought & food shortages in PRC?ajay_ijn wrote:one huge order for Jaguars.
China orders 13000 Jaguars
A Garuda bus of the Volvo make costs APSRTC nearly Rs. 80 lakh against the Rs. 50 lakhs paid to the Tatas.
When Tata Motors were at my school for summer placements, I attended their PPT, the usual stuff, to ask them questions about their new offerings. This was in september last year, and I asked him about the cars they had on show at the Geneva Auto Show, including a luxury sedan, and he sounded offended when I asked him if Tata Motors planned to launch it! He said it does not fit their strategy of being a mass player and they are only prototypes for show, and it doesnt mean they'd be produced.rajsunder wrote:The Tata Prima, the concept luxury sedan designed by Pininfarina, is an iteration of the next generation luxury sedan from Tata Motors. It combines the fundamental design characteristics of the Tata brand, as seen in the Tata Indigo, with sporty curvatures to create a coupe-like silhouette, simple yet refined with an inherent premium.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/pho ... id=4219255
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/pho ... id=4219258
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/pho ... id=4219261
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Mr Anand said though it is a small car, “you will be amazed how much space it has inside”. He said four 6-feet-tall adults (he himself is 6’ 1”), could comfortably sit in the car. Referring to his own familiarity with high-performance cars as a rallyist, he said Nano is a “very exciting and enjoyable car”.
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Nano accelerates well and it is not sluggish and absolutely no rattling noise was heard while on the road. The car is easy to drive and is manoeuvrable as it can turn in a small radius, he said. The big plus was its interior and it has “fantastic air conditioning”.
Mr Anand did not expect Nano to be a hit merely with first-time car buyers. Even those who own luxury cars would love to buy it. It would not be a poor man’s car but would be a proud ownership statement and it was a well engineered vehicle, he said.
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models:
nano base
nano CX mid level
nano LX top end
engine:
piston displacement: 624 cc
cylinder count: 2 cylinders
max power: 35 bhp@5500 rpm
acceleration: 0-60 kmph: 8 secs
top speed: 105 kmph
gearbox: 4 forward speeds, 1 reverse, all forward gears synchronised
front: independent mcpherson strut, shock absorber
rear: semi trailing arm, coil spring with gas filled shock absorber
wheels: 12"
front tyres: 135/70 R 12 tubeless
rear tyres: 155/65 R 12 tubeless
spare: 1 tyre, 135/70 R 12 tubeless
tubeless radial tyres standard on all variants
turning radius: 4 meters
dimensions and weights:
length: 3099 mm
width: 1495 mm
height: 1620 mm
wheel base: 2230 mm
ground clearance: 180 mm
kerb weight: 600 kg
fuel tank capacity: 15 litres
fuel consumption: 23.6 kmpl
features:
Nano base:(available in BS-2 and BS-3 varients)
seat belts: front ELR, rear static
ONLY ODOMETER
fixed tail gate. engine opening through rear bumper
egg shaped design
rear mounted high mounted stop light
centrally placed exhaust
ONLY DRIVER'S seat adjust-sliding and reclining
fixed co driver seat
REAR FOLDING SEAT
2 spoke steering wheel
grey bumpers and interiors
driver side OSRVM
Nano CX:(available in BS-2 and BS-3 varients)
adds to nano base:
ONLY ODOMETER
HVAC (air conditioner with heater)
tinted glasses all round
DRIVER AND CO DRIVER SEAT SLIDING AND RECLINING
2 tone grey interiors and seats
metallic paint optional
Nano LX (available in BS-3 varient only)
adds to Nano CX:
front power windows
central locking
front and rear fog lamps
3 spoke steering wheel
moulded door trim with fabric
TRIPMETER AND ODOMETER
floor console with glass holder
anti glare inside rear view mirror (prismatic day/ night)
sunvisors on both sides
colours:
nano base:bright red, ivory white, summer blue
nano CX: bright red, ivory white, summer blue, champagne gold, lunar silver
nano LX:champagne gold, lunar silver, sunshine yellow
booking starts: 2nd week of april, forms available 7 days before the booking date is announced and forms will be available only for 14 days.
DEALERS ARE EXPECTING ABOUT 10 LAKH BOOKINGS
Booking forms will be available at:
SBI
westside
croma store
400 tata motors dealers across the country
cost of forms: Rs 200-300
online booking also available
booking amount: 70-80% of the car's ex-showroom cost.
after booking closes, allotment will be done on the basis of random number lottery where the lucky customer's name will be declared along with the name of the dealer from where he/ she can take delivery of the car along with date and time of delivery will also be specified.
