Indian Car News

Mercedes-Benz C-Class was launched in the city on Friday by Sanjiv Sahajwala, Head-Marketing & Sales, DaimlerChrysler India Private Ltd. Speaking on the occasion, Sahajwala said: "To date around 6 million C-Class vehicles have been sold all around the globe. In fact, the C-Class is the worldwide leader in its segment and has been an immensely popular vehicle since it was first launched. The new CClass is more power-packed, more spacious and enjoys even greater street presence." As pioneers of the luxury car segment in India, Mercedes-Benz has the widest product range and the most extensive sales and support network spread across 28 cities, Sahajwala said. "The result of close and continuous engagement with customers is reflected through our growing sales figures as well. This year, we achieved record sales of 2491 units from January- December 2007. This marks a growth of 18 per cent over 2007." With a length of 4596 millimetres, the new C-Class is 68 millimetres...

Think cars fly only in the movies? Well, meet the Skycar. A cross between a Ferrari and a Batmobile, it takes off vertically just like advanced fighter aircraft and is just one in a series of personal flying machines being developed around the world. Cars this cool are still some way off. But driverless cars? Those you can get. For the past few years, robot cars have raced against each other, navigating deserts and city roads on their own, in contests backed by the US Army and private manufacturers. Using easily available technology like GPS tracking, Intel computer chips and laser censors, they still aren't quite as good. But in few years, they could replace our friendly neighbourhood taxi driver. Robots or not, cars need gas and gas costs money. Then there are cars that run on air. Compressed air moves the pistons, which in turn drives the wheels. Result: absolutely no emissions and speeds up to 150 km per hour. Tata Motors and French company MDI are already readying such a vehic...

Maruti Suzuki India Limited announced today its plans to launch an all-new car to be built in India. The car called the A-star will be showcased in concept form at the Auto Expo in Delhi in January next year. The company plans to sell the A-star with a 1.0-litre petrol engine, which will be Euro-V compliant. The carmaker will be following Hyundai’s footsteps (which, makes the i10 in exclusively in India and sells it in Europe) and will manufacture the car in India at its Manesar plant, and will sell it in Europe and India. Production at the facility is being bumped up and the plant is expected to roll out 150,000 A-stars annualy along a similar number of Swifts and SX4s. The car will also be sold under the Nissan badgeing in certain markets and will be on sale by autumn of 2008. The company refused to divulge details about the price and specifications but said that the car would be a size smaller than the Splash, which was launched internationally recently.

Fiat is planning to give its image a much needed boost in India by launching the 500 and Bravo hatchbacks in early 2008. These models won’t be assembled in India, but will be imported directly from Italy, so they will be ridiculously pricey. However, Fiat is not looking at large numbers and is using both these hatchbacks to make a statement about the company. The idea is to inject some zing into the Fiat brand — which has languished in India for the past several years — in the run-up to the launch of the Linea and Grande Punto. Style Statement The cute little 500, or Cinquecento, is a national icon in Italy and this latest model launched exactly 50 years after the original Cinquecento, fondly called the ‘Mighty Mouse’, has gone on to become a smash hit. Fiat can’t ever hope to replicate the Cinquecento’s success in India but this cheeky little car has the potential to become the style icon of 2008. Fiat is targeting Bollywood stars and celebrities as potential customers who would think...

The world's first solar taxi is on a trip around the world and has made a stop in India. It’s a car that is spreading awareness about global warming, the fun way. It’s a taxi with a difference. There is more to this sleek three-wheeler than what meets the eye. The compact electric car runs purely on solar energy. And how do you get a solar powered car? It’s simple. Just attach a solar cell panel to the car. This ingenuous idea took birth in the mind of taxi driver Louis Palmer a long time ago and he decided to stretch it to the limits by travelling around the world. He drives his electric car which runs purely on solar energy around the world to spread awareness about global warming and its causes. He says, "This idea came to me when I was 14. I wanted to travel the world and not pollute it so I designed this taxi.” The car's gearless electric motor runs on twin 380 volt batteries that are cha...

Cars are becoming mobile cinema halls. Indian car users are increasingly redesigning the interiors of their vehicles with television sets, going up to screen sizes of 17 inches, with sub-woofers, amplifiers, Dolby Digital surround sound and bluetooth technologies - everything that allows them to see their favourite movies and get their adrenalin pumping. "Some spend close to Rs 5 lakh to put in place the best in-car entertainment systems, a few spend more than the price of their car on such technologies," says Michael Khare, CEO of Sebastian and Sons India, nation-wide dealers in car audio and video systems. On an average, a person is seen to spend about 4% of the cost of a car to install an in-car audio and video system. Today, the basic audio system is a CD/MP3 player, unlike the ordinary cassette/radio player that was the norm five years ago. The systems help to get people's minds off the maddening city traffic. And...

European looks Variable Steering system V6 gets cylinder de-activation Honda has revealed its new eighth-generation Accord in the US, that will go on sale there in the middle of this month. As we in India share the same Accord with the Americans, ours can’t be too far away either. Yes, at first it looks like a Sonata. The high nose, long rectangular headlights and the strong shoulder line remind you of the Hyundai but that’s only at first glance. Unlike the current car, the new Accord is far less sporty in its outlook, and Honda has consciously gone for a more upscale and grown-up look. Bits like the strong ridgeline running the entire length of the car and the sculpted lower body lend the design a certain heft lacking in many Japanese cars. There’s almost a European heaviness to the design here, and that’s a good thing. Being five inches longer and an inch wider than the Camry,...