Indian Car News

American automobile manufacturer Chrysler has plans to equip its cars with a system that will enable people to surf the Internet while driving. The UConnect Web system is what the company says can bring wireless Internet access to cars' dashboards. Frank Klegon, the company's vice-president, says that they wants to gain a reputation for high-tech cars. "In today's market, Chrysler's mission is to bring innovation to market more quickly," Wired News quoted Klegon as saying. Officials at the company have revealed that UConnect Web uses cellular and WiFi technology to provide "instant access" to the internet. According to them, anyone in the car will be able to check e-mail, download music, play games and even upload photos from an SD card directly to Flickr. They claim that all wireless devices and " major gaming systems" will work with UConnect. The company says that the new system will be competitive with laptop wireless cards, and that cus

Lighter, faster and more powerful - this is Lamborghini’s facelifted Gallardo, the LP560-4. It takes its name from the 560PS (552bhp) power output of the new 5.2-litre V10, up by 40bhp. The engine, developed with Audi, is new and uses the VW Group’s FSI direct injection, which Lamborghini is calling Inienzione Stratificata. Torque is up by 3kgm to 54.2kgm. The extra shove fractionally improves the Gallardo’s 0-100kph time — now 3.7sec and a match for Ferrari’s 430 Scuderia — but it should also improve midrange performance with more torque available at 4000rpm than the old car had at its peak output. And it should make an even better noise with a new exhaust system. On the outside there’s a new Reventon-style front bumper and an entirely new rear designed to make the back end look more horizontal. Some of the changes are aimed at cutting costs. The engine has plastic covers, and the accerartor pedal is now plastic with a clip-on alloy cover; it was solid aluminium.

General Motors India is gearing up to launch the Captiva SUV with an automatic transmission. The Captiva has been well received, and presently is the only diesel soft-roader in its class. Last month, the Captiva managed to sell nearly 200 units, second only to the Honda CR-V. However, the lack of an automatic transmission option has turned away some customers, and it is these potential buyers that GM is targetting. The car was initially launched only with manual transmission and front-wheel drive, but the automatic version comes with four-wheel drive as standard. The auto ’box has five forward ratios, and is geared to provide similar levels of performance and fuel economy. One such car is currently undergoing homologation in India. An important factor will be cost; the auto ’box and the four-wheel- drive system will add to the cost of the car, and the company will be keeping a keen eye on this. As yet though there is no clear indication of when the car is expected in the market.

Hyundai will launch a more powerful version of the i10 this month with a bigger 1.2-litre engine. This new motor called ‘Kappa’ is the latest powertrain from Hyundai not just in India but worldwide and boasts the latest engine technology from the Korean Giant. The Kappa is an all-aluminium 1.2- litre motor with double overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder and develops an impressive 77bhp, which will make the i10 Kappa the most powerful hatchback in its class. The Kappa will supplement the existing 1.1-litre ‘Epsilon’ motor in the i10. The plan is to have five variants of the i10, the base D-lite and Era will continue to be sold with the Epsilon while the Magna variant will get the Kappa. Two additional variants above the Magna will also be introduced. The Asta will get some of the features that are optional in the current Magna (sunroof etc) as standard while the range-topping Sport will get jazzed-up interiors and a body kit. Hyundai plans to price the Kappa aggressively and

IN-CAR navigation systems are about to make the leap from being a back-seat driver navigation aid to an essential tool for the commuter. Car navigation systems get smarter Such systems, whose sales have been booming in the past few years, are poised to offer features far beyond their initial applications as electronic adjuncts to road atlases for those venturing on to unfamiliar roads and highways. Functions such as real-time traffic flow information, digital logbooks and image-based navigation are among the tools manufacturers hope will turn in-car GPS systems into tools for everyday use, rather than assistants for those in unfamiliar places. "For a while now, the market has been going crazy. It's like the digital camera market was about five years back," says Chris Kearney, Australian marketing manager for GPS specialist Tom-Tom. "With the things that are in the process of being introduced here, it's set to go up even more." GPS system makers such as Tom-T

The Union Budget has been tabled, and the auto industry has received its share of sops and benefits. Of course, while some within the industry might argue that these benefits aren’t what they were hoping for, the fact of the matter remains that the buying price of vehicles has come down, particularly small cars and two-wheelers which have received a reduction in excise from 16 percent to 12 percent. In hard cash, this would translate to a saving of Rs 2000 for a bike buyer to about Rs 10,000 for someone looking at a hatchback. Hybrids on the other hand have received a 10 percent reduction in excise from 24 percent to 14 percent. For Honda and M&M who are keenly looking at this niche with their Civic hybrid and Scorpio hybrid respectively, this is indeed good news. Electric vehicles like the Reva, Hero Velociti and TVS Scooty Teenz enjoy a tax reduction from 8 to zero percent. For vehicles using alternative fuels such as biodiesel or gasohol however, there remains a grey area as to