Maruti Celerio records 14,000 bookings in 2 weeks

Jaipur: Maruti Suzuki that launched the much-anticipated Celerio hatchback at the recently held 2014 Auto Expo, has received an overwhelming response from buyers across the nation. Advance bookings for Celerio cross 14000 within 2 weeks from Launch - Recorded 1000 bookings a day.


What makes it more interesting that the AMT version of Celerio gets better response from buyers as compared to its manual variants. The AMT Celerio accounts for 51 per cent of total bookings; this has been for the first time that any Auto variant of car is more on demand than the manual. However, it leads to increase in its waiting period, as the company imports this AMT gearbox.

Nissan X-Trail and 370Z Coupe to be discontinued in India

Nissan today announced that it will discontinue the sales of the X-Trail SUV and 370Z coupe in India. The move comes in the wake of Nissan’s decision to focus on its locally manufactured models. However, it will continue to sell the Teana luxury sedan.

In India, Nissan has been constantly expanding its innovative and exciting product range, and will continue to deliver cutting-edge technology, distinctive design and a rewarding experience to all its customers. Terrano, Nissan’s latest offering marks its entry in the growing compact SUV segment.

Hyundai Intrado concept images revealed

Mumbai: Hyundai will showcase the Intrado at the Geneva Motor Show next week and now the company has revealed the images of this crossover concept. The Intrado is the updated version of the Fluidic Sculpture that the Korean automaker has been using throughout its range.  The Intrado has second-generation fuel cell technology and it also has the advanced carbon fibre-plastic structure. The concept is a two-door and can seat four people.

This new concept has been designed and built at the Hyundai Technical Centre based in Frankfurt. Beneath is the carbon fibre plastic structure and outside it gets steel panels.  This is about 70 percent lighter than the conventional steel body

Fiat to unveil new Panda Cross and Freemont Cross in Geneva

Jaipur: Italian carmaker Fiat has announced its lineup for the upcoming 2014 Geneva Motor Show. The company will present the world debut of the Panda Cross and Freemont Cross at the show.

The Panda Cross also offers some AWD features for off-roaders. Its 'Terrain Control' has three different driving modes- AUTO, LOCK and HILL DESCENT.

AUTO - Automatic distribution of drive between the two axles in accordance with the grip of the road surface
LOCK - The four-wheel drive is always active for optimal off-road use, with distribution of torque among the four wheels, braking the wheels that are losing grip (or slip more than the others), and thus transferring the drive to those with the most grip.
HILL DESCENT - For optimum handling of particularly steep hill descents or when going down extremely bumpy routes.

The front fascia of the Panda Cross features a new bumper, which boasts a generous skid plate in a satin titanium colour with a design of holes which reinterprets the Panda's characteristic "squircle" motif. Tow hooks with an immediately recognisable new design in a brilliant red place emphasis on its off-road character. It gets new headlights and new fog lights integrated with the logo holder bonnet trim, and new DRLs with LED technology, built into the skid plate. The 15" alloy wheels sport a 5-spoke V design and a burnished metal finish.

Two engine versions are available, both with Start&Stop standard and boasting higher performance than the versions on the Panda 4x4: the 80 HP 1.3 MultiJet II turbodiesel and 90 HP 0.9 TwinAir Turbo petrol, the latter with specific 6-speed transmission with shortened first gear.

Three Hyundai i20s to participate in Rally de Portugal

Mumbai: Eager to accelerate its learning curve in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Hyundai Motorsport has today announced that three Hyundai i20 WRC cars will be entered into Rally de Portugal, round four of the 2014 FIA World Rally Championship, in April.

The team’s lead driver Thierry Neuville will continue in his role behind the wheel of the #7 car, whilst Finn Juho Hänninen will drive the #8 Hyundai i20 WRC after a promising performance at Rally Sweden earlier this month.

After his debut for the team at Monte-Carlo back in January, Neuville and Hänninen will be joined on the Portuguese event by Spaniard Dani Sordo driving the Hyundai i20 WRC #20.

The Alzenau-based team has also announced its participation in the Fafe Rally Sprint, the now traditional event organised as a precursor to Rally de Portugal. The one-day event will be held on Saturday 29th March at the iconic Fafe-Lameirinha stage – which was part of the classic Rally de Portugal – and attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators each year.

Team Principal Michel Nandan commented: “Having three cars at Rally de Portugal will be very positive for us and it will allow us to continue our data collection and to accumulate more mileage in our debut WRC season. I think we have a good line-up for Portugal with Thierry, Juho and Dani – each of them will bring their experience and will give us their own unique feedback which will help us in the continuous development of the Hyundai i20 WRC. Thierry’s level of performance combined with Juho’s skills on gravel and Dani’s experience and excellent track record at Rally de Portugal make them a very good choice for the event,” he said.

Upcoming Tata Cars to get Automated Manual transmissions; details inside

Jaipur: Tata has unveiled two of its most important cars- Tata Bolt and Zest, in India. One being a hatchback, and other positioned in the compact sedan segment; both had gathered lot of attention during the unveiling event. As far as their launch is concerned, both of these are expected to hit the Indian roads by mid 2014. Tata Motors had also displayed Tata Nano Twist at the Expo, which is yet to arrive in the Indian market. The concept model of Nano Twist featured several unique attributes like an openable tailgate, new grille representing Tata's new identity-the humanity line, EPAS with new steering wheel, new bonnet and others in the list. The talk of the town is the all-new F-Tronic technology with which all of these aforementioned Tata cars have shown up. With this, Tata enters with all-together next generation in transmissions, that would simply woo the drivers at very first experience. This is certainly going to be a step ahead with driving experience, combined with an enjoyful ride. Out of all these recently unveiled cars, the compact sedan, Tata Zest, which is the outcome of Karl Slym's exquisite vision and able leaderships, has been introduced with F-tronic technology enabled, 5-speed automated manual transmission. As such, there isn't any competition against Zest by now in India. But, Maruti is another brand stepped in the hatchback segment with AMT enabled Celerio in the market.

Lets just make a comprehensive study of Tata's most discussed F-Tronic technology in detail-
The next-generation transmission as claimed, is all about clutch-free driving, and feather-light and smooth finger gear shifting. Most interestingly, the technology is developed in collaboration with Italy based, Magnetic Marelli; the popular name behind supplying transmission for Formula 1 motorsports cars.

Porsche asks 911 GT3 owners to stop driving

Jaipur: Porsche has advised its 911's range topper track inspired GT3 variant owners to park their car until further notice, following two events of engine bay catching fire. The German automaker intents the owners to stop using there cars until final investigation is concluded.

Porsche sold all 785 unit of 2014 911 GT3 worldwide and two vehicles reportedly set ablaze; both were from Europe. According to the initial press release by the manufacturer, both the vehicles recorded engine damage. Although no human and property loss was seen in both the incidents.

The engineers at Porsche are identifying the cause of the problem as they are inspecting the engines of 2014 edition of GT3. The company also assured that it will report immediately if anything solid comes up in the analysis. The company also notified that the impending deliveries will get a slight delay, owing to the extensive investigation going on. The company is also offering pick-up service for the affected vehicle from owner's home to Porsche center immediately.