Awaited May 2009 : Next surprise from Maruti

Maruti Suzuki will add yet another small car to its range this summer and to add to the rising temperatures, the company decided to jet off to sweltering Malaysia to put together its commercial campaign for the new car. Back in India, the company was busy rolling out the first of its K12M engines that will power the new addition to its portfolio. In most countries it is called the Splash, but in India it will feature the Ritz moniker.

Based on the Swift platform, the Ritz is just 3.7 metres long. Designed to replace the Wagon-R in European markets, the Ritz is about 18 centimetres longer. The design of the car is in line with the current range of Suzukis and despite the tall boy approach, it looks less top heavy than the boxy Wagon-R. With the extra length, it has managed to liberate more interior room and this makes it a better environment to be in. Like always, there are bits and pieces of the Swift that can be found on the inside, but the overall quality is better than the Wagon-R.

With near similar underpinnings and the option of a petrol engine to begin with, the Maruti Ritz will take on the likes of the Hyundai i10 Kappa with its new K12M engine. This 1197cc four-cylinder uses a DOHC configuration just like the Kappa, but produces even more power. Rated at 84 bhp@6000 rpm, the power figure is just as impressive as the torque — at 11.4 kgm@4500 rpm. So how come Maruti have managed to pull it off? Well, they’ve adopted an all-aluminium engine with an innovative rocker-less DOHC camshaft, a distributorless ignition system, lighter pistons and nut-less conrods and a new silent timing chain to reduce NVH.

To assemble this marvel of an engine, Maruti Suzuki has localised most of the engine components to keep costs in check. This means when the engines roll out from Maruti’s Gurgaon drivetrain facility, they will be priced competitively enough to ensure the Ritz stays in the hunt of its competition. While the car is also available internationally with the 1.3-litre DDiS engine, we won’t get it for now, until Maruti can satisfy the demands of the Swift and Swift Dzire with its limited production capacity.

While Maruti is tight-lipped about prices just yet, we think it’ll be priced around the i10 Kappa, which puts it in the Rs 4.25 to 5.25 lakh range. Given its slightly larger dimensions and better interior room, it could be a probable winner in the Indian market when it rolls out in May. A sizzling battle for your wallets is in the offering.

First global car turns 100 !

Henry Ford's Model T, which changed the world's automobile industry, is a 100 years old.

American auto giant Ford Motor Company is observing the 100th anniversary of the Ford Model T in a year-long series of celebrations to honour the iconic vehicle.

The Ford Model T made its debut on October 1, 1908. It was the world's first low-priced, mass-produced automobile that was reliable and could be maintained easily. The car, whose production finally stopped on May 26, 1927, sold more than 16.5 million units, making it the 7th best-selling car ever in automobile history.

On December 18, 1999, the Ford Model T was named 'Car of the Century.' Henry Ford called the Model T 'the Universal Car.' It was also called the Tin Lizzie.

The Model T was equipped with a 20-horsepower, side-valve four-cylinder engine and two-speed planetary transmission on a 100-inch wheelbase. The car had a top speed of about 70 km per hour. The car weighed 550 kg. It had a fuel consumption of between 6 and 9 km per litre.

Ford established the Ford Motor Company to manufacture automobiles in 1903, and began to produce a few cars a day at the Ford factory in Detroit. He then set up a massive industrial complex along the Rouge River in Dearborn, Michigan, and then went ahead to revolutionise the way automobiles were produced. Although he did not invent the automobile or the assembly line, Henry Ford was the first person to apply the assembly line technique to produce cars.

He combined the techniques of precision manufacturing, division of labour and an assembly line -- where workers remained in one place, adding one component to each car as it moved past them on the line -- to make cars. Workers received the spare parts through a conveyor belt at specifically timed intervals to keep the process smooth and efficient.

This transformed the way cars were produced. It reduced the time taken to assemble each vehicle and drastically lowered costs. It also made Ford Motor Company the world's largest auto maker.

In 1914 Ford produced 308,162 cars. The company's web site says that this was more than all the 299 other auto manufacturers combined! By the time the last Model T was built in 1927, Ford was manufacturing a car every 24 seconds. The first Model Ts were sold for $825. This was much cheaper than what other cars cost then.

Remarkably, over the years, Ford continued to steadily lower its price, thanks to its manufacturing efficiencies. The Ford Model T was also the world's first truly global car. By 1927, it accounted for almost 57 percent of all the cars manufactured the world over.

Hyundai to hike car prices by up to 2%

Hyundai Motor India, today said it would raise the prices of its products by up to 2 per cent from the first week of June.

"There has been an increase in the input costs and we have been absorbing it for a while. The situation now is such that we have to pass some parts of it to the consumers," Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) Senior Vice-President Marketing and Sales Arvind Saxena said.

He said the company will hike the prices of its various models by up to 2 per cent. The price increase will come into effect from the first week of June, he added. Hyundai currently sells hatchback models Santro, i10, Getz along with sedans Accent, Verna, Sonata Embera in the country. The company's move to hike prices follows rival Maruti Suzuki India, which last week hiked prices across various models between Rs 1,000 and Rs 18,000.

Wallpaper : Ferrari California

Ferrari California is the name of the new Gran Turismo, joining the range of the Prancing Horse. Convertible with a folding hard top, powered by a V8 engine which is front-mid mounted for the first time in the marque,s history.

General Motors to enter used cars business

General Motors India (GMI), the fully-owned subsidiary of the world’s largest car maker General Motors, is planning to enter the used car business to keep up its sales momentum. It’s trying to emulate Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor, which are generating huge incremental sales of new cars in exchange of their older models.

GMI vice-president (sales and marketing) Ankush Arora said that they are working on the used car business and planning the format. Plans are on the drawing board and strategies will be rolled out in the next few months. This new initiative comes after GMI posted the highest growth of 71% (66,543 vehicles) in the Indian passenger car industry in FY08.

GMI is expanding its dealership count in tier I and tier II cities and the diversification into the used car business is expected to be a precursor to its planned launch of a small car, which will roll out from its new plant in Maharashtra. It has 120 sales outlets in India with a base of 96 dealers.

According to market sources, GMI will rope in its existing and new dealers and offer services such as evaluation and trading in of the customer’s existing car. GM’s used car outlets will primarily cater to buyers looking for a certified pre-owned car which will also serve as an upgrade.

Used car outlets such as Maruti True Value, Hyundai Exchange, Ford Assured and Honda Terrace have been successful in both extending the brand reliability and generating incremental car sales.