Summary Posts and Topic bellow :)
The Honda City Petrol Automatic goes up against the Volkswagen Vento Automatic in a battle of the petrol automatics
Automatics are definitely catching on. With congested roads and insufferable traffic, automatic cars seem to be the answer for hassle free driving. And, the latest in the ever increasingly portfolio of automatic cars in India is the New Honda City AT. But to see how good it is, we have the Volkswagen Vento TSI for comparison - both good cars; both with modern, refined and fuel efficient drivetrains; but only one winner.
Efficient automatics, meanwhile, is a recent occurrence. Going back in time, the older generation automatic transmissions were a far cry from the new-age auto boxes, which struggled to cut a niche in India. This, of course, was also because the technology back then wasn’t up to the mark. Most old-school automatic gearboxes were slow and cumbersome; these guzzled fuel; were inefficient; and as a result were expensive to run compared to manuals. The only reason why anyone thought of buying an automatic car back then was because of their inability to let go of the clutch pedal, correctly.
After solving the low-cost production riddle, VW to give budget car project a nod
There is fresh news pouring in. The international automobile giant, Volkswagen AG, has finally found the right path to low cost production, and is planning to introduce a budget car in the foreseeable future. Germany's Manager Magazin has reported that Volkswagen's management board will be giving a go ahead to a budget car project, as the company has managed to find a solution to meet its cost targets for the vehicle.
The carmaker had earlier tried to break the budget car code with the help of Suzuki Japan, using their expertise in the segment, but the two had a fall out and the plan for a low-cost car was put on the back burner. Volkswagen could not come up with an answer that would satisfy the company’s need to build a car for a cost, and yet maintain the company’s standard of production. Now the engineers have come up with a practical solution for a new budget car which will have low cost of manufacturing, yet maintaining VW’s proven engineering standard, and will be developed for key emerging markets such as China and India.
India's high selling small cars fail Global NCAP test
Volkswagen India has announced that the Polo will now come with driver and passenger airbags as standard. A great move. What the release failed to mention however was that the reason for this move was the Polo's inability to meet the Global NCAP test in its base form. The base versions of the Polo hitherto did not come with any airbags at all. But Volkswagen's move must be seen in good light, at least for its future customers.
The Polo wasn't the only car that was subjected to a frontal crash test carried out at 64kmph; there were others, even more popular small cars, cars like the Maruti Suzuki Alto 800, the Ford Figo, the Hyundai i10 and India's most affordable car - the Tata Nano. These cars were tested in their base trims as well, and none of them had airbags. And all of these cars failed the test as well. But, unlike Volkswagen, none of the other car makers decided to make airbags standard across the model range to register a better score.
With 296hp coming out of its 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline engine, the VW Golf R
is powerful enough for a (hot) hatchback. However, it appears that VW
wants to squeeze more performance from its all-wheel-drive hot-hatch and
the result of its efforts is rumored to debut at the 2014 Beijing Motor
Show in April.
If the report from AutoExpress
is accurate, the German carmaker will unveil a lighter, more powerful
Golf R Evo at the Chinese venue. Quoting an inside source, the report
said the car will be presented as a study, with a production model
likely to follow.
While the standard Golf R’s
four-pot engine produces 296 hp (300PS) and 380 Nm (280 lb-ft) of
torque, the Evo model should receive a small power increase. However,
increased performance will mainly be due to weight-saving measures.
The
Golf R Evo is said to ditch the rear seats and replace them with a
roll-cage, use lighter bucket seats in the front and lighter alloy
wheels, as well as a carbon fiber roof and body panels.
So, Honda has discontinued the Accord. And the Passat from Volkswagen isn't available off the shelve either. And the reason for this, are poor sales numbers since the beginning of 2013. Now, both these cars are large, luxury items with price tags of almost Rs 30 lakh; a segment that's actually growing! So what went wrong?
Clearly, the Indian customer is willing to spend, and spend a decent sum for a set of luxury wheels; otherwise our inboxes won’t be choked with sales reports from Audi and Mercedes, month after month. But, the Indian customer isn’t willing to settle for a car that doesn’t have the right badge on the nose. If you consider the Accord and the Audi A4 for instance, the Honda is larger, more comfortable and way better suited as a chauffeur driven car. It isn’t exactly short on equipment, either. Yes, the build quality and the materials aren’t as good as on the Audi, but overall, it still makes a lot of sense.
The only reason for the Accord’s failure then, is the badge – when it comes to snob value a Honda can’t complete with an Audi, not in India. Another strong contributor for Accord’s slow sales, of course, has been the lack of a diesel engine.
The Rs 20 Lakh plus range is about to explode with a whole bunch of performance cars, sports sedans, sportscars, hot hatches, etc. We bring you a detailed report on what you can expect.
The Rs 20 Lakh plus range will have something for everyone. Read on and take your pick from some of the best automobiles in the world. From the Volkswagen Beetle to the Ferrari 458 Speciale, this cateory has it all
Volkswagen Beetle
Expected Launch: Early 2014
Expected Price: Rs 28.00-32.00 Lakh
Looking to buy a car under Rs 5 Lakh? We bring you a detailed analysis of what is coming to Indian shores in 2014
The Indian Public will have a dearth of choices for cars under Rs 5 Lakh in 2014 with manufacturers like Volkswagen and Skoda finally getting into the numbers game. Hyundai will have a relatively quiet year in this segment next year but expect alot of movement from the likes of Maruti suzuki and Tata Motors. The Bajaj RE60 too will finally see the light of day in 2014. The biggest car of the year in the segment though will be the Datsun Go and it will surely churn up alot of excitement and movement in this sector.
The 12th Auto Expo is less then two months away so here's a guide on what to expect at the fairground come February 07, 2014
The Indian car industry is seeing a slowdown making it more important for manufacturers to keep the enthusiasm alive among car buyers. The Auto expo is the perfect platform for car makers to showcase all cars new and refreshed that they have to offer. But you don’t have to wait that long because we’re telling you what’s coming to the Expo right now.
Volkswagen of America CEO Jonathan Browning said he’s surprised by the rate Americans are adopting diesel-powered models. Volkswagen is the market leader in the light-duty diesel vehicle segment in the U.S., holding a 72 percent market share - the equivalent of about 90,000 cars per year.
In the first ten months of this year, diesel vehicles made up 22 percent of Volkswagen of America’s total sales, far exceeding the company’s expectations. As the first diesel model in the U.S. mid-size sedan market, the VW Passat TDI had a key contribution to this result.
VW worried that customers may not only be reluctant to diesel, but to the brand as well, as it had to conquest a lot of customers from competitors. “We thought the step to convert them to the Volkswagen brand was going to be a fairly substantial step in itself, and then it would be an even bigger step to convert to diesel,” Jonathan Browning was quoted as saying by Autocar.
