Cyrus Dhabhar was born and brought up in a motorsport family and cars run deep in his blood. As a passionate founder and head of a classic car club in Mumbai and an avid part of the vintage and classic car scene in the country, Cyrus prefers his cars older and simpler. That said, he loves everything on four wheels and the occasional two-wheeler as well. Cyrus currently is the Assistant Editor - AUTO for the NDTV Group.
The Toyota Motor Company has invested in over $267 Million towards renewable energy development in Japan. The investment has been made in partnership with the SPARX Group in Japan and will be called the 'Mirai Renewable Energy Fund'. The fund has been set up to promote and increase the use of renewable clean energy across the island country in order to make Japan more self reliant towards its energy needs in the present and especially in the coming future. The find will essentially help promote the likes of solar and wind power apart from other sources like biomass, geothermal energy and hydropower.
Jeep India has launched a new top of the line variant for the popular Jeep Compass SUV in India. The new variant, Limited Plus, gets 18-inch alloy wheels, a new infotainment system and a panoramic sunroof. Prices start at Rs 21.07 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
We take a look at five long gone names from the Indian car scene that should make a comeback in the near future. They include the Maruti Suzuki Zen and Esteem, the Tata Sierra, the Mahindra Armada and of course, the Hindustan Ambassador
The iconic Volkswagen Beetle, possibly the most recognisable shape in the history of the automobile has come to an end. With production slated to wind down next year, the German automaker has showcased the 'Final Edition' of the compact car in the United States.
Toyota will now be making cars for Suzuki at its second factory in Bengaluru. The factory currently makes the Toyota Etios sedan and the Etios Liva hatchback.
The Hyundai Verna is the crowned king when it comes to the compact sedan segment. Launched in late 2017, the car took on its then rivals, the Honda City and the original Maruti Suzuki Ciaz to come out victorious. Earlier this year, it faced fresh competition from the Toyota Yaris too. But even the mighty Toyota wasn't mighty enough to pip the Verna to its top spot. And now, the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz facelift, recently updated with a new exterior, a new interior and of course a new petrol engine will try to take the fight to its biggest rival once again. But will the changes be enough to give it in an edge?? Read on to find out.
Recently Ford announced that it would pull out of all segments in the United States apart from the ever popular Mustang, the GT supercar and all SUVs or crossovers that it currently sells. This meant that the likes of the Focus hatchback and the Fusion, Fiesta and the larger Taurus sedan would be cut from the lineup to be replaced by crossovers and SUVs across the board. Ford originally planned to make the next gen Focus Active - a cross hatchback version of the standard Focus to Mexico but changed those plans to make the economy car in China instead. Recently though, the Trump administration, as a part of its trade war with China decided to impose a heavy 25 per cent tariff on all cars imported from China.
The Lexus ES range is the entry level sedan range for the Japanese luxury automaker in India. While Lexus has already launched the new 7th generation ES in the 300h or hybrid only spec a few weeks ago in India through a soft launch, this time around, the automaker has officially showcased the car for the first time in the country. Taking inspiration from the larger Lexus LS 500h and improving on the design bits from the 6th generation, the new Lexus ES showcases a very typically flamboyant design language. Incidentally, with the sedan making its debut globally just a few months ago, India is one of the earlier markets in the world to get this luxury sedan. Prices start at Rs. 59.13 lakh (ex-showroom).
The English language can be quite funny. And while in day-to-day life, most of us tend to make a hash out of phonetics atleast once a day, for us auto journalists, it is strange sounding car names that often catch us out. And while some manufacturers stick to basic naming for their models, some others tend to be a bit more flamboyant. Like the recently launched Mahindra Marazzo. Mahindra's marketing blurb says the new seven or eight seater MPV is designed after the form of a shark (the XUV 500 was designed after the form of a Cheetah) and the name means shark in the Basque language too.
The new Maruti Suzuki Wagon R will be launched in India in early 2019. The new car has already been launched in Japan and is available there with a small 660 cc engine as it is classified under the Kei Car category. In India, the new Wagon R will most likely get the 1-litre K10 engine that already powers the car today and also powers the likes of the Alto K10 and the Celerio. While the current version of the car also gets CNG, it is not confirmed whether the new version of the car will get this alternate fuel option too. While there has been a lot of talk about the diesel version of the Wagon R in the past, considering the fact that the 1.3-litre engine might be a little too much and the smaller 2-cylinder diesel engine that Maruti offered on the Celerio in the past is too noisy, we guess the car will get only a petrol option. Incidentally, Maruti Suzuki sells about 14000 Wagon Rs every month!
Electric cars are the inevitable future of mobility across the world and in India. Maruti Suzuki, India's largest automaker has already announced plans for a battery plant in India that will start making Lithium Ion batteries from 2020 and now, Osamu Suzuki, Chairman, Suzuki Motor corporation has announced more detailed plans for EVs too. Maruti Suzuki will start testing 50 electric vehicles in India from next month onwards and will launch its first EV in India in 2020. The electric vehicle program for India will be run alongside and with help from Toyota Motor Corporation with which Maruti Suzuki has a vehicle sharing joint venture.
After months of teasing and anticipation, Mercedes-Benz has finally taken the wraps off its first ever all-electric SUV, the EQC. The new EQC will take on the likes of the Jaguar I-Pace and the Tesla Model X along with upcoming electric cars from a range of automakers like BMW and Audi. The while some manufacturers do decide to go futuristic with their design language, sometimes even a bit over the top, Mercedes-Benz on the other hand has kept it a lot more 'normal' resulting in quite a handsome looking car. The new EQC is also the first production vehicle from the new EQ all-electric sub brand from Mercedes-Benz.
The Maruti Suzuki Ertiga is the most popular MPV in India with over 4500 units sold every month on average. Almost 6 years old though, even though sales figures are still up there, the Ertiga desperately needs an update in India in order to take on the likes of newer MPVs like the recently launched Marazzo. The second generation Ertiga MPV has already been unveiled internationally and you can read everything about it HERE and now we have more news about its India launch. According to our sources, the new new Maruti Suzuki Ertiga launch in India is scheduled fro the last week of October - sometime between Dussehra and Diwali to make the most of the festive season.
The Jeep Compass in India is the American SUV maker's most affordable SUV and has been a great option for individuals looking for a conventional SUV design in the Rs 20-22 lakh range. While it has sold over 25,000 units since its launch over a year ago, a lot of car buyers have been asking for a diesel automatic option. Earlier this year we did drive the Jeep Compass Diesel Automatic (click the link to read the review) in Australia in its top spec 'Trailhawk' variant and were quite impressed with it. While Jeep India has originally intended to launch the Compass Trailhawk diesel automatic in 2018, reports now suggest that the launch schedule has now been pushed to early 2019. Bookings for the Jeep Compass Trailhawk Diesel Automatic have already begun at dealerships though.
The brand new MPV that gets both a seven seater and an eight seater configuration - Mahindra Marazzo has been launched in India. With a 1.5-litre diesel engine that makes 121 bhp of peak power and 300 Nm of peak torque. The official fuel economy figure for the car is rated at 17.6 kmpl. The Mahindra Marazzo is priced rather competitively in a range where no other 7 seater MPVs are currently selling. We see how it compares vs its biggest rivals, the rather affordable and India's highest selling MPV, the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and India's most premium MPV, the Toyota Innova. And to make things more interesting we also see how the rather well liked Tata Hexa compares too. Of course, since the Mahindra Marazzo is available only with a diesel manual engine and two wheel drive, we shall be comparing onto diesel + Manual + two wheel drive versions of its competitors too.
The Jeep Compass is one of the more popular SUVs in the country and even won the 2018 NDTV CarAndBike 'Car Of The Year' award. And now with sales seeing a slight dip as compared to a few months ago and the festive season approaching, Jeep has decided to spruce up its lineup by offering some special editions and a new variant too. The Jeep Compass will soon get a limited edition 'Black Pack' which will be available exclusively on the current top spec 'Limited (O)' variant. The 'Black Pack' will essentially be a visual package with black wheels, a black roof and black ORVMs (outside rear view mirrors). The Jeep Compass Black Pack will also get an all black leather interior that aims to give the SUV a more upmarket feel.
Maruti Suzuki, India's largest automaker is also India's largest seller of automatic cars. With the likes of popular models like the new Swift, Dzire and even the sub-compact Vitara Brezza SUV getting an automated manual transmission or AMT unit, urban buyers are lapping them up by the thousands. In figures shared exclusively with NDTV carandbike, Maruti Suzuki has revealed that since the introduction of AMT, or as Maruti Suzuki calls is - AGS (Auto Gear Shift), the automaker has sold 3.6 lakh cars in India with this gearbox. In comparison, sales of the CVT or standard torque convertor automatic on the likes of the Baleno and the Ciaz are said to be less than 10 per cent of the AMT's overall sales.
Bugatti recently launched the brand new track focused Divo at the Monterrey Car Week in the United States on the sidelines of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Earlier this year, the French hypercar maker had launched the new Chiron S, a more handling focused version of the Chiron too. And now it seems that there is a third car on the cards too and that one is not a hypercar in its purest sense but a super sedan instead. It has been a known fact that Bugatti has been working on different body styles on the sidelines to accompany it's hypercar lineup and the sedan was the most expected bodystyle too.
_650x400_16_August_18.jpg "New Hyundai 'AH2' Or Santro To Be Unveiled On October 9")
What is most certainly one of the most anticipated and most awaited cars of the year, the new Hyundai AH2 or Santro will be unveiled to a select group of auto journalists - including NDTV carandbike on October 9, 2018. While pictures and some select details of the car will not be unveiled just yet, we promise to bring you a whole bunch of news and details on the new Hyundai small car including a first impression on how the car drives along with details of the engine dynamics, handling, platform and interior space. The new Hyundai Santro or AH2 will be the replacement for the Hyundai Eon and will be more affordable than the Hyundai Grand i10.
Pagani, the boutique Italian hypercar maker known to make the most expensive brand new car in the world, the Pagani Zonda HP Barchetta will soon make an electric car. According to reports, the owner and founder of the brand, Horacio Pagani has confirmed that the automaker will launch an electric car buy 2025. The Huayra, the hypercar that Pagani currently builds is it the end of its life cycle and will be replaced soon by a new hypercar too. That one though will not be electric and will use the same AMG sourced V12 naturally aspirated engine with a manual gearbox.
