Can someone help me??

It's been nearly 1.5 years since I started dating with my cute little sweet heart (Maruti Zen) and I haven't yet given her the best gift she ever wanted....to sooth here ears... a car CD player... The thing is that I wanted to buy a CD player for my car with MP3 capabilities and if budget permits some good dolby kind of speakers... I've set my eyes on a pair of Sony speakers and audio player which costs around 16k in total... but am still not sure... because there are other loads of good bargains out there... There's this JBL, Pioneer, Kenwood, JVC etc. etc...

All the other major car stereo players in India dn't have a proper website and it's very difficult to assess their prices... Of course, I don't trust those dealers, they might put in some extras bucks...

So, if anyone knows anything about car stereo please help me out by commenting below or shooting me a mail -- radhakrishnanc (at) gmail.com

Couplix!!

Couplix, a unique two-cum-four-wheeler concept designed by an Indian student, Aman Midha, was recently selected for the Michelin Challenge Design 2005.

The Couplix is a transportation solution for cities as a coupe-styled open two-wheeler, which can be coupled with another of its kind and thus can be used as a car as well!!

Couplix is completely drive-by-wire hence when coupled, either of the two Couplix can be used to control the accleration, braking, and steering.

3 pointed star!

Mercedes-Benz purchases approx. 600,000 bonnet-mounted three-pointed stars per year. Not all mercs have them. The coupes, for example, have the star integrated into the grille. The supplier for the stars is a German company, Fingscheidt. The 600,000 only refers to serial production. The actual number increases further when the spare parts business is taken into account.

Xclusive - Vikram's Car!

click the pic for a larger view

Given above is Anniyan star Vikram's Porsche 911. Picture taken at Tidel Park, Chennai when he came to Sify's office for an exclusive chat with Sify.com users on Wednesday

Hero Honda Glamour!

Hero Honda Motors, india's No. 1 bike manufacturer has just launched a brand new bike christened Hero Honda Glamour!!

Though I haven't read much about it, Hindu came up with an article today saying that it's placed in the premium deluxe segment... and the price?? Rs. 45k ex-chennai!!

Going by the looks of the bike and it's new engine (125 cc `Quantum Core') courtesy Honda Japan promises a lot of goodies...

Will give out a full review once the bike hits the road!!

Mercedes launches its bicycle!!

Mercedes Benz, the three pointed wonder, which manufactures the dream machine of every car enthusiast has just launched a brand new series of bicycles in India.

The cycles, imported from Germany, is targeted mostly at Mercedes car buyers. The cycles are made from aluminium brass and operates on 27 gears. While Automatic Bike is priced at Rs 1,56,746; Mountain Bike and Fitness Bike are priced at Rs 1,12,655 and Rs 74,958, respectively.

PS: Who will buy this?? Obviously, Junior Millionares!

Fiat Adventure Sport!

Fiat India seems to be following sir Robert Bruce's dictum 'Try, try and try again'. It is now trying to crack open the Indian market with its latest launch, the Rs 5.58-lakh (ex-Mumbai) Fiat Adventure Sport. Paolo Castagno, the company's Managing Director, says it is important to communicate the car's many attributes to the customer. "We're offering a high-end (actually C segment) car and that's exactly what the positioning will be. This needs to be done since it is not a mass product," he says, adding that this time, the company will ensure that after-sales services are readily and easily available "because it is not enough if you just have a good product."

Ironically, despite an over 50-year presence in the Indian market, Fiat remains a bit player here. Its brand has been substantially eroded and it sells barely 200 Palios and Siennas a month. How does Castagno plan to revive the magic of the Fiat brand? "Customers here need a good mix of product and price. It is important for us to take one step at a time," he emphasises. Castagno's target for his new baby: though he was unwilling to share numbers on this, it is learnt that he is hoping to sell at least 200 cars a month.

It's been a rough ride so far. In 2004, Fiat India wrote off accumulated losses of Rs 1,300 crore and today, appears more focussed on the country. "We have taken a long-term view and our seriousness can be gauged from the fact that we have invested Rs 2,000 crore since 1997," Castagno says. How confident is he of pulling it off? "The challenges are different now and we will do our best to succeed here," he says, pointing out that though Brazil was a tougher market (than India), Fiat today has a 30 per cent share in it.

Source: BT

Italijet!

Kinetic Engineering Limited, the makers of the famous Kinetic Honda, recently launched a brand new scooter called Italijet. The Italijet series, seven in all, will range from 50-250 cc and be priced between Rs 25,000 and Rs 75,000, for domestic consumers.

Bajaj Avenger!

They've finally done it. Rumours about Bajaj plonking the feisty engine from the Pulsar 180 DTSi into the Eliminator had been doing the rounds for a while, and we can now confirm that they're true.

The new Avenger retails all the advantages of the earlier Eliminator bike and comes with the DTS-i engine and incorporates the ExausTEC for better low-end torque. It looks virtually identical to the machine it replaces, with Eliminator-spec mirrors, meters, lights, chrome console, brakes and wheels. The Pulsar engine's the same in terms of power output, only it's been tuned for more bottom-end torque in keeping with the cruiser character.

Given that the Avenger is about 30 kg heavier than the Pulsar, there's a drop in outright performance, but the increased torque makes for relaxed riding. The most significant change is in its price, at an estimated Rs 63,000 (ex-showroom), it's Rs 30,000 cheaper than the Elim, Rs 20,000 less than the Enfield Thunderbird and only Rs 4,000 more than the Yamaha Enticer.

PS: I own an Enticer folks!

Skoda's Kombi!

After achieving sales of 20,000 units in three-and-a-half years, Skoda Auto India has drawn up aggressive plans for the Indian market, which include not only rolling out over four new products in the next 12 months, but also establishing India as an export hub for the region.

Skoda at present sells 10 premium car models in India, which include the top end Skoda L&K, Skoda Superb and the SkodaRS.

For the current year, Skoda has plans to roll out variants on the D5 platform as well as the Combi (station wagon variant). This would be followed by an Octavia on the bigger A5 platform in January and the Fabia in the latter half of 2006.

'Made in China' cars aim to conquer Russia, Europe and USA

The number of cars in Beijing reaches 1.5 million - the need of export is vital

Buying clothes with a European label on, electronic appliances from Japan or air conditioners from Korea, people may often see another label stuck on the goods - "Made in China." The statistics is rather impressive: China makes 14.3 percent of world electronics and enjoys 21 percent of the global market of clothes. One may say that China makes everything that can be made. The car industry has been a weak point in the Chinese production, although the situation is changing for the better too.

The Chinese government said some 50 years ago that the development of the national car industry was the prime goal of the state. The share of the Chinese car industry in the nation's GDP already makes up 1.5 percent. Chinese automobile enterprises manufactured 5.07 million cars last year. The car output is expected to reach 5.64 million in 2005. Furthermore, China starts bringing its car industry to the European market, to Russia, first and foremost.

The history of the up-to-date car industry started in China in the middle of the 1950s. First car giants started appearing in the country with the direct participation of the USSR and Soviet specialists. China's largest car enterprise, First Automobile Group Corporation (FAW), was founded in 1953. Since the Soviet Union took an active part in development of the car industry in China, Soviet vehicles became the prototype of Chinese car models. It is noteworthy that some of FAW's top managers still speak very good Russian.

The Chinese car industry started flourishing in the 1980s. The government of China was buying licenses for its numerous car companies from largest Western corporations. Nowadays, China manufactures high-quality cars in cooperation with Japanese, European and North American companies.

The current year has become a crucial moment for the Chinese car industry. According to WTO requirements, the government canceled licenses and other restrictions for the import of cars. Duties on foreign cars had to be cut by 30 percent; a further reduction of 25 percent is to follow in the near future.

Chinese car makers reduced prices on their cars by ten percent in order to be able to resist the inundation of foreign-made vehicles. The practice will most likely continue in the future, for the specific weight of foreign cars on the Chinese market is lower than four percent.

There are 123 car-making companies in China nowadays. Only two of them can be considered large enterprises, producing over 500,000 cars a year. Eight Chinese car companies make up to 100,000 cars a year. The remaining 113 enterprises work at the capacity of less than 10,000 cars a year. The competition on the Chinese car market is rather tough, taking into consideration such correlation.

In the meantime, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and other large cities of the country suffocate in exhausts. Beijing suffers from huge traffic jams, which could probably be described as the heaviest in the world. The number of cars in Beijing reaches 1.5 million.

The government does not hurry to restrict the production of Chinese vehicles. One job in the car industry gives eleven vacancies in industry's adjacent branches. It is a highly important factor for the country with permanently redundant labor force.

China prefers to solve the homeland sales crisis with the help of export. Ironically, Russian consumers do not even know about the existence of Chinese cars on the Russian car market. Chinese cars would make the best price-quality ratio at this point.

As soon as Chinese car makers conquer the Russian car market, they plan to move ahead to Europe and the USA. It is worth mentioning that Chinese car giants plan to build giant factories and organize the assembly production in Russia too.

Via: Kirishnan!

Getz vs Swift

Suzuki Swift is touted as the answer to Hyundai's Getz.... Both are in the same league competing each other... While Getz was not a sensation, Swift definitely is... Getz came out with a mindblowing marketing blitz whereas Swift doubled it... So, who's the winner?? Read this Encounter between the two here

800 for less than Rs. 2 lakhs!

This was expected for a long time and finally the Indian car major Maruti Udyog Limited has introduced the sub-Rs. 2 lakh car!! Now ou can get a base model of Maruti 800 for as low as Rs. 1.99 lakhs. In effect, Maruti has straight away reduced Rs. 16,286 from the earlier price.

Matiz is back!

The new Chevrolet Matiz has just been launched worldwide and will be in India in 2006. The new Matiz, a comprehensive update of the Indian one, should be the perfect platform for GM's entry into the Indian small-car market, provided it can erase the memories of the Daewoo days.

The Daewoo Matiz was a good car, but with Daewoo’s failure, the Matiz disappeared. Subsequently General Motors bought over Daewoo worldwide and rebranded Daewoos as Chevrolets. Now, with the Matiz, GM finally has a city car to tap our market.

Now a Santro for Rs. 2.79 lakhs!

It’s time for a price war in the car market. The markdown mayhem expected to kick in with the launch of the Swift has finally set in, just a day after Maruti raised prices on its star debutante.

Hyundai Motor India hit back today with a Rs 16,000-19,000 markdown on three new variants of its bread and butter Santro Xing.

The company has introduced the XK and XL variants at a lower tag of Rs 3,26,999 and Rs 3,45,999 respectively.

The new price variants are likely to give Maruti’s existing B-segment models, Zen and WagonR a run for their money. Hyundai has also launched a new non-AC variant of the Santro at Rs 2.79 lakh, a tad higher than what the existing non-AC Santro costs.

Auto industry sources said that the next offensive is now due from Maruti. With the Santro’s new price positioning, Zen and particularly WagonR may be due for a correction, or at least a limited-period subvention. “If that happens the domino effect will kick in across the B-segment,” said a big-volume car marketer.

For now, though, Maruti has adopted a wait-and-watch approach though nobody is ruling out an offensive in the near future. Sources say, the market leader feels Hyundai’s latest initiative simply cuts out some of the existing discounts on the Santro.

“Net net the difference of prices remains unchanged because the dealer will now offer lower discounts on the Santro,” said an auto analyst. As for the increase in the price of the non-AC Santro, the volumes there are too small to matter. Hyundai’s price offensive comes on the heels of Maruti’s announcement yesterday that it would end the invitation price on the Swift from June 9.

Thereafter the car will be available at Rs 8,000-10,000 more. The new Swift prices put a safe distance between the debutante hatch and Maruti’s other B-segment models WagonR and Zen.

The Swift’s base Lxi version will move from its introductory tag of Rs 3.87 lakh to Rs 3.95 lakh. The top end Vxi and Zxi variants will go up to Rs 4.15 lakh and Rs 4.95 lakh respectively from the earlier rate of Rs 4.05 and 4.85 lakh.

The hike increases the difference between the Swift base model and the Zen and WagonR Lxi which have a sticker price of Rs 3.65 and Rs 3.7 lakh but command a Rs 10,000-12,000 discount.

With the Santro’s price aggression its gap with the Swift would increase, putting pressure on the Zen and WagonR.

Hyundai is positioning its new variants on the tech platform. Strapped with 1.1 litre engine with eRLX Active Intelligence technology, the new variants also come with new colour-coordinated interiors, a new front grill and a 4-speed AC blower that makes the air conditioning more efficient.

Commenting on the move WS Min, executive director, sales & marketing, HMI, said, “Hyundai has a tradition of providing value for money to its customers. Each year, we introduce design and technology upgradations in our cars. The launch of new Santro variants is another step in the direction of constantly offering something new to our customers at affordable prices.”

Source: ET

The Indian Car Review!

Am a big car & bike enthusiast and have always felt the need to write down what I felt about the latest cars and bikes in India....

So finally I created a place for myself in the big bad world of blogs to jitter down what I think of the Auto Industry in India....

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