Maruti still number one in the Indian Market

Maruti still being the number one choice amongst Indian consumers may come as a suprise but what was even more suprising is Hyundai not being able to emerge a winner in a single segment even.

Cars were rated best on the 10 factors , covering aspects such vehicle exterior, fuel economy, driving dynamics, engine power and transmission smoothness, driving safety, music system and air-conditioning.

Honda emerged the winner in the luxury segment with its civic and Toyota was able to wino the MUV segment with its innova.The maruti swift and the SX4 have won this particular title now for the second year in a row.

source:
[the economictimes]

Honda india hit by quality problems

Just when toyota is on its quality revoultion is it just coincidence that one of its biggest rivals is hit by quality issues.And yes it is not a one off issue ,alarmingly quality issues are becoming far too common for Honda.

Things like faulty paint to substandard airconditioners are just not acceptable.Thankfully our consumer courts do think the same and Honda has been asked to compensate the consumer in all cases.Honda on its part is not willing to accept its fault and is more intent on settling the issue in courts.

The latest issue was regarding the Honda crv losing power abrubtly and stalling in the middle of the road.This after paying close to 20 lakhs on the vehicle.Similarly somebody else is fighting for faulty paint used on his Honda City.

Rather aptly ET calls it Mistrust rides with Honda[remember the nature rides with Honda campaign]

[source:economictimes]

New Honda city now spotted in China

Autocarindia were right after all.The new honda city is for all to see and guess what it is a stunner.I have no doubts it will sell well.What I also feel is this new car will make it to more markets across the world,one of which should definitely be the US.

The launch well seems like I am wrong by a month.It would be on the roads definitely now in a month or two.Even if you are thiniking of the Honda civic I suggest hang on till the new city hits the roads.

From the malaysian Honda jazz launch the i-dsi engines seem to have been dumped by toyota.Be prepared for the onslaught of the i-vtec's.One thing is for sure expect a steep hike in prices in the new nexy generation honda city.

[source:Paultan.org]

More pictures:

Here

Honda Civic Sport Launched

Honda, which entered the Indian car market in 1997, has crossed the three lakh customers milestone in the country and thus launched the Limited Edition Civic Sport at Rs 12.36 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) to mark the occasion.

Honda had entered into a joint venture with Siel Limited, a Siddharth Shriram Group company, in 1995 to form Honda Siel Cars India Ltd (HSCI) and launched its first car in 1997.

The new sports Civic will be powered by the same 1.8 litre petrol engine as in the existing model but would have additional features such as front and rear spoilers, white alloy wheels with sports badging.

Till date HSCI has made an investment of Rs 1,620 crore with a further investment of Rs 1,000 crore being pumped in for setting up its second plant in Rajasthan, from where it will roll-out its compact car. The company has a current production capacity of manufacturing 100,000 cars.

Source - Motorbeam

Toyota beats Honda in fuel efficieny

Honda cars are the most fuel efficient or are they?Guess who just bagged the award for having the most fuel efficient line-up in america.Its toyota and yes inspite of having gas guzzlers like the Tundra and other SUV's ,Toyota has still managed to better its japanese rival .

What this means is that the smaller cars from Toyota are much more fuel efficient than Honda's which has made up for the gas guzzlers.Ofcourse having the Prius in your line-up certainly helps.The official figures are that fuel efficiency for the entire Toyota lineup in USA is 29.69 mpg while that for rival Honda is 29.47 mpg.Hyundai is not too far behind with an mpg of 29.39 for its entire line-up.

What this means for you is that given the high prices for fuel you are best off in a Toyota if you are looking for something from the mainstream market or else for something exotic go for a Lotus[30.2mpg for its entire line-up]

[Source:Autoblog]

Next generation Honda city to get 1.8L i-vtec engine

A reader of the blog has sent the following tip in one of his comments on the next generation honda city.Unfortunately no name has been given and so I cannot personally thank him for the same.However that said whoever you are thank you very much for the invaluable tip.

I quote his comment as it is

"There will be no 1.3L engine any more.1.5L and 1.8L will take place. 1.5L i-vtec will be the same on the new jazz,and 1.8L will be R18A,just the one on civic sedan."

This will make the Honda civic or the next generation honda city choice even more interesting.Ofcourse no official word from Honda yet in this regard[they are not even acknowledging the fact that the next generation city is in the pipeline forgot about engine configurations].Once I do get a confirmation I shall update all of you.

As far as launch date is concerned seems to have been postponed to november 2008.

Honda civic horrific accident

Remember the ford ikon which was cut in half,received an email forward of a similar crash this time of a honda civic.The accident took place in Thailand.


Just look at the distance between where the front half of the car lies and the back half is[refer above picture].



Have no doubts the honda civic is an absolutely safe car,infact its one of the safest around on our indian roads.Its just that the most important safety device is the driver and ofcourse luck.

RIP the poor souls involved.

Landrover,Honda,Toyota plan new hybrids

Looks like hybrids it is to tide over the present oil crisis.Whether it is a sustainable long term solution or only a temporary fix is the million dollar question.Manufacturers like Nissan do not think so and are betting on electric vehicles.Even the poster boy of hybrids is talking of electric vehicles and even hydrogen to power its vehicles.However even by the most conservative estimates a Tata Nano powered by hydrogen is not a possibility in the near future[not atleast for the next 15 years says a study].For the time being then we have no option but to depend on hybrids to save the planet and our wallet.

In this backdrop Honda plans to follow toyota and have an exclusive Hybrid only model[like the toyota prius].This after the honda accord hybrid did not bring in the intended sales and had to be discontinued.The civic hybrid too isnt really the dream car of greenpeace activists.What is also interesting is that the civic hybrid too is getting a facelift perhaps Honda are going to come out with a facelift version of the civic[non-hybrid] version too in the near future.

Toyota too are not resting on the back of the sucess of the prius.Toyota now plan a bigger and more powerful[reportedly 2-2.5L engine].Apart from this ofcourse lexus too plans a hybrid only model.

Finally Landrover to have taken the green plunge and although they will initially start with diesels with start-stop technolgy they are heading towards desel -electric vehicles[Would FEV be working on this too is not known at this moment].Landrover say these vehicles would be equipped with e-terrain[electric rear axle drive (ERAD)] technology.What these means is you can drive these cars without starting the engine[it will do it for you].However unlike honda and toyota landrover don't intend a hybrid only vehicle.

The VW jetta is here

If you believe the tech specs you will certainly feel VW is selling a c-segment car for the price of a d-segment one.We have C -segment sedans with more powerful engines forget about competition like the Honda civic.Yes petrol prices are high but if you end up with the VW petrol something surely is wrong considering the cheaper rivals like the Honda Civic and the upcoming Toyota corolla.Guess this is the german joke VW are referring to in their ads.

The saving grace ofcourse is the 1.9L tdi [diesel engine] but again prices are still on the higher side with cars like the Honda accord within striking distance.The diesel engine after its success in the skoda laura should be the one most buyers would opt for.The VW family[includes skoda] believe that Indians ought to pay a significant premium for buying cars from their line-up and their strategy has not been a complete failure so far.

What are the goodies you get for the top of the range variant.For starters you get 8 airbags then there is the six speed auto-box[DSG] however that is only for the diesel variant.

Prices range between Rs.13 lakhs to Rs16.70 lakhs[ex-showroom delhi]

Tech specs:
1>1.6L petrol engine: Power 102ps@5600 rpm and torque 148Nm@3800rpm

2>1.9L TDi[diesel] engine: Power 105ps@4000 rpm and torque 250Nm@1900rpm

Is it worth the money.In my opinion no,I would stick with the cheaper japanese cars.I just hope Toyota don't get the wrong ideas from VW after the Jetta launch.Then ofcourse there is the skoda laura,why would you put your money on the VW.

[image source:wikipedia]

Next Generation Honda City:According to Autocarindia

After the spy pictures its now time for some real action and this time it is thanks to autocarindia who have done a brilliant job as far as their computer generated image is concerned.The next generation honda city is now for our viewing pleasure.

Thanks to paul tan for putting up these images on the internet.

The new city definitely does have a sporty touch to it with the design more or less based on the european civic.What I just did not get is those rear tail lamps[look at the spy pictures too].They could definitely have been better and its as though the designers just came down to planet earth while coming up with those tail lamps after designing an out of this world car.

Autocarindia says possible launch date is November 2009 for India.

After seeing this car once again I say who needs the Civic.In size it is definitely bigger than the existing honda city and yes the car is going to be more expensive than the existing honda city.How much is the question.I believe the honda jazz would take the place of the existing honda city in terms of pricing while the newer generation city would go upmarket.

The new honda city would be powered by the i-vtec range of petrol engines[1.3L and 1.5L] which means the existing 1.5L i-dsi engines are in all probability all set to be discontinued.If only honda plonks in their i-ctdi engine into the new honda city.

[image source:Paultan.org originally from autocarindia]

Honda's dream powers it ahead of Toyota

From being a supplier to Toyota to now being a threat to Toyota,Honda has come a long way.So what has Honda done that has help it come out of the shadows of big brother Toyota.

Quite literally its the power of dreams.What else can explain the fact that their assembly lines are so advanced that they can switch from manufacturing SUV's and pickups to small fuel efficient cars within a span of ten days.Compare this to Toyota on the other hand which supposedly would take atleast a year for a similar switch.The end result Honda is able to cater to changing consumer demands almost instantly whereas Toyota is caught on the wrong foot.

Another reason why Honda have been so successful is they have been consistent in what they do.They seem to be having a winning formula and they don't like to change it.Why did Toyota move away from the Japanese way to the more American way of huge pickups and suv's after all wasn't this the main reasons for the demise of the American car giants and the success of the Japanese manufacturers was in fuel efficient small cars.Toyota is making the same mistakes by wanting a share of the pie in all segments.

If at all Honda has changed its only for the better with their cars going more upmarket.

Honda's main success however lies in its fuel efficient vehicle range.Honda cars continue to remain the best in class as far as fuel efficiency goes.During these times of high oil prices where do you think customers would head to.

You need not go any where else just look at the state of affairs of both the companies in India to pick the winner between the two.Toyota india's condition has been so sorry that now they are facing a mass exodus of their top management even.As many as seven of the best men have opted to work for rivals.Does a company like Toyota need thirteen years to sell a car meant for the mainstream market.

I am sure if things stand as they are the crown would very well pass from Toyota to Honda.

Honda Sources once more confirm launch of all new honda city by year end

Last time it was honda dealers,this time its from sources in Honda itself,the next generation honda city is all set to be launched by the end of the year and India could be one of the first markets where the new car would be sold.

As is Honda policy the present honda city [2008] will be discontinued for the new car.Like all new honda cars the 2009 honda city has grown in size compared to its predecessor and the interiors have been further spruced up.The car has been designed very much keeping in mind the american market and expect honda to sell this car in the US markets as well somewhere in the future.

Honda have decided to bring in the 1.5 i-Vtec engine but whether they discontinue the i-dsi engines for the 1.3 i-vtec's I am not sure atleast in markets like India.

Ofcourse do expect a rise in prices too with this next generation honda city and expect the Honda jazz to fill the gap which would be left by the outgoing honda city.

The car is on test on the roads in India and thanks to team-bhp we were able to spot spy pictures of the car,Please refer this post for more:Next generation Honda city spotted

Now you have no reason to complain that you were uninformed about the new honda city,this blog was amongst the first to report the expected 2009 Honda city launch by the year end[2008].

[Source:Moneycontrol.com]

Honda launches the Honda Civic Executive

After a relatively successful run in the Indian market ,the civic sales have taken some what of a beating of late[though not as much as the Toyota corolla].New competitors and a lack of a diesel option are the major factors working against the Honda civic.[No unlike popular perception, ground clearance or rather lack of it has so far not kept away any buyer]

Honda is now trying to attract new segments of customers and what best than existing Honda city buyers.The Honda civic executive is aimed at customers who would otherwise have ended up with the Honda city Vtec.Honda has badged the car,executive and says the car is aimed at executive.Honda have intelligently cut down on a few extras and have been able to price the car at Rs.10.80 lakhs.Things like the side protectors,leather wrapped steering wheel and chrome from some parts of the body have been removed in the executive version.Also you get a lower spec'ed Music system[all things things can easily be retrofitted at your accessories shop]. You also don't get climate control,alloy wheels and rear seat based audio controls.

However would this be enough for the Honda to save itself against the attack of the diesel toyota corolla,my opinion don't think so.Until the corolla arrives[expected by august,2008] sales of the civic will rise courtesy the executive variant.A very smart move from Honda indeed and it is homework well done.

[Source:Economictimes]

Honda City resale prices fall drastically

Honda have time and again refused to accept that diesel is the way out in the Indian markets.For a long while they have managed to get away even.But now when times are getting tough even a company like Honda cannot get away any more.

Yes sales of new cars has been down for a while now.But now it is hurting where it hurts the most.For long honda has been proud about the resale value of its cars and even used it as a sales strategy for new cars.But now things have all changed Honda city resale value has fallen by 25-30% and that too just from the date when fuel prices where increased.Honda was always going to be the most affected simply because it had only petrol cars in its portfolio.What is interesting is that according to the report[BS] Honda civic too has been badly hit with everybody in a hurry to sell but relatively fewer buyers for the car in the seconds market.

Is Honda the only company affected no,General motors have been way too slow in adopting diesel into its line-up when it comes to the more mass market cars[leaving aside the tavera].

The ford fiesta too is suffering with the bad resale value and fords problems seem to continue with resale value of their cars.

The huge discounts on the Toyota Corolla and the lack of demand has affected its prices too in the seconds market.The mitsubishi lancer cedia is another car which is not doing well in the seconds market.

For a while it was the golden run of C and D segment cars in India but that run has abruptly come to an end.

According to the report there is an oversupply of the Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, Ford Fiesta, Mitsubishi Lancer, Toyota Corolla ,Honda CRV, Ford Endeavour and the Hyundai Tuscon in the seconds market.

So what are Indian buyers buying now.Well we too have taken to the smaller is better strategy and if at all a bigger car is purchased it is a diesel.Maruti and hyundai are the more popular choices in the seconds market with WagonR, Zen, Alto, M800, Swift, Omni and Hyundai's Santro and Getz being the most sort after.

[source:Business Standard]

Team-bhpian Spots possible new Honda City.

The all new 2009 Honda city has finally been spotted and thanks to team-bhp once more for this exclusive.Here are the spy pictures captured by a team-bhpian from Pune city

The front grill and the UP registration more or less indicate that it is from the Honda stables but unlike the jazz there is a difference in A-pillars so cannot confidently say this is the all new Honda city.

.As far as the overall looks are concerned it is a bit disappointing atleast from the spy pics,I am not happy especially with the rear of this car[Oh I know this is becoming a bit too frequent in my posts].But this is more Toyota Vios like.

The new car definitely has grown up indicating that Honda may even consider an american launch of this vehicle.With rising oil prices small cars have come into focus oflate and I have no doubt Honda are seriously considering launching this new city in the american market as well. like more of an effort to appease american customers than the asians.



Now as for the launch the august 2008 global premiere just looks on track. Now you know why Honda has cut prices.

Please visit Team-bhp for the entire coverage and rest of the pictures.:
Next Generation Honda City

Once again confirms why Team-bhp is the best resource for The Indian Automotive Scene.


[Source:Paultan.org ,Team-bhp]
[image source:Paultan.org]

Honda to launch Civic hybrid on June 18th

Everything seems to be going according to plan so far[remember Mr Kuldip Nayar, Chairman of Pinnacle Honda] after the accord launch the civic hybrid launch too has been confirmed.Now only the Next generation honda city launch remains.

Honda will launch its civic hybrid in India on June 18th and it would be available for test-drives at all its 80 dealerships from day one.After all Honda want to showcase this car as honda's commitment to the environment and depending on its success plan the future course for environment friendly vehicles in India.

Although the timing is perfect what is disappointing is the goliathian price tag of approx Rs.20 lakhs plus[and that too not the on road price].

Honda is having a dual strategy in India where it plans to take on the economy segment like the nano and the maruti 800 with its bikes while its cars target the upper segments.

Also read:
Honda civic hybrid- Taking nature for a ride

[source:the hindu]

Update:Now launched with a 1.3L petrol electric engine and a price tag of Rs.21.5 lakhs[ex-showroom]

Honda to launch four new models in Japan this year[2008]

Honda wants to improve its market share in the Japanese market amid rising concerns that the Japanese have lost interest in cars.In order to garner interest Honda plan to launch four new models in the Japanese domestic market this year[2008].Honda are targeting a 15% marketshare by doing so.

The first of these four models is said to be an all new minivan and would be launched in just a few days time,May 29th 2008 to be precise.This minivan is supposedly called the Freed.It is built on the same platform as the all new honda jazz/fit and can seat upto eight people but in terms of dimensions should not be much longer than the Honda city and is being called a mini "mini-van"[the double usage is intentional].
An artists rendering of the new minivan

Now such a vehicle would be ideal for countries like India too and since it is based on the Honda jazz and city platform not be that difficult for Honda to manufacture in India even.The only problem which I can see is the lack of a diesel option which would most certainly kill the product in India.Even then given the honda brand name in India it may be able to sell a few in honda's stronghold the north indian markets[north india accounts for 40% of honda's sales].But worry not Honda's Ogawa[japan] engine factory is all set to be up and running by the first half of 2009 and apart from petrol engines it will also spin out diesel engines.Now whether that means we will see smaller diesel engines in cars like the honda city and the jazz is anybody's guess but there is certainly something to be optimistic about.

Actual interiors of the mini-minivan

Now as for the rest of the cars to be launched this year by Honda,yes you guessed it right one of them will most certainly be the next generation Honda fit aria or the Honda city as we know it here.AS for the rest I have a feeling one of them is already launched in the form of the all new jazz[however I am not sure if two entirely new models are in the pipeline as well].

[Source:Bloomberg]
[image source:edmunds.com]

Honda civic hybrid- Taking nature for a ride

Now its a well known fact that most of the save the planet claims regarding hybrids is just nothing more than shrewd marketing.But what's most interesting is the company which rides on the green tag has actually performed the worst when it came to real world conditions.

Auto express UK tested various hybrids under standard road conditions and the results are quite startling.Unlike manufacture claims Hybrids are nowhere as environment friendly or fuel efficient.Infact these green cars are emitting 56% more carbon dioxide than what the manufacturers claim.Auto manufacturers are taking undue advantage of the scare regarding global warming and are misinforming customers.Its upto federal agencies to ensure that consumers are not taken for a ride.

Of the cars tested not a single hybrid lived upto expectation and such was the Honda civic hybrid performance that the hybrid tag is called nothing but a marketing gimmick.Neither did it live upto its fuel efficieny claims but also polluted the environment much more than claimed by the company[Instead of the 109g/km of CO2 claimed in the makers' specifications, it was found to put out 171g/km. ].Now we know why Honda says it has taken nature for a ride.So if any of you are interested in the Honda civic hybrid[which in anycase is overpriced at Rs.20-25 lakhs] may this be an eyeopener.

But its not only the civic hybrid,even though other hybrids like the Toyota prius did not do so badly at the tests they certainly do not live upto the environmental friendly tag and all incentives by governments for such petrol-electric hybrid vehicles need a serious relook.

Whats the way forward,thankfully we have cars like the Honda Fcx,now that's an environmental friendly car true to its name but for the moment its best to stick to diesel and not get carried away by the manufacturers marketing brilliance.

[source: sify]

Honda cuts sales targets for the year

This year has not really been good for Honda.Newer rivals and overall a negative market sentiment have meant that its bread and butter model the Honda city is not selling as much as Honda expected it to.

Honda had an ambitious target of achieving 90,000 units for this calender year but this target just looks more or less an unlikely proposition.Honda has had a see-saw year with sales rising and falling every other month.Whether the new Honda city[next generation] brings about a change in this trend is what we have to wait and see.

Honda are looking at winning over the enviornmentalists with the launch of the civic hybrid later this year.However even with the excise cut for hybrids the civic hybrid would command a significant premium over its petrol counterpart.On the plus point you feel have done your bit for the enviornment and also get 60% better fuel efficiency than the petrol variant[though I suggest if its the latter proposition which attracts you more,you are better off looking at cheaper diesels from rivals]

For 2009 however Honda are banking on the Jazz[honda's small car].This car is expected by 2009 end by which time the Rajasthan plant should be up and running.But what Honda should learn from Skoda[Fabia] is that a high priced hatchback may not necessarily bring in volumes even if it has a brand name attached to it.

What Honda really needs is a diesel engine in the mass market segment and a sensible pricing strategy.

The 8th generation Honda accord is here

Generally one does not tend to associate value for money with Honda but if you are shopping around in the premium sedan segment and have a petrol in mind you need to look no further than the latest genertion Honda accord which is available at a bargain if compared to its competition[Camry,teana].

Three variants have been launched the Accord 2.4,Accord 2.4 Elegance and Accord 2.4 Inspire with prices starting from Rs 16.49 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) and going up to Rs 18.14 lakh for the top variant.

After success with paddle shifts in the Honda civic,Honda now are offering the accord with paddle shift five speed automatic transmission.What powers the car is a 2.4L ,180 ps @6500rpm and 222Nm @6500rpm, E10 petrol engine which is euro 4 compliant.Sadly we do not get the V6 with VCM[ Variable Cylinder Management ].The plus point is fuel efficiency has now improved by 8% compared its predecessor.


If there is one area of concern its the looks department although I am told in real life things are a lot better than what the pictures suggest.In terms of dimensions the overall length and width of the car has increased by 80 mm and 25 mm respectively.


Honda have thankfully not skimped on the safety equipment and the new accord comes with 6 airbags.When it comes to interiors its a Honda do I have to even write more.For the drivers comfort you get 8 way power adjustable seats with lumber support[lucky chauffeurs].The audio system comes with a USB slot.

All in all we have a winner once more with Honda raising the bar when it comes to luxury and performance but at the same time showing the way in terms of pricing[wow I never thought I would write that about a Honda].

[Source:Economictimes]

[image source:Hondacarindia]