Scorpio Automatic launched

It was just waiting to happen,Mahindra plan to enter the US market soon and if they wanted to sell anything there then they cannot leave out automatic transmission.

Rather than risk trying out the new systems in the US market,Mahindra have taken the safer option of the Indian markets after all nobody is going to sue them here if anything goes wrong.

Mahindra are not looking for numbers and hence the automatic is the most expensive scoprio to be sold at about Rs.10.2 lakhs ex-showroom price in pune.The scoprio and Mahindra have come a long way and the tractor maker looks likely to be heading the Landroer way and focussing more on the premium segment than utility.

Chrysler M&M Dispute

Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) and Chrysler are embroiled in a dispute over the front grill design and shape of the Scorpio. Chrysler alleges that M&M copied the design from its automobile marquee Jeep. There is speculation that Chrysler could initiate legal action against M&M. This could delay the US launch of the Scorpio.

Copying is not the first thing you will see in the automotive industry. If for every design copied a company would sue the other, then Hyundai would have been bankrupt by now for copying designs of various cars.

Some one in M&M says that Chrysler told them the Scorpio grill and the Jeep Wrangler grill look similar. So, can you do something about it? Yeah sure, why not change the grille of the Jeep?

Source

Facelifted Logan now officially unveiled

Dacia have now officially unveiled the all new facelifted logan[it is called the new Logan].Thanks to the spy pictures from the production lines there is no real suprise in store.

Please read:
Logan to get a Facelift soon

The amount of chrome used makes me wonder if Mahindra had a word or two with the design engineers.The interiors too have been touched upon to give it more of a modern look.Not sure when this facelifted logan will make it to India but yes it will make it to the indian markets in the near future alright.

The facelifted Logan may finally have the ABS option which is missing presently hopefully Mahindra renault adds an airbag for the front passenger's safety too.

[source:Autoblog.com]

Mahindra dealers take the less riskier route

Its not a good time to be selling pick-ups and SUV's even if it is the US market we are talking of.However Mahindra are all set to enter the US markets by early next year[2009] with their scorpio pick-up[not sure about its official name yet] and the SUV.

Yes mahindra says its different in that it would be cheaper and more economical[diesel and even a diesel hybrid] than its competitors but looks like even Mahindra dealers in the US don't have complete faith that an Suv or a pick-up would do well now,given the high oil prices.

Most Mahindra dealers in the US are arranging to sell the mahindra vehicles alongside other vehicles[from other manufacturers] rather than build a new facility.Perhaps isuzu's exit also has influenced them to some extent.Ofcourse for this arrangement the dealers would have to shell out between $125,000 to $150,000 to Global vehicles USA[who are the official importers].

[source:motortrend.com]

Why the Government should not subsidise imported Hybrids like the Honda civic and the Toyota Prius

Soon your dream of owning a hybrid car could turn out to be a reality and no this time its not only the rich who can dream of having the fancy hybrid badge on their cars.

Tata Motors is developing a hybrid model of its passenger car for only an additional Rs,45000 over its petrol only counterpart.Tata are planning hybrid version of the indigo and the indica apart from the ACE pick-up.Similarly Mahindra is all set to launch a Scorpio hybrid for an additional premium of Rs.80,000.Mahindra's hybrid is a diesel electric one.

Tata's vehicles are expected by 2010 while Mahindra's should be on the roads a bit sooner than that.

Newspapers like the Times of India on their front page are requesting the Government to subsidise hybrids even if they are not manufactured in India,the media says they should be given tax incentives and people should be encouraged to buy imported hybrids.Why should we import when this technology can be developed in our country itself.These imports would kill the domestics.If Honda and Toyota are indeed serious about protecting the environment why don't they manufacture hybrids in India itself.

[Source:Economictimes]

Renaults answer to the Honda city

Renault plan to launch a new c-segment car but his time unlike the claims this car is actually a proper c-segmenter capable of taking on the likes of the Honda city,Toyota vios and the Maruti SX4.lengthwise it should be approximately 4.6 meters.

This car seems to have the same front grille as the facelifted logan and since it is just an extension of the same platform there will be much more in common between the two cars.Renault definitely could have added a few radical french design touched to the car.

Although this new model would be launched by early next year[2009] in Europe,I am not sure about the Indian launch although I do have a hunch that renault will definitely consider this car for markets like India as well.

[source:Worldcarfans]

Logan to get a Facelift soon

A facelifted model of the Logan has been spotted in Europe.This new Logan sports a lot more chrome and ask Mahindra how much we Indians love Chrome.


Its just a matter of time before get the new facelifted Logan.Will this facelift revive interest and sales,well lets hope so.



There seem to be slight alterations in the interiors as well.

[Spource:worldcarfans via loganclub.ro]

Please note:Tata Motors and Mahindra

Here's what autoblog has to say[must add this is the general perception in the western world now]

"Got an automotive brand to sell? It doesn't matter how it's performing in the marketplace, whether its products are outdated or just not popular in the present buying climate. If you've got one, an Indian automaker wants to buy it."

Part of this phenomenon is because of the over-enthusiastic Indian media too.Autoblog have also reported that it is Mahindra and Tata who have approached GM with their offer when it was the other way round.Merchant bankers on behalf of General Motors have actually contacted the Indian manufacturers.Autoblog should have been a bit more responsible before reporting facts.

Mahindra and Tata already are not showing as much interest in the hummer deal as with the landrover+jaguar one.In all probability both are going to give this deal a miss.

While it is credit that Indian manufacturers are considered good enough to turn around lemons like Hummer a little bit of PR on the part of these two brands would actually help.Remember they want to become global players.

The autoblog link:

REPORT: Tata and Mahindra interested in HUMMER

Mahindra Renault Logan- An owners Perspective

Here's what a Logan owner has to say about his Logan:

1. How I bought my new Mahindra Renault Logan - space, value for Money- Review
2. Why Mahindra Logan, Renault Logan, Dacia Logan?
3. Mahindra Logan - Usability Explored
4. Is your Mahindra Logan in safe hands - After sales, What service
5. Mahindra Logan - Look out for the new version
6. Mahindra Renault Logan free service - unveiled
7. The Devil in my Mahindra Renault Logan
8. Tested on animals - Mahindra Renault Logan[the secret behind those mileage runs]
   

Mahindra to Introduce Special edition of the Logan

Flagging sales have meant Mahindra Renault have to look at new means at attracting customers towards the Logan.Mahindra-Renault now shall do a Tata[remember the Indigo XL] and come up with a special edition/variant of the Logan[not sure what this variant would be called] to cater to higher segments[ironical considering the Logan is supposed to be the cheap people's car after all].However unlike the Indigo XL this is not expected to be long wheelbase version of the Logan.The special edition is expected somewhere by July 2008.

Not very sure what would be in this special edition but according to ET all that would be special would be new music system,a slightly better interior trim.Now hopefully Mahindra do take inspiration from the scorpio M-hawk and throw in a few of the features presently available in the scorpio m-hawk for the Logan.

As it stands Logan sales are not very encouraging and after the introduction of the Maruti Dzire as was expected customers have switched to the Maruti camp.Right from the beginning have always felt the Logan was completely out of place and its high initial pricing just did not help.


[Source:Economic Times]
[Image source: ecofin.files.wordpress.com]

Hummer for sale - Is Mahindra Listening ?

GM CEO Rick Wagoner interest towards smaller cars is no secret. Given the lack of demand for the gas guzzling suv's four of GM plants which produce SUV's are being shut down.But the biggest symbol of gas guzzling environment destroying vehicles the Humvees are also no longer going to carry the GM family tag is what Rick Wagoner now suggests.

Yes that's right Hummer is going to auctioned and this is Mahindra's biggest chance after the Land Rover takeover attempt to establish itself as a global UV player and more importantly in the US markets as well where Mahindra is looking at establishing itself.

Given the current global scenario it is unlikely Mahindra will face any competition from any automobile player and it should only be PE players in the race with Mahindra.GM have made it clear they want to hand over Hummer to somebody who can take care of the brand better than what they did and Mahindra fits the role perfectly.Mahindra could even utilize the inhouse developed hybrid systems for a more greener Humvee.

So what if Mahindra could not bag Land Rover,Mahindra have a wonderful opportunity once more.The only question is whether Hummer is a bad word for even a Utility Vehicle Manufacturer like Mahindra.

Mahindra launches new aftermarket sales and maintainance verticle

Mahindra have integrated their second hand car sales business,spare parts and service into a single verticle and are calling it After-Market Sector[that much for ingenuity]

This entire verticle would be headed by Rajeev Dubey[nope no relation with Tata Motors just a coincidence].Heres the list of the official names of the businesses the verticle consists of:
1. Mahindra First Choice Services Ltd. (Multi-brand service chain)
2. Mahindra First Choice Ltd. (for purchase and sale of pre-owned vehicles)
3. Mahindra Spares Business (for both Mahindra and non-Mahindra spares)

Each of the three business have their own CEO's and they report to Mr. Rajeev Dubey.

Mahindra are now looking at attracting not just Mahindra vehicle owners but also owners of vehicles manufactured by rivals for their after sales needs.Besides mahindra want to tap in on the huge second hand[pre-owned] car business in India which so far is largely an unorganized sector.There are definite synergies between the three businesses and this appears to be a masterstroke from Mahindra.

[source:moneycontrol.com]

Toyota's new UV by end of the year

The Toyota Avanza


There are unconfirmed reports about a new Utility vehicle code named NVX being launched in India by the end of the year[2008].Remember it is around the same time Toyota would face competition from the Mahindra ingenio and the Tata MPV.

Toyota being Toyota have denied the development and so more details about the vehicle is unknown.

The new vehicle is going to be based on the innova[IMV] platform.Their is a good possibility the vehicle could be the avanza given that the avanza is a much cheaper offering.The avanza is a smaller vehicle than the innova and is a seven seater.I have a feeling it could be the avanza since a toyota dealer had informed me of a qualis replacement just a few months back and infact toyota may even consider the possibility of stopping production of the present innova .

Another possibility ofcourse is an all new innova.

However since the fortuner too is based on the innova platform don't rule out the possibility of the fortuner launch either.

Since everything is so unclear my suggestion is if you are looking for a vehicle in the UV segment,please wait till the end of the year or atleast till diwali[2008].

[Image source:bucksdigger.com]

My wish,how about a seven seater Dahatsu terios/Toyota rush

Update:
The latest is that Toyota plan to launch the fortuner only by 2009[between june-september to be precise],pricing expected within the range of Rs.16-20 lakhs.

Mahindra Scorpio now in Chile

After the Mahindra pick-up, the Scorpio suv is now on sale in the chilean markets.The response which the pick-ups have had in the chilean market was very positive and mahindra hope to cash in.

The Scorpio is to be sold in Chile in partnership with Fortaleza of the Automotores Gildemeister Group.In addition to representing Mahindra, Automotores Gildemeister also represents Hyundai and Ford in Chile.

Mahindra is all set to establish itself as a global player now with vehicles sold in africa,asia,south america,australia and very shortly in north america too.Mahindra's main trump card is its diesel engine and the relatively cheap prices compared to the competition.

One thing missing so far from Mahindra is a big ticket aquisition which would push it to the next league.Perhaps mahindra take the que form Toyota and establish their own premium marque.

[source:moneycontrol]

Roewe's new MPV

Update:
There seems to be a mixup as far as the manufacturer is concerned.Unlike originally reported this MPV is from Roewe and not GM.So much for the new Tavera dreams.

When it rains it pours,I had not even finished posting about the possibility of Tata and Mahindra competing with Toyota and we have another competitor in the foray and this time its GM.

The spy photographers have some documents from GM which indicate that this would be sold as a Chevrolet MPV in markets across the world and that includes the US.The R&D work for this vehicle has been done in Korea by GMDAT.

This is supposedly a global mass market MPV which can seat seven passengers built on GM's global delta platform. And that is precisely why I feel there is a possibility that this MPV could make it to the Indian markets too as a replacement for the Tavera possibly since the Tavera looks way too outdated in front of its competition.However unlike the Chevrolet BEAT this MPV may not be here in a hurry.

For more pictures of this MPV please visit the Winding road website:
Here

[source,image source:Winding road]

Also read:
Chevrolet Tavera -The difference between GM and Toyota

Coming soon :Tata's new MPV.

Tata are looking at going one up on mahindra once again.They are all set to launch an MPV rival for the Toyota innova and the Mahindra ingenio just before the ingenio hits the Indian markets.


Although the car is being manufactured in India ,Tata has an eye on the european markets and is supposedly designing the vehicle along with London based Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC). Remember worldcar fans had caught a Tata Car testing and passed it off as the new Tata Safari somehow I have a feeling it is this new MPV in the pictures[spy picture above].


There is a possibility this new MPV could be based on the Tata Xover concept.Though there is no official confirmation on this. Toyota surely have their work cut out now they will have not one but two rivals to worry about and the new MPV may just match the standards[or come very close] to the offering from Toyota since the Tata MPV is designed keeping in mind the european markets.Tata say the new vehicle offers the comforts of a luxury car with the features of a sports utility vehicle.

Plans are to start trial production of the crossover in June-July and commercial production for a October- November[2008] launch," said one vendor of Tata Motors.

Sumo grande or the Xover,I'd prefer the Xover anyday.

[source:Autoindia]

[image source:dancewiththeshadows,worldcarfans]

Also read:
Mahindra ingenio details

Coming soon the Mahindra Scorpio Hybrid

Mahindra have just unveiled their hybrid version of the scorpio at the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress being held in Detroit.India being its home market,we are most likely to be the first market for the car after which it would be exported to other countries.

The hybrid system was co-developed by Mahindra with FEV.What makes the system unique is the relatively cheap price of the system and the fact that it is a diesel.

The Mahindra Scorpio hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) features the following characteristics:
• Diesel-electric parallel hybrid vehicle with four major functions:
• Start-stop
• Electric launch
• Torque augmentation
• Regenerative braking
• Seamless but enhanced driving experience
• 2.2 Liter, I-4, second generation diesel common rail engine with 85 kW and 270 Nm ratings
• 6-speed automatic transmission
• 30 kW (peak) motor with max torque of 270 Nm (peak) and a max speed 8500 rpm
• 288V, 8.4 Ah NiMH battery
• Quick cold start with e-motor assist

This system would change the way the world looks at diesel and nobody can use the "dirty" tag anymore infact the diesel hybrids may just mean the end of the road for the petrol hybrids.

[source:FEV]

Mahindra Bolero is India's Largest selling UV

Unlike Mahindra I would call the Bolero more of an MUV than a SUV.For the second year in running it has been the largest selling UV.What stands out this time is the fact that it sold more than 50,000 units in a year a record which no other UV has achieved so far.

This just highlights the huge market for UV's in India for vehicles which cost below Rs.7 lakhs.Something which most manufacturers are reluctant to tap into.

Mahindra is going to bring the ingenio by the year end[2008] at around the Rs.6.5 lakhs price tag.This would mostly cannibalise sales of the bolero and don't know what the future holds for the vehicle in its present avatar.

Meanwhile I make my plea to mahindra once again,please give us a more powerful engine option for the Bolero.

Mahindra-Our desi version of Land Rover

Mahindra plans to make it big with its UV's[includes Muv and Suv] and pick-ups.Mahindra plan its own version the difference being we are talking about the cheapest possible UV and not a car.Being a UV prices would be a bit more and are expected to be between Rs.4-5 lakhs.Now although this is a cheap vehicle I hope mahindra designers do keep the Urban markets in mind and the fact that we live in the twenty first century.If mahindra keep this in mind then it will have be a runaway success and it will have to face no competition from any competitors at all.

Not much is known about this vehicle except that it is a five seater and that a prototype is ready so expect a few spy pictures soon.The full production version is expected in our markets by next year[2009].

And now for the next vehicle in the line-up which would surely send Toyota india back to the drawing board as far as their UV line-up is concerned.The innova's magic run could soon end with the introduction of the ingenio and somebody has told me expect some class first features in the ingenio.The ingenio would be powered by the 2.6crde engine[mhawk or not I am not sure].But the killer blow would be on the price front it is expected to be a lot more cheaper than the innova[Business Standard reports Rs.6.5 lakhs].The ingenio is expected by the year end[2008 end] yes that's right the wait is not that long any more.

Mahindra also have a new suv in the pipeline remember[expected in 2010] and it is expected to take on the likes of the Honda crv,Toyota Fortuner.

As far as the Land rover tag don't know if that is a good thing these days Mahindra would like to see themselves more as a successful brand associated with suv's.

Also read:
India: Mahindra looks at raising the bar with its next SUV

The new Renault Logan SUV

Remember apart from selling the Logan in India Mahindra also have an agreement to sell a seven seater in India with renault.Till now it was thought that this would be the renault steppe MCV, but its price tag may be too steep and it could even be in Scorpio category which would be nothing but disaster.


Now worldcarfans have caught a test vehicle from Renault which they believe is the SUV version of the Renault Logan.The sedan clearly is a test mule for a much bigger vehicle.If priced right this could really have the potential to do much better than the Logan sedan even.Now don't know if this is the mass market small SUV that Mahindra has promised us within the next two years.Here's an artists impression of the new SUV.



Ofcourse another possibility is that we may just get a whole new Renault Logan a bigger one at that.

For the spy pictures please visit the link:
Here

[Source:Worldcarfans]