Suzuki's answer to rising oil prices

Suzuki has got approval from the Japanese government to test a hydrogen powered SX4 on public roads.

This fuel cell vehicle is supposedly running on GM's FCV technology.

Following are the Technical specifications:
- 5 Seat capacity
- 4.190x1.730.1585mm
- 2.500 mm wheelbase
- Fuel-Cell output = 80kW
- Motor output = 68kW
- 70MPa high-pressure hydrogen tank
- Fuel type = High pressure hydrogen
- Maximum Speed 150km/h
- Range = 250km.

Would Maruti dare to manufacture such a car in India,for the consumer faced with ever increasing fuel bills lets certainly hope so.But even then FCV's are at their nascent stage and for a long time to come[2015 atleast say the japanese] don't expect them to be mass-produced.

[source:davedeli.blogspot.com ]

Coming soon:Facelifted Ford Fiesta

Ford is all set to launch a more aggressive looking ford fiesta very soon[June 18th according to team-bhp].Most pictures out on the net are of the kitted sports variant and it would be interesting to see how the other variants look like without that body kit.

The earlier rather sedate looking car has now got an aggressive character to it[I personally prefer the new looks].Disappointingly however Ford Have not added the 1.6LTDCi diesel engine to its lineup whereas they have discontinued the 1.4L petrol[however with the latest initiative by the government to tax cars above 1500cc we shall mostly see ford going back to the 1.4L petrol engine again,probably delaying the launch even].

Thanks to the Maruit SX4,airbags and ABS are now becoming standard in this segment and now ford too has decided to give it as standard fitment in the top of the line variant.

The interiors have been tweaked around a bit and now you get wooden panels in the top of the line variant.

The new car is definitely a big improvement over the earlier generation and was desperately needed by Ford india to revive interest in the Fiesta brand but Ford should have thought about the 2009 Fiesta which it is about to sell in markets like China if it had any dreams about occupying the number one slot in the segment.

[image source:thecarsandmore.blogspot.com]

For more Visit:
Team-bhp

The Maruti SX4 diesel will have to wait?

The demand for the Diesel Swift[both sedan and hatch] has now gone way beyond maruti's control so much so people are moving to competitors frustrated by the waiting period.Maruti[really speaking its parent suzuki] has really been very slow in adapting the dirty fuel diesel and has more or less concentrated only on petrol cars.Whatever diesel cars are actually available right now from the Maruti suzuki stable are possible only with the help of Fiat's Multijet range of diesel engines.It is just natural that there would be a shortfall.

Now why Suzuki is not thinking seriously about diesel is perplexing.India is its main market now and boy do Indians love diesel.

Maruti did have plans to launch the diesel version of the SX4 sometime this year[2008] possibly with a tweaked 1.3L multijet engine but given the demand for these engines in the other cars Maruti would just not be able to sell any diesel SX4's due to lack of availability of the engines and hence have now postponed the plans for the disel SX4.

This should come as a shot in the arm for rivals especially ones who have diesel options.As far as the waitng period for the swift dzire goes someone just told me book now and get delivery only in 2009.

More details about Skoda's new cheap sedan and small car

In my earlier post I have talked about skoda coming up with a c-sedan segment taking on the likes of the Honda city,Chevrolet aveo, the suzuki sx4 and the Hyundai Verna/Accent.Some more details have come up courtesy autoexpress UK.

For starters the price tag,skoda plan to make the sedan keeping in mind the £10,000 tag[roughly Rs.8.5 lakhs].Although at this price it would come with AC and power windows expect skoda to skimp on all other goodies and expect this new sedan to be more on the lines of the earliest generation octavia[not the ones available in India],even in terms of size as well.

As far as how the car is,it is said to be based on the seat bolero platform A spy picture I post from the autoexpress website.

This new sedan would be sold worldwide by skoda and yes that means emerging markets like India and China as well apart from the traditional market of skoda in the european countries.This car would be powered by the tried and trusted 1.9TDi diesel and 2.0L petrol engines although the VW group are also considering smaller and more frugal engines as well.

Whether this new sedan would be called the new Octavia I am not so sure.But that looks unlikely.



Spy picture of the seat bolero hatch again from autoexpress.Now the seat bolero would be available both as a hatchback and a sedan and it its this very hatchback which could be the basis for skoda cheap hatchback as well.This hatchback to is expected by 2010 and is supposedly going to debut in the Indian markets first and then there will be a global launch.The price tag for this hatch is supposedly between Rs.3-5 lakhs.


[Source:autoexpress.co.uk]
[image source: Autoexpress UK]

Maruti Suzuki now wants to do a Honda

I guess selling a cheap car is a sin after all.Now the people's car manufacturer is all set to follow the footsteps of its more illustrious japanese rival,Honda.

Yes Maruti is planning to ditch the volumes game and is focusing more on margins and the premium segment.This comes in the wake of competition in terms of pricing from the Tata nano.Maruti now no longer will enjoy the pricing advantage.It instead is looking at selling sedans and other vehicles in the premium segment[upwards of Rs. 7 lakhs] and wants people who buy cars like the Nano to aspire to buy a Maruti one day.Maruti themselves have realised that one day people buying these cheap cars could easily afford the more expensive cars which would help Maruti in terms of margins a strategy maruti used well with the SX4 and now with the Dzire too.Moreover demand for the cheap cars is reducing as seen by reduced demand for cars like the maruti 800 wheras the more pricier swift is doing much better.

As far as the back end is concerned the parent company suzuki has shown the way forward with concepts like the Kizashi.The Kizashi would be targetted at D-segment customers and should be out by 2010.Maruti on the other hand has tied up with US based Raytheon to create a team of special sales executives who would look after the premium segment customers for dealers.Maruti has also hired more than 1000 engineers for R&D towards high-end products..Perhaps advertising less is part of this strategy for oflate Maruti ads have come down drastically.

The good old Maruti as we know may just seize to exist.What remains to be seen is whether Maruti spins off the premium segment into an altogether different division[like lexus for toyota].

However it is not as easy as it sounds Maruti Suzuki have to go a very long way before it can come anywhere close to a premium car company.

Ps: All SX4 owners are being personally thanked by maruti on the first anniversary of the sx4.

[source:Hindustan Times ]

Maruti Dzire - Long waiting period

As predicted before there is a huge waiting list for the Maruti dzire.Approximately three to four months.

Yes that is a very long time indeed and My suggestion is please pay only the booking amount only,even if the dealer assures you a faster delivery if you pay the whole amount upfront.

Maruti is already working at full capacity and its very unlikely the situation would improve quickly unless ofcourse maruti think of something drastic for instance cut production of its hatchback[swift] or even the sx4.

Maruti surely should have anticipated this considering the waiting period for the swift [hatch] diesel.What this also means is a diesel sx4 looks very unlikely in the near future.

Do we indians love diesels or what and if its a sedan then its icing on the cake.

Suzuki SX4 and Honda Fit feature amongst best buys in the US

The sx4 is taking suzuki places.For the second consecutive year it has won the Kelly blue book coolest cars under $18,000.

While the Honda fit has made it thanks to its fuel efficiency and multiple seat arrangement configurations the SX4 has got roomy and cool interiors on its side[yes thats true].We don't have the all wheel-drive option in india and it is available in the sedan version.Perhaps Maruti could have a look.
**************************************************************************
Anyways here's what Kelly blue book says about the two car:

2008 Suzuki SX4

This is the second year in a row that Suzuki's small crossover has made our list of cool new cars under $18,000. In addition to a sporty exterior and roomy, stylish interior, the SX4 still has the distinction of being the least expensive all-wheel-drive vehicle sold in America.

2008 Honda Fit

With gas prices on the rise, small cars like the Honda Fit are gaining in popularity. The Fit sips gasoline and offers the sportiest driving experience available in an econo-car. Plus, the seats can be configured in multiple arrangements, so it can easily hold things like your friends, your gear or a medium-sized alpaca (according to a photo on Honda's Web site, anyway).

************************************************************************
The 2008 Mitsubishi lancer too made it to the list,unfortunately according to media reports from India Mitsubishi plan to price the car exorbitantly high.

Source:
Kellybluebook

Chevrolet Aveo and Suzuki SX4 battle it out for the best interiors

Surprising but true,the SX4 is battling it out for the best interiors and its not in the Indian market we are taking about its in the Wards interior of the year awards at the Auto interior show in detroit[June 4-5 ,2008 at Detroit's Cobo Center].

Nope there is not much difference in the interiors between the sx4 in america and the one in India.Ofcourse the all important build quality differs from market to market after all Maruti's are supposed to fall off after a year or two.In its category the sx4 is competing with the chevrolet aveo,the scion xd,the ford focus and the chevrolet aveo.

Regarding the Chevrolet aveo atleast from an Indian perspective there should be no surprises for the nomination.

There are 36 cars overall and cars available in India which are included are the New Toyota Corolla[next generation],Honda accord[next generation],Hyundai Sonata

Heres what Wards have to say
Thirty-six outstanding vehicle interiors representing 13 manufacturers will compete for top honors in the 9th annual "Ward's Interior of the Year" awards.

For details and all competitors visit :
dexigner.com

Maruti to replace petrol engines of its entire lineup

Pressure from competition and the export commitments requiring stricter emission norms means Maruti is going to replace the petrol engines of its entire existing line-up except for the SX4.

Maruti's entire line-up at present runs on the F and G series petrol engines which are Euro-3 compliant.These engines are going to be phased out by 2010.

Maruti will start manufacturing new K-series engines in India by the end of this year.The new launches[like the a-star] would be getting the K-series engines which are euro-5 compliant.Existing models would get the new engines in phased manner.This includes the recently launched Dzire[petrol].

The sx4 already has the new M-series engine which is euro-4 compliant and can also be made euro-5 compliant and hence would not see a change.Diesel engines[swift hatch,dzire] are also not going to see this change.

What interested be most is that the article mentions the wagon-r,swift and estilo to be present in 2010 but no mention of the Maruti 800 and the Alto.Does this mean they would be phased out for newer models.Probably yes.

[Source:Economictimes]

Maruti's new bestseller in rural markets-The SX4.

Maruti is very keen to target the rural markets in India and helping them in this achievement is the Maruti alto but another car has joined the list and its surprisingly the SX4.Yes Maruti have just revealed that they are achieving good success with the SX4 in the rural markets.

Brilliant strategy by maruti to promote the SX4 in the rural markets I say,after all this market has traditionally been an suv/muv market and the SX4 is the closest alternative to the SUV that a car can get.SX4 should have absolutely no problem tackling the village roads and Maruti's huge network means help is always near by when you need it.Also this market is always looking at getting maximum bang for their buck and are not only looking at the brand name and heres where the SX4 scores over its rivals again.Now if only there was a diesel alternative sales would hit stratospheric levels.

Trust Maruti to come up with innovative ways to increase their sales.

World premiere of the all new Honda city in August 2008 in Thailand

Update:
Please read:
Team-bhpian Spots possible new Honda City.

Yes now that the jazz has been launched in thailand news is that honda is all set for the world premiere of the all new honda city in august 2008 in thailand.


The jazz which shares the same platform with the honda city now gets a i-vtec engine something which will also make it to the indian markets.Honda will replace the present 1.5L vtec with 1.5L i-vtec engines.I cannot say how much Honda will cut down on power in India in order to compensate for fuel efficiency and indian fuel.But right now the tech specs are very impresive.
120ps@6600rpm and torque is 148Nm @4800rpm. What is also not know is whether honda will replace the present i-dsi engines with the new 1.3L i-vtec engines which are also pretty impressive at 100ps.Or if honda only bring in the 1.3L i-vtec to india.Many engine combinations are possible and I am not in a postion to predict which one we will get in India.The wheelbase is increased further in the new jazz which means the interiors would get even more spacious in the all new honda city.

While right now it would be exported to australia,malaysia and phillipines,it will come to our markets a little later since it would be manufactured here as well.


Regarding the new Honda city it could be here in India by the year end and going by the interiors of the new jazz honda civic owners are going to feel a bit shortchanged.


Noticed from the pictures of the jazz,the all new Honda city is going to get huge quarter glasses up front like the suzuki sx4.

[image source:bkkautos.com]

Also read:
Honda confirms all new Honda city launch by end of this year

Team-bhpian Spots possible new Honda City.

Preferably don't buy these cars in 2008

If you have any plans to buy the Skoda fabia this year I suggest you wait for a year if resale value is important to you.VW [skoda's Parent company] say that they will lower costs of the Fabia by manufacturing the fabia at the chakan plan [while VW plan to delay their debut vehicle in India to 2010].Skoda have already done this with the Laura where later on they launched cheaper models which severely affected resale value of the cars which were already sold.I came across one such Laura owner who says he lost close to 6-7 Lakhs in resale value in just an 8 month old car.

However I must add that nothing wrong with Skoda cars,infact the Octavia[Laura as we know it here] has just been voted the best car in the UK for the second consecutive year.Octavia[Laura in India] drivers are the most satisfied lot in terms of reliability,build quality,running costs and ease of driving.Skoda beat rivals like Honda,Toyota,BMW,Mercedes for the second consecutive year.The Fabia too should be more or less on these lines and will definitely not disappoint you. If the car is going to be with you for a long time or you are not bothered about resale value please do go ahead with your purchase decision.

But the case with the cars I discuss next is a bit different.In these cars you will see a major revamp pretty soon.

1>.The first car in the list is the present Toyota corolla which is currently one generation behind its main rival the Honda civic.It is confirmed that you will get the next generation in India in 2008[maybe a diesel option as well].

2>.The next car in the list is the Honda city.You can see pretty much the push both the company as well as dealers are giving to increase sales since a major revamp of the Honda city is expected by the end of the year[2008].You will be left with a model which would be one generation behind in just a matter of few months.

Now I go back to the title I say preferably because you could also take advantage of this situation since all the above mentioned cars are great cars as well and dealers would be pushing for sales by adding incentives for you to buy these cars.But yes you must be ready to accept the fact that you will be driving an outdated model soon.

If you ask me what is the best alternative at this moment ,well I suggest the Hyundai Verna CRDi.It is a relatively safe bet and a good car with good mileage[FE.].In case of a petrol car I suggest the Maruti SX4.I don't expect any drastic change very soon to either of the two.The Toyota Corolla is not in the C segment and its alternative would be the Honda Civic which too should not see anything drastic soon.

Update 1:
In the don't buy list I am adding the Skoda octavia,for reasons please refer to this post,Next generation Skoda Octavia due in 2009 .Also the more modern VW jetta is expected soon.I would avoid the Laura too for the moment since a price correction could be possible but I am not 100% sure and hence am not placing it in the don't buy list.Alternatives I suggest the Optra Magnum.


Update 2:
NDTV confirms launch of the next generation honda city by the end of the year[2008].

Update 3:
The hyundai getz is a car in the don't buy list since the all new I20 is expected by the year end.Search the post for more details.Alternative ford fusion diesel.

Update 4:
With competition expected to catch up with Toyota in the form of the mahindra ingenio and the tata Xover expect something drastic from Toyota,from talks of launching a cheaper UV to even discontinuing the present innova doing the rounds I suggest you go slow and postpone your buy.No alternative buys suggested for the moment.

Update5:
Mahindra Renault Logan is a new addition to the list,a Facelifted model is expected soon.

Update6:
Maruti to replace the alto with the A-star.

The don't buy cars list for 2008:
1>.Honda City
2>.Toyota Corolla
3>.Hyundai Getz
4>.Skoda Octavia
5>.Skoda Fabia
6>.Toyota Innova
7>.Mahindra Renaul Logan
8>.Maruti Suzuki Alto


Also read:
Honda confirms all new Honda city launch by end of this year

Also read:
Team-bhpian Spots possible new Honda City.

Review of The Maruti Dzire

Nope I have not got my hands on the Maruti Dzire[swift sedan].I am not amongst those lucky few.However the reviews of the Maruti Dzire are out and the one from thehindubusinessline is quite detailed.
From the review what can be concluded is that though you will get the features of the SX4,the dzire will remain its baby brother.The dzire may after all not be a threat to the SX4.Rear legroom is just the same as the swift and only the angle of the seat has been adjusted.Maruti have not offered a beige trim and an upmarket kind of feel to the interiors mostly to avoid clashes with the SX4.NVH too is on the higher side.Maruti has tried its best to ensure a difference between the SX4 and the Dzire by making sure the SX4 feel more of an upmarket choice compared to the Dzire and I must say I did jump the gun and proclaim an early death for the SX4.However let me still see the car personally and then I will take a final call.

Maruti have made rear visibility better which was one of the main complaints of the Swift hatch.The addition has not affected turning radius or ground clearance and extra weight is only 30 kg so the dzire should give more or less the same mileage as the swift hatchback and drive should also be exactly the same which is a good thing since the swift hatch is one fun to drive car.
Beauty lies in the hand of the beholder,however the review suggests it may take some time for us to accept the looks of the Dzire.For the front Maruti has given a chrome grill which is not present in the Swift hatch.There is lavish use of chrome on the boot too and so also the instrument cluster which has a white backlight unlike the orange on the swift hatch.

The all important pricing issue,the cheapest variant LXi[petrol] should be priced at around Rs.4.5 lakhs while the top end ZDi[diesel] should be priced at around Rs.6.2 lakhs.Prices mentioned are ex-showroom New Delhi prices.Even though the Zdi does have all the bells and whistles it is not exactly cheap and I expect the Vdi[diesel] variant to be the most popular.However let me warn you there is going to be a huge waiting list for this car and you may have to wait for quite a long while before you could own one.

Oh and the answer to the mileage[FE] kya hai question?The most conservative figures suggest 14kmpl in city and 19 kmpl on highways[for the swift dzire diesel] and this is no record run I am talking about.These are figures you and I can achieve.

Looking at the prices Maruti does have a winner in its hands,now the question is only how fast can I get my car.

The link to the review is here:
Thehindubusinessline

[image source:autoblog.com]

Update:
There will be a special online screening of the Dzire launch on the official website http://www.marutidzire.com for registered users as pointed out to me by a reader.Thanks for the information.

Also read:
The swift Dzire launched-Heres what the price list reads

Maruti Dzire- What your heart desires

Maruti No.1 in Sri Lanka too

Yes its not only us Indians who love Maruti,our neighbors too have developed a love for the brand and it has helped Maruti to remain the most preferred imported brand in Sri Lanka for the fifth year in running.Remember it faces competition from biggies like Honda.

Maruti exports all cars to Srilanka present in its stables in India except for the SX4.

According to a company spokesman in Sri Lanka the reason for Maruti's success is the high fuel efficiency of Maruti cars,very good resale value,Reliability offered by Maruti cars and the ease of parking in congested areas.


Maruti is doing what it did in India for so long,making a brand new car affordable to a lot more people.Sometimes we do forget what Maruti Suzuki has done to revolutionize the automobile industry in India.The fruits of which other manufacturers are now enjoying.

[source:Dailymirror Srilanka]

Maruti the leader of the C segment in India

The Maruti juggernaut just rolls on.Do they know how to sell their cars.Maruti has emerged the new leader in the C segment thanks largely to the success of the SX4 which meant sales of the Honda city[the previous leader] has dropped.This shows that Maruti does have it to take on the bigger japanese rivals like Honda and its success is not limited only to hatchbacks.Maruti played the value for money tag very well with the SX4 and now with the swift sedan[dzire] have the capability to extend this lead further and retain the leader tag.

Ford has seen a real drastic fall in sales[26,485 units ,down from 34,681 units sold last year ] and expect some alterations to the existing Fiesta,perhaps even a diesel ikon[just a rumour].Tata Motors too has had a fall in sales [26,281 units (29,949 units last year)]which could be stopped with the introduction of the next generation Indigo.

What will be really interesting is when Maruti brings their Kizashi concept[expected by 2010] to take on the likes of the Honda civic and the Toyota corolla.

According to SIAM,Maruti is the new leader of the C segment in India,and heres the details:

Country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India, better known for its compact cars, has zipped past competition, including Honda and Hyundai, in the mid-sized sedan segment this fiscal on the back of its successful model SX4.MSI's sales in the period stood at 41,799 units as compared to 27,283 units in the same period last year.

The growth has enabled the company to speed past Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI), which was at the number one slot in April-February period of the previous fiscal. HSCI sells City, its popular model in the segment.In the ongoing fiscal, HSCI's cumulative sales stood at 34,029 units as against 35,300 units in the corresponding period last year.

Hyundai Motor India comes third in the segment with 29,146 units sold in the period as against 25,147 units a year ago.

So now do you get why all the fuss on saving the Planet.

Source:[The Hindu]

Maruti all set to kill the SX4

Update:
Opinion changed,Read the Maruti Dzire review first.

Economictimes has put up further details of the swift sedan and Maruti is all set to storm the markets with the swift sedan,especially the diesel variant.The most interesting fact is that the swift sedan is projected to have a base price less than the Mahindra Logan as well as the Tata Indigo dicor[common rail].The diesel car[starting price] would be priced between 5.2 lakhs and 5.4 lakhs while the petrol[starting price] would be under 5 lakhs.

Another interesting observation is that yes there would be a ZDi version[i.e. a version offering ABS+airbags,climate control,integrated music system[most probably with steering based controls as well],alloy wheels and all the other stuff available on the Maruti SX4.There would be two engine variants a 1.3L petrol version and the multijet 1.3L diesel.

This brings to mind a very important question ,why go ahead with the Maruti sx4 instead of the swift sedan ? What is that one big thing which would differentiate the Swift Sedan[dzire] and the SX4 .The swift sedan diesel is more than adequate on the power front while being much more frugal when it comes to your fuel bills.The initial cost too is less and the most important part is that because the swift and the SX4 share so much it would not be so different from inside both the cabins.Yes you say space but trust me you could sacrifice that easily,as it is not an enormous difference.I don't know how the swift sedan will be to drive but something tells me city folks would appreciate the dzire more than the SX4.Even the best marketing guy will have a tough time keeping a customer away from the swift sedan and instead sell him an SX4.For the "Aam Aadmi" after all why pay such a hefty premium for the SX4 when there is little to choose between the two and in all possibility the interior of both the cars would be identical.

I am sorry to say but Maruti is all set to shoot itself in the foot for the greed for additional customers.The swift sedan will undoubtedly kill brand SX4 and the success Maruti did achieve with selling a premium[better put as expensive] car.Future customers of premium cars of Maruti are certainly not getting any positive signals.The SX4 is all set to go the Baleno way,the countdown has begun.

[Image source:Yahoo autos]

Also read:
Maruti to launch Swift sedan on March 6th 2008[Edit:Now 26th March]

Review of the Maruti Dzire.

Maruti to launch Swift sedan on March 6th 2008[Edit:Now 26th March]

According to CNN-IBN Maruti Suzuki India are scheduled to launch the Swift Sedan[Dzire] on March 6th 2008.

Update:The launch is slated for 26th March.

What is interesting to note is SX4 prices are expected to go up by Rs.12,000 which could help Maruti indirectly as far as the Swift sedan pricing is concerned[Maruti are scheduled for an across the board price rise of Rs 2000-12000 for its different models soon except for the Swift hatchback which already had a rise in its prices]

Unclear whether Maruti is launching the diesel variant simultaneously but Maruti want to clearly take on Honda city on the mileage front here and even the petrol engine would be more oriented towards fuel efficiency.Expect this car to be a bit more pricier than the Esteem it is replacing.

Spy picture of the swift sedan [Dezire] which first appeared on team-bhp.com and autocarindia.This picture taken from autoblog.com



Related post:
Maruti Swift Sedan to be priced between Rs.5-6 lakhs

Update:
Now launched
The swift Dzire launched-Heres what the price list

Skoda Fabia pricing

So the pricing is out,the fabia will start from Rs.5 lakhs ex-showroom and go all the way to a staggering Rs.7.7lakhs again ex-showroom price.The car would be available with 1.4Lpetrol as well as diesel engines and a 1.2Lpetrol engine[this particular engine would be available only at a later date].

So is this car overpriced.The reviewers so far have gone ga-ga over its build quality and of course the legendary trait of skoda diesel engines being fuel efficient.This car is no different and gives you everything you want to.Although it is a small car it does it job of pretending to be a big car very well.So who do I expect would go for this car,for starters the Honda city crowd.This car is ideal for the city,exceptional build quality and ofcourse the skoda brand is of equal importance if not greater than the Honda badge.Then you cannot forget the fact this is a diesel and would give you exceptional FE.What is against the car is the lack of a boot/trunk[not that customers in this segment would actually need that space] and the high maintainance costs usually associated with a skoda.However I have a feeling that the fabia could do what the Sx4 could not, make the Honda camp consumers switch camps.Yes the car is priced a touch on the higher side,this car is certainly not aimed at the value for money buyer it is more for the brand conscious buyer but I am sure a number of manufacturers would be praying for the fabia's success since they too plan to launch hatches around this price tag.

As far as driving reviews have ,not yet driven the car yet but there seems to be a large amount of turbo lag as far as the diesel engine is concerned but then I really wonder if customers would complain about that considering the savings in their fuel bills.

The SXForce -What were the designers smoking

Suzuki designers have come up with the sxforce concept based on the Suzuki sport but I think they where better off without this concept.The rear of this car is an absolute joke and I am still being mild on them.

Suzuki say the wild bodywork is intended to tie the car into Suzuki's sportbike heritage.

The sxforce is the notchback version of the sx4 but I think the sedan version was well done and this notchback is not really needed and just ruins the looks of the car.

The goodpart is that the engine now is 255hp up from the 143hp available on the existing SX4 sport.

More pics here:
Autoblog

[source:autoblog]

This building parking lot has only Maruti Sx4's

Next time you are in Bangalore and heading towards South Bangalore don't be suprised if you come across a building that has only Maruti SX4's in its parking lots.

Orange Properties is offering a Maruti SX4 for each flat booked at its property off Bannerghatta Road in South Bangalore. Orange is hawking a two bedroom flat of 1230 sq ft at Rs34 lakh and a three bedroom 1500 sq ft flat at Rs42 lakh with an SX4 thrown in for free. The company, however, says that they are not giving cash discounts. “It is an integrated offer as we are looking to provide our customers with quality lifestyle and SX4 fits in with our strategy.”

Wonder what owners would do with their existing vehicles and I hope the builder is also providing adequate parking for all.

[Source: Content->Livemint , Image->bsmotoring]