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Scoop - Chinese SUV Spotted |
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Written by Abhinav Sharma
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Tuesday, 13 April 2010 14:57 |
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It is fairly evident now that Pune is a hot bed to locate test cars from various manufacturers. But this is a first. I spotted Great Walls Hover SUV parked at MG road and the stickers to hide the badges were removed. See for yourself. It looked a more matured product than the current crop of SUV's from Mahindra and Tata. The style was a little 90's but then the quality was better. It was way smaller than the Safari or the Scorpio, and fully visible, I mean no camouflage. I did not want to get into trouble so shied away from taking the snaps from the front. I was driving so this is all I could manage sitting inside my car.
One of the reasons for the comparatively low retail price of the Great Wall Hover in the international market is that it is based heavily on older models by other manufactures. The entry-level motor is supplied by Mitsubishi, the exterior resembles the Isuzu Axiom and the chassis is from a Toyota 4Runner. The Hover has wheelbase of 2,700 mm (106.3 in) and 1,520 mm (59.8 in) wheel track. As the Hover is a Crossover Utility Vehicle, it features 4-wheel drive (4WD), however it can be switched to standard 2-wheel drive. The diesel that you see here in this scooped picture uses a motor built by Great Wall themselves, the GW2.8TC. Both versions have a 5-gear manual transmission. Those models have the name Hover H3 and H5. For the Chinese market Great Wall Motors also offer 2.5 and 2.8 TCI diesel engines with 80 and 85 kW. These engines both use a modern common rail system from Bosch, which makes it in no way inferior to any of the present Indian SUV's. Let us see what the price is but I am sure it will be very competitive. It looks like a thoroughbred Japanese SUV compared to the Scorpio's village looks and packs in good technology already. Let's see if Chinese get it right here because this will be the first Chinese onslaught in the booming Indian car market and it better be good. More pictures in the forum
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Last Updated on Friday, 23 April 2010 14:05 |
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10,000 Bookings of Figo Already |
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Written by Abhinav Sharma
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Tuesday, 06 April 2010 12:24 |
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In less than a month of its launch, the FIGO already has 10,000 orders in Ford's books. This is a first for any Ford in India and shows Ford becoming a mainstream brand in India which till now have only been Maruti, Hyudai and somewhat Tata going by the sales in the last decade. So going by the total sales in March, it has almost leaped ahead of GM. GM usually sells about 4500 Sparks 1800 units of Tavera and 800 Cruze's on an average every month. The total is about 10000 units including those of Beat. With the Figo coming from Ford.. Continues in Indian Car News Section of the Forum
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 06 April 2010 17:27 |
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FIAT Launches Punto 1.2 Dynamic and Emotion, Learns Late as Usual |
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Written by Abhinav Sharma
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Wednesday, 17 March 2010 09:51 |
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FIAT is actually slow. Their competition had been launching petrol engined cars with 1200cc engines all around with top end variants avialable at that engine capacity in all cars. FIAT just had the lame 1.2 Active with manual rear windows and boring options list. No options actually in that. Everything better was saved for the 1400cc Punto. So why is it such a big problem. Because the 1200cc gets excise duty benifit and the 1.4 does not making the latter expensive unnecessarily because the average customer in India does not pay for power. It just has to be priced right. Looks like they are better in the game now. The 1200cc fully loaded models come with tilt steering, front power windows, fire prevention system and programmed service reminder in its entry level 1.2 Active variant. The 1.2 Dynamic will offer rear power windows and central locking system. As an introductory offer, Fiat is also giving away music system in the 1.2 Dynamic. Meanwhile, the 1.2 Emotion variant will come an integrated music system, fog lamps, electric mirrors, dual tone dashboard and split seats. The Punto 1.2 Emotion will come at a price of Rs 5,04, 279 (ex showroom Mumbai) which is just awesome. Don't forget the fact that Punto is slowly gaining more acceptance. It sold 1423 units in February this year compared to the 1250 it did in January.
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Renault Cuts Prices - Petrol Logan for 50K Less |
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Written by Abhinav Sharma
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Wednesday, 17 March 2010 10:20 |
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Renault has cut the prices of it's petrol Logan by 50K for a limited period only. Now some might look at it as a last resort by the company to sell the final lot of the unsold Logan cars. I doubt that would happen. I mean it is difficult for Renault Mahindra to simply stop producing the Logan. They risk damaging Renault's goodwill permanently in this country. Some compare Renault to Peugeot for some reason that had the ill-fated joint venture with PAL to make the 309. Having said that, their has been no official communication from either of the partners about the future of the joint venture. Renault might take over the Logan and park it next to the Micra in their own dealerships when they start selling the new small car in July. They hope to sell 80K units of the Micra in the first year which is a tall target for the over crowded B+ hatch segment. But then the Micra is a Nissan and they do not plan to have co-branded dealerships. One thing is sure, no one is buying the Logan walking into an SUV dealership full of Xylo's, Scorpio's and Maxx's, specially when the Logan is the only car there. Logan should also be getting a substantial facelift soon and this price cut could be to pave way for the new one. Unless it is localized, it would not be able to compete with the titans - Dzire and the Manza on the price front. The Logan was introduced to compete with the original Tata Indigo. Now the Logan is the same but the game has moved on. The Indigo is Manza now and the Dzire is topping the sales charts with 9K figures every month, Manza not far behind. The cheapest Manza still costs less than the cheapest Logan. What chances does the facelifted car have?
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 17 March 2010 11:02 |
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Written by Abhinav Sharma
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Tuesday, 09 March 2010 14:45 |
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Ford Figo is ready to spark a price war in the B+ segment. The ex-showroom prices of this car start at 3.49 lacs Delhi which is proof of the fact the Ford is not taking this hatch race lightly. Here are the Delhi prices. Expect the Pune prices with an hour or two. Forum Link Here. Delhi Ex-Showroom Prices | Variant | Petrol | Diesel | | Figo LXi | 349900 | 447900 | | Figo EXi | 381900 | 472900 | | Figo ZXi | 399900 | 496900 | | Figo Titanium | 442900 | 529900 |
Update - These are the Pune On Road prices. The Figo can claim the best priced hatch title in the market. The most agressive pricing ever by any manufacturer and surprisingly, it's Ford. Pune On Road Prices | Variant | Petrol | Diesel | | Figo LXi | 395900 | 504900 | | Figo EXi | 430900 | 532900 | | Figo ZXi | 451900 | 559900 | | Figo Titanium | 499900 | 596900 |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 09 March 2010 16:38 |
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