July 30th, 2010 by Harry
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On the Eve of BMW Design Night that took place in Munich, the German firm has confirmed that the Grancoupe will indeed make it to production. The Grancoupe is expected to be sold as the 6-series Grancoupe when it goes on sale in two years time. As a result, the upcoming 6-series will borrow styling touches from the Grancoupe. Most of the design details from the concept like the frameless windows, B-pillar and the styling will be retained for the production model. When launched, it will be marketed as a four door coupe directly aimed at the Audi A7 and Mercedes Benz CLS.
You need to wait till mid-2012 for the official unveiling of the production GranCoupe and wait till end-2012 to drive one. It will be produced at the same line in Dingolfing that produces the 6-series. It is expected to come with a choice of two petrol and two diesel engines in addition to an active-hybrid model.
Hit the jump to watch three videos and high-resolution images.
» Read more: BMW Grancoupe gets the green light; squarely aimed at A7 and CLS
July 29th, 2010 by Harry
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The Nissan Micra, launched in India recently has met with immense success in its home market, Japan. Nissan managed to register over 10,000 bookings within two weeks of the vehicle’s launch. Nissan only expected 4,000 orders every month but as it turns out, the orders are two and a half times as many. Interestingly, silver seems to be the most preferred colour as are black interiors.
The Japanese spec Micra comes with the same HR 12DE 3-cylinder engine as the Indian model and features Start-Stop technology, with ABS, EBD, SRS airbags and SRS side airbags, load limiter with pretensioners for the seatbelts, linked front wipers, dawn sensors and multi-reflector halogen headlights with manual control. As a result of the CVT and Stop-Start, the new Micra achieves a segment leading 26km/l in Japan.
Spectacular new Nissan Micra website now live Jul 2010
Nissan Micra launched in India; Starts at Rs 3.98 lakh Ex-India Jul 2010
Wheelosphere gets up and close with Nissan’s Exposure marketing in Chennai May 2010
July 29th, 2010 by Harry
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Surprisingly, without any form of intimation, Suzuki have revealed the facelifted Alto with the 1.0L K-Series engine at the 18th Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS 2010) that was thrown open to visitors on the 24th of this month. While we Indians still make do with spy pictures, the lucky people in Indonesia get to see the real deal till the 1st of August. The theme at IIMS 2010 is “Eco-Technology Motoring”, where car manufacturers are fighting it out to prove that their car is the greenest. The Indonesian Alto comes with a 5-speed gearbox with CVT as an option.
Also on display at the show are the R3 MPV, Kizashi and a Swift GT3 car with a 1.5-liter petrol engine.
Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 – details, specifications and images Jul 2010
[IAB]
July 29th, 2010 by Harry
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Maruti Suzuki have announced that they will fix 6,000 Altos produced in April this year for oil leakage problems. India’s largest car maker has asked its entire dealer network (800 centres and about 2,740 service workshops) to identify, check and repair the affected Altos. In other words, this could be a recall with the company asking its customers to get their vehicles checked but the company spokesperson feels otherwise. Maruti produced as many as 64,500 Altos between April and June and the exact number of cars facing the problem are under investigation.
The problems in Altos are said to have cropped up when the F8D 3-cylinder engines were upgraded to meet BS-4 emission norms. The decision comes after dealers in Delhi and NCR have started receiving complaints on oil leakages during May and June. A Delhi based dealer has recalled nearly 30 vehicles to have them checked.
An Auto Expert said
“The engine comes with some design changes incorporated in its core structure, which could have led to this problem. It can affect the pressure in the engine and also impact car’s performance,”
Suzuki recalls 10000 Automatic versions of Altos in Europe May 2010
Suzuki Alto/A-Star Recall Dec 2009
[ET]
July 28th, 2010 by Harry
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Yet to launch the Cruze in its home market, Chevrolet has still managed to sell 270,000 of them within a year and a half of its launch. The Cruze is sold in over 60 countries in addition to local variants by Daewoo and Holden in their local markets. In 2010 alone, the Cruze has sold 140,000 units. Sales of the Cruze in India are brisk too. The Cruze is the current segment leader selling close to 800 units every month. The real challenge for Chevrolet right now is to retain sales in face of growing competition, especially the recently launched Corolla Diesel. Will they do it? Waiting for few months will gives us the answer.
Hit the jump for official press release.
» Read more: Chevrolet Cruze reaches a milestone : 270,000 units sold since launch
July 28th, 2010 by Harry
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Hyundai will put its Elantra/Avante on sale in Korea next week for prices between 14,900,000 Won to 19,500,000 Won or around Rs 5.86-7.86 lakhs as per current exchange rates. With the launch date coming close, Hyundai has released new photos along with a detailed specification sheet. The Korean Elantra comes with an all new 1.6L direct injection Gamma petrol engine that produces 140bhp @ 6300rpm and 17.5kgm of torque. It is mated to a six speed manual transmission as standard while a six speed automatic is optional.
Hit the jump for more details and 18 high resolution images
» Read more: Hyundai Elantra goes on sale in Korea next week; New images released
July 28th, 2010 by Harry
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At Wheelosphere, we have always given credit to the CLS for being the first car to kick start the four door coupe segment. Every other manufacturer from Aston martin to Hyundai have replicated Mercedes’ success formula by making their own models. The last car of the first generation CLS, a CLS 550 rolled off the production line today. The final model is destined for a customer in USA.
Fans of the CLS will be well aware of the all new model that is expected to be launched at the Paris Motor Show in September. Mercedes has sold a record 170,000 CLS cars worldwide in its six year production cycle.
Check out the latest CLS here.
July 28th, 2010 by George
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Dacia Logan, is a super hit in Europe. In fact this low cost sedan from Renault’s associate company Dacia proved one of their best car interms of sales. Renault-Dacia alliance already sold more than 1.25million cars on Logan platform. Renault and Dacia want to reap huge sales of Logan in future too. This year Logan received a facelift in many countries include Russia and Romania. But some thing more exciting is in pipe line, if the rumours are to be believed, Renault has already started working on 2012 Logan. The 2012 Logan (code:-X52) project has already kicked off.
2012 Renault Logan may be loaded with many features like LED daytime running lights, better fuel economy and lowered emission levels. The renderings suggest that 2012 Renault Logan will be taking design cues from Renault Fluence. Especially the front fascia could be taken from Fluence sedan. The existing engine line up will continue their duty in 2012 Logan too.
Renault India has already announced the arrival of Koleos, Fluence and Duster SUV in India. So will 2012 Logan too land in India? It may or may not happen as Renault India themselves changed the product plan for India before too. So they may announce the India arrival of 2012 Logan in future.
Back in our home country, Logan could not repeat it’s European success. Though Logan is a value for money car, it could not convince Indian car buyers interms of value-feature proposition. It’s rivals Maruti Suzuki Dzire, Hyundai Accent and For Ikon made Logan a complete failure in sedan segment. To worsen the situation Renault appeared sceptical about Logan’s future in India. But finally Mahindra bought Renault’s share along with the brand Logan. Since then Logan sales figures shown a significant improvement. By this year end India may receive redesigned Mahindra Logan, probably a shortened Logan with Mahindra identity. So stay tuned to Wheelosphere for more updates on this interesting story.
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July 27th, 2010 by Harry
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This is the sporty new A7 Sportback, the car with which Audi hopes to take the fight to rival German, the Mercedes CLS. The A7 was designed with one thing in mind and that is the firm’s ‘big car’ design. The A7 fills a gap between the A6 and A8, which are more mainstream sedans. The A7 will appeal to its niche customers looking for a stylish four seater coupe. The A7 joins the ever expanding list of four door coupes from the Maserati Quattroporte, Mercedes CLS, Porsche Panamera, Aston martin Rapide to the upcoming Bugatti Galibier and BMW 6-series Grancoupe.
Hit the jump for more details and high resolution images.
» Read more: Audi unveils stylish A7 Sportback
July 27th, 2010 by George
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Yamaha Motor India must be wondering, their competitors manage to clock new heights interms of sales volumes. But they are unable to make huge leap in sales figures. Today Yamaha launched a refurbished version Gladiator, which we think Yamaha’s attempt to gain some volumes in commuter segment. The Gladiator, no doubt is a stunning bike, which got excellent styling, features and a refined engine. Even after holding such merits it failed to revamp sales.
» Read more: Yamaha Launches SS125, The Refurbished Gladiator
