Auto Expo 2012: Buckle Up, It’S the Year of the SUV’S
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the bold and the beautiful The Bold... Auto expo 2012: Buckle up, it’s the year of the SUV’s India’s most expensive bicycle worth two Tata Nanos! Say hello to DC Avanti: India’s first indigenous sports car Bajaj’s RE60: an auto, a car, a Nano killer? Get ready for the return of the Vespa! Will Honda’s low-cost bike rub the sheen off Hero’s Splendor? The beautiful... Auto Expo 2012: Royal Enfield unveils Thunderbird 500 Auto Expo 2012: GM unveils premium hatchback Auto Expo 2012: BMW’s iconic Mini comes to India Auto Expo: Cars, stars and more And the plain unattractive What’s worse than the chaos on our roads? Our Auto Expo! Delhi Auto Expo: A fire hazard? Green cars headline Delhi Auto Expo, but India not ready They rape us with their eyes: The life of an Auto Expo model The Bold... Auto expo 2012: Buckle up, it’s the year of the SUV’s Mean machines are here, yet again. In the backdrop of a slowdown of car sales and fuel prices going North, the auto makers are set to showcase the new cars and bikes in Auto Expo 2012. Danish Raza, Jan 3, 2012 ew Delhi: Mean machines are here, “I am eagerly waiting for Mini. This is a small yet again. In the backdrop of a slow- sports car high on style,’ said Murad Ali Baig, N down of car sales and fuel prices going auto expert. North, the auto makers are set to showcase the new cars and bikes in Auto Expo 2012. Maruti loyalists will get to see an all new Maruti 800, said to be the car maker’s answer to Tata “Unlike previous editions of the Auto Expo, the Nano. automobile market is dull in India. As such, the exhibition is expected to create excitement in Maruti will also unveil Ertiga, the company’s the market and lure the customers,” said Tutu first MPV and the new version of Swift Dzire. Dhawan, auto expert, about the fair scheduled between 5 and 12 January in Pragati Maidan, Tata is coming up with Nano Diesel 2012. “The Delhi. 2012 model is really peppy. It has an excellent AC and is spacious. These days, people do not The line- up of vehicles shows that the SUV want a ghareeb (poor) car. They want a cute market will get crowded this year. There will car,” said Dhawan. be Q3, the smallest SUV from Audi and Range Rover Evoque in the expensive category. In the Expo, you might also get to see RE 60, Bajaj’s entry level carrier which has created lot Among small affordable SUVs, the exhibition of buzz in the auto sector. will display Renault Duster — Renault’s first in the segment, Mahindra Mini Xylo, Safari Storm Hyundai has made a solid market in the small and the new avatar of Toyota Fortuner. car segment with Santro. In 2012, the company will focus on the luxury segment. Hyundai has That is six SUVs in total. lined up Sonata and premium sedan Elantra. “This year, the manufacturers will explore the Ford will launch Fiesta Hatchback 2012. SUV sector because there is a lot of scope and solid demand in this category which has so far Reva NXR electric car, designed by Dilip Chhab- been ruled by Safari and Scorpio,” said Sirish ria, is expected to grab quite a few eyeballs. Chandra, editor, Overdrive. “A car is no more a utility item. It is a status In the luxury segment, BMW will showcase symbol. People want something better and big- BMW Mini. The smallest car of the German ger as a class statement. If someone can afford a auto-maker, that will cost around Rs 20 lakh. Maritu 800, he will try going for an Alto to show that he has grown up,” said Dhawan. Mercedes concept car A-class and the range of small cars are bound to hog the limelight at the Participants from 24 countries are expected to fair. launch over 60 vehicles in the 11th edition of the biennial fair in Delhi. Out of these, eight will be Volkswagen will launch its modified Touareg- global launches. the 50-lakh-plus car. India’s most expensive bicycle worth two Tata Nanos! ew Delhi: The bicycle is no more The Trek Elite which is priced at Rs 4.5 lakh, the poor man’s sawaari. In fact, the weighs just 10kg and is constructed with the same N amount you would have to shell out to technology used to make spaceships. own India’s most expensive bicycle could fetch you at least two Tata Nanos! Danish Raza, Jan 11, 2012 The bike also has 20 speed gears, hydraulic The Auto Expo 2012 has seen Firefox launch disc brakes that are used for motorbikes, and the Trek Elite 9.9 SSL- positioned as an off road hydraulic suspension. Added to this, some of bike (not bicycle). Priced at a whopping Rs 4.25 the Trek Elite’s gear and brake components are lakh, this is unlike any bicycle we have seen in constructed using titanium- an expensive but the country so far. lightweight material. And what do you get for Rs 4.5 lakh? Firstly you In the last auto expo, the company launched the get a bike that gives lightweight a new defini- Trek Equinox priced at Rs 2.45 lakh. It was the tion. With a single frame constructed of carbon most expensive bicycle in India at that time. fibre, the Trek Elite weighs in at just 10kg. And according to Ajit Gandhi, Deputy General Man- Now the Trek Elite has taken that position. ager, Firefox, it is also constructed using OCLV “This is an off road bike meant for mountain- (optimum compaction, low void) technology, eers,” said Ajit Gandhi, adding that Trek Eite which is used to construct space ships. will be available only on order. Say hello to DC Avanti: India’s first indigenous sports car The DC Avanti is powered by a 2.0 litre four cylinder Ford petrol engine which generates 261 bhp. It is expected to go from 0- 97km/h in 7seconds, and will cost half the price of an imported sports car. Danish Raza, Jan 10, 2012 ew Delhi: Zooming down India’s According to Baig, the advent of the DC Avanti roads in a hot new sports car will soon reflects that India is finally developing the cul- N be an affordable dream. Say Hi to DC ture for sports cars that has been in existence in Avanti – India’s first indigenous sports car, cus- Europe and the USA for many years. tom made for Indian roads, and billed at a very competitive Rs. 24 Lakh (ex-showroom). The car has created quite a buzz in and outside the fair in the national capital. “This is good value for money because any im- ported sports car would not cost less than Rs 50 “I booked DC Avanti on the phone from Kolk- lakh,” said Murad Ali Baig, auto expert. atta on the first day of the expo. I had not even seen the car then. I have 30 cars. But this is DC Avanti was unveiled at the Delhi Auto Expo different from anything I have ever seen,” said 2012 by Dileep Chhabria, the man known for a DC Avanti owner on the condition of anonym- customizing or modifying every car from the ity. ‘I have come to Delhi just to see what I am Nano to the Lamborghini. “This is meant for going to drive from now on,” he added. those who aspire to own a sports car but cannot afford a BMW, Ferrari or Porsche. There are lot Auto expert Tutu Dhawan had a word of cau- of youngsters who want to pay for the feel good tion though. “It is only with a good after sales factor but can compromise a little on the per- service that such projects can succeed. Buying is formance,” said Bonito Chhabria, director, DC. the easy part. One has to see what happens after that,” he said. DC Avanti (Italian for moving forward) is pow- ered by a 2.0 litre four cylinder Ford petrol The car will be available at select DC outlets engine which generates 261 bhp. It is expected starting December 2013. That’s still two years to go from 0- 97km/h in 7seconds. A Honda V6 away, but possibly well worth the wait! engine will be used in the later assembly line- up. Bajaj’s RE60: an auto, a car, a Nano killer? Will the RE60 become the success that the Tata Nano hoped for but has not yet achieved? FP Editors, Jan 4, 2012 ill Bajaj Auto’s ultra-low-cost four According to a Business Line report, the RE60, wheeler, RE60, become a Nano (the which weighs barely 400 kilograms, is expected W small car launched by Tata Motors) to cost around Rs 1.8 lakh and will be produced killer? in Aurangabad, Bajaj Auto’s production base for its three-wheeler range. Fitted with a 200-cc Rajiv Bajaj, managing director of Bajaj Auto, rear engine, it will have petrol and CNG/LPG would probably cringe at that question. “As a fuel options. marketing position, we are an anti-car com- pany,” he told a press conference in New Delhi During the unveiling of the model, the company on Monday, a fews days before the Auto Expo. outlined some parts of its strategy for selling the “This vehicle was born out of the costs and skills RE60.