Six upcoming diesel cars for 2013 in India

Though diesel fuel prices are set to rise considerably in 2013, it’s not stopping manufacturers from lining up many more diesel vehicles for you to choose from. Some of these are all new cars, while others are petrol variants that will finally also get a diesel option.

Here is a list of six cars for 2013 that will come with diesel engines. These cars are all in the sub-Rs. 10 lakh market, which is where the bulk of the action is.

Honda Amaze

The Honda Amaze compact sedan is one of the most looked forward to cars for the year. More so, because it will be the first Honda car in India to come with a diesel engine. Honda is going to launch the Amaze compact sedan, based on the Honda Brio in April 2013, and besides a 1.2 litre petrol engine, it will also have a 1.5 litre diesel engine that will be quite fuel efficient. The car will be tuned for fuel economy mainly, but initial reports from early drives in Japan suggest that the car is going to be pretty refined and fun to drive as well. Expect the Honda Amaze to be priced at about Rs. 5.5 lakh – Rs. 7.5 lakh when launched, with diesel variants on the higher side. The Honda Brio hatchback could soon follow the Amaze with a diesel engine as well, as the car has been spotted testing around the country.

Chevrolet Sail sedan

Chevrolet is preparing to launch the Sail sedan in the next few weeks, as early as February. This car is the sedan version of the Sail U-Va hatchback that was launched in October. The Sail sedan is a replacement for the Chevrolet Aveo that was discontinued a few months ago. The Sail sedan is expected to be spacious, have good luggage carrying capacity and passenger comfort. It will come with a 1.3 litre diesel engine – which is GM’s version of the Fiat multijet engine (jointly developed by them nearly a decade ago). The Sail sedan may get slightly higher power of about 89 bhp, while it’s most likely that the car will come with a 77 bhp version first – the same as the Sail U-Va hatchback. Expect the Sail sedan to be priced between Rs. 6 lakh and Rs. 8 lakh.

 Ford EcoSport

The Ford EcoSport’s strong point and unique proposition is going to be its petrol engine – the 1-litre, three cylinder EcoBoost engine. However, in a market where there is considerable demand for diesel, Ford is going to be launching the EcoSport in diesel as well, by end February. This compact SUV will come with a 1.5 litre diesel engine and five-speed manual transmission. The 1.5 litre diesel is the same as the engine used in the Fiesta and will put out about 90 bhp of power, but will be extremely fuel efficient – giving a fuel economy of 20 kmpl. For an SUV, that’s good!

 Mahindra Verito notchback

Continuing with the compact sedan fixation, Mahindra is shortening the Mahindra Verito to under 4-metres. This will allow the company to price the car aggressively as it will attract lower excise duties. The sub-4 metre Verito notchback will come only with a diesel engine – the same 1.5 litre K9K diesel putting out 65 bhp of power. This is an engine shared with the Renault-Nissan range of cars, and one of the most fuel-efficient engines in the market, second only to the Fiat 1.3 multijet. Expect the sub-4 metre Verito to be priced between Rs. 4.5 lakh and Rs. 5.5 lakh when launched in March this year.

 Hyundai i10 1.1 diesel

Photo: Worldcarfans.com

Hyundai is planning to launch the new i10 in September this year with a diesel engine option as well. The company has developed a small capacity 1.1. litre diesel engine that will power a range of small cars. The Hyundai i10 is the first to get this engine and will compete with the Chevrolet Beat diesel and the Ford Figo diesel, as well as the upcoming Maruti Wagon-R diesel. The Hyundai i10 diesel is likely to be price about Rs. 1 lakh more than the petrol variant, giving it a starting price of about Rs. 4.6 lakh or so.

 Maruti Wagon-R diesel

The Maruti Wagon-R may be one of the first cars from Maruti to get a three-cylinder, 1-litre diesel engine similar to the one that powers the Chevrolet Beat. Fiat is developing the three-cylinder variant of the 1.3 litre multijet engine, which Maruti is likely to source and power a range of its small cars. The Maruti Wagon-R is the first candidate for this diesel engine, but there is no confirmation as to when the car will be launched. It will most likely come by the end of the year, and will have a starting price of about Rs. 4.3 lakh – competing directly with the Chevrolet

credit by cartog.com

Detroit Motor Show 2013 Preview



Last year's NAIAS saw some exciting reveals at the COBO Centre in Detroit, including the latest iteration of Honda's hybrid NSX successor, Lexus' popluar LF-LC and a host of small urban-centric cars including smart's For-Us concepts and the Tata eMO. There's still plenty to come, but here's what to look forward to at this year's event.


Cadillac ELR
Detroit will see the world debut for Cadillac’s ELR luxury range-extender. GM have come good on their promise of production in 2013 following the Converj concept, which was unveiled at this show in 2009 and accurately previewed the ELR. The ELR is GM’s crucial second album in the range-extender category and is anticipated to use the same technology as the Chevrolet Volt, although the packaging will be more opulent and true to Cadillac’s current design language. Sharing tech with the Volt means an electric-only range of around 40 miles, although this could be extended to more than 50, and an overall range of over 300 miles with the help of the onboard four-cylinder petrol engine generator.
An overall investment of $561 million proves GM’s commitment to this kind of vehicle, and success is never guaranteed in unpredictable electric vehicle market. Striking looks will certainly help.

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Mercedes CLA
Designed to exhibit an interplay between convex and concave surfaces, the CLA – previewed by the Concept Style Coupé at last year’s Tokyo motor show - is set to polarize opinion. Whether the aggressive yet organic lines appeal to you or not, there’s no doubting that the CLA is a statement of intent. The front graphic borrows heavily from the latest A-Class, a car that had over 70,000 pre-orders, suggesting that Gorden Wagener and his team know exactly what they are doing, whilst the car's profile matches its brief to sit just below the C-Class in Mercedes’ now extensive range. The CLA represents the culmination of an adventurous design strategy that has its roots in the F700 diesel hybrid concept revealed at the 2008 Frankfurt motor show and shows no sign of showing down. However, there’s no word of an electric CLA yet.

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BMW 4 Series Coupé Concept
Mercedes won’t have the rakish coupé show to themselves, though, as BMW will exhibit an all-new car in their lineup – the 4 Series. Although a concept, it looks nearly production ready and pleasingly like a junior 6 Series. Pioneers of the modern coupé form, BMW seems to have nailed it here, with a wheelbase that’s 2 inches longer than the previous 3 Series coupé. The 4 Series is also noticeably lower and wider than its forebear. Strong facial features and a supple shoulder line give the 4 Series a composed and focused stance that’s aided by a softly sloping roofline. The 4 Series will go on sale with the traditional range of BMW engines, including the company’s brilliant two-litre diesel powerplant, but it’s easy to ponder what a car this would be with the i8’s hybrid drivetrain.

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Via Motors’ Electric Trio
Via Motors specialize in giving people what they want in an environmentally friendly package. If you go onto the Via Motors website for example, you can preorder a 402bhp range-extender truck capable of 40 miles zero emissions driving with a deposit of $1000. Detroit will see Via debut three new vehicles – a high-performance 4WD pick-up capable of producing 800bhp, a luxury 4WD SUV and a twelve-seater van designed with shuttle routes in mind. By electrifying top-selling vehicles, Via Motors aim to reduce emissions to benefits the communities in which the vehicle work. Furthermore, in the event of an emergency, the electric generator can be used to power an entire household. Whilst is hard not to associate huge trucks with five-litre V8 engines (and they’re certainly not lightweight at over 5,000 lbs), try to think of these vehicles as super-sized Chevy Volts.

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Hyundai HCD-14 Concept
Hyundai will build on the svelte, 'Fluidic Sculpture', lines of the I-oniq SUV concept unveiled at last year's Geneva motor show with this: a four door coupé designed in the same mould as Mercedes' successful CLS and, latterly, BMW's 6-Series Gran Coupé. Creatively dubbed HCD-14, Hyundai describe the car as a "glimpse into future Hyundai premium vehicle design, advanced 3-D gesture-based technology controls, and spirited driving dynamics". Head- and rearlamps are connected with a strong but supple bone line, whilst the real contour occurs in a secondary, softer feature line that runs just below. Like the CLS, the HCD-14 has an unusually high belt line which gives the car an athletic, sporty character, both from the outside and, due to a smaller DLO, from a passenger's perspective as well. Whether it will share the three-cylinder, electric-hybrid drivetrain found in the I-oniq remains to be seen, but expect low CO2 emissions either way.

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Nissan Resonance Crossover Concept

Following in the footsteps of the dihedral hydrogen-fuelled TeRRA SUV concept at Paris, and more recently the EXTREM concept revealed at Sao Paulo, the Resonance is the latest in string of Nissan crossover concepts. From this image, however, the Resonance seems to be the most mature and resolved design yet from Shiro Nakamura and his team, with a radically kinked belt line that's integrated with a rear LED light graphic that quickly draws the eye. There's a good chance that the Resonance will offer a preview for a Murano successor, as the current model has already enjoyed a four-year production run. In typical concept fashion the car does without door handles and wing mirrors – expect large mirrors and door handles that are anything but invisible on a production version. Not forgetting a huge B-pillar as well, naturally.

 

Credit by Greencardesign.com

GM, Isuzu to discuss joint development of new truck

DETROIT/TOKYO: General Motors Co and Japan's Isuzu Motors Ltd will look at jointly developing a next-generation pickup truck, the automakers said, a move that could help cut costs and lessen the burden of technology development. 

The companies said in separate statements that they had signed a memorandum of understanding to start negotiations, but both declined to outline the timing of the talks or any other aspect of the potential deal. 

Japan's Nikkei business daily reported that the deal, which will also include co-management of their pickuptruck business, would be formalized late this month in a meeting between Isuzu President Susumu Hosoi and GM CEO Dan Akerson.

The newspaper also said the two companies will continue talks on the possibility of GM once again taking a stake in Isuzu, but an Isuzu spokesman dismissed the suggestion of capital ties.

"Currently, there is no possibility of an capital tie-up," the spokesman said. A GM spokesman declined to comment.

GM is seen as eager to tap Isuzu's strength in Southeast Asian markets and its diesel technology, while a deal for Isuzu means it could share the burden of developing technologies.

"Because the cost burden is big for Isuzu to develop engines, it probably sees it necessary to cooperate with someone, though it does not need a capital tie-up," said Kei Nihonyanagi, an autos analyst at BarclaysSecurities in Japan.

"By being able to sell engines to GM, Isuzu would be able to recover its investment easier."

The largest U.S. automaker first took a stake in Isuzu in 1971 and at one point owned as much as 49 per cent of the Japanese truck maker before selling the holding down. In 2006, GM sold its remaining 7.9 per cent stake for $300 million.

The companies, which worked together on trucks such as the GM Chevrolet Colorado mid-size pickup, sold as the i-Series by Isuzu, still cooperate in some areas. They jointly developed the updated Isuzu D-Max in 2011 and collaborate in sales in Latin America and South Africa.

Isuzu's top shareholders are trading houses Mitsubishi Corp and Itochu Corp, with 9.2 per cent and 8.0 per cent, respectively. Toyota Motor Corp also owns a 5.9 per cent stake.

Shares in Isuzu rose 3.6 per cent in morning trade in Tokyo on Thursday, outperforming the Nikkei index that rose 0.7 per cent

Credit by Bangkok Post News,Rewritten by Thailandcarnews