expert cars twitters: November 2008

Sunday, November 23, 2008

2010 Porsche Panamera Picture Updates

Two months ago, 2010 Porsche Panamera Teaser pics was posted and revealed here. To get you all updated with this new Porsche creation, here are some of the updated pictures of the Porsche Panamera.

Official production of the Porsche Panemera will start April next year and will make a world debut at Geneva Motor Show one month earlier. The Panemera will be a huge car that will have a size of almost 16.3 feet or 5 meters long, 6.3 feet or 2 meters wide and will weight for about 1,800 kilogram. Three engine choices will be available at launch – the base Panamera has a 3.6 liters V6 and 300 horsepower engine, the Panamera S has a 4.8 liters V8 and 405 horsepower engine, and lastly, the Panamera Turbo that has a 4.8 liters turbo model with about 500 horsepower.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Maruti launches A-Star in India

Auto major Maruti Suzuki Tuesday launched a new model targeted at the mid-priced segment, and said it hoped to export it to over 150 countries.
Priced in the Rs.347,000-Rs.412,000 range, the car - called A-star - will be made in over 200 variants and is touted to give a mileage of 19.59 km per litre of petrol. A-star is Maruti Suzuki's eighth vehicle launched in a little over three years.
"A-star will be exported mainly to European markets and we expect it to account for a major part of our total exports,c company chairman R.C. Bhargava said at the vehicle's launch.
The company exported around 50,000 cars last year and expects to export more this year.
Incidentally, A-star has been designed keeping the European market in mind, and will be rolled out of the company's facility at Manesar near Delhi.

Source : The Hindu

Fiat Linea Launched in India

Pune, November 21 : The clouds of recession looming over the country and the heat on the auto sector, like any other, have not stopped Fiat from its latest launch. Fiat India Automobiles Limited, choosing to disregard the economic slowdown, rolled out its C plus segment sedan Linea from the Ranjangaon plant some 40 km from here.
“It’s a grim economic scenario and all auto players are feeling the heat. It’s a challenge for us but we see this as an opportunity to launch a new car. The new product in the market will induce demand among the customers. The start of production of Linea is an important milestone for us and is a significant step in fulfilling the promise that we had made at the Auto Expo earlier this year,’’ said Rajeev Kapoor, CEO, Fiat India Automobiles Ltd.
This launch comes after a seven-year gap, the last one being that of Palio in 2001. Launched internationally in May 2007 in Istanbul, with a strong Italian imprint, Linea has features found in high-end cars. Around 2,500 Linea cars will be manufactured per month from the Ranjangaon plant.
The 200-acre facility, a 50-50 joint venture between Fiat and Tata Motors, will soon see Grande Punto, a top seller in Europe, also being manufactured from here. “The launch of Linea is the first step to re-establish the Fiat brand in the Indian market. After three months, Grande Punto will commence production from here,’’ said Kapoor.
Linea-Active is the base model followed by Dynamic and Emotion while Emotion +1 will be the high-end model. Initially they will be available in three colours. The medium-sized sedan fulfills Euro-4 emission norms and comes in 1.2, 1.3-petrol engine and 1.4 diesel engine.
The Ranjangaon plant now has a completely equipped body shop, assembly line and power terrain plant while a paint shop is to be commissioned shortly.
The assembly shop is designed to roll out Linea, Grande Punto and Tata X1 sedan. Now, 1.2 Palio petrol is being exported from the Ranjangaon plant and Linea and Garnde Punto will follow soon.
Apart from Fiat and Tata cars, the facility also produces powertrain engines.
The plant with an investment of Rs 4,000 crore in its full capacity, will produce up to 2,00,000 cars, 3,00,000 engines and 3,00,000 parts and accessories.