Automobile Blog

Hyundai Enters the Luxury Battle with Launch of Genesis

Hyundai Motor Co. launched its new rear-wheel drive Genesis luxury sedan. A car the South Korean company sees as its ticket into the ranks of the world’s top-end automakers.

They have taken the first step in a tough challenge to dominate the world’s premium car market with the launch of its Genesis luxury sedan.

The release of the Genesis is likely to intensify competition between Hyundai and high-end foreign brands in the local luxury market. It comes equipped with a long list of state-of-the-art features.

The rear-wheel-drive sedan comes with either a 3.3-liter or 3.8-liter V6 engine, both of which boast power, fuel efficiency, quiet and durability.

It also features a six-speed automatic transmission, smart cruise control that uses radar to measure the distance of the car ahead to keep the Genesis at a proper distance, and adaptive headlamps that position the focus of the light according to driving speed and turn direction. (more…)

Toyota 2008 Land Cruiser

Toyota has introduced its new 2008 Land Cruiser full-size SUV in the US with a new 5.7 L V-8 engines and transmission. Estimated fuel economy is 13 mpg city, 18 mpg highway, 15 mpg combined.

The 2008 Land Cruiser is powered by an all-new 5.7-liter V8 engine that produces 381 horsepower and 401 lb-ft of torque. The engine is mated with ansix-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission with a sequential shift mode. The SUV has a maximum towing capacity of 8,500 pounds, an increase of 2,000 pounds over the previous model.

The 2008 Land Cruiser is now endowed with the 5.7-liter double-overhead-cam V8 that was introduced in the 2007 Toyota Tundra pickup truck. Exceptionally smooth and powerful, in the Land Cruiser, it’s mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission and delivers a considerable 381 horsepower and 401 lb-ft of torque.

With the newfound grunt, the Land Cruiser’s towing capacity has jumped from 6,500 to 8,500 pounds. The Land Cruiser is fitted with a total of 10 airbags – two front airbags, knee airbags for the driver and front passenger, two rows of side-impact airbags, and three-row curtain airbags. (more…)

Ford Motor plans small car for India

Ford Motor Company has reaffirmed its commitment to India by deciding to invest an additional $500 million (around Rs. 2,000 crore) into its facility at Maraimalai Nagar, near here.

The investment plan will be implemented in phases over the next three years. The first phase of the plan had already commenced and would include the addition of a diesel engine plant at Maraimalai Nagar with an initial annual capacity of 50,000 units.

The first engine is expected to roll off the assembly line in April. These will go into the local production of Fiesta and Fusion vehicles. Ford is also ramping up capacity at its Chennai plant to 200,000 units from the exisiting 100,000 units by 2010, bulk of which will comprise its small car.

While an integrated engine plant will supply for all these cars, the balance 50,000 units will be exported. This is the first time that Ford is making diesel engines outside Europe,” Mathew added. The manufacturing capacity at the Chennai car plant would be doubled to two lakh units a year. (more…)

GM unveil a hydrogen-electric Cadillac crossover concept

General Motors Corp. wants to build a car that doesn’t need gas and now the automaker is trying to create a car that can go without a driver too. Dubbed the Provoq, the model will be shown off by GM CEO Rick Wagoner at the landmark technology convention in Las Vegas.

The automaker is releasing few details about the Provoq — which will be transported to Detroit in time for next week’s media preview of the North American International Auto Show — until Wagoner’s speech Tuesday.

However, a spokesman said its alternative fuel technology is being developed as part of the company’s E-Flex program. One of the vehicles he’ll promote will be a Chevrolet Tahoe SUV that can navigate itself through traffic using radars, lasers and cameras. (more…)

Honda Element

The Honda Element is a compact crossover SUV manufactured by Honda and released in the United States, Canada and Japan in 2003. Although the Element is based on the CR-V, its dimensions are significantly different. The length is a foot (300 mm) shorter, the wheelbase has been trimmed 1.7 in (43 mm), the roofline is 7.8 in (198 mm) higher, the front track 1.7 in (43 mm) narrower, and the floor about an inch (25 mm) lower.

The Element leverages its versatility and optional all-wheel drive into the ultimate niche vehicle for active young adventure-seekers and their toys. The Element, being a Honda, fulfills that role well. But we know that plenty other buyers also find it useful for routine errands and adventures of their own.

The Honda Element comes in three trim levels: regular LX, the upgraded EX and the special SC. For power, the vehicle has a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine rated at 166 hp and 161 pound-feet of torque. A five-speed manual transmission is standard and a five-speed automatic is optional. The Element LX and EX are available in both front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive configurations, while the SC is front-drive only. (more…)

Maruti Suzuki replacing Esteem with Dezire

Maruti Suzuki is coming up with the new Dezire, the replacement for its long-serving Esteem. With the curtains down on the Esteem after a 14-year long drive, the new offering, Dezire, will have a host of contemporary new features which were otherwise missing in the Esteem and not available in any of the current lot of mid-sized cars. Dezire, Maruti Suzuki’s new sedan on the Swift platform, will be manufactured only in India for the global market and will be available in both fuel options.

It will sport 1.3 liter petrol and the 1.3 liter DDiS multi jet diesel engine, currently available in the Swift hatchback. There’s no reason to worry about the company’s direction, according to Nakanishi. “Maruti Suzuki is doing very well,” he says. “Sales, financials, customer satisfaction, everything is very impressive.”

Still, the signal behind the management shakeup is clear: As competition in the fast-growing Indian market heats up, Suzuki wants to show it can do better on its own than when it was tied to New Delhi-appointed officials. (more…)

Ford Motor Company Investing $500 Million in India

Ford is the world’s third-largest automaker (based on unit sales) after Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Corp. Ford’s wholesale shipments of 6.6 million vehicles in 2006 accounted for about 10% of vehicle shipments worldwide.

Ford Motor Co has announced it plans to invest 500 mln to expand its India operations. The investment will fund the expansion of Ford India’s current manufacturing facility in Chennai — due to begin production of a new small car within the next two years — and the construction of a fully integrated and flexible engine manufacturing plant, to be operational by 2010.

The new investment increases Ford’s total financial commitment in India to more than US$875 million, and underscores its plan to elevate India as one of the strategic production hubs for small cars in the Company’s Asia Pacific and Africa region.

In 2007, Ford announced a $500 million investment to build small cars in Thailand, just weeks after launching production of small cars at a new $510 million, state-of-the-art facility in Nanjing, China. Ford India added 20 new authorized dealers to its network in 2007, bringing the total to 130 locations throughout the country.
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