POWER CARS

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Toyota Fortuner Gets Sportier

Sadly Toyota India has hiked the prices of their key models, With Fortuner becoming dearer by nearly 20,000. This bit of news does not really make one happy, but on the other hand Toyota India has launched a small surprise to new as well as existing Fortuner owners by introducing the “Sports Package”. Yes now you can redress the Fortuner in a sportier way, Fortuner which is already a hot favourite amongst SUV buyers for its sheer size and masculine design get an opportunity to make it look sportier.

Toyota Fortuner Sport Package consists of

• Rear Roof Spoiler

• Rear Bumper Spoiler

• Front Bumper Spoiler

• Muffle Cutter

• Floor Mats

The whole package costs Rs. 42,650 which is quite a large sum to pay. We can expect enthusiasts owners to use the sports package on their Fortuner. A new buyer might get heartache, as ending up paying around 62,650 considering the new cost of the car. What do you think does the Sports Package impress you?

Hyundai Blue2 : Cell Driven Concept

With every car maker in the race of having their own unique hybrid\cell driven green car Hyundai too has come up with their own version at the Seoul Motor Show named as Blue2. The car is codenamed as HDN-6 and its name Blue2 is derived from Hyundai’s in house green sub brand called as Blue Drive and H2 which is the symbol for Hydrogen.

Blue2 is Hyundai’s sh

ot at a perfectly comfortable cell powered sedan which is economical and powerful. Mixing the better of two worlds this car can provide a surprising power of 121bhp from its fuel cell stack and an amazing mileage of 34.9 km\lit. Hyundai also provides low resistance tyres and light weight alloys which assist to achieve those mileage figures.

The whole car is based on a futuristic concept. Looking closely you will find the car has no mirrors as they are replaced by rear view cameras plus there is automatic door opening system too. Blue2 comes with wider seats and new technologies such as the Transparent Organic LED monitor on the center console which provides a more vivid display. There’s also the Motion Sensor Moustick – a wheel and sensor.

Toyota, Nissan and Honda Face Huge Loses In March

The devastating tsunami and earthquake in Japan has not only left Japan in a state of shock and destruction but it has also affected the world economy with the automobile sector being majorly affected.

Toyota the world’s largest car manufacturing company expects delay in at least 500,000 vehicles due to scarcity of electricity and spare parts. From March 14 to March 26 the company has lost at least 140,000 units already due to shortage of electricity, rubber and spare parts. At this pace hardly any cars will be produced in April and this trend may continue in May too. Talking in terms of stock market Toyota has lost 8.2 percent in stock value in Japan since March 10, the day before the magnitude-9 temblor struck off the coast of Sendai, north of Tokyo.

Despite all these hindrances Toyota has been able to resume hybrid output using parts from suppliers who have recovered and remaining inventory. After March 11 all the manufacturers in Japan are facing power cuts as the generators have been knocked down. Toyota has to come up with a new idea of resuming their production by cooperating with other car manufactures.

Talking about Nissan which is the second largest producer of cars in Japan has reported 55,000 losses in units this month. The company is importing parts from overseas and from local suppliers. These supplies include vital engine components from the US. Nissan is determined to resume production at all car factories in Japan from April 11 while the majorly affected engine factory at Iwaki, Fukushima zone will resume mid-April.

Same story at the Honda stable which has lost 46,000 units from March 14 to April 3, Honda is also resuming production by April 11 with production of parts by April 4. North America is majorly affected by Honda’s cuts in production.

Globally, automakers may give up production of 600,000 vehicles by the end of this month, and manufacturing at plants in North America may be affected when parts supplies start running out as soon as early April. We at Motoroids pray that Japan recovers as soon as possible from this tragic fury of Mother Nature.

Tata Indica Vista EV In UK

Tata Motors is taking the international market by storm let it be the Tata Pixel, the bi-colour Tata Vista for Italy, the LHD Tata Aria testing for exports or the Indica eV2 ready to be exported. Tata is leaving no stone unturned to capture the international market aggressively, now Tata is ready to launch the electric version of Indica Vista in UK. Tata has acquired an electric vehicle manufacturing center in Coventry, which is capable of building 1,500 electric vehicles every year.

The car is targeted towards business and fleet users. Vista EV is expected to cost around 14.33 lakh which includes the 3.5 lakh subsidy the government has provided on electric cars. The R&D of the Vista EV is done at Tata Motors UK subsidiary, Tata Motors European Technical Center Plc (TMETC).

With a top speed of 114 km per hour, lively acceleration and a range of 160 km, this four-seater family hatchback, with ample luggage space, is a testament to the efficiency of the EV drive-train packaging. The lithium-ion batteries in the car are produced by Miljobil Innovasion, a subsidiary of TMETC based in Norway. Tata Motors said in a statement

Sadly this car will not the Indian shore as the Indian Government’s new policy over hybrid and electric cars which promises to lower the cost but does not make the manufactures any happy.