Honda unveils Accord Coupe Concept

Honda unveiled this Accord Coupe Concept at Detroit, which should be just a concept in name. It shows off the styling direction for the next gen Accord, as well as a host of new technologies for the ninth-generation 2013 model, set to go on-sale in America this fall.

The 2013 Accord will feature three all-new powertrains, including a 2.4-litre direct-injected four-pot and two-motor plug-in hybrid system from Honda’s next-generation Earth Dreams technologies. In addition, the V6 Accord will be the first Honda sedan to feature a new 6-speed automatic transmission. Both the Accord Sedan and Coupe are expected to achieve class-leading fuel economy ratings in the US.

Source : Honda Accord Coupe

India demands apology for Top Gear's offensive show

India has demanded an apology from the BBC over its presenter Jeremy Clarkson mocking Indian culture during shooting of Top Gear while driving around the country.

Clarkson, one of the highest paid BBC presenters known for his controversial comments, presented above programme, which since its broadcast prompted several complaints and allegations of racism.

Source : India demands apology from BBC for Top Gear's show

Maruti 800 and Alto to be replaced with new models

India's once best selling car model Maruti 800 and the current best seller Alto 800 are scheduled to be replaced with new models by Suzuki in the next two years.  Among these two, Maruti 800 is already out of the top metro cities in India due to certain emission norms applicable in these cities.  Alto's 1000 cc model will continue in the market.

Maruti to replace M 800 and Alto

What happened to my beautiful car

A driver usually loves his car.  But sometimes, during driving he loves watching other things also or other drivers love to ignore his car.  The result of this love and ignore is, many a times, very dangerous.  Some instances are given below-

Driver of the bus loved the brown water in the farm very much as he was thirsty-

Driver was trying to enter the gate, just missed it

The van decided to have a pole dance

Where to go - left or right?  So he decided to move in the middle and now there are two parts of this mini truck.  One left, one right.

Front of this car is now in the rear.

It happens when a honda bike meets a honda car.

Attcked from the rear or from the front?

This is like a love making scene.

Can a car have two engines?

One car, one engine and one chasis.  That is what we understand from the registration papers.  But in some parts of our country, more than one car have the same engine or the same chasis.  This is what government auditor i.e. CAG of India has detected about the functioning of Transport Authorities in West Bengal.  In its report for the year ended 31st March 2007, CAG had following observations-

Para 5.2.9.1 Duplicate engine and chassis numbers

Alphanumeric chassis and engine numbers assigned by the manufacturer of the vehicles are the unique identification mark of vehicles. The Central Motor Vehicles (CMV) Rules 1989, prescribe that a person while applying for registration of his vehicle shall mention the chassis number and engine number in the application form. The chassis and engine numbers shall not be the same for any two vehicles.

Test check of the registration database of the RTO, Barasat, Hooghly and ARTO, Barrackpore revealed that out of 3,11,864 registration records of vehicles, 1,192 vehicles contained duplicate chassis number and 1,289 vehicles contained duplicate engine number.

The existence of duplicate chassis and engine numbers indicated lack of inbuilt data validation checks at entry level to restrict entry of duplicate chassis or engine numbers. Manual verification could not be conducted due to non-availability of specific records. The possibility of assignment of more than one registration number to the same vehicle cannot be ruled out. After these cases were pointed out, the RTO, Hooghly and ARTO, Barrackpore admitted in March-April 2007 the audit observation and stated that duplicate engine and chassis number is due to lack of inbuilt validation control in the system and wrongful data entry by the private vendors. In addition, due to scarcity of space and manpower, the manual records had not been maintained properly. The RTO, Barasat did not furnish any reply.

And these instances are not rare.  Other state governments are doing the same.  Some of these cases will be published in the coming posts.

Auto Expo 2012: After 2012 chaos, auto expo 2014 venue may move out of city

Source : The Economic Times

NEW DELHI: The next edition of the Auto Expo will not see a repeat of the mismanagement that has plagued the ongoing exhibition, the organisers have said, promising a better experience for exhibitors as well as visitors at the world's second-largest motor show.

Auto Expo 2014 will be shifted to February and the first day will be reserved exclusively for the media. Special invitees will be accommodated on the second day.

This year, the second day saw an unanticipated rush at the venue, Pragati Maidan, and traffic jams all around through the day. Given this year's fiasco, the organisers have decided to allow general visitors only on the fourth day at the next show. They might also agree to shift the venue outside of the city.

Several participants have complained to the organisers and threatened to pull out of future shows, leading to this introspection.

"There has been much deliberation to avoid the confusion that marked the second day of the Auto Expo. The initial outcome suggests segregating the visitors at the event and also holding it in a month when it does not clash with any other international show," said Sugato Sen, director of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, which organises the show along with the Confederation of Indian Industry and Automotive Components Manufacturers' Association.

Global car makers, such as Volkswagen, Fiat and Renault, have raised the issue of Indian Auto Expo clashing with the annual vacations in Europe and the US.

Several CEOs, including Mahindra & Mahindra deputy chairman & MD Anand Mahindra and Maruti chairman RC Bhargava, have also raised concerns over the infrastructural capacity to handle 100,000 visitors a day.

"We need a new location that is big and can house all the exhibitors. We are deliberating options to grab a new venue where we can house the bulging number of auto companies as well as all the component makers in a single facility," said ACMA president Arvind Kapur.

Organisers react to Mahindra's Kumbh Mela statement

Some days ago, Anand Mahindra, CEO of Mahindra & Mahindra faced the problem of overcrowding at New Delhi Auto Expo during the initial days meant for business and commented that it looked like a Kumbh Mela.  This apparently did not liked by organisers as that was a question mark on their management of this expo.  Now, in a full page advt published in newspapers, they have tried to put a good image of themselves and stated that -

"Just as the Kumbh Mela is the king of all melas in the country, the auto expo is the king of all trade shows in India, being the king of all shows it is quite natural to have huge crowds" - Rajive Kaul, Chairman, Auto Expo Steering Committee.

Natual to have huge crowds on business days?  Or it has something to do with too many free passes issued by organisers.

XUV 5OO to enter Europe via Spain

Mahindra's superhit SUV i.e. XUV 5OO is going to enter European market.  The first country it will be available in is Spain where it will have two versions W6 and W8.  Powered by mHawk 2.2 liter diesel engine, it will produce 140 horsepower with 243 lb-ft of torque.  It will be only available in a 6 speed manual variant with both 2WD and 4WD. Other features such as hill hold function, ESP, alloy wheels, a DVD player and a navigation system will also be present.

Auto Expo or Kumbh Mela

The Auto Expo at New Delhi was meant for business for the first two days i.e. for 5th and 6th January.  So one could easily expect less and organised crowd.  But the actual situation was different.  People thronged the venue in those early days like it was days meant for public, all thanks to the organisers who issued so many free passes that everybody turned up, business or no business.  Top bosses of various auto companies had to face this crowd, pushing them, patting them on their back, creating stampede like situation.

Anand Mahindra, CEO of Mahindra & Mahindra, said that this was not an auto expo, it was Kumbh Mela (a religious congregation attended by millions of people held once in every 12 years).  Other auto tycoons also agreed.  And to make the matter worse, this overcrowding does not stop inside the venue, it has spread to the nearby areas as these are facing massive jams.

Renault launches Pulse

Renault has launched its hatchback car Pulse at the Auto Expo in New Delhi.  For more information, pl. visit-

Pulse from Renault

General Motors unveils Sail - Auto Expo

General Motors has unveiled its hatchback Sail at the Auto Expo in New Delhi.  For more information, pl. visit-
Sail from GM