Tata Nano allotment takes place, 100,000 owners chosen, deliveries in July'09

Tata Motors has announced that it has completed the process to select the first 100,000 owners of the Tata Nano from among the 2,06,703 final list of applicants who had booked the car. As announced at the launch on March 23, the first 100,000 owners were selected through a computerised random selection process. The company had said that the process would be completed within 60 days of the closure of booking on April 25, 2009.
The booking process had also given the option to applicants to indicate whether they would like to retain their booking amounts with the company, even if they do not get selected among the first 100,000 allottees, and await delivery of their cars after them. 67 per cent (137,867) applicants had chosen this option, from which a further 55,021 retainees have been made allotments. The booking amounts of the unsuccessful applicants, who had not exercised this option, are being returned.
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2009 edition of Bajaj Pulsar 220cc launched

Bajaj Auto has announced the launch of 2009 Pulsar 220 edition, which the company claims to be the fastest Indian bike with the top speed of 144 km/hr. The new bike gets the performance boost with a 32 venturi carburetor, the biggest ever used in India. In addition, the intake port in the cylinder head has been modified, along with higher lift and duration cam. A larger resonator and catalytic converter is also used to increase performance. With a phenomenal 21.04 Ps power, sporty styling, long feature-list and a price of approximately Rs. 70,000/- ex-showroom, it is a very compelling package for the performance bikers, who will find hard to resist this fastest Pulsar ever. The Bajaj Pulsar 220 will be manufactured at its Chakan facility near Pune in Maharashtra works with 4 color options to choose from.

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US car brands make average 10 per cent improvement in 2009: J.D. Power Quality Survey

According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Initial Quality StudySM (IQS) released recently, new vehicles sold by Chrysler, Ford and GM’s domestic brands have improved in initial quality by an average of 10 per cent, compared with 2008, surpassing the 8-per cent rate of improvement by the industry overall.
Overall, the industry average for initial quality is 108 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) in 2009, down from 118 PP100 in 2008. Initial quality for domestic brands has improved to an average of 112 PP100 in 2009 from 124 PP100 in 2008. Lower PP100 scores indicate a lower rate of problem incidences and higher quality.
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TVS to roll out a refurbished version of Flame shortly

According to reports in the media, TVS Motors is gearing up to launch the refurbished version of its controversial Flame brand of motorcycles, with single spark engine in the near term. The new bike -- Flame SR 125 -- would be an advanced version of its existing model Flame, which has single spark CCVTi engine. It is to be mentioned that the Chennai-based company will omit the controversial twin-spark plug technology over which is involved in a two-year old legal tussle with rival Bajaj Auto Limited. It may be recalled that the Supreme Court of India had issued an interim order that allows TVS to continue rolling the Flame series but had restricted from marketing them. The order comes on the back of an interim stay from the Madras High Court that had in effect okayed TVS’ plans to manufacture Flame

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Bajaj Auto to roll out world's most fuel-efficient engine series by July'09

Bajaj Auto, on 23rd June, 2009, has announced that it is going to roll out the world’s most fuel efficient engine series, called DTS-Si version 2.0, which incorporates 5 major innovations to make it the most fuel efficient engine not only in India but also the world.
Designed and developed completely by ‘Ahead’, Bajaj Auto’s R&D, the technology has set new benchmarks and promises to revolutionalise the industry with World’s most fuel-efficient two-wheeler to be launched next month. Bajaj had first dramatically improved engine technology in 2003 when it launched the DTS-i (Digital Twin Spark-ignition) engine to achieve faster and more efficient combustion. In 2007, the core DTS-i engine was then further engineered and the DTS-Si engine launched to deliver exceptional mileage without compromising on performance.
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Maruti Suzuki testing CNG-powered cars, first model by early- 2010

According to reports in the media, Maruti Suzuki India has revealed that they are now testing CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) editions of several of their cars, without disclosing any names of the models.
India’s largest passenger carmaker is keen to roll out factory-fitted CNG cars by next year, as they believe that be able to offer a better value to the end customer due to the economies of scale. It is widely believed that Maruti is now focusing on CNG-driven cars, as it is becoming a popular alternative fuel in the Indian market because it turns out to be much cheaper than both petrol and diesel. It is to be mentioned that the company has already introduced the LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) version of its 800 and Wagon R models. The company has begun talks with RIL and gas marketer GAIL on the availability of natural gas and the possibilities of more fuel stations. The Alto and the 800 could be the first CNG variants from Maruti – these are likely go on sale by early-2010, reports PTI.
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