Red Bull reveals its 2010 F1 car-RB6

Red Bull Red Bull Racing is one of two Formula One teams owned by Austrian beverage company Red Bull, has officially announced that its drivers drew back the cover to reveal the Adrian Newey-designed RB6 on 10th February in Jerez. Following their six Grand Prix wins of 2009, which powered the team to second place in the constructors’ championship, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber will again be at the wheel of the Adrian Newey-designed challenger. The successor to the race-winning RB5 is an evolution of its predecessor and completes the line-up of cars for this year’s Formula 1 campaign.
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Renault Motors finds market not feasible for Sandero launch

Renault India has categorically stated that it will not be manufacturing its 5-door hatchback-Sandero, as it is finding it commercially infeasible at this point of time. It may be recalled that Renault India was earlier toying with the idea of jointly producing Sandero with Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) from Nashik in Maharashtra, where the combine is already manufacturing its entry-level sedan-Logan.

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Volkswagen Pune plant gets ISO 9001:2008 certification

The Volkswagen India Plant Pune received the ISO 9001:2008 certification for quality management systems. The certificate was handed over to Joerg Mueller, Volkswagen Group chief representative India, president and managing director, Volkswagen India Private Limited by Anil Rairikar, managing director, TUV India Private Limited at the Volkswagen India plant Pune today.
Commenting on the occasion, Joerg Mueller said, "It is a moment of immense importance and pride for us to get such recognition in a short span of time. Volkswagen as a Group has stringent quality policies world over and we are proud to have followed the same level of quality assurance in the Pune plant as well." ISO 9001:2008 certification is another milestone for Volkswagen’s quality philosophy at its Pune plant. "This recognition reinstates the role of the plant in Volkswagen’s continuous India success story", Mueller stated.
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Now watch car servicing online courtesy new auto software

KPIT Cummins, in association with DSK Motors, has rolled out automobile software, CLICKSERVICESMILE.com, which will allow the customers to view their cars and servicing process online. It will also be possible to view the car histories and records, besides facilitating the transfer of cars, purchases of second-hand cars and bill payments. A car customer will have to register for the service and depending on the car model, he will get a complete list of service stations on his monitor. The website www.clickservicesmile.com offering these services was officially launched at the hands of D.S. Kulkarni, CMD, DSK Group & Ravi Pandit, chairman & Group CEO, KPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd. in Pune. The software is the brainchild of Jitendra Mali; executive director, DSK Motors and has been developed under the guidance of Shirish Patwardhan, chief technical officer - KPIT Cummins.
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Nissan Micra to sport a 1.2 litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine

It seems that the small car from Nissan - the company’s first made-in-India car Micra - could be fitted with 1.2-litre 3-cylinder lightweight and a fuel-efficient petrol engine (which has an offset crankshaft and low-friction piston rings) and five-speed manual transmission.
Japan’s third largest car company had earlier said that it has tuned the engine for drivability and low-end torque to suit Micra’s urban focus. Speculation is also pretty rife that Micra will get a 1.5 litre turbo-diesel, the same Renault K9K unit which powers the Logan. Micra will first be launched in Thailand, in March 2010, and will subsequently be launched in the Indian market - probably by May/June 2009.

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VW Beetle corners 300 bookings and still counting

Expensive hatchbacks have always been a subject of debate and now VW's Beetle has managed to clock 300 bookings with a waiting period of 2-3 months. With a two-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, 115 HP output and six speed automatic transmission, the car comes at a price of Rs 20.45 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The car is brought into the country from Mexico as a completely built unit (CBU) attracting a duty over of over 100 per cent.

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Toyota recalls four models to correct ABS software programme

Toyota Motor Corporation announces a recall related to the software program that controls the antilock braking system (ABS) in current-model "Prius", "Prius Plug-in Hybrid", "Sai" and "HS250h" sold in Japan. The recall, for which TMC submitted notifications today to Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, concerns approximately 223,000 vehicles.
"Let me assure everyone that we will redouble our commitment to quality as the lifeline of our company. With myself taking the lead, all of us at Toyota will tackle the issue in close cooperation with our dealers and with our suppliers. Together, we will do everything in our power to regain the confidence of our customers," said TMC President Akio Toyoda, regarding the recall.

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Gulf Oil rolls out Gulf Super Duty VLE 15W-40 diesel engine oil for commercial vehicles

Gulf Oil Corporation strengthened its diesel engine oil portfolio by introducing Gulf Super Duty VLE 15W-40, super high performance diesel engine oil for low emission diesel engines of new generation trucks, buses and construction equipments. The product exceeds the requirements of API CI-4 specification and is approved against Daimler MB Approval 228.3, Volvo VDS – 3 and MAN M 3275. This state-of-the-art technology product meets the requirements of high performance engines in the vehicles conforming to BS III & BS II emission norms and even BS IV vehicles without particulate filters.

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Goodyear India to delist its shares

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has announced its intention to commence either directly, or through one or more of its wholly-owned subsidiaries, a cash tender offer to acquire any and all outstanding shares of Goodyear India, Ltd. (GIL), a publicly traded company listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, and to delist GIL’s shares from the Bombay Stock Exchange (the Delisting Proposal).
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Bridgestone inaugurates Select Super tyre showroom in Pune

Bridgestone India has recently announced the launch of their ‘Select Super’ showroom with ‘Darshan Tyres’ in Pune. The showroom was formally inaugurated on Thursday, January 21, 2010 by H. Mori, director Sales & Marketing, Bridgestone India Pvt. Ltd. The Bridgestone Select stores boosts of an exclusive Bridgestone retail ‘Identity and Sales’ in line with the global retail philosophy adopted successfully across the world.

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Porsche keen to introduce 911 series in India during 2010

German luxury sports carmaker, Porsche which has announced that it is keen to enhance its portfolio in India by introducing its latest offering, the 911 series during this calendar year. The Stuttgart-based company has said that it will showcase the latest '911 Turbo S' and '911 Turbo S Cabriolet' models at the Geneva Motor Show in March this year. While the 911 Turbo S will be priced a slightly more than Rs. 1.87 crore in the National Capital, in the rest of the country it will cost slightly over Rs. 1.90 crore. The 911 Turbo S Cabriolet, the other variant, will be tagged at almost Rs. 2 crore here, in the rest of India it will come at a price of Rs 2.04 crore. Powered by a 3.8 litre petrol engine, the new '911 Turbo S' will be more powerful than the existing '911 Turbo', which is priced at Rs. 1.59 crore.

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Toyota Kirsloskar to kick off Etios production in December 2010

On the sidelines of rolling out its ‘Q’ World programme, Toyota Kirloskar has said that it is all set to begin Etios’ production by December this year. The Indian arm of the Japanese auto giant has also confirmed that its second plant that will manufacture the Etios is half way under construction and it will have the annual production capacity of 70,000 units, which may be ramped up further to 200,000 units in phases. Though the company has not offered any details, media reports suggest that the sedan version with 2 variants will be launched in the last quarter of this year and it will be followed by the hatchback, three months later.

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Nissan kicks off Indian 'Gran Tour De Nissan 370Z' from Mumbai

Nissan Motor India is bringing its iconic sports car to enthusiasts around the country with the launch of its ‘Gran Tour De Nissan 370Z’. The Gran Tour will showcase the stunning Nissan 370Z at company dealerships and key malls in ten cities across the country, giving customers and car buffs an opportunity to look at and experience the car from close quarters. The unique road-show which will be flagged off from Mumbai on Feb 9, 2010 will travel to Pune (Feb 10-14), Cochin (Feb 19-21), Chennai (Feb 26-28), Bangalore (March 5-7), Hyderabad (March 12-14), Delhi (March 20-22), Chandigarh (March 26-28), Ludhiana (March 30-April 4) and Ahmedabad (April 9-11).

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Toyota gets 54 bookings for Prius hybrid out of 200 marked for 2010

In the wake of concerns of a braking software glitch that could force it to recall the Prius hybrid from top markets, Toyota has categorically stated that its Indian arm will see no cancellation of orders for the aforesaid car and its delivery will begin by March this year. The Prius will be available in limited numbers in two variants, priced at 26.55 lakh and 27.86 lakh, ex showroom, New Delhi, and bookings have already been kicked off early last month. Toyota, which has already earmarked 200 units of Prius for India to be sold during March-December this year, has already received 54 orders until now.

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Force India unveils 2010 Formula one car VJM03

Force India has announced to present the car with which they will compete in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship. The VJM03, which will be raced by the unchanged driver line-up of Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi this season, was unveiled online on Tuesday morning. The Silverstone-based team may have made a name for themselves last season, scoring their first pole position, points and podium, but they are hoping their new Mercedes-engined car will power them to even greater things in 2010. Following its Tuesday launch, the VJM03 will make its testing debut at the Spanish circuit of Jerez on Wednesday.

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