All About Cars

India’s luxury car market, till recently was dominated by just one player, Mercedes Benz and a few individual imports, registered a 50% growth last year, with the sale of 4,500 cars. That was the first effect of the entry of more players.

This year, they expect to sell between 6,000-7,000, with more players and more models. Of this number, the oldest player in the segment, Mercedes Benz, has revised its sales target for 08 to 3,000 cars. BMW’s target is 2,000 cars, leaving the balance for the others.

One reason for the higher sales is the aggressive dealer network that the car makers are rolling out. In Pune, for instance, from a situation a few months ago of just Mercedes Benz having a showroom, BMW and Audi have set up dealerships. And Volvo Cars, part of Ford’s Premier Automotive Group (PAG) has declared its intention of setting up dealerships in the country’s top 10 cities, including Pune.

Auto industry analysts claim Pune had a population of about 50 Audis, prior to the opening of the showroom, imported by individuals. Now that there is a dealer in the city, this number has risen dramatically, with at least another 25-30 cars with the four inter-linked circles to be seen on city roads.

Ditto for BMW, which opened a showroom in the city in December 07. While a BMW spokesperson said they do not give city-specific details, the visible effect is everywhere: open a dealership and see sales grow dramatically.

Auto analysts estimate that the western Maharashtra region, excluding Mumbai, which is served by the Pune dealer, could account for the sale of more than 250 Audis annually. And these are cars in the Rs. 42-73 lakh price bracket.

Audi, a Volkswagen group company expects to sell, in the first year, 500 units of just one product, its all-new A4 launched recently in Europe and set to debut in India by July, its managing director, Benoit Tiers, had said at the time of the dealership inauguration a month ago.

The BMW population in the city has also swelled: from just a few head turners, the number of cars with the white and blue twin propellers are becoming a fairly common sight. BMW, which has set a target of selling 2,000 cars this year, with an entry level price of Rs. 30 lakh, has increased assembly capacities at its Chennai plant, anticipating this growth across the country.

Mercedes Benz, which has been locally assembling cars in India for 13 years now, has also upped its annual sales target for 08: it is now 3,000 cars. Not including completely built units (CBUs), Dr Wilfried Aulbur, CEO and managing director, Mercedes Benz India, has stated recently.

There are two specific segments in the high priced car marekt which are growing: sports utility vehicles and the all-new coupe. Take Mitsubishi’s Pajero SFX, the new version of the all-time favourite SUV: it now has a waiting period of two-three weeks. And prospective buyers are depositing the full amount!

YVS Vijay Kumar, vice president and SBU head, Chennai Car plant, Hindustan Motors, said, “We may have to add a second shift at our Chennai plant since there is a waiting list for our premium SUVs. Last month, we had orders for 260 Pajeros and we could only deliver 200. Already, in the first week of April, we had an order book of 150 cars. No additional investment will be required since we already have the capacities installed: the plant is capable of making 24,000 cars annually while we are doing 6,000 now.”

For the moment, Hindustan Motors Mitsubishi Motors is betting on the premium SUV segment, where it has an 18% market share. “We are looking at growing this with the Outlander, which is coming in September,” Mr Vijay Kumar said.

The Audi Q 7, an SUV, is running neck to neck in popularoty with its sedan siblings, industry analysts claimed, with roughly half the bookings being for the SUV. While SUVs have been popularised by politicians, there is another segment which dealers expect will grow significantly: that of the coupe. Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi and Volvo Cars all have offerings in this segment and each of them is eyeing growth.

The Audi TT, which has an existing population of about six in Pune, could double soon, is the belief of industry watchers, who believe the car maker could, on average, sell one coupe per month in the western Maharashtra region.
The BMW M3 coupe was a head turner at the Auto Expo in Delhi in January, with company officials saying that this set of wheels, priced just under Rs. 75 lakh, had already received a few orders.

Mercedes showed its four-door convertible, the CLK 350, and Volvo Cars’ C70 convertible coupe at the same event.

In 06, 3300 luxury cars were sold in India. This jumped to 4,500 in 07 and the expectation is that in the current year, the number could well touch 7,000. And officials working for the luxury car brands claim that the current economic slow down has not yet hit them: just look out for the March sales figures!

Land Rover’s versatility is legendary, but its detractors claim that its vehicles’ utility has been sacrificed on the altar of luxury. Never willing to compromise, newly-acquired Land Rover has answered with the Freelander 2 Commercial.

The vehicle is essentially the same as the regular Freelander 2, only with some equipment removed and other features added to optimize the little truck’s utility. The rear seats and side airbags have been jettisoned, replaced with a solid bulkhead, floor support frame, rubber cargo bay mat, lashing points and other handy features geared towards moving cargo instead of schoolkids. The Freelander 2 Commercial will make its official debut next month at the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham, England, and will be available in base S and loaded XS trim levels.

As good as the deals are on new cars, they’re even sweeter for used cars. As carmakers offer more incentives and new-car dealers trim prices to boost slumping sales, used-car dealers must cut prices to compete.

Used-car shopping has come a long way since answering those 25-word classified ads and praying you wouldn’t buy a lemon. With all but a fraction of the used-car universe listed online, it’s easy to comparison-shop and spot a good buy (though for added protection, take the car to an independent mechanic for inspection). If you’re still uneasy, consider buying a certified pre-owned vehicle, which adds the armor of a factory inspection and an additional warranty.

Because of high gas prices, used pickups and large SUVs are particularly cheap. Also, dealers have a generous supply of two- and three-year-old luxury cars that have come off lease or were traded in. These models have seen their steepest depreciation, and many are still under warranty.

Find Useful Online Automobile Information for both new and used cars and trucks.

The Ferrari FXX pedal go-cart is a mighty good way for you to initiate your kids into becoming Ferrari worshippers like you and also have loads of fun racing around the block. The new Ferrari FXX pedal go-kart from the house of Berg Toys has a nice sports-car like stance, comes in Ferrari red and also manages to look quite big for a pedal go-cart. This go-cart uses the good old pedal power to push it forward which means that it is safer than the motorised go-carts because you can’t go too fast in this one. We like the five spoke alloys, replete with the Ferrari logo which makes this cart look very hot. The go-cart is also loaded to the gills with various safety features like disc brakes and even a seatbelt for it’s racing seat. So that means, no nasty crashes with overenthusiastic kids managing to push the go-cart to the extreme. You even have an on-board chip to measure your lap times and top speeds. Pretty neat, we must say.

German tuner Geiger Cars is partial to modifying American cars, so it was an obvious choice to use the Corvette Z06 as a base for its latest special edition car. Dubbed the Corvette Z06 Black Edition, Geiger adds a unique body kit with a Ferrari F430-ish rear end and LED taillights, as well as a more aggressive front lip. Black painted rims are available in both 18- and 19-inch sizes, as well. Output of the 7.0-liter V8 is listed as unchanged at 505 bhp and 470 lb-ft torque, although Geiger does offer a Stage 1 performance kit for the Z06 that includes a new air intake system, upgraded exhaust manifolds, and a free-flowing exhaust system good for 542 bhp. We would insert a joke right here about KITT from Knight Rider or maybe Darth Vader, but it’s been a long day and there’s not much else to say besides that’s one blacked-out ‘Vette.

Imagine a Hyundai Elantra minus the swoopy body line and with a more assertive, Opel-ish beak, and you have the Changfeng Qi Ling CP1A that’ll be unveiled this weekend at the Beijing Motor Show. According to thetycho.com, the CP1A designation is simply a code name, and the sedan will get power from a 1.8-liter four of undetermined size and strength. That’s the extent of the details at the moment, but we’ll keep an eye out for more as Auto China ‘08 gets underway this weekend.

A towering sculpture of eight cars made famous in the movie “Wayne’s World” is up for sale on eBay.The suburban Chicago landmark is named the Spindle and features cars from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s skewered on a metal spike.

Bids open at $50,000, and the auction closes Thursday. The eBay listing says it will cost $100,000 to ship the 50-foot structure.

The Spindle — also known as the “Car Kabob” and the “Eight Car Pileup” — draws fans of the 1992 comedy starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey.

Berwyn residents are divided on what to do with the structure, which is covered with rust and pigeon droppings. It was supposed to be dismantled last year to make way for a pharmacy, but preservation groups formed and protested.

California artist Dustin Shuler built the piece in 1989.

Cheap used Cars for sale at  Volcars.com and Latest cars news updates

The Los Angeles Times has an article taking a look at the the four most prominent California-based electric vehicle start-ups and the difficulties they face. The article touches on Phoenix Motorcars, Zap, Fisker and, of course, Tesla. A lot of what the article covers has already been discussed around these parts on numerous occasions but for those playing catchup, it’s a decent primer on the difficulties of creating a new car company. Building any new car that meets modern customer expectations, regulatory requirements and is reliable and durable is an extremely daunting task. All of that needs to happen before you even think about actually making money on the whole deal, which few car companies seem to be able to do. The technical issues of integrating all the powertrain electronics, safety, body and entertainment systems is extremely costly and time consuming but must be done if you expect people to actually big bucks for an electrically-driven car. If you don’t accomplish all of that, you may sell a few cars to rich early adopters and enthusiasts, but you won’t have a sustainable business. One correction to the article: the author states that Tesla plans to build 1,000 cars this year, that number is closer to 600 and even that may prove to be a stretch.

Find Useful Online Automobile Information for both new and used cars and trucks.

Enthusiasts here in the States have long wondered why they couldn’t buy Ford and GM small cars from Europe, and at least part of the answer has been that Americans don’t want to pay big bucks for premium small cars. Spiking gasoline prices have quelled that argument, and fuel economy is now towards the top of shoppers’ lists when looking for a new car or truck.

While Ford is still more than a year away from bringing over the Euro Focus and Fiesta, GM has made the cross-Atlantic jump by importing the Opel Astra to our shores. The Astra is a hot-selling hatch in Europe with high-end amenities and very good fuel economy, and the model is shipping to the U.S. differentiated from its Euro twin by some Saturn logos and little else. We were itching to get our hands on an Astra to see if it were as good as advertised, and our tester came equipped with everything Saturn could throw at the vehicle. Hit the jump to see how the 2009 Saturn Astra fared in the Autoblog Garage.