TOYOTA RECALLS AGAIN: 2003 SEQUOIA THIS TIME

Toyota seems to be in deep trouble this year, and its continuously loosing customer`s faith. There has been another recall on Wednesday  for thousands 2003 model Toyota  Sequoia SUV to repair a potential vehicle stability control (VSC) program.

The VSC system helps control a loss of traction during turns and in vehicles without the upgrade, the VSC system could, in some situations, activate at low speed and, as a result, the vehicle may not accelerate as quickly as expected. This recall is for about 50000 vehicles manufactured in 2003. Though there has been no accidents reported till date, It is a major issue as far as customers are concerned.Another Toyota SUV, the Lexus GX 460, was also recalled earlier this month because of a stability-control problem.

FORD POSTS $ 2.1 BN PROFIT: EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS

Here comes the good news again, Ford has posted a net profit of $2.1 bn in the first quarter. And friends here I am not talking about Ford India, its the global industry picking up and sales are booming all around the world. This is happening after six long years after 2004 that Ford has posted more than $ 2 bn profit. Back then the company sold nearly 17 million vehicles in US alone. This year however the sale for the  entire industry is below 12 million. Still the automaker plans to produce nearly 625,000 vehicles to sell in U S and Canada in the next quarter. This will be 9% more than first quarter and 39 % more than last year.

Company has deeply shrunk the operations by closing plants and the staffs are very less compared to last year. This was company`s fourth consecutive quarterly profit, shows how much Ford has managed to pick up the momentum with the new products. The net profit was equal to 50 cents a share, compared with a loss of $1.4 billion, or 60 cents a share, one year ago. Based on its first-quarter results, Ford expects solid profits and positive cash flow from its automotive operations for all of 2010, a year ahead than it had forecast.

Mahindra`s four door pickup truck spotted testing Undisguised

Yesterday was a nice evening when I was on my bike, riding through heavy traffic of Chennai. I got lucky and there it was, a left hand driven Mahindra four door pick up truck completely undisguised. Though I am not sure whether they were testing it or transporting it somewhere but for one thing I am sure that it was a test vehicle.The driver seemed to be in rush and the traffic was huge so I could not take a snap from front but the design is based on Scorpio so the front looked pretty much like Scorpio.

Yamaha India Plans to make India their export hub. The Japanese auto major wants to manufacture premium and delux segment bikes in India for export in global market, as announced by a top company official.Yamaha India is already exporting some models including YZF-R15 and FZ series to countries like Colombia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Kenya, Bangladesh and the Philippines.

"We have enough infrastructure to manufacture premium and deluxe bikes for the international market. We will manufacture premium and deluxe bikes for overseas markets from India. There is a huge demand in both the bike segments," India Yamaha Motor's National Business Head, Pankaj Dubey, told reporters.

BEIJING AUTO SHOW: GM UNVEILS CHEVROLET VOLT MPV5 CONCEPT

From the earliest days of development of Voltec plug-in hybrid system GM has been fortifying  the upcoming 2011 Chevrolet Volt, GM has been keen on infusion of fuel saving drive train in other vehicles including sedans and MPVs. One of the first segment that GM hinted of inducting Voltec plug-in hybrid system was MPV, and in 2008 GM unveiled the Orlando concept which shares the same platform as the Volt.

Now in 2010, GM  has debuted a concept crossover version of its Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle with the voltec plug in Hybrid system. The concept car is 18 centimeters longer, 7 centimeters wider and 18 centimeters taller than the production version, which is due for release in 2011. The five-passenger MPV features up to 1,764.1 liters of cargo space with the seats folded and 863.7 liters of space behind the second row.

BEIJING AUTO SHOW DEBUT: BMW CONCEPT GRAN COUPE

It seems BMW has a lot of suprises this year, Beijing Auto show saw the Debut of a new four door concept, BMW calls it Concept Gran Coupe. Bavarian giant intends to blend the exclusivity of a Gran Turismo with the performance of a sports car. The first look of the vehicle says 'wow', It certainly showcases the design of BMW`s near future vehicles. The car looks production ready and we may see it on roads within 2-3 years.

The concept is a fusion of classic features of all BMW coupes: the long wheelbase, the vaulted bonnet with forward-pointing lines, the flat silhouette, the coupe-style roof line and the short front overhang and is clearly set to give hard times to Porsche Panamera, the next Mercedes-Benz CLS and the upcoming Audi A7, possibly with the 8-Series badge on the boot.

BMW`s ALL ELECTRIC MEGACITY BY 2013

Not much people know about Munich`s best kept secrets BMW`s “Project-i”, Well I know a little bit of it and want to share with you. In 2008 a new research division was announced by BMW whose task was to design numerous solution to urban congested mobility. Though objective of project-i was never limited or exclusive, but they wanted to develop new range of technologies that the company could introduce across its fleet or even under rumored new fourth  sub-brand.

And here we are after two years of research and development, BMW announces the first production Project i car will be the much-hyped Megacity Vehicle, which will go on sale in 2013 and will be the first model under a new BMW sub-brand.The announcement was made by BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer at a press event on Thursday at the 2010 Beijing Auto Show.

THE BIG JUST GOT BIGGER : 2011 AUDI A8 REVEALED

German Auto major revealed the official pics and specs of 2011 Audi A8 on Friday, ahead of its official debut at Beijing Auto Show this year. The Big A8 is now even more bigger, more powerful, efficient and luxurious, well lets hope it helps in outselling other brands next year.

The new A8 known as A8 L W12 is now 130 mm longer and 2 mm higher than the present version which gives a lot of leg space and cabin space in rear. Comes with longer rear doors, there are not less than 25 motors powering the new four zone air conditioning. Luxury and comfort always comes first!!

GM REPAYS THE $ 8.1 BN LOAN TO US AND CANADA

Surprised!! even I am!! General motors has paid out the bailout package of  $8.1 bn  to US and Candian Governments showing the signs of strong recovery from recession last year. Since the recession, it was speculated that it would atleast take 5-7 years for global automotive industry to recover from this depression but GM has surprised us all repaying this loan 5 years ahead of schedule.

GM got a total of $52 billion from the U.S. government and $9.5 billion from the Canadian and Ontario governments as it went through bankruptcy protection last year.

SIX NEW MODELS BY FERRARI BY 2013

A lot is going on in FIAT`s pit these days, In midst of grand resurrection Fiat has unveiled its plans for Ferrari. Six new models or model variants have  been lined up for launch before 2013. It includes a new Enzo hypercar and a hardcore version of the 458.

First in the line is a variant of 458 Spider, the convertible version of the 458 Italia that replaces the outgoing F430 Spider, which is due in 2011. The year 2011 will see another Ferrari on the road that is V12-powered 612 Scaglietti codenamed F151, a four-seat grand tourer that is said to feature the first road-going implementation of the company's KERS hybrid drivetrain.

FERRARI`S FASTEST MACHINE ON ROAD!! THE 599 GTO OFFICIAL SPECS

With roaring speed of 208 Mph 599 GTO will be the fastest road car ever built by Ferrari. Set to make its debut in 2010 Beijing Auto show later this month, company released its official photos and technical specifications on Thursday.

The most important thing about Ferrari`s latest toy is -it will be produced as "limited edition" only for 599 customers who seek the maximum expression of high-performance driving.

MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO X TO HIT INDIAN MARKET LATER THIS YEAR

Yes the news is true, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation has announced the launch of the Evo X sedan in India this year,and it has been confirmed by a official spokesperson. Mitsubishi has not been very successful in Indian market, In a new strategy the company is restructuring its current sets of model in India. The car would be brought as CBU and it is believed that it  has already completed the homologation at ARAI.

VOLVO S60 GETTING READY FOR FOR BELGIAN TOURING CAR SERIES DUTY

It was just last month when we saw the debut of all new S60 sedan in Geneva motor show, But swedish carmaker has already prepared a racing version of the Sedan set to make its race debut in Belgium touring Car series (BTCS). As per BTCS Silhouette S1 regulations the car was build locally by the Volvo`s Belgian S60 racing team.

As per the regulations all the cars must have same type of  front and rear suspension, tubular chassis and aerodynamics. The Belgian Touring Car Championship is highly-regulated and as such, there’s very little deviation between each racer which takes the race in the hands of driver.

TVS to Resurrect Max R

Now comes TVS!!! Bajaj is marching ahead with its Pulsar and Discover brand while Hero Honda continues to be on No 1 spot with its Splendor. TVS has decided to resurrect the Max R 100 which was discontinued in 2005 after BS II norms. To be in competition and to penetrate in rural marker Max R will be upgraded with a 110 cc engine which will be BS III compilant. It will be sold under the name MaX 4R, as the name suggests it will be a 4 stroke engine.

Nissan plans to bring Teanna and Xtrail as CKD

Nissan after innaugrating manufacturing unit in Chennai with Renault is eying to bring down Teanna and Xtrail as complete knocked down units to reduce the cost. It is pretty clear that Nissan now wants to be a volume player in India rather than niche player.

Nissan and Teanna both are available as completely build unit (CBU) for which it has to pay 110% tax while CKD attracts only 10% tax.

Bajaj Auto Recods 2.85 million unit sales last fiscal

For the first time in the history of Bajaj it has recorded the sale of 2.85 million units. Brilliant isn`t it!! Being No 2 two wheeler manufacturer of the country it is expected from Bajaj to break some records when the whole automotive industry has gained momentum and progressing at a very fast pace.

The total sales  includes exports of nearly 9,00,000 vehicles, also the highest ever in its history. This strong showing owes itself to the success of the twin brand strategy of Discover and Pulsar, as also to the continued growth in commercial vehicle and export sales. Bajaj Auto has set itself a target of 4 million vehicles, including 1 million exports, in FY 2011.