IndiBlog

[Pics: Autocar India]

Toyota is in a refresh mode with the new Corolla Altis due for launch on September 5' 2008 and the Innova too being sent to the botox parlour for a new lease of life. The new Innova is hardly new and carries forward the same old engine, gearbox, suspension ......infact everything is the same except a new front bumper, more angular clearlens headlights and fog lamps, LED tail lamps and a new grille. The front bumper in the picture looks too pronounced while the grille looks sharper and better than the earlier one. On the inside Toyota has upped the luxury quotient with climate control, steering mounted controls and an in dash CD player. The cheesy wood trim in the picture below looks awful and i hope Toyota doesn't offer this on the V model.

This seems to be Toyota's attempt at grooming it's segment leader to take on fresh competition from the Mahindra Ingenio and Tata Indicruz. The new Innova is expected to hit showrooms by December 2008. How do you think it will fare?

Mumbai will become the first city in India to get a fully robotised parking lot next month courtesy Akruti City. The lot has been built on Bhulabhai Desai Road in posh South Mumbai and is aimed at decongesting the busy street. It's a 20 stories lot with slots for about 240 cars. All a driver needs to do is to drive to the check-in point in the parking lot from where a rotating carousel takes charge. A parking ticket is handed out to the driver and a robot with sensors identifies based on size, the slot in which the vehicle can be parked. The entire process takes about 2-3 minutes. This ensures that there are no vacant spaces left in the parking lot which is usually the case when humans park their own cars.

The way to retrieve your car is also rather simple. One needs to place the ticket on the sensor and the car is put back on the carousel to be returned. This cark park will use German technology and software and has cost Akruti Rs 25 crore. This is a public private partnership (PPP) between Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Akruti who won the bid through a tender process. Akruti SkyPark will operate this parking lot on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis for a five year period.

The cost of parking the car will be decided by the BMC. Akruti will get a fixed rental every month and commercial space in the building which can be rented/monetised. So finally Mumbai would be getting a world class parking lot like the ones seen in Japan, US and Dubai.

Mahindra & Mahindra are planning to launch the Scorpio in the American market by mid 2009. As automatic transmission is the preferred choice there, M&M has been hard at work fitting a six speed auto box in the Scorpio. Infact the automatic Scorpio has already been caught testing in India and is likely to be launched by the upcoming festive season. The 6-speed auto gearbox would be mated to the 2.2 litre M Hawk engine and offered only on the top end Vlx model. Expect pricing to be around Rs. 11,30,000. Accelaration and fuel economy would be affected by upto 10%.

Tata Motors has released the following pictures to the automotive press to show the readiness of the Tata Nano plant in Singur, West Bengal. I think this is Tata's way of communicating the extent to which it has already invested into the plant and how the protests are delaying the progress of the Nano. From the pictures the plant seems ready to begin production within a month's time at the maximum.

This has to be the strangest automotive news in a long time. After cracking down on drivers who use their mobiles while driving, Mumbai is going to fine drivers who are listening to music while driving! Isn't this bizarre? Traffic cops in Mumbai are of the opinion that listening to the radio or other music sources while driving create distractions and leads to more accidents on city streets. Most people like you and me, look towards music to soothe our nerves while negotiating traffic crazed street of Mumbai but this comfort is going to be taken away by the ignorant cops.

"This move has been to keep people from getting distracted. The driver should concentrate only on driving. This causes less accidents," says S M Sabde, DCP, suburban traffic. It's a Rs. 1000 fine for the first incidence and Rs. 200 for the qubsequent offence.

The Immediate Fallout:
1. Car Audio/Video industry would suffer a setback.
2. Radio channels would suffer losses as majority of their listeners tune in while in the car.

What would happen to the crores worth of audi equipment already installed in Mumbai's cars? Also arent there other distractions which occure while driving, for e.g: eating, talking to the passenger etc. Would the cops fine those too? Feel free to share your comments.

The second Brandsmith vintage & classic bike drive will be flagged off from Asiad Tower Complex at Khel Gaon in Delhi on 29th August at 11:30am by actor Gulshan Grover (a.k.a Badman). The event is being organised by brand promotions company Brandsmith, which also does the Statesman Vintage car rally and aims to preserve & encourage vintage biking in India. "Vintage bikes are often neglected with large vintage collectors focusing more on cars and hence Brandsmith came up with this drive so as to highlight & showcase these timeless machines, apart from providing the bikers their moment of glory." says Rahul Mittra CEO Brandsmith.

This is a free event and more than 40 bikes are expected to participate in this year's drive including the following highlights:

1. Oldest bike S.E.N (1923 MAKE)
2. BSAs (single, twin & golden flash)
3. Matchless (pre-worldwar)
4. Italian Lambretas & Piaggios
5. Ural (Russian equivalent of BMW)
6. Indian Chief (American)
7. British Royal Enfields
8. German NSU
9. Parachute bike which was used by British forces to airdrop behind enemy lines during the world war.

If you are a vintage bike enthusiast or have a vintage ride of your own, head over to this event this Friday.