The stock markets may have tanked, oil prices may have sky rocketed and interest rates may have gone up. But that has not stopped the common man from walking into a car dealership and driving home his set of dream wheels. Most car companies sold more cars in India during financial year 2007-08 than they have ever done before. And there’s one big reason for this: the onslaught of new models hitting Indian roads.

With more options on the table, customers have flocked to showrooms and the numbers tell the story. Maruti Suzuki rode strong with a 12% growth in sales. While small cars continued to dominate the company’s sales with a 13.4% growth, its brand new Maruti SX4 sedan helped it break the domination of Honda City in the mid-size sedan category.

And as a result, Honda, bound by capacity constraints for most part of the year, found it tough to keep up its sales during the year. But it was General Motors (GM) that recorded the highest growth in percentage terms. Again a new model the Chevrolet Spark coupled with some customer incentives and interesting variants garnered the numbers.

Next in line was Fiat, which saw a revival in sales thanks to its distribution tie-up with Tata Motors. But with just 3379 units sold over the year, the company still has a long way to go if it wants to make its presence felt. The newly launched diesel Palio with the 1.3 litre Multijet engine and the upcoming Linea and Grande Punto may just do the trick.

Another star attraction during the year was the Mahindra Renault Logan, an entry level sedan which gave the existing biggies a serious run for their money.

Perhaps the best validation of the fact that new model launches have driven sales comes from Tata Motors, which witnessed a decline in sales because it could not offer something new to its customer. During the year, company executives reiterated this lacuna, assuring customers that 2008 will be the year to watch out.

The refurbished portfolio includes the new Indica and the much-awaited Nano. Ford too had a similar story to tell. While there might be some sighs of relief in Dearborn, Michigan with the income of $2.3 billion from the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover, the falling sales in market like India must be a cause of worry.

It’s a new month, and new April incentives are gradually rolling out. GM’s the first to post, and thus far the deals are slightly underwhelming.

Chevy is offering $1,500 cash back on its Impala sedan, a perennial best-seller despite its otherwise bland personality. The carmaker is also giving back $2,000 on the 2008 Avalanche, which Cars.com reviewer Kelsey Mays lauded in his review when the truck first hit the scene. Both cars also have 36-month, 2.9% financing offers.

Chevy is continuing its usual high-dollar truck incentives in April, offering between $1,500 and $3,250 cash back on its various Silverado trucks. Incentives expire April 30.

Sales of new cars nose-dived last month by more than 23 percent from a year before, partly because early Easter holidays shortened the trading month.

Total new vehicle sales reported to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa) declined by 17.5 percent year on year to 47 778 units, with new car sales falling to 27 724 units.

Motor industry analyst Tony Twine, a director of Econometrix, said last month had two fewer trading days than in March 2007, or a 9 percent reduction in selling time.

He noted that growth in passenger vehicle sales had been in a downswing since October 2006, an early response to the interest rate hikes that began in June 2006. Car sales had fallen 30 percent in the 18 months since hitting an incredibly high point just before October 2006.

There was a huge dichotomy in the economy as downward pressure on consumers to prevent them spending contrasted with a ballooning business sector that was trying to sustain the fixed investment cycle.

Sales of new light commercial vehicles, bakkies and minibuses dropped to 16 616 units last month, a dip of 10.7 percent from March last year.

Medium truck sales rose by 2.6 percent to 1 321 units and heavy truck and bus sales leapt 9 percent to 2 117 units.

Nico Vermeulen, Naamsa’s executive director, said the data should be seen in context, because new vehicle sales in March last year represented one of the highest sales months on record and Easter holidays fell in March this year, reducing the number of selling days.

Jacques Brent, the vice-president for sales and market at the Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa, said sales last month were slightly up on February, but overall market sentiment remained unchanged with “tough times ahead”.

Brent said Ford had revised its forecast for total industry new vehicle sales downwards to 570 000 this year from 590 000.

Brand Pretorius, the chairman of McCarthy Motor Holdings, said the key reason for the much lower car sales was that both business and consumer confidence were under siege.

Current sales figures were not an accurate reflection of spontaneous demand, he added. They resulted from intense discounts, cash-back offers and subsidised interest rates that were stimulating the market artificially.

“We believe market demand is actually at a significantly lower level. Purely from a motor industry perspective, there is no need for a further interest rate increase, as demand has already slowed right down.”

Malcolm Gauld, the vice-president of sales and marketing at General Motors South Africa, said the significant cost push burden of a sudden deterioration in the rand meant pricing adjustments were unavoidable in the short term.

MAGNA STEYR presents the third concept vehicle in the MILA innovation family at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show. The MILA Alpin is a compact off-roader with a body specially designed for integrating various different types of alternative drives. This means: Excellent all-terrain capability, wide-ranging uses and emissions of under 100 g CO2 per kilometer. Creating an attractive vehicle was by no means MAGNA STEYR’s only priority in the MILA Alpin project. The entire product development process was also designed always to make assembly as cost-efficient as possible - whatever the market demands.A new vehicle segment

Its unique configuration makes the MILA Alpin a vehicle that stands out because of its excellent all-terrain capability and outstanding rough road characteristics. As a result, it is not only suitable for recreation but also as a utility vehicle for special uses. What allows such wide-ranging applications is the mid-engine layout with a low-cost, but effective all-wheel drive system. Its climbing ability is impressive: 100% or 45 degrees. On the road, too, exceptional handling makes the MILA Alpin great fun to drive. What’s more, the hybrid drive using natural gas reduces the impact on the environment.

The MILA Alpin’s shape language also adds to its attraction - inspired by Nature, its lines are as clear as rock and ice.

Engineering

The engineers at MAGNA STEYR set themselves the challenge of developing an off-roader in several variants with maximum climbing ability - all at low cost. And they certainly succeeded.

The frame consists of straight sections, which are made of different materials to guarantee low weight and enable a flexible body concept. Modular design makes it easier to use components and systems from volume production and combine them with various different innovative modules and optional extras. Thanks to independent suspension and ESP, the chassis guarantees safe on-road characteristics. The mid-engine layout ensures good traction. The considerable ground clearance, large overhang angles, option of locks in the transfer case and axle drives, and low crawling speed all go to make driving safe and relaxed off the road.

A higher sitting position that is relatively far forward and large panoramic roof give the driver and passengers perfect visibility. The MILA Alpin has 3 + 1 seats.

There is also the option of a CNG drive, a hybrid or a small, supercharged gasoline engine.

From concept to reality

To manufacture a vehicle with low production volume and high number of variants economically, tool investment has to be reduced as far as possible. This fact in particular was taken into account when designing the MILA Alpin. Given the modular design, automation can be kept at a low level and, at the same time, flexibility in assembly at a high level. The MILA Alpin concept can therefore be used for volume production without any problems - especially by a flexible specialist in engineering and vehicle assembly, such as MAGNA STEYR. The requirements for production have been met by optimizing the overall process and the individual systems at every stage of development. This approach also enables the costs of any subsequent modifications due to market demand to be kept down to a minimum.

All the innovative components, such as energy storage systems, and the expertise for hybrid drives stem from in-house advance development.

MAGNA STEYR has developed and designed the vehicle to be brand neutral. It can therefore be built together with various OEMs.

India’s Tata Motors Ltd. says it will acquire British automakers Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Co. for $2.3 billion.

The Tata Group is an Indian conglomerate with 98 companies spanning a variety of industries.

The sale is essentially the death knell for Ford’s Premier Automotive Group, which former CEO Jacques Nasser created in 1999 as the company’s luxury vehicle division.

The dissolution of Ford’s so-called PAG unit started in March 2007, when Ford, trying to raise cash for its bleeding North American operations, sold the ultra-luxury Aston Martin brand for $848 million.

After the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover, which are based in Britain and have conjoined management, engineering, manufacturing and distribution operations, PAG will have just one foreign luxury brand in its portfolio: Volvo.

Ford, and many experts who follow the industry, have expressed a desire to see the Swedish Volvo brand more tightly incorporated into Ford’s worldwide operations, where it can share a lot of its engineering expertise, specifically in the area of safety, with Ford. The new Taurus, for example, was engineered with assistance from Volvo.

While some analysts have speculated that Jaguar and Land Rover could fetch as much as $8 billion, other experts previously told the Free Press that amount would be surprising. Prior to the sale, Merrill Lynch & Co. estimated the sale of the brands would put an extra $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion in Ford’s pocket.

That’s far less than what Ford paid for the brands. Ford bought Jaguar for $2.5 billion in 1989 and Land Rover for $2.75 billion in 2000.

In November, Ford said it was creating a new plan to improve the financial performance at Volvo, which includes enhancing the brand’s position as a global producer of premium vehicles; establishing appropriate business arrangements between Volvo and Ford-brand operations to allow Volvo to operate on a more stand-alone basis in the absence of the PAG structure.

Ford also plans to disclose Volvo’s financial performance beginning with 2008 results.

Nissan’s top executive said Friday he believes environmentally friendly electric cars will dominate the future as automakers join the fight against global warming.

Nissan and French alliance partner Renault are already developing its first electric car in Israel that it hopes to mass market by 2011, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said.

However, the group is also working on other advanced vehicles including hybrid engines and hydrogen fuel cells as government policies in different parts of the world will dictate the trend for automakers, he said.

Ghosn was in Malaysia to deliver a speech hosted by the Malaysian government’s investment arm, Khazanah Nasional Bhd.

“I think the future would be … zero emission cars. Particularly among urban drivers, there is a lot of appeal. We are pushing particularly this technology but we are not putting all our eggs in the same basket,” Ghosn said at a news conference.

Ghosn, who is also chief executive at Renault, pointed out that diesel cars accounted for half of sales in Europe but only less than 1 percent of sales in Japan and the United States.

“We have to be careful that we do not, as car manufacturers, embark in only one direction because we can be taken by surprise as regulations and political campaigning can bring different twists into what in the end is the dominant technology,” Ghosn said.

“We have to be prepared into pushing different technologies in different markets… that is, in a nutshell, our strategy,” he said.

Ghosn earlier visited a new 230 million ringgit ($72 million) plant by Tan Chong Motors, the sole distributor of Nissan cars in Malaysia.

Despite a slump in the U.S., Japan and Europe markets, he said Nissan expects its global sales for the fiscal year through March 2008 to exceed its forecast of 3.7 million units, but didn’t give a specific figure.

For the fiscal year through March 2009, he said mature markets are likely to remain stagnant but sales will be boosted by growth in developing countries such as Russia, China, India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

“In 2008 you are going to see a mixed picture,” he said.

“But we have a strategy of technology and products and enlargement of the brand … that will allow us to grow even though the overall market is stagnant.”

Ghosn said the group is working with India’s Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. to produce a below $3,000 car by late 2010 or early 2011. He pledged the car will be fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly.

“If it is successful in India, we will launch it in many developing countries where we think there is demand,” he said.

India’s Tata Motors in January unveiled the world’s cheapest car, a $2,500 four-door subcompact that it said would transform the auto industry. But environmentalist have expressed concerns over increasing pollution and pressure on global oil prices.

This week certainly has been a good one for MDI, the company that first decided it was possible to run a car on compressed air. First, it announces that Tata Motors has invested $30M to get the cars on the road in India and Europe this year, and now, its comin’ to America!

The cars run off air that is compressed into a extremely strong tank. The air is then slowly released, driving an engine that can propel the American version of the car up to 95 MPH. The American distributors, Zero Pollution Motors, already has its price set ($17,800) and a design (seen above).

This also comes with a new bit of news about the air car’s propulsion system. The air tank can only hold so much air, right, so how do they extend the range and power for the American market? Well … what does air do when it’s heated? It expands! So MDI has developed a way for the car to get a range of over 800 miles.

A small petrol engine heats the air, providing the extra energy necessary to get the car up to 95 MPH and more than triples the vehicle’s range. So, indeed, you will have to fill up both a gasoline tank and an air tank to get the car to work.

The bad news is that it takes about an hour to fill the air tank. But, theoretically, the car could come with an at-home charger, since being parked at a gas station for an hour-long fill-up would be pretty horrible. The other bad news is that you’ll be burning gasoline … which kinda defeats the purpose, right?

Well, not if the car gets an effective 106 mpg when traveling above 35 MPG and doesn’t use a drop of gas when going slower than that.

Sounds to me like a pretty good compromise for bringing this otherwise not-very-suited-for-the-American-lifestyle car to America.

Via Auto Blog Green and BusinessGreen

The first of the long-awaited and much-lauded Tesla Roadsters is rolling off the assembly line as I write this. After a lot of delays, a huge internal shake-up and a couple price increases, the company will finally start delivering Roadsters to customers.

The CEO is quick to point out that this is “the only zero emission electric vehicle in production today,” which is pretty much a big lie. There are lots of people making electric vehicles in America. But it is the only one with a top speed of 125 mph.

Though the $100,000 price tag is a bit steep, and Tesla will only be able to produce one or two cars a week (at least at first), 900 people have already reserved a Roadster. Included in that list are Dustin Hoffman, George Clooney, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Despite all of the uncertainty and delays along the way, that’s a big deal. Tesla already has proved that green can be cool.

Source : Here

CAR makers are facing a “growing” problem - expanding motorists.

With the average weight of the consumer increasing, so is the demand for roomier cars.

So car makers are having to resort to more ingenious ways to improve interior space for heavier passengers, while keeping the weight of the car down.

In Japan, Nissan has come up with a “fat suit” so fit, young engineers and designers can experience how ageing baby boomers will cope with the cars being developed.

The special suit makes the wearer less flexible at the neck, knees, ankles and elbows.

Nissan says a 5cm-thick waist belt “does an excellent job” of duplicating the middle-age spread.

The belt makes it harder to get in or out of a car and can cramp movement behind the wheel.

Casts on the body simulate arthritis by making it more difficult to raise arms and legs.

The next “enlarged” Australian car will be the new-look Ford Falcon FG-series, reaching showrooms in May.

Ford Australia spokesman Ed Finn said: “We don’t have a fat suit, per se. The standard we work to is the 95th percentile.”

This unofficial industry standard is the size which 95 per cent of adult males fall below.

Ford has made the new Falcon with head room increased by up to 13mm, shoulder room by up to 24mm, hip room by up to 25mm and leg room by up to 10mm.

On the outside, the car is 4mm wider, 9mm taller and 25mm longer.

The weight is up 6kg, but the fuel economy improves.

Ford’s customer research — especially with taxi drivers who use Falcons - found many people wanted getting in and out to be made easier, so the new model has doors which are longer and open wider.

The new Mazda 6 sedan has grown in length by 65mm, width by 15mm and height by 5mm.

The current-generation Mini is almost 60mm longer than the 2002 model. Both are vastly bigger than the 1960s original.

Ford Model As and other classic cars will cross the new Jonata Park Road Bridge Thursday as part of an 11 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new span.

The reinforced concrete replacement bridge over Zaca Creek on Jonata Park Road just north of Buellton and just west of Highway 101 is about 96 feet long and almost 37 feet wide.

Demolition of the former span, built in the 1916, began in June 2007. Public works officials had found the bridge to be structurally deficient after it received a 2 on a scale of 1 to 100 in a rating system that judges the soundness of bridges.

The $1.7 million Santa Barbara County Public Works Department project was funded with $1.4 million in federal funding from the Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program and $200,000 in local Measure D funds.

The ceremony is also scheduled to include 3rd District Supervisor Brooks Firestone, Santa Barbara County Association of Governments Executive Director Jim Kemp and other county officials.

For safety, Jonata Park Road will be closed to through traffic near the bridge with traffic control from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the day of the ceremony. Motorists are being asked to use caution and obey traffic signs in the area.