Fiat displayed the Linea Dualogic at Delhi which might even be launched later this year. The word “Dualogic” refers to the transmission of the Linea. Dualogic on the functional basis is both automatic and manual but it is not the same kind of automatics with torque convertors. It is so unique and brilliant that it is 10% fuel efficient than any other automatic gearbox and 3-5% fuel efficient than any other manual gearbox.

It is a known fact that a good car with a bad driver behind its wheels will get lesser mileage than a good driver. All these mileage is lost mostly in the shifting of gears which involves shifting at the right time and short time. A conventional automatic gearbox doesn’t solve this problem either as it is worse on mileage however good or bad the driver is. Fiat thought out of the box to solve this and thus was born the Dualogic.

Dualogic transmission consists of the same 5-speed gearbox as a manual but it doesn’t have a clutch pedal. A servo arrangement which consists of an electronic motor which turns on and off up on receiving of electronic signals, this engages and disengages the clutch through a mechanical linkage. This servo arrangement also has the actuating mechanical links which shift gears. In simple English instead of you depressing you foot on the clutch pedal and shifting the gear with your hand, the computer controlled robot inside the car depresses the pedal and changes the gear at the right time for better mileage and better power. If automatics aren’t your thing switch to manual mode in which you move the gear lever forward for shifting up and backward for shifting down.

Though Dualogic refers to the gearbox, it’s got its roots spread all over the car. There are sensors to monitor how far the brake is depressed, the car will start only if the brake is depressed which is an indicator of a driver’s presence. If the driver’s door is open the gear will shift automatically into neutral. There are sensors to monitor the inclination/declination the car is taking and gearshift is based on that. In fact every parameter which would affect gearshift is monitored and gear shifting is done to get the best performance from least amount of fuel.

Though The Auto Expo closed down a week back we aren’t done with it.

Fiat showcased two new variants of it Honda City rival Linea. One is a turbocharged variant of its current 1.4L petrol engine. This car is called the Linea T-Jet and is expected to make it to the showrooms by March this year. The T-Jet would have 20 more PS of power at 110ps compared to the current turbo-less Petrol engine.

The second Linea is more significant in terms of new technology. This Linea is called Dualogic which means the logic behind this car is double fold as the Linea Dualogic could be driven in both manual and automatic modes. This is no conventional automatic gear box, the technology behind is so smart that it is not just 10% more fuel efficient than any other automatic gearbox it is 3-5% more fuel efficient than any other manual gear box of this capacity. The Dualogic and T-Jet were spotted sporting 16” inch alloys.

The Punto range has expanded quite sizably at Delhi with 3 new Puntos one sportier another trendier and another fuel efficient. The sportier Punto is called Sport, the trendier Punto is called Trendz but the fuel efficient one is called Natural power. The Punto Sport comes with a bigger 1.3-litre Multijet diesel with variable geometry turbocharger which produces 90bhp and 205Nm of torque. It sports a kick-ass sun roof which slides half way down the roof line. This power packed adrenalin rush of a car comes with an on-road price tag of 6.5Lakhs and would go on sale in March and so would the other two.

The Punto Trendz is a paint job on the existing spec Punto. Even though it’s just a paint Job, it makes all the difference in the world, with the yellowish gold paint and black wobbly line decals over, the car looks all pimped up. If power and looks isn’t your thing Fiat has a third alternative, Punto Natural power. This Punto can either be powered by petrol or CNG at any given time. The party piece of the CNG powered Punto is its neatly hidden CNG tank which saves boot space. Natural power is all about saving space as it has a puncture kit instead of a spare tire. Price for this fuel freedom is 5.6Lakh

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The “right car in the wrong time” title in India goes to the Fiat Palio which was launched way back in 2001. It has always been a petro head’s car surviving through time since then. But it may not if Fiat doesn’t do anything about the new low in its sales. Fiat realized this and has decided to revamp India’s first ever hot hatch.

The revamp includes change in both interior and exterior looks. Engine wise the 1.2 Petrol engine will be replaced by the engine from the Grande Punto since the current engine is not Barath Stage IV compatible. The 1.4L diesel which is already Barath Stage IV compatible is likely to stay put. The Stage IV emission standards are kicking in most cities of the country next year.

This reincarnated version of the Palio will see the light during the 2010 Delhi Auto Expo and is expected to be priced below Rs. 4lakhs. It seems Fiat has some sort of love attached towards Palio or may be its just bad sales decisions.

On the other end of the scale the Linea sedan is doing exceptionally well with a sales of 10000 units since its launch this year. Linea has fared on all the fronts with good quality, finish, looks, price except the power front. Fiat has decided to mend this with a bigger 1.9L engine option.

It all started when Fiat and Tata entered in to a Joint Venture. This when followed by Fiat buying 20% share in Chrysler after the American filing for bankruptcy has made this possible. According to a source, who is close with the arrangement of Jeep’s launch in India reported that fiat is bring in its Chrysler siblings (hope it’s the Viper they are mentioning about) starting with the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

It is suggested that the Jeep Grand Cherokee will roll out of the Ranjangaon plant near Pune which is especially being developed for the Joint Venture endeavors. The Model that might come to India is the 2010 Grand Cherokee which is powered by a range of engines starting from a 3litre diesel to a 6litre Hemi. 5-speed automatic gear box comes standard.

The Grand Cherokee is retailed in the US for 31,000$. If it is not brought in as a CBU as reports suggest , it would be a worth adversary. Jeep is the first ever off-road SUV in the world with its launch during the World War 2. It might have won the Allies the war but it is yet to win Indian hearts.

Click here for complete details on the Cherokee.

Fiat launched its re-hatched Punto in Frankfurt. The changes are deep with the Evo from the Grande Punto. It gets the new Multiair engine from fiat, which reduces fuel conception and increases power output with an intelligent system for varying the valve timing using solenoids.

The other visual changes are new bumpers and lights front and rear, a new grille, and a handful of modern touches. The change on the interior includes a new Blue&Me infotainment system developed with Microsoft and Tom Tom.

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