For starters Aria is the most expensive and the most technologically advanced vehicle coming out of Tata’s stable apart from Land Rovers and the Jags. It has been on the logs for quite some time after its appearance at the Delhi auto expo. Few days back Aria was launched, in 3 variants, the lower-end Pleasure, the mid-end Prestige and the final act Pride. Prices start from north of 12lakhs for the pleasure, 14.5 for the prestige and 15.5 for the Pride. Click her for complete price list.

Moving on from the less interesting entity money to the things, which tinkle our petro head heads. Aria’s power source is a 2.2 Dicor variable turbine technology engine, which is same as the one in Safari except for one tiny detail, to make the engine more refined, a dual mass flywheel is used, which is basically two flywheels jointed together in a intricate way with springs inside which ultimately reduce the vibration. Check out this video for more on the dual mass flywheel.

If you wonder why Aria is priced in the range of 12 to 15 while the similar engined and pretty much similar sized Safari almost half its price range, then the below section laid out will enlighten you. For example Arias got lights everywhere, in the glove box, on the sun visor and one of the bottom of all doors so that you don’t step into a puddle when its dark and all these turn on automatically, even the headlights turn on upon darkness automatically. The entire design ideology behind Aria seems to reduce human effort, in other words Aria takes care of things for you.

When it rains the windshield wiper come to life with out you calling it, and if you take reverse in the rain, guess what happens? Yes the rear wiper does its job without your divine intervention. Another thing to be appreciated is that all the 3 rows are treated equally with no partiality. Dedicated A/C vents and mobile phone charging outlets are present in each row, The second and third row seats can be folded flat to increase luggage space and as the A/C vents in these two rows are fitted in the window pillars, the roof is unused and folks at Tata squeezed in a utility bin over your head right at your reach. All these makes even the last row feel like shotgun.

Other Merc like perks include a dashboard chiller for your high life, hydraulically lifted bonnet, a key with which you can turn the headlights on remotely. Now on to the land Roverish feature, the rear view camera, which comes on automatically to aid you in reversing. This display is neatly tucked in the dashboard, which again has a Rover feel to it. Dash includes another very useful feature the satellite navigation system with preloaded maps of Indian cities. It also displays inside/outside temperatures; distance the car can travel on available fuel, instant and average fuel consumption.

Onboard entertainment is provided by 6speakers, which can take input music from cds, mp3 and Ipods via aux., the speed sensing volume control system adjusts the volume according to vehicle speed and noise. Up to 5 phones can be connected to the speaker system via Bluetooth, best of all to control music and phone you don’t have to take your hand off the steering wheel as the steering wheel has all the buttons needed for the job.

On top of all these, Aria covers the mandatory things like the height adjustable drivers seat, tilt able steering column, automatic climate control, pre-tensioned seatbelts, keyless entry to name a few. If you make a checklist of all the features you would find in a car two segments above Aria, Aria would tick all the check boxes.

Boy we haven’t even touched the SUV part yet, Aria may not look like a SUV but it does have 4-wheel drive and it’s a special one indeed. Tata calls it Adapeterra, what Adapeterra does is it distributes power amount the 4 wheels depends of their adherence to the ground surface, that is the more grip a wheel has the more torque will be provided to that wheel to get the car out of any muddy puddle or rocky terrain.

Shortest braking distance is guaranteed by all wheel disk brakes with Anti-lock braking system (ABS) coupled with Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD). Another abbreviated system in the Aria is ESP (Electronic Stability Program), as the name suggests ESP acts when the car is unstable, it applies braking force to individual wheels depending on the dynamics of the instability and restores stability. Traction control is also present in the Aria, which prevents wheel spins for efficiency, too bad if you play on playing the occasional signal drifts. In spite of all these driving aids if you manage to crash, there are 6 airbags to save you from the shock.

Last and the least is the looks of Aria, its not what one can call pretty and its not the reason one buys any Tata for that matter, but this Tata has made an effort to look good, if changing one piece of the Aria would make it look better it would have to be the front grill. if you think looks is one reason not to buy a car, then you have plenty of reason to buy an Aria.

Check out the Aria website for more pictures and specification of each variants.

live pictures courtesy : Vicky.in and IAB

No I am not referring to Sri Devi’s nose job thought it may suit the tag, what I am referring to here is the new face lifted Hyundai i10. I personally hated the looks of the old i10 and as much as I tried I couldn’t figure out which single piece of plastic or sheet metal made it look so terrible to my eyes, it’s the big picture, which sucked. But as time passed by, looks become a lesser priority to practicality in which i10 or any other small car from Hyundai excels. And just when I had my peace with the looks of the old i10 Hyundai does this nose job to make matters worse.

When for the first time I got the glimpse of the new i10’s fascia, I thought for a moment if Hyundai has come up with a new small car, but as I took a few steps to my right and got the side view, I realized that they have over did face lifting again.

I am sure you are aware of the hideous facelift done on the Verna. It would be unfair to say i10’s facelift is as hideous as the Verna’s but I see a similar blunder in both. I can only perceive that while designing the new nose for the i10 as well as the Verna (to an extent) designers didn’t really care how this new nose went along with the rest of the face, they were happy as long as the nose looked good. If you look at each part of this new front face it looks brilliant but sadly it’s out of proportion with the rest of the body.

Other significant changes to exterior looks include new and a well-designed rear bumper and an ordinary new tail light. On the side profile, turn indicator light are added to the rear view mirrors and side moldings are now body colored. As a facelifting norm the interior get beige and chrome treatment.

There a few interesting addition to the new i10 feature wise. Best of the lot is the rear-parking sensor, not really sure how good it is though. Gearshift indicator is a thoughtful addition much like the polo, it tells you when to change up and change down. Fuel gauge has now become electronic and the key foldable. Another thoughtful feature is the height adjustable driver seat. All these make up for a appealing deal but only in the higher end. Here is the list of features available in various variants

If you are looking for color suggestion before buying your new car or bike, we do have some interesting insights to share. A color suits a car or a bike best depending one two things, one being the sheer design that is surface cuts and curve and the other being segment placement based on purpose that is, a sportier coupe could be painted yellow while an executive sedan can’t be. Each car or bike look rite in one color, it would seem so rite that it makes one wonder if the designers painted the sheet metal in that specific color before shaping the design. Our suggestion is based on this ideology.

Different cars look good in different colors and the same is the case with bikes but most look good in one color that is white. White has been there from the times of ancestral ambassadors and the Maruti 1000s. It has been there always, but in the late 90s appeal of elegance associated with white took a back seat, to the drama offered by colorful metallic paints. However white is back now and this time with a youthful twist in the disguise of the Polo and Activa.

Every car looks good in white be it the i10 or the 7-series If there is one car, which doesn’t look good in white is the indica, but that’s just the cab version, the vista still looks its best in pearl white. Now if you are thinking white cars get dirtier than black ones, please we are not talking about clothes. Dirt on metal surface is visible irrespective of the color all you need is a water wash.

The other very obvious choice is black, which is my personal favorite. Its simple and subtle, but if you are looking to take your ride to grave with you, this probably isn’t the color. Here is why, black paint is made with the mix of other darker paints. And as years go by, and few scratches and crashes along the way, black tend to express its true color.

To my observation besides these two major paints, there are few others, which look apt with certain cars and bikes. The punto looks its best in red while swift is in red and blue. Fords look elegant in silver while Toyota’s innova look good in dark grey. Tata’s nano shines in silver, while the Chevy cruze looks elegant in sky blue. Corolla looks classy in beige while passat looks appealing in light metallic green.

Though there is a preset notion that Ferrari look good in red and lamborghini’s in yellow, it’s the green miura, which is still a classic. Likewise it’s up to you to paint your car or bike in a color that’s unique and yet be subtle enough to live with.

The 2010 Formula 1 season is just weeks away and the excitement has reached a feverish pitch. Arguably the greatest champion of all time returns after a three year hiatus, perhaps the only driver to defeat this great champion has finally made it to a team that justifies his talent, the last two world champions team up together for the first time in F1 history…these unprecedented, unexpected and totally unbelievable developments has made F1 fans salivate at the prospect of the “Greatest Season Ever”. IndianAutoTalk provides you with a rundown of all the leading contenders and the machines that will be powering them. This is Part 1 of a three part series.

1) Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro- Alonso in red, enough said.

Ferrari had a woeful 2009, the car was just not fast enough to compete. The horrific injury to Filipe Massa just worsened what was already a pathetic year for them, with just one race victory and a few podium finishers. This was undoubtedly the worst season for them in recent memory and hopefully, this has fired people up at Maranello. Brightening their chances even more this year is the arrival of golden boy, Fernando Alonso from Renault. That Alonso was destined for Ferrari was an open secret, but after years of maneuvering the move has finally happened and seeing him in scarlet red has the ‘tifosi’ all worked up. Add to the equation, the return of Massa from his life threatening injury and the good form he has displayed in testing with GP2 cars, there is much room for optimism.

The F10 (Ferrari are back to their old naming convention of naming after the year, after a brief breakaway with the 2009 F60) promises to be a serious contender and if early testing times are any indication, we could see Alonso and Massa being right up there come Abu Dhabi in November. Massa was the fastest person in testing for two straight days before Alonso overtook him on the third day to be the fastest of all the participating teams. Here it should be mentioned that Ferrari stopped development on the 2009 car midway through the season and started the design of the F10, much like Brawn did for 2009 and look where it got them.

Ferrari also has a new title sponsor in Santander. The Spanish bank, forever tied to Fernando Alonso, migrated with him to Mclaren and now to Ferrari. The Ferrari loyalists (including me) always liked the Marlboro logo on the back of the car, the bar code the replaced it once the tobacco ad ban came into being, was even cooler. But the red on white Santander is not so bad once we get used it. The beloved bar code remains also, making it one of the prettier Ferraris in recent times. Keen Indian observers can also spot the hidden away “TATA” logo on the sides.

Form look of the car to the testing times posted to the talented drivers at the helm, all pointers are that 2010 could well be the year of the ‘Prancing Horse’.

2) Mclaren GP – The Brits are all set to re-conquer the world.

Mclaren, forever title contenders, had a poor 2009 just like Ferrari. Struggling to adapt to the rule changes, Hamilton was reduced to getting lapped by Button. They looked like getting their mojo back with Hamilton putting in some fine performances but it was a case of too little, too late as the dismal season for them ended on a sour note. Things also changed in the team, with Mercedes pulling out as partners after more than a decade of being together, Mclaren were once again the quintessential British racing team and they took the British pride a step further, snapping up Briton and current world champion Jenson Button from Brawn. Their all British line-up now includes the last two world champions, this is the first time that this has happened in F1 history.

Hamilton will always remain the Mclaren No. 1 driver, a fact that Alonso discovered to his cost in 2008. How Button will adjust to this as the defending world champion will be crucial for Mclaren to come out of 2010 victoriously. A number of people have derided the move, accusing it for being purely for the money (Brawn didn’t agree to his wage demands) and suggesting that Button will be playing second fiddle to Hamiltion. However, the man himself is utterly confident and currently putting in some good times in testing at Jerez. But he is still a second off Hamilton’s pace and if this continues, then the fairytale of 2009 might just end in tears for Button in 2010.

The car itself, the MP4-25 looks remarkably like last years with a similar paint job but the aerodynamics has been worked upon heavily. The curves of the car are beautiful and in the classic silver livery, the car does look good. It is interesting to note that the Mercedes-Benz name is still on the car despite the company pulling out as full partners, Mercedes just provides the engines for this car. The off-field repercussions of the season will be large as Mclaren is pushing its road-car program vigorously and is seeking to compete with the likes of Ferrari. A victory over them in the race track will go a long way in establishing the brand name of Mclaren, helping it sell cars in the volumes it desires.

There is no lack of motivation for Mclaren this year and they will be out to prove that Mercedes did not play a major role in their past successes. If the plucky Brits can withstand the assault in the tracks, who knows, Ron Dennis might just become the next Enzo Ferrari.

3) Mercedes GP – Schu’s brawn + Brawn’s brain = Success?

Michael Schumacher, the very name fills us with thoughts of victory after victory, of utter dominance and invincibility…and a very RED car. But not anymore, at least not the red car part, Schumacher has done the unthinkable and joined the brand new Mercedes GP team. Only the Mercedes name is new however, as this is the Brawn team that won the driver & constructors championship double in 2009. Led by the indomitable Ross Brawn, mastermind of Schumacher’s incredible run of championships with Ferrari and previously with Benetton, Mercedes are among the favorites to win this year’s championship.

‘Big Schu’ is not the only new thing with Mercedes, as they have also signed the promising Nico Rosberg as their second driver and the rivalry between the veteran champion and young upstart within the team will be intriguing. Test times are not so encouraging for the team as both have been regularly outpaced by their Ferrari and Mclaren counterparts. But things could change quickly as once Schumacher adapts to life in the fast line once again, there could be nothing stopping him. Injury concerns that plagued Schumacher last year are a thing of the past and he is all set to scorch the tracks once more.

“The Silver Arrow” cars are reminiscent of the Silver Arrow Mercedes cars that dominated the pre-World War II racing scene. Petronas is the main sponsor this year and their logo on any car looks good. Period. The all German combination shouldn’t be overlooked either, as this season promises to evoke nationalistic pride for the first time in F1.

The return of Mercedes as a racing team, the return of Michael Schumacher, there are plenty of stories surrounding Mercedes GP, but the biggest story could well be the return of the Brawn & Schumacher combination, the return of the ‘invincibles’.

Asia Motor Works, one of India’s very own heavy duty truck and components manufacturer is recruiting Engineering and Diploma candidates in Automobile, mechanical and mechatronics. This is a training program in AMW’s manufacturing, R&D, sales and service departments. At the end of the training program, a job at AMW is given based on Performance. Interviews are conducted in various parts of the country during the coming 2 weeks. It is a good prospect as it pays out 2.4lakh p.a for B.E grads and 1.2lakh p.a for Diploma candidates during training.

Here are the complete details: http://www.amwasia.com/interview.html

American Choppers is the only custom chopper building show on TV that actually caught on. Though there were better similar shows none could reach the heights Paul Teutul Sr. and his sons took the show to. During its successful run of 7 years, Orange County Choppers have built every kind of Chopper for every occasion. Other than building one-of-a-kind choppers, the show was also about running a family business, which involved constant feud between Paul Sr. and Paul Jr., though this was construed as a show act, it turned out to be the reasons for the ultimate axing of the show.

American Choppers took the toll on the Teutul family as key members kept rolling out of the turf, this included popular OCC employee Vincent DiMartino who left the show to start V-Force Customs in 2007 but the real blow was when Paul Teutul Jr. left the company in 2009 to start Paul Jr Designs. This lead to a court room drama between the Paul and there was no turning back from that.

The last episode was aired on the 11th of this month. A representative from Travel n Living Channel said in a statement about the end of ‘American Chopper’, “The Teutuls will always be part of the Discovery family and we congratulate them on a tremendously successful series run.”

Rule changes are inevitable as well as invigorating for any form of sports, more so for Racing and even more for Formula1. Thought the reason for FIA changing rules every year is change for the sake of change, the main reason is to prevent F1 racing from changing into a parade. Besides that, this season’s regulations require an acknowledgement of economic hampering. All these contribute for one heck, I mean two hecks of changes.

No Refueling for the entire race
As the teams are used to designing their cars and their race strategies considering the option of refueling during race, this rule of no refueling changes everything the teams have learnt from their past experience. This is good for the sport as the 4 new teams Lotus, Campos, Virgin and US F1 even out with the biggies in this perspective at the least.

New Points System
FIA has become generous with the points as it lashes out 25 for the race winner and points for the top 10 finishers. Finishing second is good enough for 18 points, rest of the positions get 15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1. FIA hopes the difference of 7 points between the first and the second places will lead to some serious racing for the top spot rather than drivers doing math and settling down for second place.

There is a third change regarding improving the credibility of the Race Stewards. Race Stewards include 2 international and 1 national Steward who review race incidents. This bench will now be headed by a former F1 driver. This could be good as a driver will comprehend the necessity of certain actions during high speed racing better than well, the current bunch. These being the changes made to the new season, some interesting considerations which didn’t make it were points for fastest lap and pole position.

If bond comes back to India he won’t be going after the baddie in auto-rickshaws anymore, for we have when I say we, a tycoon from Chandigarh has just added this hardcore carbon fibred version of DB9 to his garage which already has a Murciélago, R8, M3, M5 and a lot more of car pornography which anyone would love to stuck in their cabinet garage. This being the more rarest of Aston Martins sub one-77, we are truly in the presence of exotic, elegance and exclusivity.

Other Aston Martin’s in India

DB9 according to almost everyone is the most classiest and the best looking car in the world right now. Apparently there are two DB9s in India one in Hyderabad which was imported through Chennai’s port and another in Delhi, there might be more but these are the only ones photographed.

India has imported a few Vantage’s as well, A left-hand drive maroon one from Pune, a white one which took part in the recent Supercar rally in Mumbai and a silver gray Vantage. Coach Designer Dilip Chhabria owns the predecessor of the DB9, DB7 which set the latest tread in the Aston design.

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Photo courtesy : Team-bhp

For starters Maxximo is a mini commercial vehicle from Mahindra & Mahindra which has just gone into sales in the same segment as Tata’s Ace. Ace is the first of its kind creating this niche of CVs. It was soon followed by similar vehicles from Piaggio and Force motors but no one has been able to match Ace’s performance and productivity until now, but from the looks of it Ace has gotten itself a worthy adversary in Maxximo.

Maxximo’s design is governed by the standards set by Ace, so it was built from scratch to be a bit more better in every aspect from Ace. For instance Maxximo has a 900cc 2-cylinder engine with 4-valves per cylinder and dual over head camshafts (DOHC). This engine produces 25hp and 55Nm of torque, of the two torque is more relevant here as it is the pulling capacity of the vehicle. This is a step or two higher than Ace’s 700cc engine with a power output of 16hp. A bigger engine would mean the Maxximo would be a bit thirstier than Ace’s engine but M&M has gone out of the ways of this segment to save fuel.

For instance the accelerator is connected to the engine through drive-by-wire technology instead of mechanical linkages, this on top of an electronically controlled fuel pump increases mileage by controlled fuel supply. The gear shift again is not linked mechanically but by cables which make gear shifts smooth like cars. This is significant as one of the major advantages of mini trucks is their ability to squeeze through congested lanes which require constant gear change, it doesn’t mean Ace’s gear shift is a handful but this shows M&M has thought things through.

When it comes to driver pampering Maxximo stands out. A dead pedal to reduce fatigue, flat seats with no hindrance in the middle so the driver can lie down, the seats even get head rests. A neat instrument panel has in addition to the usuals a small digital display which has with in an odometer, a clock and 2 trip meter readability. The dashboard has a lockable storage cabin, provision for a music system and the most useful of them all a cell phone charger socket.

Maxximo load carrying capacity is 100kilos more than the Ace’s at 850kgs. It sure is powerful enough to pull more weight but is it tough enough? Well M&M says YES! The rear leaf spring suspension get 3 more leafs compared to the Ace and the wheel rims are made thicker to withstand heavy loading. Even at full load it can manage a top speed of 70kmph. If the Ace and Maxximo are lined in for a drag race between lights Maxximo would beat it by a significant distance.

It has a few technically witty stuffs like the starter motor which has a gear reduction to crank up the engine instantaneously. The other clever stuff it Maxximo’s braking system, which has load sensors on the rear wheels and according to load on either side wheels brake pressure is distributed for effective braking. Better than that the brake system has a booster which means more effective braking for lesser effort give to depress the brake pedal. Don’t really know if these will work but they seem to check technically.

On paper Maxximo is a lot more for the same money as both the Ace and Maxximo cost around Rs. 2.79lakhs ex-showroom. However it is real time practically which has put the Ace on top, whether Maxximo would bite as good as it barks we would have to wait and watch.

Brochure:

Press Release:

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Photo Courtesy: Team-Bhp

Figo is Fords first and desperate measure in desperate times to jump into the small car segment of developing nations like India. As this segment is where the number game is played Ford’s homeland rival GM made it clear that it would grab a bigger share with its recently launched Beat. Beat is the most lively car in the country’s deal ships right now and with a price tag of 3.34lakhs it has already booked over 10,000 in 25days of its launch. So you could say Ford is resting its shoulders heavily on the Figo to beat the Beat and GM, but has Ford done enough?

Figo is a completely different car from the Beat though they will be sold in the same price segment (I am taking a guess here). At this point I am going to stop comparing the two and get on with my thoughts on the Figo. Figo is a perfect Indian Ford, rather too perfect that’s what its problem is. There is nothing new to the eye. The body panels are too stereotypic, I get a feeling that they have squeezed in Fiesta’s styling in to Fusion’s body. But being a Ford it is quite civilized and simple but a grownup car in this segment wouldn’t be adequate any more with Maruti’s unlimited supply of peppy hatches and the beat around Ford could have gone an extra mile on making it interesting.

It ticks all the boxes when it comes to that fordness except for one, the dashboard. Ford in its relentless efforts of make at least the interiors a bit bonkers, it gave Figo a red (or something close to red) plastic dashboard. But then you can get it in black as well. Other than the cross-dressing, Figo’s interiors are indeed fresh in terms of functionality. For instance the bonnet open switch is accessible only to the shotgun. The head lights dim and dip are no more on the stick below the steering but on the dash with an A/C switch like knob. Speaking of the A/C, it will turn a bottle of water on the back seat into ice when set in full, it is that good. Armrests on the door can rest a water bottle, other than your arm. There are plenty of cubby holes around for all your storage needs from holding your drink to holding toll road change. Figo’s party piece is its size, dimension wise it is far bigger than its rivals. The 284litre boot is the biggest in the class. If that’s not enough for you, fold the rear seats to make your own football field.

From the picture that ever one else is painting, both the 1.2L 4-cylinder petrol and 1.4L Diesel lack grunt, with no emergency in the rev or the acceleration but then again it’s not a part of Ford’s intensions. Ford’s plan of a small car for India had practicality as the main priority and I feel that ford has delivered.

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Photo courtesy: Team-bhp