Porsche Rejoices the 250,000th Cayenne

Porsche rejoices the production of its 250,000th Cayenne in the global car market. The 250,000th edition is a white, 6-cylinder diesel SUV delivered to a customer in Austria.

The first Porsche Cayenne was produced in 2002 and since then the car has experienced good sales and popularity in the market. Some of the key markets where the Cayenne has received an overwhelming response are Germany, USA, China, Russia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Porsche has sold about 150,000 units of its first generation Cayenne worldwide. And after rejoicing the success of the car the manufacturer introduced the second generation Cayenne in February 2007. Even the second generation Cayenne has received good response from car buyers with recorded sales of 45,478 cars in the fiscal 2007 – 2008. The second generation Cayenne is believed to be comparatively better than the first generation because of its higher mileage, better performance, and improved drive-handling.

At present there are seven variants of the Cayenne in the global market. The base variant is powered by a 3.6-litre, six-cylinder engine with 289 bhp; the diesel variant is powered by a 3.0-litre cubic capacity engine with 239 bhp; the S variant powered by a 4.8-litre, 8-cylinder engine with 384 bhp; the turbo variant powered by a 499 bhp engine; the turbo S powered by a twin turbocharger with a 449 bhp; the athletic GTS model by 4.8-litre engine; and the seventh variant of the Cayenne is the Cayenne S Transsyberia that is popular for both on-road and off-road driving.

Super Fuel-Efficient Car from Bangalore Students

Increase in fuel price and interest rate has made the car buyers think twice before investing in car. People are now looking for more fuel-efficient cars that will take away some burden from them.

Here is the good news for the car buyers; a group of students from RV College of Engineering (Bangalore) has developed a car that carries an amazing fuel economy. The car designed by a team of Mechanical Engineering students is an aerodynamic, tremendously lightweight prototype with a 97 cc generator engine and a very low 2bhp of power. The car is enhanced with an air-cooled engine with molten sized recumbent rear. Now with the best part is that the car delivers mileage of 180 Km per litre.

The car weighs 55 Kg and is a single-person car comes as a 10 feet long, 2.5 feet wide and high and has to be driven in a reclining position.

It is good to know that the younger generation is thinking of innovative ideas. And the saying “necessity is the mother of invention” perfectly suits this car!

Car Registration is a Trend in India

The craze for cars is changing significantly in the country. Previously people were looking only for different choices and handy car features before buying a new car. But the trend has changed were they buy cars which matches their status. They are not only looking for cars with style, loaded features and comfort but look for something beyond that.

Most recently, the trend is having gorgeous and exceptional registration numbers. The craze of auctioning premium vehicle registration numbers is gaining recognition in the country. Car buyers are all set to shell huge money to get fancy car registration numbers.

The Punjab state transport organized an auction of a unique series of car registration numbers and got an outstanding response and good profits.

A number of attractive registration numbers sold with high price tags are 0001 number sold for Rs 70,000, 0002 for Rs 80,000 and 0005 for Rs 55,000.

However, the number that brought good revenue and maximum price to the transport department was the PB-11-AK-47, that bagged a striking price of Rs 2.68 lakh and this heavily priced registration number was sold to a farmer from Ropar, as the number AK-47 attracted him.

This proves that people find different ways to make their car look unique. However, is it really worth to spend so much on the registration numbers? Again, every individual has his own taste and preferences.

Volkswagen to Minimize its Production Costs

Small cars are gaining huge popularity in Indian market. The car manufacturers have understood this and are now rolling out more small cars in the country. Even Volkswagen is all set to launch its small car in India soon.

The small car would come packed with local flavour as the German car manufacturer plans a high degree of indigenization for its volume car. So this would be the first ever car that would enter the compact car segment.

The small car will enter the Indian market around 2010 and the same will be manufactured at Volkswagen upcoming manufacturing plant at Chakan in Maharashtra. The company feels that high level of local content will not only lessen the production cost of the car, but will also help preserving costs with the spare parts.

The company is planning to invest around Rs 3600 crore in setting up the manufacturing facility at Chakan. The production in this unit will start from 2009 end. Also the manufacturing plant will be used partially for the production of Skoda’s hatchback Fabia.

Many car manufacturers are realizing what the buyers are looking for and are going according to their choice.

General Motors Ready to Start Face Book Community

General Motors is geared up and is soon to start with a facebook community. This initiative is taken to connect potential car buyers. It is a new marketing strategy and the reason behind is due to the increasing use of online media and social communities where a huge mass of people discuss and exchange their personal views.

However the company is set to start its own community and will target online marketing and other promotional activities. A dedicated team of expertise with good technical as well as internet knowledge will rule this plan.

It is also conceived that the digital medium has the best ROI (Return on Investment) for car manufacturers and GM wants to share a huge piece of the successful online channels. The best way to recognize how to spend sensibly is through ROI marketing and also get good returns on the marketing investment.

Already the company has tried it out with Chevrolet Captiva and it has been successful in making good sales by using this strategy.

Honda’s Next Generation City by September

Honda City has been one of the most admired and largest selling mid-size sedan is coming out with its next generation. This exclusive car has made thriving place in the Indian car market. The new City-2008 is coming with a scoop of flashy features and is set to be launched by mid-September.

The New Honda City with a new version will be pricier than the current version and will be available in 3 to 4 variants at different price tags carrying different configurations.

The car will have brand features like Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS), paddle shift gear option (where you don’t need to use the clutch pedal) on steering, multi-airbags, integrated music system with steering mounted controls, temperature control and electronically adjustable front seats.

However, the New City will be competing against the yet to be launched Hyundai Elantra, Fiat Linea and Toyota’s new Corolla.

General Motors Ready to Set Up Used-Car Outlets

Due to the rising interest rates, the car buyers are postponing purchase of new cars. This year has been a tough time for many of the car manufacturers and this has mainly turned down the car sales.

However, General Motors has taken a good step by planning to launch pre-owned car business. The company senses that it can make some profits by selling the old cars.

The company is geared up to expand rapidly its used car business countrywide. It is not only going to sell its own cars but also other cars also. However, General Motors is the second company after Mahindra and Mahindra to sell other cars in the pre-owned car business.

With a sluggish market, General Motors India has taken a good decision by planning to make its entry in the pre-owned car market.

Suzuki Ready to Launch A-Star in October

The thirst for the new cars is never ending for the car buyers. There has been so many new car launches this year. Now Suzuki is also ready to show case its most expected compact A-Star at the Paris Motor Show in October.

This new car would replace the most admired Alto in India, which has made its successful journey in the Indian car market. This exclusive car will be sold in Europe as ‘Alto’ and the Indian name is yet to be declared. The new car is manufactured in India and is primarily for the overseas market and would be launched by October-November this year.

This new car’s concept model has been designed and developed equally by Maruti Suzuki and Suzuki Motors.

The sizzling new compact car comes outfitted with an aluminium petrol engine and would be priced more than Rs 3 lakh. The car manufacturer ensures that CO2 emission levels will be below 109 gm/km which is much lower than European norms of 120 gm/km.