'India can innovate on cost reduction of cars'

India enjoys the major manufacturing advantage over Europeanand American vehicle manufacturers when it comes to cost innovativeness, a top automobile industry official Monday said.

“We can demonstrate to the world that we can innovate. I saw three years
of conceptualisation of Tata Nano while at Tata Motors. How do you take the extra rupee out of a vehicle is a major challenge,” Hinduja Automotive’s executive vice chairman V.Sumantran said.

Delivering the K.C.G. Verghese memorial lecture on “Frontier of Automotive Engineering andOpportunities for India”, he said: “India has a huge young population and youth have to compete with each other to succeed. This offers many opportunities for India.”

Referring to the increasing number of onboard computers in a vehicle, Sumantran added that miniaturisation of components and electronics needs embedded software systems which India has the capability to provide.

The use of nano technology and increasing onboard electronics will reshape the frontiers of automotive engineering while miniaturisation is becoming important as the focus is on reducing the carbon footprint and be environment friendly, he remarked.

According to him, the role of autonomous or remote management of vehicle will gain importance and already some university students have started working on this area.

“A fair amount of autonomy will be there even in the normal vehicles that are seen on the city roads. Similarly virtualisation is another frontier of engineering which would gain importance as it would cut costs,” Sumantran added.

Delivering the special address on “Industry-Institute Relationships”, Lucas TVS’ chief executive officer N.Ravichandran said: “The need of the hour is to have synergies between industry and academic institution’s efforts. Both should identify areas of common interests and work together”.

He said a forum of experts can be formed - say retired industry officials - which the institutes can approach for advice or to lecture the students on the latest industry trends.

Source: TAT

Tata Venture to arrive this August

After the tremendous success of "Ace" in the market, selling about 5 lakh units, TATA motors said that they have planned to introduce VENTURE on August 2010.
Based on the one tone Ace platform, the Venture, which was displayed at the Auto Expo in Delhi, earlier this year, is a 5,7&8-seater people mover and comes strapped with the tried and tested Indica diesel engine (475 IDI Turbo Diesel) that belts out 70bhp.

Priced is expected to be between 4.5 -6 lakh, Tata Motors sure seems to be on its way to capturing a niche space in this segment, as currently there are no players besides Maruti whose vehicles the Omni and the Eeco, both, come with petrol engines only. Tata’s diesel powered engine should definitely prove advantageous as this comes at a time when there’s hardly any competition for the giant automobile manufacturer.

Besides thanking customers for creating various applications for the Ace and dramatically changing the customer profile, Tata Motors also said that the Magic IRIS would be introduced around September-October 2010. (The Magic IRIS is based on the original 750 kilo Tata Ace platform)

Tata Motors also added that they plan to get into the pre-owned vehicle business as there is a great demand for pre-owned vehicles in the country. This business would be called “Tata Certified”.

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Skoda Auto Clutch Care Tips

Disclaimer: The tips are provided by "Skoda Auto India" and "The Automobilez" does not bear any responsibility of the following post.

Skoda Auto Clutch Care Tips:

1. Do not rest your foot on the clutch pedal.

2. Excess revving of the engine before engaging the clutch may damage the clutch.

3. Do not drive unnecessarily at too high or too low engine revolutions.

4. Always drive no more than about one length of your vehicle in first gear.

5. Always shift up into the next higher gear at approx. 2000 to 2500 engine rpm.

6. Avoid slipping the clutch especially in slow moving traffic.

7. Make proper use of handbrake for hill start rather than letting the clutch slip excessively.

8. Always refer to your car owner's manual for driving tips.

9. Have your car inspected at authorized Škoda dealer only.

Tata Motors provides complete Transport Solution to Queen’s Baton Relay 2010 Delhi

Tata Motors is providing complete transport solution to the Queen’s Baton Relay, as part of Commonwealth Games 2010. The Baton came from Pakistan today at the Wagah Border.

On its 100-day national tour, the baton will visit the capital of each state and union territory, and many other cities along the way, covering more than 20,000 km. By the end of its journey, the baton will have traversed over 190,000 km in 340 days, making the Queen’s Baton Relay 2010 Delhi one of the longest relays in the history of the Commonwealth Games.

As part of transport solution, Tata Motors is supporting with 17 Sumo Grandes, one Land Rover Discovery 4, three Buses, three covered body trucks and one media vehicle. Tata Motors is also providing fuel, drivers and routine maintenance for these vehicles.

About The Relay

The baton’s journey symbolises the unity and shared ideals of the Commonwealth of Nations, and enables communities beyond the Host City to share the Games celebrations. It also serves a functional purpose in carrying Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II ‘message to the athletes’ from Buckingham Palace to the opening ceremony of the Games.

The Queen’s Baton Relay 2010 Delhi commenced from Buckingham Palace on the 29th October 2009. The baton then travelled through all other Commonwealth nations – a historic journey that covered a distance of more than 170,000 km in 240 days. The relay will conclude after the final Baton bearer enters the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium during the Opening Ceremony of the XIX Commonwealth Games on 3rd October 2010 where Her Majesty’s message will be removed from the baton and read aloud, officially opening the Games.