JuzMob

Maruti had launched Maruti SX4 in May 2007 to compete with the likes of Honda City which is the most popular and successful sedan in its segment. Maruti Suzuki was the first automobile company to introduce class leading premium features such as air-bags, steering-mounted audio controls, auto climate control, glass antennae and many others in an A3 segment car for customer benefit. The tradition continues in the new SX4 with the company bringing in advanced VVT technology, which has so far been used only in the luxury SUV, Suzuki Grand Vitara.

But Maruti SX4 could not compete with City's superior technology and brand image. At the time of launch SX4 has been very well recieved by indian customers, as it was a true value for money sedan which comes fully loaded with all the features at a very affordable price. But with the launch of 2009 model of Honda City, the sales of SX4 started to decline.

Now Maruti Suzuki India is back with new improved SX4 to make the deal better in comparison to Honda City, Ford Fiesta, Chevrolet Aveo & Hyundai Verna. They have plonked new 1.6 VVT engine in SX4 so that it complies with the strict emission norms which will be in effect from April, 2011 in 11 cities in India. The new engine is a 1600cc VVT(Variable Valve Timing) powerplant producing 104 Bhp which is 2 Bhp up from previous 102 Bhp. Maruti has also given some cosmetic design upgrades to the exterior and interiors to make it look more muscular and smart in comparison to Fiat Linea and Honda City.

With the possible exception of the 1988 Le Mans-winning Jaguar XJR9 and a dragster powered by a jet engine, this is the most powerful car I've ever driven. At 1750rpm it develops 757lb ft of torque and would develop a large chunk of that even further down the rev-range if Brabus hadn't programmed the engine management to pin the torque back a bit to save the powertrain, the rear tyres, your no-claims bonus and the world.

This is what they do at Brabus's factory in Bottrop, in Germany's industrial Ruhr. A fully-loaded SL600 is ordered from Mercedes-Benz. The engine is then hoiked out and completely stripped down. The cylinders are bored out to 83mm and a crankshaft with a 96mm stroke is ordered from a specialist crankshaft manufacturer in the UK because, says Brabus, the Brits make the best cranks (they should see the British crank at evo who has spent ΂£30,000 on a Ford Capri). In go 12 steel conrods (Made in England) and a dozen 9.0:1 compression ratio German Mahle pistons. That little lot brings the cubic capacity up from 5.5 to 6.3 litres, which is a nice number if you know your M-B performance history (yes, the late '60s 300 SEL 6.3). Different camshafts are fitted and the engine management is re-written, along with countless other honings and fettlings. The result is an engine that cranks out 640bhp at 5300rpm - and costs ΂£27,500.

The standard five-speed automatic is pulled apart and fitted with stronger clutch packs, then popped back in again and an oil cooler fitted. You can see it through the bespoke Brabus front skirt on the front offside of the car. The differential on this car is standard SL600, but Brabus is developing a full-on lsd that will slip less than the standard unit.
The Brabus S V12 looks seriously gangsta in black. The wheels are Brabus's own 20in Monoblock alloys in 9J at the front and 10.5J at the back with rubber band-like 255/35 ZR20 and 305/25 ZR20 Contis front and back respectively. Ah, the tyres. These are the most suitable tyres that Brabus could come up with but unfortunately they're not rated above 310kph so the S V12 has had to be limited to only 194mph. This is a bit of a bugger if you're being hassled by an Enzo or a Macca, but don't fret too much over this detail because I can assure you that most other vehicles on the road are not going to be a problem.

Just a short squirt from Bottrop is autobahn A31. This is the Bonneville of Europe. It runs for about 35 miles and then finishes, just like that, in the middle of the countryside. The beauty of it is that you can stooge around at the end, waiting until nobody has joined it for a few minutes. Then you can take off safe in the knowledge that you'll have a clear run for a few miles to the first exit. The only snag is that the S V12 covers that distance in just a few moments.

We mentioned earlier that the SL600 base car is fully-loaded. We meant it. Heated front seats with cooling fans and the back massager gizmo, telly and nav, you name it, it's here. And all this lot brings the SL's weight from a standard 1915kg up to 2000kg. Do the sums and you'll see that this gives us a power-to-weight ratio of 320bhp per ton, which, as evo readers know full well, isn't that massive. Cut out some of that weight and the Brabus SL would manage an even better performance than its 0-62mph time of 4.3sec and 0-125mph in 13sec. But this car wasn't built to rule Santa Pod. Its trick is decimating everything on the autobahn from 100mph upwards. The initial acceleration from, say, 60mph is not particularly shattering by modern high performance standards, but how it continues to gather speed certainly is. Ever driven a Suzuki Cappuccino and seen how it rips to its limited 90mph and then stops? The same with the Brabus, except that it blasts to 190mph and stops. We do it loads of times. Slower car (and most are) gets in the way, brush the brakes; car moves over, squeeze throttle and we're at one-ninety again.

Sometimes, though, we have to more than brush the brakes. Two tons takes a lot of stopping. More anchorage than a factory set-up could manage, that's for certain. The S V12 uses 12-piston Alcon front callipers (another verse of God Save The Queen, please) and whopping 375mm discs, and four-piston callipers and 355mm discs at the back. Aral racing brake fluid is used because these mighty retarders get so hot that they'd boil standard fluid. A temperature strip on one of the front callipers has gone off the scale at 380 Fahrenheit. They struggle, but they do the job. Time and time again.

The A31 is beautifully smooth, which is a blessing because it only takes an errant ant strolling across the tarmac and under the Contis to send mighty shocks up through the tyres, through the seats and up through your cooled and massaged backside. Sven Gramm, Brabus's tyre-smoking PR man ('I'm not really allowed to burn rubber,' he says, 'but sometimes I misjudge the throttle'), looks horrified when I move to press the damping control button.
Apparently if you select the sport setting the ride firms up so much it's an instant visit to the spinal injuries clinic. And that's on smooth German roads. Then there's the traction control, which Brabus has the technical capability to disable (merely switching off a stock Benz's traction control doesn't remove Big Brother entirely) but doesn't since a large chunk of its business is repeat business and it's keen not to have any customers wipe themselves out. To further improve this already dynamically excellent car, Brabus re-programs the ABC suspension to lower the car 15mm.

It's mad, this car. Mad, beautifully engineered, both by Mercedes-Benz and Brabus, and gloriously excessive. Is it worth ΂£35,000 over the standard ΂£95,440 SL600? Well, if you do a bhp per/΂£ calculation it certainly is, especially when compared with a Ferrari 575 Maranello. And do you need 640bhp when you can already get an SL55 with 493bhp? Just remember, when the pedal hits the firewall you've had what you've got. Better be sure it's enough.

It is a concept car by Volvo, which is slick and stylish. The car's exteriors are similar to the Ford Iosis concepts and is different from what traditionally Volvo makes. The car's interiors are quite stylish and overall the car has very good looks. The car will have floating console-dash panel. Volvo XC60 is based on the platform of Land Rover LR2. The car is expected to be available for buyers in the year 2009.

The car was revealed in production form at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show. It went on sale in Europe in late 2008, and is scheduled to go on sale in North America in 2009 for the 2010 model year.

Volvo will produce the XC60 with both gasoline- and diesel-burning engines. In North America, only the gasoline-engine will be available. The XC60 shares technology with the Land Rover Freelander of 2007, using a modified version of the Volvo P24- platform. The Land Rover LR3 will set the stage for these corporate siblings to enter the market, as much of the engineering and tuning of this CUV was done by Volvo in Sweden, only offroad capabilities were done at Land Rover in England.

Volkswagen, Europe's largest car maker, is likely to launch its small car Up in India in the early 2010. The car is likely to be priced at Rs. 3 lakh, and is the cheapest car from the stable of Volkswagen. The company is looking at the emerging markets to boost up its bottomlines. Volkswagen is planning to produce 240,000 vehicles per year in India by 2012. The company is quite bullish on the prospects of its small cars in India as the country is a huge market for small cars.

The car's name is a synonym for departure, activity, dynamics and the future. Up debuted at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show in Germany. The nostalgia reminding concept harked back to the Volkswagen Beetle by having a Boxer engine in the rear powering the rear wheels, Up has 18 inch wheels.

The Up interior is made to seat 4 adults in comfort and featured a unique flat folding seat system. The seats are air inflatable so the seats fit every body shape. Up also has a unique central displays, two monitors, one 8 inch monitor shows the vehicle speed, fuel level and range, as well as your CO2 emissions.

The second 7 inch monitor controls climate control, radio volume, music selection, telephone, navigation, photos and movies etc. Up measures 3.45 metres (11.3 ft) and has a width of 1.63 metres.

Volkswagen is quite bullish about the emerging markets like India and
China. In India, the company is likely to launch Polo, a hatchback
which is under production. Expected to be launched in the early 2010, the car is positioned in the premium-hatchback segment. Polo will compete against Skoda Fabia and Honda Jazz. Recently Volkswagen inked a pact with the Maharashtra government for producing Volkswagen cars from Pune. The company will get 230 hectares of land in Chakan at Pune for the manufacturing plant.

The car after its launch in the Indian market, will compete with the likes of Maruti’s Swift, Hyundai’s Getz and Tata Motor’s Indica. According to a Volkswagen official, the company would go for the B segment of the passenger car market, which incidentally is the largest in the country. The company sees further growth in this segment.

The car company Volkswagen is also planning to launch its Passat model in India, which will don a price tag of Rs 30 lakh. Passat may be rolled out of the Skoda Auto manufacturing facility at Aurangabad.

Volkswagen Polo is sold in Europe and other markets worldwide in hatchback, saloon, coupé and estate variants. There have been four separate generations of the Polo. Some generations were face lifted mid way through production, with the updated versions known again unofficially by an addition of the letter F to the model number, e.g. Mk IIF. There is considerable variation in Polo model designations, with some sources using Mk as equivalent to Series which causes confusion.

Key to Volkswagen India plans are two mass-market models that will be produced in large volumes in the company’s upcoming factory in Chakan. The first is the sixth-generation Polo (A06) hatchback that is under development and is expected in 2009.

Another prototype of the next-generation 2010 BMW 5 Series has been caught, this time while running laps around the Nurburging. The most noticeable change between this 5 Series tester and the last time one was caught is the mesh camouflage that covered up the grille has been removed, revealing BMW's signature kidney grille and some of the front fascia lines, which appear to be softer and more flowing than on the current car.

Dimensionally, expect the new 5 Series to add some space between the wheels by extending the wheelbase some four inches and widening the track. Overall length, height and width should also increase fractionally. Expect 17-inch wheels as standard equipment, with 18- and 19-inch wheels optional.As for powertrain speculation, it is believed the new 5 Series is expected to use variants of existing engines in BMW's line-up. The base engine should be a version of the automaker's 2.5-liter straight-six while top-range models will use the current 4.8-liter V-8, with the 4.4-liter twin turbo V-8 found in the X6 as another possible engine option. And of course, expect a re-worked version of the M5's 5.0-liter V10.

With the current E60 5 Series getting long in the tooth, the new one shouldn't be far away and may make its debut at either next year's Geneva or Frankfurt Motor Shows in time for the 2010 model year.

Fiat 500 Abarth was recently tuned by Romeo Ferraris, an Italian tuning firm and racing car builder has reported that has taken part in the ‘6 Hours of Vallelunga’ endurance race in Italy that held on November 22 with its specially developed Fiat 500 Abarth competition model.

Honda Japanese car maker received an overwhelming response on its 3rd Generation City that has sold over 50000 units since its launch last year. The Sedan launched in September 2008 and was available for buyers in the month of November 2008.

The HTC HD2 is, as you'd imagine, a pretty big handset. With a 4.3-inch screen, it's hardly going to be a compact device, although HTC have done a good job of keeping the sides of the phone quite tight to the edges of the screen. This means that although it has a large display, the phone itself is still pocketable - though just barely. The HD2 actually measures in at 67mm x 120.5mm x 11mm (2.64in x 4.74in x .43in), making it quite a wide and long device, though still remarkably thin. It is this thin profile that is key to keeping the HD2 from feeling huge in your pocket. However, the HD2 weighs a fairly hefty 157g (5.54oz), so you may need a belt to keep your trousers up...

When you first lay eyes on the HTC HD2 you'll almost certainly be drawn to the huge 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen display, which completely dominates the front of the phone. The display is bright and colorful, and has a WVGA (480 x 800 pixel) resolution, giving it more than twice the pixel count of the iPhone and most current Android handsets. Bright sunlight legibility seems fairly good, and the screen is very responsive to touches, for the most part. Also, being the first capacitive screen on a Windows Mobile device, this means that it's also the first Windows Mobile device to feature multi-touch, for pinch zooming gestures and the like.

Above the huge display, HTC have managed to squeeze in an earpiece, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, and a status notification LED for notifying of missed calls, messages, and low battery. The five main hardware keys on the HTC HD2 are all located below the display, with keys for: call send, home, the Windows menu, back, and call end/power. These keys all have a nice tactile click and cool white backlighting. The only other hardware keys on the phone are on its left side, which houses the volume rocker. Otherwise, the right side is completely bare, as is the top of the phone. However, the bottom edge features both the micro-USB port for charging/data and the 3.5mm headphone port.

The rear of the HTC HD2 is clad in a dark grey/black soft touch plastic, except for the battery cover, which is made from brushed metal. Just above the battery cover is the lens for the 5 megapixel autofocus camera, which protrudes from the back of the handset quite a bit. When the handset rests on its back, it rests on the lens, which probably isn't the best thing for keeping it scratch-free. To the right of the lens you'll find the dual LED flash for the camera, and to the left you'll find the loudspeaker grille.

• Maruti is now planning to enter the D segment of cars with its newoffering Kizashi.
• Expected to be launched in the early 2010,
• the car is expected to compete with the likes of Honda Civic,Toyota Corrola,Skoda Octavia
• and the upcoming Volkswagen Jetta.
• The Kizashi concept car was showcased at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2007 and at the Auto Expo in New Delhi in 2008.
• Expected to be priced around Rs. 10 lakh,it will have many innovative features, and is likely to be powered by a 2 litre turbo diesel engine.
• Kizashi is also likely to have a six
• speed transmission and large 21 inch alloys.
• The car is likely to be produced at the company's Manesar facility in Haryana.
• Maruti Kizashi is expected to be the first all-wheel drive sedan in the luxury D segment.
• The car will carry an advanced four-valve turbo-fired two-litre petrol,
• Euro V engine, which will also be premiered at the same time.
• Kizashi is also likely to boast the first six-speed transmission from the Suzuki stable. A crossover sports sedan, Kizashi, which depicts an athlete in motion, is likely to sport 21” wheels.
• Maruti Kizashi is expected to roll out from its Manesar plant.
• Kizashi will be positioned in the Rs 10 lakh-plus price band and will compete with the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla,Hyundai Sonata, Skoda Octavia and Volkswagen Jetta besides other cars that will debut in the next three years.

Acer has revealed a brand new LCD DISPLAY ,

The H233H bmid 23″ display which is not only sleek by gives you cinematic quality video right into your living room.

The salient feature of this LCD display which caters a boasting SensorTouch technology that allows one to change the setting without shuffling with buttons or dial.

The features of the ACER H233H LCD display include:

• 23″ widescreen
• 0.265mm Pixel Pitch
• 1,920 x 1,080 (Native and Maximum) Resolution
• 75Hz (Maximum) Refresh Rate
• 5ms Response Time
• 40,000:1 Max (ACM) Contrast Ratio
• 300cd/m2 Brightness
• 160° (H)/160° (V) Viewing Angles
• 16.7 Million Colors
• 6 + Hi-FRC Bits
• 1x HDMI, 1x DVI (HDCP), 1x VGA Inputs
• Two 1.5 W Speakers
• Vesa 100MM Wall Mount
• Internal Power Supply
• Energy Star Compliant
• Price tag of #229.99