Turning up the heat on Indian roads, Mercedes-Benz has launched the GL Class Launch Edition for India. The GL Class is actually the second generation luxury SUV which was first introduced in 2012. But Mercedes-Benz has smartly carried out a host of cosmetic changes plus technical upgradations to make it even more desiring. Eberhad Kern, CEO of Mercedes-Benz India and German tennis legend Boris Becker oversaw the launch of the vehicle at a special function in New Delhi. The vehicle is priced at Rs 77.50 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

The SUV will be powered by a 3.0-litre V6 engine that produces 259PS and 619Nm of torque. The 4×4 SUV will owe its tremendous power to 7G Tronic gearbox and Benz’ very own 4Matic all-wheel drive system. The GL350 CDI happens to be 90kg lighter than its previous model. What’s better? It’s also 20 per cent more fuel efficient despite having higher power and torque. The engine under the hood is highly sophisticated and the standard-specification ECO start/stop function automatically ensures that the engine is temporarily switched off when the vehicle is standing at traffic lights or in a jam.

The luxury car manufacturer from Germany has packed in ample of features to attract high-end customers. To start with it, the vehicles comes with in-built surround view, which utilises four cameras mounted around the car to give a 360 degree view to the driver via the screen in the dashboard. This is seen for the first time in India. The third row of seats can be folded or pulled up electrically. Other changes to the vehicle include electrically-assisted steering, and electric parking brake. There is also an option of stereo system from Bang & Olufsen that has a total output of 1200W from 14 speakers.

Emphasizing on re-defining the driving experience, Mercedes-Benz has also packed in some cool new driver assist and safety features like Crosswind Assist, Trailer Stability Assist and Downhill Speed Regulation (DSR) systems among others to bring out the best in vehicle even under harsh driving conditions.

To add the icing on the cake, Mercedes-Benz is also offering the popular AMG body kitfor GL Class Edition. The kit consists of flared wheel arches, aluminium running boards with LED lighting, modified bumpers, sports brakes and AMG specific alloy wheels.  Mercedes-Benz will bring the vehicle into India as a CBU but it will begin assembling it at their Pune plant it from September this year onwards.

Italian scooter maker Piaggio is celebrating the completion of one year for its scooter Vespa LX125 in India. To celebrate this, the company is extending a lucky draw for its new LX125 customers, where five new customers will win a trip to Italy and one winner every week will win a new Vespa LX125 scooter. The Vespa LX125 scooter is priced at Rs 59,996 ex-showroom Delhi. The iconic scooter has managed to create a niche for itself and appeals to all age groups.

The Vespa scooter has become an emblem of fashion and lifestyle. It’s now a cult brand that has become the symbol of a distinctive lifestyle ‘way of life’ around the world. Made in Italy but synonymous with unique values of lifestyle, aspiration, style, fashion, heritage and exclusiveness, the Vespa is an exciting two-wheeler to ride also.

First built in the year 1945, the Vespa combines its originality and classic look with contemporary performance and functionality. Over the years, Vespa’s timeless style has made it extremely popular and loved by many generations from all over the world.

To cater to the growing demand for premium motorcycles like the Royal Enfield, the compay has started production from its all-new 50-acre facility in Oragadam. The plant is located in the state of Tamil Nadu and has a total capacity of 1,50,000 units in the first phase.

Off lately, Royal Enfield has witnessed a big surge in demand over the last two year of over 50 percent. The current plant, which is 60 year old, produced 12,000 units in March. The new plant will also reduce waiting periods on Enfield bikes, and Royal Enfield has already commenced work on expanding the new facility further, with a target capacity of 2,50,000 motorcycles by 2014. With both the plants, Royal Enfield will have the capacity to make produce a total of 1,75,000 units in 2013.

Siddhartha Lal, CEO, Eicher Motors Ltd. said, “We have re-tooled many of the parts that make up our motorcycles – so that they are of exacting accuracy and finish. The ability to increase capacity fast is a crucial step for Royal Enfield towards meeting our global ambitions. While we are adding new models and new dealerships in the Indian market, we are also working on building our presence globally.”

Kerala based tyre manufacturer Apollo Tyres has been selected by Volkswagen to supply tyres for their model Passat across the world. After achieving huge success in India, Apollo Tyres is trying to make inroads into the European car tyre market which is currently dominated by Michelin, Pirelli and Bridgestone. The company presently has a presence in 14 countries in Europe. In India, the company is preparing to launch its 4G series of tyres with sizes ranging from 12-18 inches.

Currently ranked as the World’s 15^th biggest tyre manufacturer, Apollo Tyres has also revealed that it will be bringing its ‘Vredestein’ brand to India this year. Although there are plans for a soft launch in June at Noida’s Buddh International Circuit, but the company will introduce these products in India only in the third quarter of the calendar year.

With the likes of Michelin, Bridgestone and Pirelli and already established themselves here, Apollo Tyres will now roll up their sleeves and start importing its high performance tyres in India. The range includes Sportrac 5, Ultrac Cento and the Ultrac Sessanta and Ultra Sessanta SUV tyres. While prices have not been fixed yet, but the company has confirmed its initial focus will be on the Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities in India only. The company shall also compliment the rising demand of luxury vehicles in India.

Tata Motors has launched ‘Xtreme Drive’ programme to showcase the off-roading capabilities of the new Tata Safari Storme. The programme, as expected by Tata Motors, will give customers and enthusiasts a chance to drive on purpose-built off-roading setups across the Mumbai city. The first experience has already been held at MMRDA Grounds in Mumbai from April 26-28.

Ranjit Yadav, president of Tata Motors’ passenger vehicle business unit, said, “The Tata Safari Storme is a go-anywhere vehicle, a combination of technology, performance, style and comfort, and is ideal for today’s motorists. Through Tata Motors Xtreme Drive, we hope to give customers and enthusiasts an experience of what this SUV is capable of. The initiative has grown incredibly in the past five months, with over 10,000 experiences across 60 cities.”

The Xtreme Drive track is made up of challenges like the ‘See-Saw’, ‘Bumble Bee’, ‘Bat Flight’, ‘Dwindler’, and ‘Rumblers’, that will test the skills of drivers.

The schedule of ‘Xtreme Drive’ programme is as follows:

Bandra (MMRDA Grounds) – April 26 – April 28

Airoli Ground (Patni centre) – May 4 – May 5

Nerul (Seawoods ground) – May 11 – May 12

Vikhroli (Somaya ground) – May 18 – May 19

Borivali (Kora Kendra) – May 25 – May 26

Andheri (Chitrakoot ground) – June 1 – June 2

The touring variant Inazuma has the same four-stroke, 248cc, twin-cylinder, liquid-cooled and fuel-injected engine allied to a six-speed gearbox. The quarter-litre Inazuma gives out 23.7bhp at 8500rpm, while peak torque is 2.24kgm at 6500rpm. The latest edition of Inazuma comes with taller set handlebars that allow a slightly more comfortable and upright riding position.

Suzuki Motorcycle India has already confirmed that it will launch the Inazuma in Indian showrooms later this year. But there isn’t any update as when we can expect to see this new semi-faired version on Indian roads. The bike is also very popular in Europe and boasts a fuel economy of over 85 miles per gallon (mpg).  Suzuki currently has 2 scooters, 3 bikes and 7 superbikes in its offerings. It includes the world famous Suzuki Hayabusa, which once was ths fastest production motorcycle in the world.

Japanese technologies are flooding the market and here comes yet another Japanese company which promises to script a new era in 2 wheeler industries (as they claim on their website). Tokyo based manufacturer Oshiro is in the process of entering the Indian two-wheeler market. The Japanese two-wheeler maker intends to enter the commuter motorcycle segment with motorcycles using 100cc-150cc engines, and with 125cc-150cc scooters.

Oshiro two-wheelers will be locally manufactured at a manufacturing plant located at Satara, but for the moment its registered address in India is at Hadapsar, Pune. The Satara plant is under construction and will be completed by August this year. Oshiro hopes to launch their motorcycles and scooters around Aug 2013 in India and are currently scouting for dealers in major Indian metros.

Oshiro will try to price their two-wheelers competitively in the Indian market. Oshiro’s other Japanese competitor in India include Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki and Yamaha.But Oshiro will find it hard time competing against the likes of Hero and Bajaj, both seems to be riding at their peak performance. Oshiro will be largely competing with Mahindra Two-Wheelers in its initial years.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt Ltd has launched its latest 150cc bike for India, the CB Trigger at the price of Rs 67,384 (ex-showroom, Delhi). The CB Trigger features a four-stroke, 149.1cc, single-cylinder, air-cooled engine with 5-speed gearbox, shifted in a 1-down and 4-up pattern. The bike gives out 14bhp maximum power at 8500rpm, while peak torque is 1.28kgm at 6500rpm.

CB Trigger is the fourth launch in the 150cc segment by the Honda after the CB Unicorn, Dazzler and CBR150R. This in itself highlights the growing demand of 150cc motorcycles in India. Honda has kept the exteriors of this bike look like a beefed-up version of CB Twister with some design elements influenced from the CB Dazzler too. But it’s the technological leap that will be its USP.

The bike will be the first bike in the India to have Combi Brake System (CBS) as an option. The advantage here is that CBS applies both the brakes simultaneously and aids stability under hard braking. It also reduces braking by as much as 32 per cent, making it a safe bet on Indian roads. Honda has loaded the bike with some new offerings like mono-shock suspension, digital instrument panel, tubeless tyres, maintenance-free battery and viscous air filter. The company claims that the bike returns a mileage of 60kmpl, but we’ll have to wait for the road test for the actual figures.

Honda will sell the bike three variants namely- Standard, Deluxe and CBS. The standard variants comes with disc brake in front and drum in rear, the Deluxe with twin disc brakes and CBS with twin disc brakes plus with CBS. Honda had started bookings for the bike had in April but the deliveries will start this month only. The 150-180cc segment currently contributed only 10 per cent of the total two-wheeler sales in the country as 100cc bikes still is the best-selling segment.

The CB Trigger will compete with premium 150cc bikes like Bajaj Pulsar 150 DTS-i, Yamaha’s FZ-S and TVS’ Apache RTR 160. Honda will bank on CB Trigger to increase their sales in the 150cc segment. It has lots of new features to attract eyeballs. Remember when Apache RTR 160 was launched in 2007. It has a host of new features like Petal Disc brakes, LED tail lights, adjusting handlebars, split grab-rails etc., and it became a runway success.

British car manufacturer Land Rover has launched a limited edition Defender, called the LXV, to celebrate its 65^th anniversary. Named as ‘LXV’, which stands for ‘65’ in Roman numerals, the vehicle is built on the 90” Hard Top platform. It also sports the same 2.2-litre diesel engine and six-speed manual gearbox. The limited edition model features Corris Grey roof, grille and headlight surrounds and special LXV and Union flag decals. Land Rover has spruced up the interiors and the new changes include leather seats with orange contrast stitching and embossed LXV logos.

Based in Warwickshire but owned by India’s Tata Motors, The Land Rover brand completed 65 years on April 30 2013. On the same date, in the year, 1948, was its first vehicle produced, making the brand 65 years old today. It is the second oldest four-wheel-drive car brand in the world, after the Jeep Company.

The celebratory event, organized at Packington House near Solihull saw over 130 vehicles. Packington was the same site that was used to develop the first Land Rover in 1947-48. The event also featured a raft of historic Land Rovers as well as the current range, including the Defender Electric and nine-speed Evoque

There’s some good news for vintage car lovers as the Government of India has lifted restrictions on import of cars manufactured before 1950. As per the official notification, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade decided to lift the import ban on cars manufactured before 1^st January 1950. The notification, dated April 18, 2013 reads, “Cars manufactured prior to January 1, 1950 are free for import by actual users. However, such cars plying on public roads will continue to be subject to Central Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and Rules, 1989.”

But the government has provided no clarity on how the import duty will be calculated, even though a flat duty structure could be considered to avoid under-invoicing of the vehicle’s value. Till now in India, the import ban had heavily restricted the number of classic and vintage sent prices skywards over the last decade.

Nitin Dossa, president of ‘Vintage and Classic Club of India’, has welcomed this decision as a positive move. But he also highlighted that questions regarding how the cars will be evaluated for the amount of duty they will carry, will be a point of concern. Also, it’s not clear if left-hand-drive cars are covered under this law. Some popular left-hand-drive American vintage cars include the Cadillacs and Studebakers. They are in great demand in the vintage cars community.