Resurgence
Alto is Suzuki’s best-selling name plate, the car that has raked in the most volumes for the Japanese manufacturer. But it wasn’t until 2005 that it became India’s best-selling name plate.
Star cast
the Corolla has been pretty popular among the white collared folk and the Altis is no different. It is refined, comfortable and also reasonably priced. The biggest factor is the Toyota badge here signifying dependability.
Honda Twister is IMOTY
Honda CB Twister was voted this year’s Indian Motorcycle Of The Year (IMOTY). IMOTY is the country’s most coveted award for motorcycles, decided jointly by a jury comprising senior journalists from India’s best automobile magazines.
Figo is the ICOTY
The Ford Figo has been voted this year’s Indian Car Of The Year (ICOTY). The ICOTY is the country’s most coveted award for cars. It is decided jointly by a jury comprising senior journalists from India’s best automobile magazines.
Monsters Inc
Am I the only one who thinks there’s something wrong with this picture? Three and a half crore rupees – that’s the first giveaway. Like really, when will you ever see three-and-a-halfcrore worth of heavy metal trundling down a tractor-trail? Then there’s the muck.
Wanderlust
In the 1980s when the glamour of the Paris-Dakar Rally was in full swing, Yamaha’s Super Ténéré was the bike to have.
Time traveller
Jesus Christ walked the earth 2000 years ago, according to the Bible. The Roman Empire stretched far and wide, and Ben Hur was still in a toga probably. That was the time the art in the Ajanta and Ellora caves was created.
City to city
Honda cars have always been aspirational in our country. Given their reliability, refinement and fantastic manners, Indians have always aspired to the City, Accord and CR-V. But now there’s a German invasion underway and Honda needs to fortify its bastion, particularly that of its bread-and-butter City.
Sporty tourers
The past two and a half years that I’ve been working with OVERDRIVE I hardly remember a boring day except for the bedridden fortnight after my crash last year – the worst fifteen days of my life as I couldn’t ride.
Quad Squad
Himalayan Motorsport, well-known for organising the Raid De Himalaya recently organised the ‘Quadrush 2010’ at the Kikar Lodge Resort and Spa near Ropar, Punjab. Organised in association with Adventure Wheels – who import and sell ATVs in North India, the event was the country’s first ever ATV event approved by the FMSCI.
The X1 finally arrives
German manufacturer BMW launched its new compact SUV, the X1 today. The X1 will be available in three variants but does not feature BMW’s xDrive four wheel drive system. The X1 instead features a rear wheel drive system known as sDrive to keep costs in check.
Starting grid
After qualifying in the intermediate Stunner class in the fourth round, I was looking forward to the fifth round of the Sidvin National Motorcycle Racing Championship. And with the championship taking a two month break before the final round, I started working out afresh with alarming regularity.
January issue now out on stands!
This January, OVERDRIVE vrooms into the New Year with a fast, action packed issue that will blow you away. And we’re calling it The Fast Show. Need a reason? Dig in and you will find Indian Formula 1 driver Karun Chandhok trying to choose the best performer in the sub-10 lakh rupees bracket.
Former AIG employee sues PwC, board over audits
A former employee of American International Group has filed a lawsuit claiming that PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) was negligent in its audits of AIG and that the board of the bailed-out insurer failed to pursue a claim against the accountants.
Sangal Papers share capital reduced to 20%
Sangal Papers share capital has reduced to 20% as per BIFR orders.
Rangarajan sees inflation at 6-6.5% by March
There is room for monetary action on the inflation front according to Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council Chairman C Rangarajan. He expects the figure to be between 6-6.5% by the end of March.
A virtual supercar
I suppose that most of us who write about cars have done it: dressed up a story about a prototype that hardly runs to make an exclusive ‘first drive’.
Border line
France is a deeply scary country to be out driving in. The speeding laws are draconian and whether they cause a significant drop in accident rates and related statistics or not, the number of ways the French police have of catching you speeding and then fining the life out of you are staggering.
Pipe dream?
2011 is going to be a big year for the automotive industry. There are a dozen new car launches lined up. But the big ticket items are not the cars headed to India but the motorcycles.
Chaos at K-thou
Can things get any worse than a rally being cancelled a week before being scheduled to run? Pulling out of a rally on safety grounds? That’s what happened at the K-1000 in Bengaluru with half the field pulling out. Here’s how it went down:
Full throttle
December was the month of Britain’s Motorcycle Live show. And it was great to see new life breathed into the UK’s bike show held annually at Birmingham’s NEC conference centre.
Sea change
Sea change
Testing taboo
Yamaha gained kudos for sportsmanship when they released Rossi early from his contract to test the Ducati he will ride next year. I believe the praise was gained quite cheaply.
Wunderkind
Sebastian Vettel has become the youngest World Champion in F1 history, and it’s a title that’s totally deserved. Adrian Newey and the team at Red Bull Racing built a car that was the class of the field right from the opening round in Bahrain in terms of speed.
Gitanjali Gems likely to close PE deal by Feb
Indian jewellery firm Gitanjali Gems is in "advanced talks" with two private equity players to raise up to USD 100 million, and hopes to close a deal by February, a top official said on Wednesday.
