Brian Carless, Gleaner Writer
The 2008 Tata Suma Grande
Hyundai's attempted to aim at the bargain luxury market with previous offerings (XG, Azera), but the Genesis aims squarely at the BMW 5-series, Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Lexus GS. Cars in that price class usually run between US$50,000 and US$60,000, but Hyundai claims the Genesis will sticker around US$30,000. The Genesis seems to be equipped to run with the big dogs. Features offered include active front head restraints, stability control, eight airbags, heated and cooled seats, adaptive HID headlamps, navigation, HD and satellite radio, automatic windshield defroster, adaptive cruise control - the list goes on. Hyundai claims the interior, which sports a leather-wrapped dashboard, is larger than those on the 5-series, E-class, and even BMW's 7-series. Yes, it is rear drive, but the biggest mechanical news lies with the all-new 4.6-litre 'Tau' V-8. The motor's good for 368 horsepower at 6500 rpm. Torque comes on strong at 3500 rpm, where the motor makes a peak figure of 368 lb-ft. Thank the dual overhead cams and variable valve timing for those figures, but not premium fuel - those numbers come with 87 octane gasolene in the tank. Running premium boosts both numbers by around 10 digits. Hyundai claims the V-8 powered car can reach 60 mph, in less than six seconds - but we'll wait to affirm those digits when we're offered a drive. Other engine offerings include 3.3-litre and 3.8-litre V-6s, capable of 264 and 290 horsepower, respectively. All engines are coupled to six-speed automatics with a manumatic control; the V-6 engines use transmissions sourced from Aisin, while the V-8 receives a gearbox from ZF. What says you - is this a good move for Hyundai? Would you consider a bargain-priced luxury car, even if it carries the Hyundai nameplate?
Tata Sumo Grande
Tata Motors may be buying Land Rover sooner than you would think, but that has not stopped them from developing their own SUV. The Tata Sumo Grande will be available in showrooms starting this month. The SUV features three rows of seats and is powered by the new generation 2.2 litre direct injection common rail (DICOR) engine, fitted with a variable geometry turbocharger. Even though the Sumo Grande has been awaited by many people, the real news from Tata will come when they will unveil the highly anticipated 'People's Car' at the Auto Expo.
Nissan's Oppama Plant Reaches 15 Millionth Production
Milestone
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. announced that its Oppama Plant reached the 15 millionth units
milestone, forty-six years after the plant's inauguration. The 15 millionth unit - a Tiida hatchback - was bound for the African market.
The Oppama Plant commenced its operations in 1961 as the first full-scale passenger vehicle plant in Japan. The plant was the first to utilise welding robots in 1970, a revolution for the industry at the time. It was one of the earliest plants to introduce mixed production lines which enabled several different vehicles to be built at the same time on the same line. The Oppama Plant reached its 5 millionth and 10 millionth milestones in 1978 and 1992, respectively. It currently builds seven models - March, Cube, Cube Cubic, Tiida, Tiida Latio, Note and Bluebird Sylphy. The plant complex includes the Oppama Wharf, which handles the shipment of up to 80,000 vehicles per month.
Looking not unlike the offspring of a Ford Think and a Mitsubishi i, the Nano is a small, five-door, four-passenger hatchback. By small, we mean small; the car measures in at just under 3.1 metres (11 ft) long, and 1.5 metres (5 ft) wide. Nanos will be powered by a 623-cc gasolene engine (how many cylinders is currently unknown) capable of 33 horse-power.
Coupled through a four-speed manual transmission, the micro car supposedly can reach a top speed of around 105 km/h (65 mph) Tata aims to keep the cost of the car at $2,500 - officials note that the cost of steel and other supplies may cause the Nano's list price to fluctuate. That said, the Nano attempts to control costs at the expense of equipment.
Don't look for power accessories 'luxury' trim models may be equipped with air conditioning, fog lamps and alloy wheels, all cars lack power steering. Dashboard instrumentation consists of merely a speedometer, oil light and a fuel gauge; sparse as that may be, it's more than what Citroen initially gave the French public with their own people's car. Tata also claims the car passed frontal and side impact crash testing and meets emission laws we presently don't know to whose standards. Figures released by the company claim the Nano achieve mileage figures up to 50 mpg. Tata aims to move nearly 500,000 Nanos annually.
