Tata Motors kicks off one leg of its new found business, launching the Jaguar and the Land Rover in India. The re-branding prowess of Tata Motors starts by unveiling the two luxury car brands in Indian waters, launching three models of each brand.

Jaguar will be unveiling the XF, XFR and the XKR sedans while Land Rover will start its business with Discovery 3, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover sport utility vehicles. Being fully imported models, all the six cars carry a heavy price tag starting Rs 63 lakh and going up to Rs 92 lakh.

“The launch of Jaguar and Land Rover is something that is quite memorable in the context of our history and heritage of Tata Motors. This is a company that belongs to us and we are proud of it.”

While the economy is still in turmoil for most parts of the world, no sales forecasts were unveiled by Tata Motors just yet. Right now, all they can do is stay optimistic, similar to what most business are banking on today.

(Source) Business Standard

Tags: car brands, debut, discovery 3, history and heritage, indian waters, jaguar, Land Rover, launch, luxury car, price tag, prowess, Range Rover, range rover sport, sedans, source business, sport utility vehicles, tata motors, turmoil

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Kumho Tires lives up to its name as one of the leading tires in the market today as it has pocketed two “Best Buy” awards in a recent tire evaluation conducted by Consumers Digest magazine. Kumho’s Solus KR21 and Ecsta STX were honored in the Touring Cars and Performance SUV categories respectively. The Consumers Digest evaluation ranged from all-season passenger and performance tires to those for light trucks and SUVs.

The tire Best Buys, which are featured in Consumers Digest’s February 2009 issue, are chosen by Consumers Digest editors based on results from independent testing, technical experts and over-the-road evaluations.

The Solus KR21 is Kumho Tire’s Standard Touring All-Season tire made for the drivers of coupes, sedans, minivans, and crossover and sport utility vehicles. The Solus KR21 boasts a combination of long wear, low noise and superior ride with capable handling and all-season traction, even in light snow.

The Ecsta STX is an aggressive tire designed for quick response and sporty handling. This tire is made for the needs of the SUV and light truck driver. The all season performance provides superior wet and dry handling.

(Source) Press

Tags: best buys, coupes, kumho tire, kumho tires, light snow, light trucks, minivans, sedans, solus kr21, sport utility vehicles

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Hyundai Automotive Groups has announced that approximately 50,000 cars will be recalled due to a light switch problem. The car models affected include that of vehicles produced between September and November of 2006.

Hyundai Automotive Group consists of Hyundai Motor Co. (005380.SE) and Kia Motors Corp. (000270.SE), which together form the world’s fifth-largest car maker by sales.

“Brake lights of some of Hyundai and Kia models were found not to function when drivers stepped on brakes due to the switch flaws,” the ministry said in a statement.

Hyundai will recall a total of 37,794 cars of five models and Kia a combined 10,842 vehicles of five models, the statement said.

The cars subject to be recalled include: new Santa Fe, Veracruz sport utility vehicles, new Avante, new Sonata and new Grandeur sedans from Hyundai and Grand Carnival, new Carnival, new Sportage, new Carens and Sorento SUVs from Kia Motors, it said.

(Source) Wall Street Journal

Tags: avante, car maker, car models, grand carnival, grandeur, hyundai motor, hyundai motor co, kia models, kia motors corp, light switch, new sportage, sedans, sorento, sport utility vehicles, switch problem

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Ford Motors will start manufacturing the Ford Fiesta in China this week with the hopes of timely introducing it to the market this year. Touted as the first global car, is expected to go on sale at local car dealers by the first quarter of 2010.

The Ford Fiesta originally debuted at the North American International Auto Show in 2007 under the name “The Verve”. Ford has sold more than 61,000 Fiestas in its 19 European markets during its two months in showrooms. It is the auto maker’s second-best selling vehicle behind the Ford Focus.

Ford, like its U.S. competitors, is attempting to develop vehicles that it can build quickly to match changing dynamics in the automobile market. U.S. auto makers were caught off guard last year when rising gas prices caused consumers to abandon pickups and sport-utility vehicles in favor of more fuel-efficient products.

(Source) CNN Money

Tags: automobile market, european markets, focus ford, ford fiesta, ford focus, ford motors, global car, north american international auto, north american international auto show, sport utility vehicles

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