GM’s New Hope in Chevy Volt

General Motors have long recovered from bankruptcy and rearing to show the world its grit in car manufacturing. The proposed launch of the electric vehicle, like none before, is a very good example of this above statement.

Brushing aside the fact that seeing is believing and taking into consideration the past glory of the company one could believe that the assured car from GM, Chevrolet Volt, will be seen in the roads by 2010, as per the promise.

The car has many peculiarities and it is expected to mark a strong comeback by General Motors. The Volt being an electric car and is also an eco-friendly car. By 2010 or 2011, it is expected that the demand for electric cars will increase and General Motors, as it looks, believes in this prophecy.

The Volt is a hybrid car that runs on lithium-ion batteries, the best to start with to begin the list of specialties. The car, like other electric cars, need not be taken to a station for charging their batteries.

The batteries could be charged through electric power or gasoline engine, at the comfort of your home of office or where ever you are, because it just needs a 120-240V AC electrical outlet. It certainly looks like General Motors has bounced back in the big league once more.

The Chevy Volt is powered by a 150 hp electric motor and a 1.4 liter 4 cylinder engine, and with the fully charged batteries of the Volt one can commute around 40 miles.

With more than a handful of hybrid cars and more to be launched by 2011, it could be a tough sailing for the Volt.

Volvo to Launch S60 in India by 2010

Swedish luxury carmaker Volvo is planning to launch a new luxury sedan in India by 2010. The luxury sedan S60 will be launched in India after the company re-launches the car in the European car market, which will happen sometime during the middle of next year.

"We will be launching the S60 in the Indian market after it is rolled out in Europe in the middle of next year. We hope to have it in India before the end of 2010," said Paul de Voijs, Managing Director, Volvo Cars India.

The S60 has been phased out completely in May this year and the new S60 will be a completely new and advanced version of the car. The S60 would be brought to India as a Completely Built Unit (CBU) from its parent facility in Belgium.



"We will look for annual sales of, may be, around 2,000-3,000 units before setting up an assembly plant here. Our major plants in Sweden and Belgium have still got a lot of extra capacity," said Voijs.

The company seems to be very enthusiastic about the fast growing luxury car market of India. Currently Volvo has three models in its portfolio in India that are Volvo C70, Volvo S80 and Volvo XC90.

Maruti Suzuki A-Star touches One-lakh mark

Maruti Suzuki successfully rolled out its 1,00,000th A-Star model on Tuesday from the Manesar plant. The Manesar plant which also manufactures Maruti Suzuki models like SX4, Swift and Swift DZire crossed manufacturing 5-lakh units since its establishment.

This milestone was achieved by Maruri Suzuki in less than two weeks after the car behemoth made a breakthrough of manufacturing more than 80 Lakh units of the car since 1983.

"A-Star is doing very well in the export market. We are planning to export over 75,000 units of the car by the end of this fiscal," Maruti Suzuki India Chairman R C Bhargava said.

He also added that the Japanese car major Nissan had increased the order of the small car to 54,000 units for this fiscal from 30,000 units.

Nissan sells the A-Star under the brand name Pixo in the European market.

"At one stage Nissan was very hesitant to place order and they had reduced it from 50,000 units, which they were discussing with us. Now the total A-Star export will cross 1.3 lakh units in 2009-10," Bhargava added.

India number one car maker Maruti Suzuki has already exported over 50,000 units of A-Star to over 44 countries including Netherlands, UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Angola, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Morocco, Libya, New Zealand and some Latin American nations. The making of this small car started in October, 2008.

Car Insurance Tips

When you own a car, it is legally necessary that you get it insured.

There are two kinds of Motor Vehicle Insurance:

"Motor Policy A" (Third Party Risk) the 'Act Only Policy' covers third party damages up to Rs 6000/- only. Risk from fire and theft requires an additional premium.

"Motor Policy B" (Comprehensive Insurance Policy) protects you from the following eventualities:

1. Damage due to man made or natural calamities: Natural calamities include fire, floods, hurricanes, landslides, cyclones or earthquakes. Man made calamities include, theft, riots, strikes, malicious acts of vandalism or damage occurring in transit via road, rail, waterways or air.

2. Personal accident cover: In the event of an accident, it is important that you have personal accident coverage. You may also opt for a personal accident cover for passengers traveling with you, just to be on the safe side.

3. Third party legal liability: This would cover you for legal liabilities that result in permanent injury/death or damage to property, in the event of a mishap.

The insurance policy is valid for a period of one year. If you do not make a claim during the policy period, you are eligible for a discount, which is adjusted against the renewal premium. In case your policy expires, you can still avail the no claim bonus if you renew the policy within 90 days of its expiry.

The following rates of discount apply:

* First year - 20%
* Second year - 35%
* Third year - 50%
* Fourth year onward - 65%

This insurance policy does not cover these circumstances:

* Damages arising out of mutiny, nuclear risk or war
* Depreciation and consequential loss thereof
* Mechanical/ electrical failures
* Wear and tear of car tires and tubes
* Vehicle being used other than the purpose for which it was purchased
* Damages occurring from driving without a valid license
* Damages occurring from intoxication by alcohol or drugs
* Everyday wear and tear


In case you have an accident, how do you claim your Insurance? You need the following documents to submit to the insurance company:

* Your Vehicle Insurance Policy
* Original + Copy of the Registration Book
* Original + Copy of Driving License
* FIR in case of an accident involving third party injury or damage
* Claims form + the estimated cost of repairs from your workshop

Once you submit these documents, the insurance company will inspect the damaged car and authenticate the estimated cost of repairs. Once the surveyor has completed the inspection, the car can be repaired.

Present the final bill for the repairs and a stamped receipt from the workshop to the Insurance Company for settlement of the claim. An insurance surveyor will once again certify the repaired car, after which, you can take delivery of it.