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| Sunday, 14 August 2005 |
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Business |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Compiled by L.S.A.Wedaarachchi Suzuki - top seller of small cars Suzuki Motor corporation of Japan has been selected as the manufacturer which sells the highest number of small cars in Japan, said Shinzo Nakanishi, Senior Managing Director and Executive General Manager of Suzuki Motor corporation, Japan. He was addressing the inaugural ceremony of the Suzuki Maruti showroom in Borella. Nakanishi said with a corporate history spanning over 85 years the Suzuki Motor corporation has achieved international success by maintaining a continuous policy of designing and producing value-packed quality products and also by meeting the customer's need. During the last 30 years, design and technological expertise have produced a range of unique and ground breaking 4x4 vehicles that emphasise this spirit and has achieved an enviable reputation and recognition throughout the world. The opening of the newly built state of the art-fully computerised Suzuki Maruti showroom reaffirmed the appointment of Associated Motorways as distributor of Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan in Sri Lanka. The latest models of Japan's Suzuki and India's Suzuki Maruti vehicles are on display at the Suzuki Maruti showroom in Borella. According to a spokesman the AMW showroom will handle all sales and service requirements of the Suzuki and Maruti vehicle owners in Sri Lanka. The Suzuki Maruti car was the best selling car in Sri Lanka in the new cars segment last year and at present it enjoys 40 percent of the new car selling segment in the country. The new models of Suzuki and Suzuki Maruti vehicles namely New Grand Vitara, Swift, Liana, Esteem, Wagon R, Zen, Alto, Gypsy, M 800 and Omni were introduced at the inaugural ceremony and are now available for sale. ############ Hyundai - Sonata Hyundai Sonata apart from being sharp, strong and modern is also sophisticated and elegant. Sonata's reign as Korea's best selling car was heightened when Hyundai Motor Company rolled out the all new replacement. Three years and ten months in the making the new mid size car was developed under the NF project codename and has been redesigned. "The new Sonata raises the bar in every measurable category and will reinforce our message that Hyundai is the new quality leader, said Kim - Dong - Jin vice chairman and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company. The new Sonata was launched in Sri Lanka in May this year. ########### Ceylinco Reva - first electric car Ceylinco Reva is Sri Lanka's first electric car to be introduced by Ceylinco Maini - a joint venture between the Ceylinco Group - Sri Lanka and Maini group - India. The first shipments of Ceylinco Reva have been sold and the next shipment is expected shortly. The Ceylinco Reva is the ultimate non pollution and affordable personal transport. It saves thousands of rupees which is otherwise spent on filling the fuel tank of fuel-powered cars. Reva needs no mineral fuel. The Reva owner has to charge his car the same way as he plugs his cell phone for charging. When the Reva is fully charged, it has a running power of eighty kilometres. Reva has no engine. As a result the radiator or plugs or timing belts or whatever you see in a conventional car cannot be seen in a Reva. It does not have even a gear box. Hence there is hardly any thing that can go wrong in a Reva car. The Reva runs with minimum maintenance and virtually no replacement parts necessary for a conventional vehicle. When we drive 'Reva' half the things that we learnt in driving are not necessary. When the ignition is switched on a small gauge in the meter cluster will indicate the battery charge that is available. A green light will indicate that the Reva is ready. The complete silence may fox the driver. The first lesson-no engine means nothing is idle when the car is not running. Hence, complete silence. Turn the big nob to the right of the steering column on the dashboard to R for reverse N for neutral. E for economy running of F for normal running. When we select F and press the accelerator pedal the Reva moves from zero to 50 km/hour and it is surprisingly brisk. In city traffic conditions you can drive the Reva just like any other car. The Reva has the added advantage of being able to go through virtually half a car width of space and park in half car space. The motive power of the Reva comes from an electric motor. It has a power of 13 KW with torque of 70 Nm a zero speed. The power from the motor is delivered to the rear wheels via the conventional transaxle. The Reva power pack consists of eight 6 volt EV tubular type lead acid batteries. The batteries will be fully charged in less than six hours. The design of the Reva ensures that there is plenty of ground clearance to cope with local road conditions. According to the manufacturers of Reva they have taken great care in testing the car to ensure utmost safety and reliability to the customer. Ceylinco Maini is equipped with a team of Indian factory trained technicians to look after the after sales service of the Ceylinco Reva automatic electric car. Two workshops at Union Place and Sedawatta have been set up. As a special service of foreign trained technicians call on Reva owners' homes in the Metropolis on request. ########### Subaru eyes 100% growth in the region in five years Motor Image Enterprises (Pte) was formed in 1986 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tan Chong International Limited (TCIL) to distribute Subaru in seven markets in this region: Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, where it will commence operations next year. Motoring spoke exclusively to Glen Tan, regional director and scion of the Tan family which oversees TCIL's operations in automotive, commercial, manufacturing, trading and property investment, and is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with reported revenue of approximately HK$5.251 billion (27.8 billion baht). How much of TCIL's business is geared towards the automotive sector? Mostly! 90%. Right now we are building our presence in the region. We feel that a single-brand, multiple-country strategy is much better than multiple-brand, multiple-country approach (TCIL also distributes Nissan in Malaysia) because of the synergy and it allows us to grow as a group. There will be excellent growth in the next five years. Last year we sold 2,000 units which should grow to 2,500 this year and at least 5,000 units over the next 3-5 years. China has the best growth potential. But Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia also represent a bigger network. As for Singapore, we are limited due to Certificate of Entitlement which limits the market size. For Thailand, by the year 2008 taxes will be lowered and we will have a large enough network to cater adequately to consumers. What is the purpose of organising the Subaru Advance Driving Course? People are not aware of Subaru technology. And the best way for the customer to experience it is this event. They will get to know the difference and share the experience of Subaru's superior AWD (all-wheel-drive) technology. We chose the Sepang F1 circuit because we wanted to make sure that there is enough space. I am planning a scaled-down version in other markets. But all in all this event was a great venue to test Subaru technology. Courtesy: Bangkok Post ############## Ford set to pull Freestyle from line-up With Ford set to pull the Freestyle from their line-up after MY 2007, many have questioned the importance of this series of reviews. While Ford is planning to move the Freestyle name to a smaller crossover, the basic model will be moved into the Mercury line. We applaud this decision, but at the same time we're worried about losing the value that the current Freestyle represents. The Freestyle has been a quiet and comfortable companion. The wagon utility and spacious interior are hard to match, especially at this price. As equipped, our front-wheel drive Freestyle came to about $29,765.00. That is retail. The Ford Family plan should bring the total price down by about $3000, making the Freestyle a bargain. For the household that needs to transport people and even material in comfort, there are few better options. Especially for those who are not attracted to minivans or more traditional SUVs. We had mentioned earlier about the straight-line performance of the Freestyle. While we did comment that the car feels a little slow off the line, the CVT is able to manage enough engine power when needed to get the Freestyle moving. For those stop light drags, remember you should notch the transmission into L(ow) for brisk off the line acceleration. The whole package also provides excellent fuel economy. Our tester delivered an impressive 21 mpg. So, who would we recommend this vehicle to? Well, families would obviously benefit from a vehicle like this. Individuals or families that often frequently transport other people would also find this vehicle to be a wise purchase. Personally, this is the perfect car to drive your grandmother around in. It is quiet, smooth, safe, and comfortable. Put simply, the Freestyle does not offend. The current Freestyle represents a compelling value. It is a high quality vehicle with a spacious interior. We could see this vehicle being sold in Europe as well, perhaps with a diesel. The Freestyle may not continue on in its current form after 2007, but it is a compelling buy now. Courtesy: Auto Magazine |
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