The World Through My Pen

By Ankit Berry New Delhi:   India is trying hard to move towards being a greener country and has been bringing in a slew of measures to curb the menace of pollution. In one such step towards a better India, the Government of India decided to move from BS-IV standards to BS-VI norms. Audi India head Joe King welcomed this, however,  apprehensively. Joe feels that the move from BS-IV norms to BS-VI norms directly is a good move and it would be beneficial for manufacturers as it reduces complexit ies and therefore, the cost substantially. But he is scared that the adequate fuel quality to implement this may be hard to achieve. This shift from BS-IV – VI has a target of 2020. This has most car makers in a fix as a slew of regulations are about to hit them. On top of that, new vehicles with a diesel engine capacity of above 2000 cc are not allowed to be registered in Delhi. According to Joe, these rules have confused car makers i n terms of the diesel issue...

At the launch in Delhi New Delhi: Mercedes-Benz GLS, face lifted the GL and launched it with a new name in the Indian market on Wednesday for Rs 80.38 lakh (ex-showroom, Pune). This car has come at a time when Mercedes has been enjoying a lovely year in India. Its sale from April 2015 to March 2016 has been 13,558 units, the highest ever. This has given them the confidence to launch an SUV, which will not be sold in Delhi but the company expects a good sales figure. Roland Folger, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India called the GLS, ‘The S-Class of SUVs’ and he is not very far of the mark. The GLS comes with a three litre V6 diesel engine that produces 258 bhp and 620 Nm of peak torque. This beast of an engine is attached to a nine speed automatic transmission that sends power to all four wheels with the power distribution is controlled by the 4MATIC permanent all-wheel-drive system. Speaking at the launch, Folger said, “The introduction of the GLS underscores...

Ankit Berry New Delhi: How many of you felt that a car which had the looks of an SUV is safer than most of the tiny hatchbacks you see on the road? Well, I am sure most of you felt, the bulkier the car looks, safer it shall be. Unfortunately that is not the case. Global New Car Assessment Programme (Global NCAP) has tested another round of Indian cars and the results to be honest are pathetic. Starting from the tiny Hyundai Eon to the muscular Mahindra Scorpio, all the cars tested scored zero stars in adult occupant protection. The base version of the Scorpio was tested and this is what Global NCAP had to say: “The protection offered to the driver’s head and chest was poor and the passenger’s chest received marginal protection. The passengers’ knees could impact with dangerous structures in the dashboard. The body shell was rated as unstable and cannot withstand further loadings.” The Maruti Suzuki Eeco did not perform any better. Yes, it is a great runabout vehicle but i...