Honda City

TRUST Honda to pre-empt the competition. Though the existing Honda City hardly looks dated, the Japanese major is busy readying the third generation Honda City. The new stronger and bigger City will be here sooner than you think - in 2008! Interestingly, India will be the first country where the new City will be showcased to the world. Reason being that not only is India the largest market worldwide for the City, but also that Honda is keen to have its nose ahead in the fiercely competitive domestic market.

Last November Honda introduced its latest iteration of the global small car platform, which is also shared by the City. Also known as the Honda Fit in some markets, the 2009 jazz took a bow in Thailand in March this year, while its sedan variant will hit the roads there in the near future. But when it comes to India, Honda has a different strategy. Since Honda is still to introduce the jazz in India, the new global small ear platform will arrive in India in the form of the 3rd generation City.

Of course, Honda is keeping mum about the project. When we asked Honda Siel Cars about the new City spotted doing the rounds, their spokesperson said, "Honda R&D is constantly testing cars and prototypes across the globe including India, to collect data on road and other climatic conditions. The car in question is one such prototype that belongs to Honda. It is in India for such routine tests." But that did not stop us from digging up information for you. The design of the new City is based on Honda's man maximum, machine minimum principle. As is the norm with a Honda full model change, the new City will have a longer wheelbase, making it longer than the existing size of 4390mm. Looks apart, the 3rd iteration of the City will be powered by the all-new 1.5 L i-VTEC engine outputting 119PS@6000rpm- which will most probably be slightly detuned to compensate for our fuel quality- but this trim shouldn't be able to stop the City from becoming one of the most powerful in its category. We can hardly wait!

In car Size matters... Looks like the Indian government is not too keen on bigger cars for India. In a surprise move, the government has levied an additional duty of Rs 15,000 for cars sporting engines with 1.5-litre capacity and Rs 20,000 for cars with 2.0-litre engines and above. Industry experts say that this duty is being imposed to dampen the demand for vehicles with high engine capacities as they consume more fuel. Given the fuel price crisis, it might not be a bad idea. But car makers are surely not happy. For close to 40 per cent of the market will be impacted by this duty. Expect price increases in models like the Maruti SX4, Hyundai Verna, Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Skoda Octavia. All premium luxury cars from the BMW, Mercedes and Audi stables too fall into the category, but this is a segment which will not feel the pinch. The blow will be the hardest on utility vehicles from M&M, Tata Motors and General Motors.