My Maruti Suzuki Ritz

The Ford Figo seems to be excellent value for money, but will it sell…?

Ford India has announced prices for its new hatchback, the Figo. The petrol-engined base model is priced at Rs 3.50 lakh, while the diesel costs Rs 4.48 lakh. ‘We wanted to offer all the features of a B-Segment car at a sub-B price. We’ve accomplished that with Figo,’ said Joe Hinrichs, President of Ford Asia Pacific and Africa.

With 1.2-litre, 71bhp petrol and 1.4-litre, 69bhp diesel engines being offered on the Figo, the car will be available in LXI, EXI, ZXI and Titanium trim levels. A five-speed manual transmission is standard on all models.

The top-end Ford Figo Titanium models are priced at Rs 4.43 lakh for the petrol and Rs 5.30 lakh for the diesel. ‘We are committed to setting new benchmarks with the Figo in this segment. The Figo offers more features, interior space, technology and durability than other vehicles at this price in the segment,’ said Michael Boneham, President and MD, Ford India.

With the Figo, Ford could possibly get a significant sales boost in India. Had the company chosen to also offer automatic transmission as an optional extra, things might have turned out been even better for the company, since no contemporary automatics are currently available in India in the small cars segment. A CVT or even a conventional automatic could have given the Figo an extra edge over its competitors.

Speaking of competition, the Figo is going to have plenty of it. Apart from the existing players (Maruti Swift and Ritz, Hyundai i20 and the Tata Indica Vista), there’s the new VW Polo, the upcoming Nissan Micra and the Toyota Etios. And while the Figo is likely to be a reasonably all-around-competent machine, it doesn’t seem to be particularly brilliant at anything and might even be a bit underpowered – though we’ll refrain from saying anything more on that until we’ve really driven the car.

In any case, we like Ford and we like some of their cars – the Ikon 1.6 ‘Josh Machine’ was one of the best handling cars ever sold in India and we loved that. Whether the Figo can emulate the Ikon’s success tale remains to be seen, but we wish Ford all the best!

After working with two hottest actresses of Bollywood Kareena Kapoor in JAB WE MET and Deepika Padukone in LIKE AAJ KAL, it seems the self effacing filmmaker Imtiaz Ali now plotting to work with, yet another B-town hottie, the effervescent Genelia D’souza.

Buzz is that, recently the director-actor duo were spotted at a suburban coffee shop absorbed in a detailed conversation. But nothing has been confirmed yet, but the chances are quite bright about Genelia being a part of Imtiaz’s film.

Genelia’s last superhit film was JAANE TU YAA JAANE (2008), since then it has been more than a year she delivered a hit. Though she was a part of 2009’s average hit, the multistarrer LIFE PARTNER, but it didn’t provide much visibility to her. And working with Imtiaz Ali will only give a boost to Genelia’s career, which she desperately needs.

Well it would be nothing less than a treat to see Genelia in Imtiaz Ali’s film.

With the FT-86, Toyota is sticking to the classic sportscar ethos of rear-wheel-drive, combined with light weight, balance, simplicity and responsiveness…

According to Toyota, its new FT-86 Sports Concept, which made its European debut at the currently ongoing Geneva Motor Show, has been designed and engineered to capture the spirit of the Toyota Corolla AE86 of the 1980s. With its front-engine, rear-wheel-drive format and compact, lightweight and aerodynamically efficient body, the FT-86 is supposed to have been modelled after legendary Toyota sportscars like the Celica, MR2, Supra and Corolla AE86.

Back in the 1980s, the rear-wheel-drive Corolla AE86 did very well in rallies and closed circuit racing and its compact dimensions, light weight, balance and strong power-to-weight ratio made it a favourite with many racing teams. Toyota aims to recreate that package with the driver-focused FT-86, which has been engineered to deliver precise, instantaneous responses to even the smallest throttle and steering inputs.

In keeping with the modern-day green ethic, Toyota has avoided the use of a huge, heavy engine on the FT-86. It has, instead, fitted a 2.0-litre petrol engine to its new sportscar, along with a six-speed manual gearbox. For the interiors, too, Toyota has used very lightweight components in order to maintain a high power-to-weight ratio.

Toyota hasn’t done a light, simple, rear-wheel-drive sportscar in ages and the FT-86 will probably make a lot of enthusiasts very pleased indeed. While it follows a completely different path compared with the awe-inspiring Lexus LFA, we still quite like the FT-86 and sincerely hope it makes it to India within the next one or two years.

Ranjitha, who is in news now for her alleged delight in with Nithyananda was quite a regular in the social circles in Chennai. A small birdie excitedly whispered to us that this 39 year ancient actress who is in fantastic shape for her age really has quite a reputation.
 
During the shooting of Mani Ratnam’s Raavan, where Ranjitha plays a small role, there was a particular schedule that spanned over five days and this actress was said to be having quite a excellent time with one of the lead actors who is acting in the Tamil version of the movie. Apparently the two were seen together all the time and she spent all the nights in his hotel room. Word has it that nearly all the men in the unit were hitting on this lady but it was only the actor who got lucky in the end.

The new Toyota RAV4 gets some cosmetic updates for 2010…

Toyota has released pics and specs of its revised, 2010-spec RAV4, which made its debut today at the currently ongoing Geneva Motor Show. Toyota’s bestselling compact SUV gets new front-end styling, new bonnet, bumpers, headlights and front grille. The interiors have also been updated with new leather and Alcantara trim materials.

The new RAV4 continues to be available with 2.0-litre petrol and 2.2-litre diesel engines, while transmission options include a six-speed manual, Mutridrive S (continuously variable transmission) and six-speed automatic. While Toyota already has compact SUV in India – the Fortuner – which is selling very well, it might still bring the RAV4 to India at some time in the future, perhaps for those want a larger, plusher SUV.

It is not often that one gets to see a heroine after her marriage but slowly that trend seems to be changing.
But, it is next to impossible to see married heroine in a bra and bikini. The best that we know of is Malaika Arora or her sexy sister Amrita Arora who keep doing that on and off.

But now, someone from the south is going to challenge them and she is none other than the fleshy white beauty Arthi Agarwal. News is that the pretty girl has given her green signal to appear in bra and bikini and this has set the temperatures soaring among the movie makers.

As it is, Arthi will set the screen on fire since she would be seen smooching in her new movie ‘Neelaveni’. Now, with the bra and bikini on her milky white silky skin, it will make the masses go mad. Perhaps Arthi will set a new record by becoming today’s married heroine in bra and bikini.