NEW DELHI: Indian arm of Italian two wheeler manufacturer Piaggio is going to launch country's first crossover sport scooterbike - Aprilia SR 150 on August 22. The bookings for the same has already strated on e-commerce website Paytm with an amount of Rs 2,000.

Priced at Rs 65,000 (ex showroom), Paytm is offering 100 percent cashback guarantee on the booking amount. Customers have to use promocode APRILIA2K to get Rs 2,000 cashback.

Aprilia SR 150 comes equipped with air-cooled, 154.4 CC, 4 Stroke engine which churns out maximum power of 11.6 PS @ 7.000 rpm, and 11.5 Nm maximum torque @ 5.500 rpm. It is available in two body colours - Matt Black, and White.

Aimed at young riders, its large 14" Black 5 spoke alloy wheels with five spokes and tubeless wider sport street tyres enhances the sensation of sport bikes with the convenience of automatic scooters. Distinct, Sporty handlebar with integrated turn indicator lights, double-barrel headlight unit on the front beak, Twin pod analogue unit for speedometer, fuel gauge and odometer are some of its other distinct features.

The steel frame structure is designed for higher rigidity, and its design is based on the RSV1000 R Factory. The 220 mm twin piston ventilated front disc brake and 140 mm rear drum brake with black calipers ensures the safety of the riders.

All this is supplemented with the convenience features like retractable front bag hook, stylish foldable integrated pillion footsteps, ample storage under the seat and provision for USB connector to charge your mobile on the go.

Source : Aprilia SR 150 launch on Aug 22; bookings begin on Paytm

Mahindra TUV300, the popular subcompact SUV from the home-grown utility vehicle manufacturer will now be available in a new Bronze Green colour option. Launched to celebrate our 70th Independence Day, the new colour scheme will be available across variants in made-to-order basis.

If you remember, when Mahindra launched the sub-4 metre SUV last year in September, the carmaker largely emphasised on the TUV300's battle tank inspired design concept. It was a key selling point for Mahindra and this new colour option goes really well with that theme. In fact, the new Bronze Green colour scheme to an extent even matches the military green colour used by the Indian Army.

During the time of its launch, Mahindra TV300 was available in a similar green colour option, christened Combat Green, which was also available on the made-to-order basis. These special colours are available as an optional extra from Mahindra's in-house customisation division. Now the carmaker hasn't mentioned anything about the additional premium this special colour option will command but it might vary depending on the dealerships.

Mahindra TUV300 - Verve Blue

Apart from this new special colour, the Mahindra TUV300 continues to come in the standard colour scheme as well, which includes - Dynamo Red, Bold Black, Molten Orange, Majestic Silver, Verve Blue, and Glacier White. In terms of features, nothing has changed as the car continues to come with offerings like - driver infotainment system, piano black console, volume and telephony controls on the steering wheel and more. The cabin also remains unchanged and gets the same standard Beige-Brown dual tone colour scheme.

Under the hood, Mahindra offers the TUV300 with two engine option - mHawk80 and mHawk100. Both the versions use the same 1.5-litre motor but in different states of tune. The mHawk80 churns out 84bhp in the manual variants and 81bhp in the AMT variant with the peak torque remaining the same at 230Nm. As for the more powerful mHawk100, it churns out a satisfying 100bhp and develops a peak torque of 240Nm, while mated to either a 5-speed manual or a 5-speed AMT gearbox.

DELHI: Home to half of the  world's 20 most polluted cities India is working to introduce real driving emission (RDE) tests for a more accurate emission profile of new vehicles under on-road conditions. New models of vehicles currently go through mandatory laboratory tests, but global analysis has shown that vehicles produced inline with existing standards generate substantially higher emissions on-road than in laboratory conditions, particularly in case of emissions of diesel vehicles.  Real driving emission tests, which will make Indian emission inspection standards among the most stringent in the world, are intended to keep in check vehicular  pollution levels and plug gaps to prevent defaults as seen in the diesel gate scandal involving German automajor Volkswagen.  "In  Europe, real driving tests are being brought in to evaluate NOX emissions. In India, particulate matter emissions are more of a concern. While details are being worked out regarding parameters of these inspections, RDE will come into force from 2020 for purposes of data collection, and permissible limits to determine emission performance of vehicles will become applicable 2024 onwards."  Procedure for off-cycle emissions are being worked out by the ministry of road transport; highways (MoRTH) and the ministry of heavy industries. A senior executive from a leading Japanese auto maker confirmed the development.  To prevent manipulations, while a vehicle is being driven on-road, new rules will specify in measurable parameters the characteristics of the test trips which would include  speed range, elevation gain among other factors. Guidelines will also be laid down to improve supervision of emission control strategy of vehicles to prevent use of defeat devices as seen in case of the diesel-gate scandal involving Volkswagen. The car maker last year admitted to the fitment of 11 million diesel engines worldwide with software which helped in manipulating emission tests.  The roads ministry is also framing norms for in-compliance tests for in-use vehicles of all makes and engine types to further check vulnerability of the country to Volkswagen-like frauds. Currently, India defines regulatory standards (Bharat Stage emission rules) for new vehicles and not in-use ones.  We recommend this video by Venturist VENTURIST MEDIA INC. In-service compliance tests will be conducted randomly on vehicles on the roads to see if they are conforming to Bharat Stage emission standards 2020 onwards.  "Variations are expected in emission levels of vehicles tested from factory floor and those tested onroad. There are no clear norms defining permissible on-road emission levels, which would allow us to know if these variations are nominal or of alarming proportions.  We are working on refining this architecture," said a senior government official.  There can be penalties involved if significant variations are found after factoringin at what stage of its lifecycle the vehicle is and to what extent it has been maintained.  Volkswagen had initiated a recall of 3.23 lakh vehicles in India in December last year after a government-ordered probe showed 5-6 times more emissions from some of the group's diesel-run vehicles, compared with what the company had reported based on trials carried out in laboratory conditions. The company had, however, at the time said its vehicles conformed to BS standards.  Real driving emission tests will become applicable to new models in Europe from September 2017, and for new vehicles from September 2019. Conformity factor of up to 2.1 will be allowed for exceeding NOx emissions limit in the continent.

IWATA: Japanese two wheeler manufacturer Yamaha Motor has launched the new Janus 125cc scooter in Vietnam, and it will be available for sales from mid-August 2016. Aimed at female riders, the Janus is the third model for the Vietnamese market to feature the "BLUE CORE"engine, following on from the Nozza Grande in 2014, and the ACRUZO in 2015.

The Janus is a volume-price segment scooter developed for female riders in their twenties. Main features include - Front/Rear 14-inch wheels, the "BLUE CORE" engine, a 97kg chassis weight, and a 14L storage space underneath the seat with capacity enough for two half helmets and rain wear.

In addition to the standard version Janus, the Janus Deluxe and Janus Premium models all feature the fuel-saving Stop & Start System that automatically stops the engine when the bike is stationary at traffic lights etc. Furthermore, the Janus Premium features the Smart Key system as standard equipment.

The Vietnamese motorcycle market recorded a total demand of approximately 2.85 million units in 2015 (Yamaha Motor survey), of which scooters comprised approximately 40 percent. The Janus is Yamaha Motor's first model to be launched in the volume-priced category following the premium-priced Nozza Grande, and the medium-priced ACRUZO.

Yamaha Motor aims to expand its sales in the Vietnamese market by providing a line-up covering all categories including the high, medium, and volume price ranges. Manufacturing will be carried out by Vietnamese Group company, Yamaha Motor Vietnam.

Source : Yamaha Motor launches Janus scooter in Vietnam