It seems that the stage is all set for the cheap cars in India. After Nano, Volkswagen group company Skoda is lining up a cheap car aimed at the masses in the country.

The Czech carmaker is planning to expand its product portfolio and will introduce its small car by the year 2011.

The car is believed to carry the price-tagged around Rs. 3 lakh. The small car from Skoda will be available in both petrol and diesel variants.
According to the company sources, the Czech carmaker would prefer to manufacture the car at its existing Aurangabad unit.

Mr. RC Bhargava, Maruti Suzuki chairman, on Thursday, said that Tata Motors newly announced mini car ‘Nano’ will have a marginal impact on Maruti-800 sales.

However, Mr. Bhargava said that Maruti would not slash prices to go up against the latest offering from the Tata stable.

Two-wheeler manufacturers including Hero Honda, Bajaj Auto and TVS Motors, too, understated the expected impact of Nano, and said that the two-wheeler market would remain untouched by the Nano attack.

London, March 28 : Richard Jenkins, a British engineer, has smashed the world land speed record for wind powered vehicles, by clocking 126.1 mph (miles per hour) in the Ecotricity Greenbird.

According to a report in the Telegraph, Jenkins beat the previous American-held record of 116mph, which was set by Bob Schumacher in the Iron Duck almost 10 years ago to the day at the same location.

Washington - With a Tuesday deadline looming for its survival plan, General Motors appeared to be seeking a delay as it juggles demands by bondholders and unions, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The country's largest car maker, which received a government loan lifeline of more than 13 billion dollars last year, was to have taken certain steps in its viability plan by Tuesday.

But GM could bump up against the deadline and receive an extension of 30 days, several people briefed on the matter told the Journal.

New Delhi, Mar 27 : Dispelling apprehensions over the future of the two-wheeler segment with the launch of Nano, Pawan Munjal, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Hero Honda Motors, said that it will have no bearing in the two-wheeler market.

"I am not saying there will be no impact at all. Some two-wheeler aspirants definitely move to a car. But there will be no major impact. There is not change in the market," Pawan said this on the sidelines of a meeting hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here on Thursday.

Melbourne  - BMW-Sauber Thursday filed a protest against rival teams Brawn GP, Williams and Toyota over their cars three days ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.

BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen said the team was protesting over the use of the three teams' diffusers.

Protests from Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull were expected to follow.

The dispute centres around the rear diffusers, a part of the bodywork between the rear wheels and under the rear wing which disperse air from under the car.