OnCars India Buzz: 04 July 2012

- Porn Queen Jenna Jameson has been sued by Maserati as the adult-film actress failed to pay the bills for the Maserati Quattroporte S, that was leased by her since 2010 for 2,999 dollars a month. But probably, due to economic global crisis, the bombshell stopped dropping monthly cheques to Maserati, since January 2012, and hence the law suit.

- The big news of the day comes from the French automaker, Renault who have launched the much-awaited Duster SUV in the Indian market at a highly competitive starting price of Rs 7.19 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi.)

- Nissan Motor, which operates through a wholly-owned local subsidiary, Nissan Motor India is looking at revamping its car distribution network in the country. And to achiever this, Nissan Motor is in talk with its Indian distribution partner, Hover Automotive, which manages its entire marketing, sales and dealer development to buy a significant minority stake for an undisclosed sum. Once the investment comes through, Hover will become a national sales company for Nissan Motor India. 

- Skoda Auto India is offering a discount of Rs 2.2 lakh on its top end Elegance variant of the Skoda Yeti 4X4 crossover. Taking into account the heavy discount, the Skoda Yeti 4X4 Elegance will set you back by Rs 17 lakh (on-road price, New Delhi.)

- Rumor mill is spinning that Hyundai is planning a new B-Segment hatchback called i15, which will be positioned between the i10 and the i20. Furthermore, there are also some reports suggesting development of a new compact crossover based on the same i15 platform. If the rumors turn out to be true and such a project does take form, we expect both the hatch and the crossover based on the i15 platform to make its way into the Indian market. 

- Hyundai Motor India Ltd has launched a new Online Service website in an attempt to enhance its customer relationship. The micro site went live today and can be accessed via Hyundai's corporate website. The site will offer Hyundai customers services like scheduler-reminder, on-line service booking, history-periodic service details and other information. 

- To celebrate its over 1 million fan base on Facebook, Tata Motors had launched India's first-ever Social Road Trip, Nano Drive with MTV two months back, wherein 16 travel enthusiasts won the opportunity to travel to one of the four zones in India. The Tata Nano Drive, which was flagged off on 28 May 2012 saw the 4 teams driving through four different routes though 20 days to conclude the expedition on 17 June 2012, where the Team North were declared winners. The grand finale episode of the Tata Nano Drive will be aired on MTV on the 5th and 12th of July 2012 at 8PM. 

- Volvo Car Group, owned by Geely Holding Group has been fined 1.5 million dollars in the United States for failing to report safety defects. The Swedish company, previously owned by Ford Motors, chose not to reveal six defects that ended in recalls in 2010 and one in this year in 5 business days, since the safety flaw was determined.

- Aston Martin has pulled the wraps off its latest creation, the V12 Vantage Roadster ahead of the model's official debut that is slated for later this week. The new V12 Vantage Roadster has a limited production of 101 units, which will go on sale later this year.

- Audi has issued a recall for a certain 2012 Audi Q5 crossovers because of a problem detected with the vehicle's sunroof. A total of 13,172 units of the 2012 Audi Q5 have been affected by the said recall in the United States. 

- Nissan had announced last week that its Nissan Leaf will attempt to break and set a new record of being the fastest vehicle traveling in reverse at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. And the Nissan Leaf has indeed, managed to set a new record with its all-electric vehicle that was driven by a professional stunt driver, Terry Grant who drove the EV in reverse at the famous Goodwood hill-climb track. 

- Sergio Pininfarina, the symbol of 'Made in Italy,' and one of the greatest creator of Italian coach-builders of the 50s, 60s and 70s has passed away at 85 after a prolonged illness. Sergio Pininfarina was also head of Italy’s powerful industrial employers’ confederation Confindustria from 1988 to 1992 and was made a Life Senator in 2005.

- PSA Peugeot Citroen has suffered a 10 per cent decline in sales in the month of June 2012. And to cut losses, the French carmaker is planning to cut 8,000 to 10,000 jobs in the coming months. The move could result in up to 10 per cent of Peugeot workers in France losing their jobs.