Ravishing Cars |

Volkswagen has developed a car that can park itself even when the driver is not on board. Park Vision assist neatly reverses the car into the kind of space found in a typical supermarket or underground car park. It is seen as the ideal answer to the problems people face when getting ever wider cars in and out of narrow parking bays. All the driver has to do to initiate the system is choose an available space on the sat-nav monitor, put the gearlever into the ‘P’ position, then get out.The car then parks itself using cameras in the door mirrors, which send video signals to the steering and drive systems. Once parked, the engine automatically switches off the car locks itself. The driver can interrupt the process at any time. The system was tested in public on a Passat estate at the recent Hanover Fair. Further trails with the system are in progress, but VW hopes to put it into production.

The next generation Optra is slated to roll out by next year. This is all new saloon from Chevrolet will be called the Cruze and will sell alongside the current Optra. The Cruze will be positioned in a segment above the Optra in the Rs 12-13 lakh bracket which pits it against the Honda Civic. The Cruze will be significantly larger than both the Optra and the Civic and its proportions are more in line with the Sonata. The Cruze is sharply styled and looks distinctly European. The insides too are expected to set new standards with loads of equipment, quality materials and lots of space. The Cruze’s ride and handling to give it the dynamic ability of its European rivals like the Volkswagen Jetta. The underpinnings on the car are all bew and so are the powertrains. The Cruze will come with a choice of two engines the 1.8 litre petrol motor is brand new and the diesel motor is the same 2 litre 150bhp unit that powers the Captiva and again is pretty refined and very punchy.

The gearbox is light, the throw accurate and the clutch light, all this makes the i10 an ideal city companion. The additional power is a boon on highways, all you need is to shove the car into a lower gear and floor the accelerator to get an instant burst of power to help you move ahead of the slow moving truck up front. But the difference between the 1.2 and the 1.1 engines is less visible in the city. That’s because the smaller 1.1 litre unit offers good response from low speeds. Overall, the Kappa engine feels a step ahead and more refined than the 1.1 litre engine. And the Kappa’s trump card is expected to be fuel efficiency that could be the best in its class. Hyundai has also decided to offer an automatic gearbox on the car now. It’s not a new one and is carried over from the Santro. The Santro does come with an automatic gearbox, but it is available only on special order.
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