ARE WE SEEING THE MARUTI RIII SEVEN SEATER MPV?

A Team-Bhpian has managed to scoop images of a seven seater MPV from Maruti Suzuki which could be the upcoming RIII MPV, that was first showcased at the 2010 Indian Auto Expo, where Maruti confirmed plans of the MPV Concept being produced at a later date. From the spy shots, we can’t make out much about the full shape of the car as the shots have managed to capture the interiors and the rear of the MPV. But then again, a couple of crucial details can be seen from the spy shots. 

First of all, the Maruti Suzuki logo emblazoned on the hatch door prominently means only one thing. That, this baby is sue for production very soon. Secondly, the ZDI badging seems to indicate a diesel heart for the 7 seater MPV, which in all probability would be a variant of the fiat Multijet 1.3 Liter Diesel Engine, that Maruti builds and sells in many of it’s cars with tremendous success. With Maruti entering the MPV space, with a diesel engined car, expect this 7 Seater MPV to be a super hot seller right from the moment it gets launched.

Maruti Suzuki RIII MPV Spy Shot

Also, the ZDI badging indicates a top end model that could come with both airbags as well as ABS, possibly making this seven seater MPV a hot favorite amongst family MPV buyers as the cabbie crowd usually doesn’t prefer these safety options in favor of lower priced variants. From the interiors, it looks like the seven seater MPV has nice looking interiors heavily inspired from the Maruti Swift.A deeply recessed dashboard is follows the dashboard design of the newer Marutis in town.

While no other details have been forthcoming about this 7 seater MPV, there’s a fat chance that what we’re seeing here could be the production version of RIII Concept. If it indeed is, then the likes of the Toyota Innova and the Mahindra Xylo will have something to worry about. Expect this MPV to see a launch in the upcoming 2012 Indian Auto Expo although Maruti could spring a surprise as the spy shots indicate a production ready version ready to hit showroom shelves.-indiancarsbikes.in

Maruti Suzuki RIII MPV Concept

First production Fisker Karma driven at Monaco Grand Prix

The first European production version of the Fisker Karma made its premiere driving debut before official race qualifying began for the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday. Prince Albert II of Monaco was joined by Founder Henrik Fisker to pilot the vehicle around the circuit. This event marked the first dynamic public showing of the Karma in Europe. The first non-dynamic showing was at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. 

Production of the Fisker has fallen behind schedule but it still hopes to achieve full production by the second half of 2011 with deliveries to all current deposit holders before 2012. -dupontregistry.com

EVO 2 gaming console to bring Android games to TV

Google's Android mobile OS is certainly an open and free system attractive to many producers, even those whose products are not portable at all. One of the newest and quirkiest inventions of this kind is a recently announced gaming console called EVO 2 by Envizions. It's actually the company's second attempt to conquer the gaming console market, though many readers probably haven't heard of Linux-based EVO 2's predecessor.

EVO Smart Console was released in late 2008 and was a bold attempt to take the fight against players like Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo. It was packed with Fedora operating system, ATI and AMD hardware and just two games. The console's website disappeared and it's hard to find developers who did write games for the platform. Will the EVO 2 be more successful?

Envisions is undoubtedly trying its best to attract developers who would want to write and port games for EVO 2. At the moment, the product is only available for gaming programmers who get their units free of charge, though they must pay US$149 annually as a "software support fee". End-users can reserve their consoles paying $15 (the initial retail price is $249).

What's inside the newest Android-based gaming console? It will have an unspecified Samsung 1.2 GHz CPU (single-core is my guess), along with Nvidia graphics (Tegra 2?) and 512 MHz of DDR 2 RAM. This hardware is comparable to a high-end smartphone like LG Optimus 2X, which actually has a dual-core 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 CPU and Nvidia Tegra 2 chipset. Taking this into account, the price of $249 seems to be quite fair. EVO 2 will run on a modified version of Android 2.2 OS. We can also expect HDMI and WiFi connectivity, five USB ports, a remote and a game controller. What's more, "motion 3D sensor capabilities" are to be added to the system towards the end of Q4, 2011.

There are certainly some quite cool aspects of EVO 2 that could help it towards success. For example, easy synchronization with tablet or smartphone means you will be able to view the gadget's contents on the big screen without worrying for the cables. There's also cloud gaming via OnLive app and the console will have its own online applications store (the success of which depends on third-party developers enthusiasm) along with some promising media streaming capabilities.-gizmag.com

Tesla To Unveil New Model X By End Of 2011

Tesla might have started out by producing an electric version of the Lotus Elise, but that’s merely the start of their ambitious program to launch a full range of electric cars.

They already have the Model S sedan, which is set to go on sale in 2012, but now they are also working on a crossover vehicle, which is referred to as the Model X.

Tesla is hoping to debut this new model by the end of 2011 (perhaps at the next L.A. Auto Show), is offering a secondary stock offering of 5.3-million shares in order to raise funds for the project.

The Model X will utilize the same technology as the upcoming Model S, but offer it in a more practical platform. If all goes according to plan, this model will hit showrooms in 2014. Plans for the car were revealed in filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Tesla Roadster will end its production run by December of this year.-autoguide.com

Asus Padfone - 4.3-inch smartphone docks inside 10.1-inch tablet

Asus always opens its home computer show Computex with a bang and this year it was the Padfone - a 4.3-inch smartphone that docks inside a 10.1-inch tablet dock with dynamic display switching, two batteries, a shared SIM card, a single hard drive, Qualcomm processor, Android's next generation operating system (Ice Cream Sandwich) and a Q4, 2011 launch date with a price in the US$800-1,000 area.

While specifics are thin on the ground at the moment, the ASUS smartphone will run on the latest version of Android available at launch and have all the functionality we've come to expect from such a device - browsing the internet, checking emails, watching online videos and playing addictive games like Angry Birds. If you find yourself wanting to watch movies or enjoy games on a bigger screen, the smartphone can be docked within the body of the tablet. There's no need to switch off one to use the other, whatever you were up to at docking time will be continued on the bigger screen and if you receive a call while using the tablet, you could either whip out the phone or connect using a Bluetooth headset.

ASUS says that there will be some sort of shared storage pool in the smartphone part of the device so that users won't have to concern themselves with synchronizing data between the two. This also suggests that the smartphone will likely provide the processing for the tablet too. The tablet, though, will not be a mere dumb terminal - it will also provide extra connectivity ports and some juice for the smartphone's battery.

It's another design masterpiece from ASUS, which consistently demonstrates the ability to think outside the square and the Padfone will enable users to switch between pad and phone for a best-fit user experience - too often I find myself using a smartphone and wanting more screen real estate or a tablet but finding it restrictive in the environment - the Padfone will definitely cure that problem.

It will also be interesting to see if this two-in-one approach encourages Android developers not to charge for separate phone/tablet ("HD") versions as is very common (and very annoying) on iOS devices.-gizmag.com