The VN Channel

The auto market in India is definitely going to start the new year with a bang, thanks to the veritable wealth of concepts due to be unveiled at the Auto Expo 2010 that will take place in New Delhi.

One of the concepts slated for show is the Maruti Suzuki Concept R3, courtesy of Maruti Suzuki India Unlimited, which is said to be the leading company in car manufacturing in India.

In fact, the company will be revealing a number of different concepts at the expo. The R3 concept is special because it was created in house. Its theme — togetherness — also makes it special.

Succinctly, the vehicle is designed to be a neater, more compact kind of MPV. It is made to serve the family, to provide transportation that is not as bulky as many SUVs.

For those of you who are thinking right now that you are looking at a toy car … sorry, no, that is just not the case. I kind of wish it was, it would make more sense.

This is actually the Renault Twizy Z.E. concept. Unveiled recently at the motor show in Frankfurt, it is touted as an innovative answer to the problem of urban mobility.

Manufacturers use words like “nimble” and “compact” — which, okay, they apply. But they also call the vehicle “practical,” and uh. Sorry, no. Maybe the driveability is practical, but the design makes it a bit of a joke, if you ask me.

I can’t even say much more about this vehicle, I simply can’t wrap my head around it.

Yeah, I said it. The concept for the Aston Martin Cygnet, first glimpsed early in the summer, it looks … it looks kind of weird.

I typically love Aston Martin vehicles; it is probably unhealthy. This, one, though … I don’t know.

It is loosely classified as an “innovative commuter concept.” As has been pointed out before, it sort of looks like a smaller version of the signature Aston Martin grille got slapped onto the front of a Toyota iQ. That is sort of the truth.

It is expected to be around sometime in the future, at least according to Dr. Ulrich Bez, the Chief Executive of the manufacturer.

I don’t know, maybe they’re trying to be edgy or something, and they think this is the way to go.

I … do not.

BMW is a brand that whenever I think about it for too long, I really think that it is definitely one of the best looking brands of cars and the cars themselves are very, very well-made.

German-made cars I think are by far some of the best cars on the market; however, BMW is the best.  There is some news in the BMW world though; the BMW “Y” is actually a new range of cars which will include all sorts of different models of Z2 all the way to 1-series and finally a completely and totally new and fresh compact premium line of Y.

BMW is going to divide these brand new lines into three different groups of cars.  The Traditional, Sporting and finally Lifestyle and all of these cars are going to be built with one universal platform, which of course will be the basis for the MINI by BMW.

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Another outlandish, yet intelligent, concept car makes its way at the Geneva Motor Show—the Nissan Qazana. Atsushi Maeda, Nissan Design (Europe) studio chief, said that the Qazana concept car is an “intelligent, all-wheel-drive crossover which is masculine, agile, lean, and designed for the tough city streets.” He also added that his design team patterned the concept car after the “modern-day buggy and four-seat motorbike.”

The Nissan Qazana concept car lacks exterior door handles, thus it is often mistaken for a two-door car. It is a four-door car with rear-hinged back doors, which become accessible once the front doors are opened. This door system eradicates the “B-pillar”, making it so much easier to get to the back seats.

Slightly larger than the Nissan Cube, the Qazana is only 159.8 inches long. The most striking exterior features are the two large headlights. Small headlights for daytime use are also attached at the top of the fenders. The interior is composed mainly of exposed plastic and fabric. Nissan said that the contour of the center console comes from the design of motorbike’s fuel tanks.

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