After much anticipation and deliberation, Mahindra & Mahindra have finally closed their deal with Ssangyong for an estimated price of $ 470 million. The announcement came last month when the Korean automaker allotted M&M 70% of its total shareholding. Prior to the announcement, the details of this deal had already been approved by the creditors in January this year confirming that the Indian manufacturer was going to be the selected one for the sale.

According to M&M, the $ 470 million being utilized to buy the shareholding will be divided into debt and equity – 82% ($385 million) will be in the form of equity acquisitions followed by 18% ($85 million) in debts. The debts however will be on a returnable basis to Mahindra, indicating that the entire cost of the deal can be estimated to around $385 million. With the deal in the bag, M&M claims that there will be no significant change in the top management of Ssangyong therefore indicating that both the companies would function independently.

Daimler, the world’s largest manufacturer of medium and heavy-duty trucks above 6 tonnes, had unveiled its exclusive new brand of trucks for the Indian market. The brand, BharatBenz, will offer Indian customers an entire range of trucks from 6 to 49 tonnes across various applications.

The choice of the “Bharat” part of the name reinforces Daimler Trucks’ commitment to serving the local market. The company will roll out trucks in 2012 from its manufacturing facility at Oragadam, near Chennai.

The product range in the light-duty segment is based on the Fuso Canter platform, while the heavy-duty range is based on one of the Mercedes-Benz trucks platform. With these platforms the trucks have been ideally tailored to the needs of India’s customers.

Maruti Suzuki has finally launched the diesel variant of its SX-4 sedan. After the success of the Swift and DeZire diesel engines, the company will launch the SX-4 with the same DDiS engine with a capacity of 1.3 litres and a power output of 90bhp. However, the diesel unit in the SX-4 will feature a variable geometry turbocharger, which produces 200Nm of torque. The expected mileage of the diesel unit according to Maruti will be around 20kmpl.

There is no change whatsoever in the design of the car from its petrol sibling, the only difference is the engine. The diesel costs 7.74 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi) and is already available in showrooms.

"Engineered to exhilarate”, is the tag line for the Honda Civic which is currently on sale in India. The recent introduction of the sunroof to this variant can only point out one thing – that the Civic needs some advancement if not a complete change. Honda’s largest selling model globally, the Civic first entered India in 2006. The USP was its futuristic interior design clubbed with a sharp and stylish exterior. Keeping true to the trend of facelifts auto makers offer in India, the Japanese manufacturer added a new metallic front grille, a redesigned front bumper, headlamps and taillights in 2009 – an effort to make the car look sportier.

Realizing its declining appeal and sales, Honda recently showcased the 2012 Civic at the Detroit Motor show. The manufacturer brought with it concept versions of the sedan and the coupe which made many us take notice and rumors are that the sedan version could be on its way to India, but the time of launch is not known yet. Equipped with the same 1.8-liter i-VTEC 4-cylinder engine which we see on the current generation, the new Civic is said to deliver 140 horses and slightly better fuel economy figures.

One would have expected Honda to go a bit more ballistic with the new design, but unfortunately there is nothing radical about the 2012 model. The low slung design has been done away with, giving the front a subtle look. There are new tail lamps and a smaller boot cover on the outside. The ground clearance, too, has been increased, which from the Indian point is great news as the earlier Civic always faltered on low clearance.

The interiors follow the same layout as Honda obviously don’t want to mess with a good thing. On the whole, the new Civic should be a welcome change but would not have much to offer in relation to a futuristic design. Therefore Honda will have to do something out of the box to actually promote this model given that there are competitors like the Laura, Corolla and Cruze that have a lot to offer.

The Germans call it Geländewagen while the rest of us refer to it as the iconic G-class. Into its 30th year of production, the G Class has enjoyed the image of being a robust off-roader since its inception in 1979. Prior to this, during the late 1970s it was mainly used by the German Army for military purposes due to its light weight, durability and reliability. This was probably the reason why Mercedes in corporation with Australian car manufacturer Steyr-Daimler-Puch introduced a civilian version of the G-Class tagged as the 460 series towards the end of that decade.

Characterized by a boxy design and a body-on-frame construction, the G –Class has to its credit the winner’s trophy at the famous Paris Dakar Rally. Already available in foreign markets, Mercedes have recently launched G 55 AMG in the India. Top of the line, this AMG offers a supercharged 5.5-litre V8-engine capable of producing 507 bhp along with 700 Nm of torque. In relation to performance, the G 55 can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 5.5 second followed by an electronically controlled top speed of 210 km/h. For safety, there is Electronic Stability Program ESP and Hill Start Assist.

Apart from its history and masculine capabilities, the G 55 comes out as massively appealing. The highlight is the front radiator grille that features horizontal louvres painted in the same body colour as the vehicle itself along with chrome inserts. There are 19-inch alloys that features a five-spoke design along with a tyre size of 275/55 R 19. While the interior offers leather as a standard fitment along with silver-coloured design emblems on the front seat backrests. To give it a special look, there is a G 55 logo on the selector lever with the latest-generation COMAND APS Mercedes telematics, a reverse camera & rear seat entertainment being offered as a standard fitment. With so much on offer one can only determine its true value by looking at its price tag, which according to Mercedes would around Rs 1.1 crore. Amazed? Don’t be because it is an icon from the 70’s and we need to respect its heritage. Everything comes at a price you know!