US giant Indian Motorcycles arrives in India with three new bikes

Just the way the Native Indians reflect and represent the original precolonisation history and heritage of America Indian Motorcycles named after the natives is the most primal piece of Americarsquos motorcycling heritageThe largest motorcycle maker in the world at the very beginning of the 20th century Indian Motorcycles went on to create a great legacy for itself by winning some really tough motorcycle racing championships including the 2011 Isle of Man TTThe two World Wars however took a toll on Indian Motorcyclesrsquo business forcing it to stop production in 1953 The company changed hands thereafter with the brand fighting a long battle of survival before Polaris Industries a global leader in offroad vehicles acquired it in 2011 Polaris developed the Thunder Stroke 111 engine to power the Indian Motorcycles into a new era The 1811cc Vtwin engine boasts peak torque rated at 139 Nm and is mated to a six speed constant mesh helical gearboxThe Indian Motorcycles range today comprises of three models ndash Indian Chief Classic Indian Chief Vintage and Indian Chieftain All three models come equipped with modern technology driven features such as ABS Cruise Control and ride on an advanced cast aluminium frame Letrsquos take a quick look at the three models on offer and their respectiveindividualitiesIndian Chief ClassicPrice Rs 265 lakh exDelhiThe entrylevel model in the Indian Motorcycles range the Indian Chief Classic carries forward the legendary styling cues from its forebears in the most authentic fashion possible The iconic War bonnet bearing the lsquoIndian facersquo Valenced flowy fenders mdash another signature Indian detail and loads and loads of chrome mdash the essence of the 1940s vintage has not been allowed to dissolve on this modern iteration The tankmounted instrument console has a large analog speedometer complemented by a digital display delivering a lot of useful data The Indian Chief Classic doesnrsquot feature a wind deflector like the other two models in the lineup Keyless go and other modern tech is very much there though In true traditional style the Indian Chief Classic rides on spoke wheels with 40 highquality spokes shouldering its weight on each rimIndian Chief VintagePrice Rs 295 lakh exDelhiThe Indian Chief Vintage is essentially an Indian Chief Classic with some functional and cosmetic enhancements The Indian Chief Vintage is distinguished primarily by its big windscreen and the massive leather saddlebags Those leather bags just like the leather seat are still hand stitched by the original suppliers for Indian Motorcycles from the 1930s The high quality tan leather is claimed to get even better as it ages and is meant to last a lifetimeThe protective windshield on the Vintage model features whatrsquos termed as lsquoQuick Release Technologyrsquo so the screen could be installed or removed with minimum effort and quicklyIndian ChieftainPrice Rs 33 lakh exDelhiThe Indian Chieftain sits at the very top of the Indian Motorcycles model hierarchy Itrsquos whatrsquos termed as hardbagger or a motorcycle which features hard bags unlike the soft saddles on the Vintage The motorcycle has a twin pod instrument console which is different from the ones on the other two models The headlight is flanked by two driving lights and is integrated into the huge fairing The windshield on the Chieftain is electricpowered and controlled by a button You can raise or drop the height of the windshield by as much as four inches In addition the Chieftain also features a high output stereo entertainment system with support for Bluetooth You also have dedicated buttons on the handlebars for sendingreceiving calls controlling volume etc Now thatrsquos quite some gear for a motorcycle mdash isnrsquot itFresh new metalMaruti Suzuki CelerioMaruti Suzuki is gearing up to field yet another gladiator in the gory small car arena Based on the Suzuki A Wind concept in picture the Celerio small car will make its public debut at the 2014 Auto Expo We have seen the production version of the Celerio in some spy pictures and we can vouch for its good looks at least for the segment But good looks are not all this small car is going to boast of mdash the Celerio will also feature a oneofitskind automated manual transmission The transmission touted EZDrive is different from a fully automatic transmission or a CVT In essence itrsquos a manual transmission with a proper clutch which gets actuated with the help of electronics and of course some help from the hardware The cost for this type of transmission is incredibly low bringing the convenience of an auto transmission within the reach of the priceconscious buyer The fuel efficiency is expected to be as good as manual too Seems like Maruti has another winner at handSkoda Superb FaceliftThe supreme ruler of the D segment has been given a facelift by Skoda The utterly spacious comfortable and feature packed car in its new version gets updated with cosmetic changes and some feature additions too The car has got a sharper front fascia and much of it can be attributed to the new headlamps and the new butterflyshaped radiator grill The headlamps also get updated with bixenon lamps with washers and daytime running lights in the topspec Elegance variant This version also boasts new design alloy wheels On the inside the biggest visible difference is the new steering wheel and the inclusion of paddle shifters The petrol engine will be offered with two transmission options mdash a 6speed manual or a 7speed DSG Auto while the 20 TDI diesel is available only with the 6speed DSG Auto The new Superb will most likely be launched at the 2014 Auto Expo in February