All cars and utility vehicles to have a compulsary reversing camera in U.S.

All cars and utility vehicles under 4500kg will have to be fitted with a reversing camera by 1st May 2018
The United States government has ruled to make rear view/reversing cameras as a compulsory fitment for all cars and utility vehicles weighing under 4500kgs. The decisions follows an uproar by security and safety organisations putting pressure on the government for a suitable action that could prevent senseless accidents that occur every year in the United States by drivers reversing out of their driveways.
On average, there are over 200 fatalities and about 1,50,000 injuries per year caused by reversing incidents. More than 50 per cent of the fatalities involve children under the age of five and senior citizens above the age of 70 who are usually slow to react to a car reversing.
According to the ruling, the camera must be able to give every driver a 10-foot by 20-foot or 3-metre by 6-metre field of view directly behind the vehicle. The system will also adhere to a minimum image size, which the United States Transport Department will specify subsequently.



Many United States manufacturers have already started acting on the directive and have started installing add-on reversing cameras as an optional extra on a dealer level. The move to install the cameras is estimated to add about $130-$150 to the price of cars that do not have screens as standard and as little as $25-$40 to cars that already have useable screens. This move might also usher in a revolution in add-on infotainment systems, something similar to CarPlay from Apple, which is expected to be in the market by the end of the year.
The cheapest car in India to get a reversing camera is the new Hyundai Xcent. A luxury first offered in cars only over 50-lakh, the reversing camera and many other similar gizmos have slowly but surely made their way into the lower segments to give added value to a buyer. We expect this decision by the U.S. Government to influence other governments worldwide to introduce a similar directive, which in turn will move towards making roads safer, especially in a country like India.

Source: http://www.zigwheels.com

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Hyundai Genesis for India

Hyundai is considering its Genesis for Indian market.
The car, if  launched , is going to be a CBU being imported and would thus bear a higher price tag. The car is expected to bear a price tag somewhere near INR 45 lakhs. All we can say is that it will be a good competition to the German cars of the dame segment.

Maruti Suzuki RITZ - A Breif Review

Its been around half a decade since Maruti Suzuki RITZ was first seen on the Indian roads. It is a 5 door hatchback which was originally introduced in 2007 at the Frankfurt auto show with a name of SPLASH. Still it is being sold in various countries with a name tag of SPLASH but in India this name was registered with ford, so the company has to change the name.
Sales indicate that there are about 200000 of these cars on Indian roads which is a huge success for the manufacturers but initially it didn't see such a great response. It had probably been because of the exterior design of the car, especially the rear side. Though it is a good design and was later appreciated by many but it was something new that had hit the market and people didn't feel like spending money on it. But eventually the sales of the product rose because of the performance it offered, which mostly spread through word of mouth, and the trust people had in Maruti.
With the 3 limited editions of the vehicle,namely genus, dazzle and @buzz , it is amongst the highest selling hatchbacks of India.

Talking about specification , the car is currently available in 2 engine options :

1. 1.3L DDiS 4 cylinder diesel engine
2. 1.2 L k-series 4 cylinder engine

The petrol engine is available with a manual as well as automatic transmission options and suzuki claims it to give a mileage of 18.5 kmpl and 17.6 kmpl in manual and automatic transmission  respectively while the diesel engine comes only with a manual transmission which offers a mileage of 23.2 kmpl. Along with a good mileage , the company offers a good ground clearance of 170mm which is more than all the cars of the same segment and is a much needed attribute of the car on Indian roads. the car offers a really smooth suspension which prevents you from jumping off the seat each time you hit a bump.
If we go inside the car, we find seats which are quite comfortable. The seats provide a better sitting posture which resembles a sitting posture of a chair rather than that of a couch which is found in most of the hatchbacks and really gives a problem while driving for a longer time for example driving in a traffic. The car has an elegant dash which looks quite good with the 2 din music system integrated by the company. The gearbox of the car is slightly elevated which adds to the beauty of the car but people are not generally comfortable with it. Though there is a ample leg room in the front as well as the rear seats, what one might find inappropriate is the distance between the front driver and passenger seat. they are a bit too close and might pose problem to some people , especially the fat ones. If we talk about the visibility of road, the front pillars sometimes seem inappropriately wide, especially at the turns. the separate little rpm meter on the dash adds to the beauty of the car.

A good performance, low maintenance cost and a trust buyers have in maruti are the reasons for the success of the car in Indian market. Also buyers turn to this car because they get a good resale value after their usage. Thus the car has the value for money factor as well.

Post your suggestions as comments.