Generally, we have stayed away from news stories about premium and luxury vehicles in India.  The logic always was that very people would be able to afford them in any case and if they did, they would hardly make up their minds by reading articles on the Internet.  However, recently we have come to realize that there is a large audience out there that wants to read about these cars irrespective of whether they can afford them or not. Here is a look and the approaching launch of the Volkswagen Touareg in India, quite possibly in December 2009.

We know we are a quite late with a test drive of the Fiat Linea.  Test drives of new cars are not what we have specialized in so far, but all that is going to change in the next few months as we go after driving impressions, road tests and comparisons with a vengeance. What is the point of having a road test months after the launch of  a car? Well, better late than never. Plus, tomorrow, we do not want an avid reader to ask us why a certain road test is missing from our archives. So here we go, on our first ever car road test.

Here is a bit of information that we missed from last month.  Bajaj Auto has entered into a joint venture with MotoCzysz LLC of United States to explore the possibilities for the next generation vehicle.  That is what the official press release says.  It has got something to do with green technology, electric power plants and all that.  And for some reason, they are calling it the "Dream."

Looks like the launch season is not going to end anytime soon.  The latest that we hear is that the much anticipated Volkswagen Beetle will be coming to India by December 2009.  More car and motorcycle launches will of course happen during the upcoming 2010 Auto Expo.

Bullet Classic 500 EFI and Classic 350 have been launched by royal Enfield in India.  We had talked about this motorcycle quite a few months back, but missed out on it when the story broke.

Honda launched third generation CR-V in India yesterday.  Mostly, we believe that the new CR-V is an exercise in aesthetics.  The exterior of the car has been revised: we now have a different grille, a different hood, and new foglamps.  The front and rear bumpers have been revised too.

The Economic Times today reported that the Tata Xover will be displayed at the upcoming 2010 Auto Expo in New Delhi.

We recently reported that the Suzuki SX4 is being prepped with a new enigne that would meet BS IV emission norms. Well, it is here now. And what Maruti has on offer for Indians is a much better car that can take the battle closer to the segment leader Honda City. And there is an automatic SX4 to boot.

Now this is interesting. Cars from Premier Auto Ltd. were some of the first we ever rode in. Premier Padmini, alongwith Ambassadors and Mahindras formed our automobile trinity for a long time indeeded, till the soap-dish sized Maruti 800 came into overthrow all of them. Update: Premier Rio launched - click here!

After all the leaked photographs and specifications, and much speculation, the Tata Manza has finally been launched. As expected, there is a petrol as well as three diesel variants of the Manza on offer.

Chevrolet has managed to surprise everyone by the pricing of their new car the Chevrolet Cruze.

The Kawasaki Ninja 250R is launched in India courtesy Bajaj Auto - but price is Rs 3 lakh on-road!

Road rage is obviously one of the defining characteristics of our nation, but the tendency to grab someone's throat for not moving out of the way of your car varies a lot. Frankly, I have seen the least number of such instances in the state of Kerala, my home state.

The 4-door supercar from Porsche, the Porsche Panamera was launched in India today in Mumbai.

Ford has unveiled its much anticipated small car for India, the Ford Figo in New Delhi.

We came across this interesting news item in the Economic Times today. One of the world's fastest cars, the SSC Ultimate Aero, is planned for an India launch.

Yamaha has launched its muscle bike, the Yamaha V-Max in India. At this point, this is the most powerful motorcycle ever launched in India, I think.

We had been hearing for a while that Honda SIEL Cars India was going to launch a new version of the popular upper C-segment sedan Honda City. And it has happened today. Let's take a look at what Honda has on offer now.

UPDATE: Ford India has launched its new Ford Endeavour Automatic SUV with 5-speed automatic transmission, on September 9, 2009, that takes the Toyota Fortuner head-on, with its aggressive pricing.

Fisichella takes pole position at Spa Francorchamps