Maruti Launches All New Estilo

It is more than just a model facelift, for Maruti Suzuki has gone all out to make their Estilo more contemporary and substantially increase its appeal to small car buyers.

From the looks of it, the car boasts of an all new front styling, which includes a revised grill, new headlamps and a macho bumper that has sculpted integrated fog lamps. New wheel covers compliment the entire exterior makeover to give this car a style that is in sync with today's market demands. There is no question about it that Maruti Suzuki has taken the pains in making the new Estilo part of the family and in doing so, they have stripped it of its plain-jane looks and have given it a bolder stance.The interiors remain largely the same; however subtle touches in terms of color and the two tone chocolate-beige dash do wonders in livening up the interior. Apart from that, the car also comes with a digital fuel indicator as standard. Other accessories on the car include a rear windshield wiper, keyless entry and the CATS security system. Of course the accessories depend on the variant being bought. Maruti Suzuki is also offering the top end Estilo VXi with ABS and two airbags as an optional fitment.
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New Estilo: Engine Talk
The biggest change however lies under the hood. Maruti Suzuki has done away with the Wagon R engine and given the new Estilo the famous and KB10 series, 998cc, 3 cylinder petrol engine, which incidentally does duty under the A-Star's hood as well. This engine is more powerful and offers a peppier driving experience. Enhancing the driving experience is the revised gearbox. Gone is the notchy vague feel that plagues the Wagon R and Estilo. The new gearbox is a lot more precise and slots into gears without that vague feeling thanks to the rod mechanism being replaced by cables.

Harley Davidson launching in India

Legendary American motorcycle maker Harley Davidson is all ready to setup shop in India coming week

Just a day stands between America's most successful motorcycle-maker from gracing the Indian shores. Yes, we are talking about the iconic and cult brand Harley Davidson, which has enticed and charmed over a million bikers around the world and it continues to do so with the same enthusiasm and energy that it had 108 years back when William S. Harley made his first blueprint drawing of an engine designed to fit into a bicycle.
Harley Davidson has officially announced on its website that the company will make its foray in the fast-emerging and promising Indian market with its range of elite cruiser motorcycles. The model-range and its pricing are still under wraps as the product is yet to be launched. However this is a clear indication of the impact the recent economic showdown has had on the American economy. The US auto giants are now focusing on developing markets such as ours in order to reap the maximum possible benefits they can, to cover up on the lost ground and tap the potential of an emerging economy.
The import route for bikes above 800cc was opened in mid-2007 when the Indian government traded mangoes for Harley Davidson motorcycles. Yes, you read it right. For last 18 years, the Indian mangoes were banned in the US since the American government believed that the Indian farmers were using too many pesticides. In April 2007, the US government lifted the ban on Indian mangoes which meant that the Indian farmers could now be entitled to farm subsidies. In return, the Indian government revised the rule of importing high-capacity powered two-wheelers to India allowing bikes above 800cc to be imported legally in the Indian market.
However, the excise duties charged by the Indian government on 800cc and above capacity imported motorcycles are extremely difficult to overcome in order to gain a manageable profit margin. Hence Harley Davidson, which was the key factor in opening up the import route, held back its foray into India in 2007. The Japanese bike-maker Yamaha was the first one to make use of the import trade policy to launch its flagship model the YZF-R1 and its street-fighter model, the MT-01. Suzuki and Honda have followed suit by bringing in their international flagships to India and now Harley Davidson is all geared up and ready to roll into the country with its extensive range of life-style cruiser motorcycles.

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MISS UNIVERSE 2009 - SWIMSUIT COMPETITON. THE BEST CONTESTANTS

Ferrari 360 Spider

The Ferrari 360 is a mid-engine two-seater sports car produced from late 1999 until 2005. The 360 replaced the Ferrari F355 and was itself replaced by the fairly similar Ferrari F430. For the 360, Ferrari partnered with Alcoa to produce an entirely new all-aluminum space-frame chassis that was 40% stiffer than the 355, yet 28% lighter despite a 10% increase in overall dimensions. Along with the new frame was a new Pininfarina body styling that broke ranks with the last decade’s sharp angles and flip-up headlights, replacing them with a rounded appearance that harkened to the 1960s. The new V8 engine, common to all versions, was only slightly larger and more powerful than the 355’s at 3.6 litres and 300 kW (400 bhp) of power, but the lighter frame and added stiffness improved performance; the 0 to 100 km/h acceleration performance improved from 4.6 to 4.4 seconds, and in the Challenge versions it was as low as 4.0 s. An engine replacement resulted in the current V8 road model, the F430 (internally referred to as the evoluzione or evo) which came out in 2004.

Manufacturer: Ferrari

Parent Company: Fiat Group

Production: 1999 to 2005

Class: Sports car

Predecessor: Ferrari F355

Successor: Ferrari F430

Body style(s): 2-seat Coupe, 2-seat Spider

Layout: Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive

Engine(s): 3.6 L V8

Transmission: 6-speed manual 6-speed 'F1' electrohydraulic shift

Swine flu vaccine should be Avilable by September

The first swine flu vaccines are likely to be licensed for use in the general population in September, the World Health Organization has announced.

Several manufacturers have produced initial batches of a H1N1 vaccine and some clinical trials are already underway.

WHO director of vaccine research Dr Marie-Paule Kieny also sought to calm fears about safety of new vaccines.

She said the vaccines were based on "old and proven technology".

Figures show continuing rises in cases in the southern hemisphere in the past seven days.

Argentina has particularly seen a large increase and deaths now stand at 337.

And there has been a rise in cases of 25% in Australia

Although it has not yet been clarified who would be first in line for a vaccine, it is likely to be those who are most vulnerable, such as pregnant women and young children.

Some experts have raised concerns about the lack of safety data on flu vaccines in these groups.

In particular, a very rare neurological condition called Guillain Barre syndrome affected 500 people during a US vaccine programme against swine flu in 1976.

Dr Kieny said much was known about flu vaccines in these groups from seasonal vaccines given every winter and added that regulatory agencies would be monitoring for any signs of adverse reaction.

"The quality controls on today's vaccine are much better than they were 30 years ago," she added.

Fast track

Regulators in the US and Europe have special plans in place to fast-track swine flu vaccines, some of which are based on conventional seasonal flu vaccines and some which use newer technology.

Clinical trials are already underway in China, Australia, USA, UK, and Germany.

It comes as drug company, Baxter, has announced the production of the first commercial batches of its swine flu vaccine Celvapan.

The quality controls on today's vaccine are much better than they were 30 years ago Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO

The vaccine has been grown using cell culture, a much faster method than the traditional way of growing it in eggs.

Baxter is one of two companies contracted to provide pandemic flu vaccine to the UK, the other being GlaxoSmithKline, and both plan to start clinical trials this month.

One key part of the trials is to work out whether people need one or two doses of the vaccine.

Ministers have repeatedly said they expect to have enough doses for half the UK population by the end of the year.

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Pune-based institute in race to develop vaccine for Swine flu

Pune, Tuesday, August 11, 2009: The "Serum Institute of India (SIIL)" may figure among the first of the global drug companies to develop a vaccine for swine flu. Scientists at the Pune-based company are gearing up for animal trials by next month in order to commercialise the vaccine before the end of next year.

SIIL successfully developed small quantities of the vaccine, required for animal trials, within three weeks of receiving the sample strains from the World Health Organization (WHO). The company is currently developing a seed bank and a standardisation process to proceed to the animal trial stage. If successful, the vaccine-specialised drug maker will invest over Rs 80 crore to set up manufacturing facilities for the vaccine, SIIL Executive Director Dr Suresh Jadhav told Business Standard.

“If the animal trials are successful, we hope the human clinical trial stage can begin by November. Then the vaccine can be given a fast-track status by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to help the country develop and commercialise an India-made vaccine by as early as the end of next year,” he said.

He pointed out that the SIIL vaccine would be at least 100 per cent cheaper than other vaccines developed by multinational companies for the H1N1 influenza virus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) — in association with over 100 companies and research institutions globally — is trying to develop a vaccine for the pandemic flu virus, which has affected over 162,000 people in different parts of the world and is fast spreading in India, too. Multinational companies such as Novartis are working on launching the first vaccine within a few months. In India, biotech companies Panacea Biotech and Bharat Biotech are also trying to develop the vaccine.

Sources said various countries have developed specific regulatory procedures to expedite the approval of pandemic vaccines. In the USA, for example, less data are required when the manufacturer already has a licenced influenza vaccine and intends to use the same manufacturing process for its pandemic vaccine.

In the European Union, the European Medicines Agency uses a rolling review procedure, whereby manufacturers can sendt sets of data for regulatory review as they become available, without having to wait until all data can be put together in a single formal application.

SIIL is already working on developing a vaccine for the H5N1 (bird flu) strain of virus with WHO assistance and has developed a seasonal flu vaccine, which is now in the clinical trial stage.

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