Car body types

Cars have now been identified by their body styles and size. There are different types of body styles available in India like Sedans, SUVs, Coupes, Convertibles, Hatchbacks, Wagons, Multi-utility vehicle or Multi-purpose vehicle.

Hatchback

Hatchbacks are designed with a passenger cabin and an integrated cargo space which can be accessed from behind the vehicle by a single, top-hinged tailgate or large flip-up window. Hatchbacks commonly have two rows of seats and frequently include fold-down rear seats, which enable a substantial portion of the interior space to be used as a cargo area. Usually, the rear seat can be folded completely to expand the cargo space. The typical hatchback roof rakes down steeply behind the C-Pillar, resulting in very little car length behind the rear wheels and thus no room for a side window over the load area. The tailgate is also referred to as the hatch. Hatchbacks are often described as three-door with two entry doors or five-door with four entry doors cars.
Examples: Maruti Swift, Chevrolet Beat, Hyundai i10, Volkswagon Polo, Tata Indica etc.

Sedan / Saloon

Sedan is a passenger car that comprises with two rows of seats and enough space in the rear for adult passengers. The roof structure of a sedan will typically have a fixed “B” pillar on all the sedan models and comes usually with a good trunk space. Some examples for sedans in India are Audi A4, A8, BMW 3 and 5 series, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Accord cars. The sedans are mostly four-door and two-door models.
Examples: Honda City, Hyundai Verna, Tata Indigo, Volkswagon Vento etc.

MUV/MPV

MPV stands for multi-purpose vehicle. MUV (multi-utility Vehicle) is similar in shape to a van that is designed for personal use. So basically they are taller than a sedan, hatchback or a station wagon, designed for maximum interior room in order to fit in more occupants in the car. MUVs are considered the best over other vehicles for long trips with family members and friends.

Example: Maruti Ertiga, Toyota Innova etc.

 

SUV

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUV stands for Sport Utility Vehicle, is a passenger vehicle that perfectly blends towing and hauling capacity of a pick up truck with the passenger carrying space of a  minivan or station wagon with excellent on or off-road capabilities. These are designed with a combined passenger and cargo compartment. Utility vehicles are rapidly capturing the market due to its multifarious use. Most of the SUVs have three rows of seats with a spacious cargo area behind the third or last row of seats. Examples: Tata Safari, Mahindra XUV, Honda CRV etc.

 

Convertibles

 

Convertibles comes with flexible operating roof. If the top is made of strong or rigid material as steel, it is called retractable hardtop. With the press of a button it can be converted into coupe or convertible. The collapsible roof section is usually made from flexible canvas or vinyl or an articulated folding frame. Now most of the modern vehicles come with an electrical retraction mechanism. When the top is erected it is secured to the windshield frame header with automatic or manual latches.

Coupe

The coupes are the cars which are reduced from 4 doors to 2 doors offering either two seats or 4 seating that includes space for two passengers in the front and two in the rear. They are often called as sporty version of sedans.

 

Crossovers

A crossover (or CUV: crossover utility vehicle) is a vehicle built on a car platform and combining, in highly variable degrees, features of a sport utility vehicle (SUV) with features from a passenger vehicle, especially those of a station wagon or hatchback. Using the unibody construction typical of passenger vehicles, the crossover combines SUV design features such as tall interior packaging, high H-point seating, high ground-clearance or all-wheel-drive capability — with design features from an automobile such as a passenger vehicle's platform, independent rear suspension, car-like handling and fuel economy.

 

Classification of Car Segments

As per SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers)

The classification of segments are done as per length of the vehicle, (Passenger car segment)

A1 - Mini - Upto 3400mm (M800, Nano)

A2 - Compact - 3401 to 4000mm (Alto, wagon r, Zen,i10,A-star,Swift,i20,palio,indica etc)

A3 - Midsize - 4001 to 4500mm (City,Sx4,Dzire,Logan,Accent,Fiesta,Verna etc)

A4 - Executive - 4501 to 4700mm (Corolla,civic,C class,Optra,Octavia, etc)

A5 - Premiun - 4701 to 5000mm (Camry,E class,Accord,Sonata,Laura,Superb,etc)

A6 - Luxury - Above 5000mm (S class,5 series etc)

B1 - Van - Omni, Versa, Magic etc

B2 - MUV/MPV - Innova, Tavera, Sumo etc

SUV - CRV, Vitara etc

Source: shemimon on carwale.com

 

Govt Number Plates (HSRP)

Starting May 1/2012, all new vehicles sold in India will be fitted with High Security Registration Plates (HSRP). On the basis of the recommendations made by the Technical Standing Committee on Central Motor Vehicles Rules, the Central Government had amended rule 50 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, mandating introduction of new High Security Registration Plates, both in respect of new and in-use motor vehicles throughout the country.

 

Features of  High Security Registration Plates (HSRP):

 

1. Chromium hologram.
2. A retro-reflective film, bearing a verification inscription ’India’ at 45 degree inclination.
3. Laser numbering, which is unique in nature containing alpha-numeric identification of both Testing Agencies and the manufacturers.
4. The Registration numbers to be embossed on the plates
5. In case of rear registration plate, same to be fitted with a non-reusable snap lock to make it tamper proof.
6. A Chromium based third registration plate in the form of sticker is to be attached to the wind shield, wherein the number of engine and chassis are indicated along with the name of registering authority. If tampered with, it self destructs.
7. In front and rear registration plates, letter IND in blue color is hot stamped on extreme left centre of the plates. 

 

Source:www.theautomotiveindia.com(gears1313)

Fitting vehicles with HSRPs has been under consideration since 1989. But the implementation process has gained traction only now after the Supreme Court cracked the whip on state governments over repeated delays. The regular registration plates can be easily tampered with, making car thefts easy. Fancy number plates also make it difficult to track down lawbreakers on the run. HSRPs are tamper-proof and non-replaceable, which could prove to be a deterrent to car thieves. It will also aid in creating a computerised, national data of motor vehicles – which currently is not the case as the records are created and maintained manually.

How much will it cost?

A set of HSRP plates for four-wheelers cost Rs. 334 and for two-wheelers Rs. 111. Commercial vehicle owners need to shell out Rs. 134 while Heavy Commercial Vehicles are required to pay Rs. 258 (including taxes). The plates also come with a minimum guarantee of five years.

How do I get one? How long will it take?

If you’re buying a new vehicle then you needn’t bother much as all new vehicles sold in the country will come fitted with HSRPs. The registration number of the vehicle will be put on the front and rear windshield of the vehicle as well. Existing vehicles will be given a time span of two years to switch to HSRP from June 15. To get an HSRP installed in your vehicle, owners would have to visit the local RTO, where the new plate will be issued within 48 hours upon showing the smart registration cards. Fitting the plates in itself is just a 5 minute job. There are also talks of streamlining the process by taking it online.     

Authorised Dealers (Mumbai)

M/s Shimnit Utsch India pvt. Ltd,
8th floor, Regent Chambers, Nariman Point,
Mumbai-400021
Maharashtra.    From CRRI 

Eastern (Steel & Saws) Industries  Pvt. Ltd.
B-10,Deonar village Road,
Deonar, Mumbai-400038,
From  CRRI

M/s Omish Traders,
Social Compound , Marol Pipline,
Andheri-Kurla Road, Andheri (E),  Mumbai-400059
From  ARAI

Know Diesel Engines

India is a very price sensitive market where customers are ready to shell out an extra penny only if it provides more reliability or durability. Diesel engines require an extra investment but may reduce cost of ownership for the owner, thus explaining their huge popularity.br />

Customers’ opinion on diesel engines generally comes under two broad categories. Some render them to be noisy, messy and suffocating and have no liking to them. Others opt for them for their fuel efficiency, high mileage and more value for money, making the diesel engine a large market.

Invented by Rudolph Diesel, the world knows the diesel engine as a powerful powertrain with outstanding pulling power, fuel efficiency and longevity.

Diesel engines are used in automobiles, generators, boats and have varied applications with agricultural applications. Turbo-charged diesel engines are also used in two-wheelers like motorcycles.

The Working of the Diesel engine

Diesel engines and petrol engines share several similarities. They have number of components in common such as the crankshaft, pistons, valves, camshaft, and coolant and and oil pumps. However, a key difference between the two is that the diesel engine lacks an ignition system. Instead of relying on a spark for ignition (as in petrol engines), a diesel engine uses heat produced by compressing air in the combustion chamber to ignite the fuel. All other systems used in the diesel powered vehicles are essentially the same as those used in gasoline vehicles, and we refer to the article published last week on petrol engines.

Ignition system in diesel engine

In a diesel engine, fuel injection is used. Fuel is supplied to a Fuel injection pump and from there to injectors positioned on each cylinder. Timing and pressure is set to inject a fine spray of diesel at the end of the compression stroke. The heat of compressed air entered into the cylinder then ignites the fuel and thus begins the power stroke.

Fundamentally, using compressed, hot air as well as diesel spray ensures that the air and diesel particles can mix better so that ignition can take place.

Glow plugs are used in diesel engines only to warm the combustion chamber when engine is cold. As the above explained, the air in the cylinder needs to be hot to ignite the diesel spray. Hence, cold starting is impossible without these plugs because even the high compression ratios cannot heat cold air enough to cause combustion. Thus when you’re just starting your engine, these glow plugs will warm up the air in the combustion chambers.

Schematic comparison of Diesel and Petrol technology
 

	Gasoline	Diesel
Intake	Air/Fuel	Air
Combustion	Spark ignition	Compression ignition
Air/Fuel Mixing point	In intake manifold near intake valve	In cylinder near Top dead center by Injection
Compression ratio	8 -10 to 1	13-25 to 1
Pressure	464 Psi	1200 Psi
Exhaust	704- 982 degree centigrade, CO =1%	371-482 degree centigrade CO=0.5%
Efficiency	22-28 %	32-38%

 

 

Let’s take a look at the differences and clarify on why they exist.

First of all, as explained before, in diesel engines, there is a separate injection for diesel fuel into a diesel engine’s cylinder, as opposed to the common intake valve in petrol engines, where fuel and air are injected in one go into the intake valve.

This also means that in petrol engines, explosion takes place near the fuel intake valve itself, whereas for diesel engines this takes place properly in the chamber. For the curious ones, it is this property which makes the two stroke engine still allowable for large power diesel engines (such as in trains or ships) as the combustion is much more complete even in a two stroke engine (less leakage), thus combining the power of the two stroke engine with a high efficiency.

The compression in diesel engines needs to be much higher to ensure a proper combustion, compared to the more easily ignitable petrol fuel. As you see, the compression is almost double.

As a result the pressure (1200 Psi vs 464 Psi) is also more than double!

The temperature of the diesel’s exhaust fumes is less than petrol engines, due to the technology used, and also, the amount of noxious gases is also less in petrol gases.

Finally, all this culminates in a higher fuel efficiency for diesel engines.

Types of Diesel Engines

Diesel engines come in both two stroke or four stroke engines, differing from petrol engines only in their ignition systems. Large diesel vehicles usually use 2-stroke configuration for simplicity though passenger vehicles tend to have 4-stroke configuration. Over the years, variations have been developed for diesel engines. Let’s take a look at some engine types.

CRDi Engine

Common Rail Direct Engines are favourites amongst Mahindra automobiles in India. Globally, they are widely used by Fiat automobiles which are known to be extremely robust cars. In India, apart from Mahindra, Hyundai Accent, Ford Motors and BMW automobiles widely use CRDi engines. They are variation of direct injection engines but are less noisy, less messy and cleaner.

More specifically, in CRDi engines, there is a ‘common rail’ containing the diesel to be injected into the cylinders. This common rail serves as an accumulator for fuel and pressure to spray the diesel is built up in this common rail, instead of in the individual injectors thus allowing better control of the pressure and uniform pressure while injecting. Importantly, as the pressure in the diesel (needed for spraying) is built up in a different component, the pressure can be maintained consistently, so that the engine is more efficient and smoother.

TDI Engine – Turbo-charged Direct Injection

The TDI engine is a technology developed by the Volkswagen group. In these engines, a turbocharger is added to the multi-jet fuel injection engine which helps in increasing the performance of the engine. This turbo charger further compresses the air which is provided to the cylinder, while keeping it cooled as well, thus increasing the amount of air which is available to ignite the diesel spark.

The result of the larger amount of air is that more fuel can be injected for combustion, while this combustion is also more complete. It thus reduces emissions drastically making diesel engines cleaner, while the power of the car is also increased.

Initially seen in VW Group cars, turbodiesels are now also used by BMW, among others.

Multi-jet Fuel injection Engine

Multi jet diesel engines are what Fiat Group companies call their common rail diesel engines. These are the engines that in India power Maruti cars, such as the Maruti Swift Dzire, Suzuki Swift Diesel, Tata Cars, such as the Indica, and of course Fiat Group cars, including the Palio.

These engines were developed by Fiat Group and feature Common Rail technology, but also Turbo technology, compressing the air further before combustion.

Naturally Aspirated

They are direct injection engines without a turbocharger. Then engine draws the air through air filter which passes through a monitoring meter into the combustion chamber. They produce less power and also have low pulling power. They are generally used to make automobiles cheaper as turbocharged engines are more expensive than naturally aspirated ones.

Benefits of Diesel Engines

• Fuel Efficiency
  
  In a weight to weight comparison, diesel per volume unit contains more energy than petrol, i.e. it has a higher calorific value. Thus, if a complete ignition of diesel takes place, the engine will deliver more power than a petrol engine. Equivalently, a smaller amount of diesel is needed to deliver a certain amount of power. As a result, the diesel car’s mileage is better than the petrol car’s.
  
  At the same time, with diesel fuel cheaper than petrol fuel (since diesel is unrefined and thus requires less work from the oil company), the running cost of a diesel engine becomes lower than a petrol engine’s.
  
  Hence, if you have been thinking of a hybrid car but limited by its price, then think of diesel engines. Although diesel engines cannot deliver the eco-friendliness of hybrid models they can definitely match the fuel efficiency.

• Safety
  
  Diesel engines are safer than gasoline engines. They are less volatile than the petrol engine which means they are less likely to explode in case of a car crash

• Longevity
  
  Diesel engines last longer as they are less prone to wear and tear. This makes diesel automobiles more cost effective. Moreover, vehicles used for long runs opt for diesel engines. Diesel engines require less maintenance and are robust in nature.
  
  However, maintenance when undertaken for a diesel engine, will be more expensive than for a petrol engine, as it is a more complex technology. Similarly, the initial investment for a diesel vehicle is also more, for the same reason.
  
  Thus, the buyer should ideally offset the investment and maintenance expectation against the savings to be expected from the better mileage.

• Torque or Pulling Power
  
  Diesel engines have greater pulling power which clubbed with their tendency to last longer converts commercial and passenger vehicles to more value for money. However, acceleration is less for diesel engines.

• Environment
  
  It may be surprising to you, but diesel engines are considered as cleaner than petrol engines. This is due to a more complete combustion. Hence, though the emission in diesel engines is more visible (dusty), petrol engines emit invisible noxious gases.
  
  An interesting recent development is bio-diesel, which is a animal or vegetable fat based fuel which has properties equivalent to diesel.

Do read this more thorough analysis and comparison of petrol and diesel engines for more information. as well as this comparison of petrol, diesel and LPG.

Conclusions

With the steep increase in price of petrol every fortnight, there is an increased tendency to go for diesel engine cars as the trade off between the investment of the diesel engine and its lower running cost is tipping. This has resulted in almost all manufacturers coming up with both petrol and diesel version their car models. The present generation diesel engines have started to overcome earlier defects such as cold starting problem (waiting for the glow plug to heat the air before starting the engine) as well as improved noise reduction technology to overcome excessive noise from diesel engines.

The improvements have resulted in smoother operation of the diesel engines, though the difference to the petrol engines version remains around rs 75,000. Hence customers may remain in dilemma whether to invest high for diesel engine version or to go for petrol version.

Our earlier articles on selection between petrol and diesel engines and alternative fuels will certainly help in this regard.

We hope the above has shed some light on the working of the diesel engine and its advantages. We remind you that much technology between diesel and petrol is similar, and thus you should read both articles in conjuction.

 

Maintenance of your diesel car

Maintenance plays a major role in controlling smoke. Good maintenance is a must to get low smoke levels - or vice versa, low smoke levels show good maintenance. Improper maintenance affects the injection characteristics and quantity of lubricating oil which pass across piston rings and thus exercise a significant effect on engine tendency to generate smoke.

Following the scheduled maintenance as mentioned in particular car owner manual is needed to ensure good condition.

Diesel odour and its control

The general complaint with diesel vehicles is about their foul smell or odour. It is due to products of oxidation of fuel in exhaust. The partial oxidation may be because of very lean mixtures of fuel and air such as during idling or due to quenching effect. Factors such as Fuel/air ratio, Engine operation mode, engine type, fuel consumption affect odour production.

Though many manufacturers claim that odour additive compounds can reduce intensity of odour, it has been found in practice that these hardly have any effect.

 Source:cartrade.com