Motor

Suzuki Swift Sport storms into Sri Lanka

The 2012 Suzuki Swift Sport first appeared at the Australian Motor Show in concept form back in July 2011. Fast forward 12 months and the hatch fans can now buy the production version in Colombo. The road going version of the Swift Sport has changed little since the concept appeared. While it looks a little tamer, it gains a CVT auto with the peddle shift for the first time.

The 2012 Suzuki Swift Sport is lighter, more powerful and more frugal than the model it replaces. The Suzuki Swift Sport can be identified from the standard Swift by the addition of body kit, including roof spoiler, sport seats and stainless steel pedals, Bi-Xenon headlamps, CD radio with MP3 capability, including Bluetooth(r) and USB port and Sport seats with red stitching.

2012 Suzuki Swift Sport sees the previous model engine upgraded, the 1.6 litre four cylinder engine now produces 100kw and peak torque of 160Nm up 8kw and 12Nm on the previous model.

Suzuki claims the hot hatch will get you from 0-100km/h in 8.0 seconds 0.3 seconds better than the previous Swift Sport. Even with all that extra power, fuel economy has improved - official fuel consumption figure going down from 7.3L/100km to 6.5L/100km in the manual, and it's even less in the new CVT at 6.1L/100km.

The Swift Sport not only looks sporty on the outside, jump in and you notice the sporty theme continuing inside. From the red cross-stitching and soft leather steering with audio functions to cruise control and Bluetooth adjustable-for both reach and rake- and the CVT model also has mounted red flappy paddles.

The cabin is more sporty/functional than luxurious, but with seven airbags including driver's knee airbag, you are also safe. You will find the usual technology like Bluetooth hands-free communications, six-speaker AM/FM/CD system with USB and a digital climate control air-conditioning system. There is no soft touch plastic, but I'm not sure too many drivers spend their time touching interior panels.

Some people might not be able to notice the difference between the standard Swift and the sports model, but there should be enough styling clues for most to see that the Suzuki Swift Sport is the flagship model in the Swift range. The Swift Sport is available in six colours - Champion Yellow, Ablaze Red, Boost Blue, Snow White, Premium Silver and Super Black. With the Swift Sport, Suzuki has developed a car that has a lighter and stiffer body with a low centre of gravity allowing the car to turn corners at almost unthinkable speeds with no body roll whatsoever and only a slight hint of under/over steer.

DIMO pays tribute to their champions

DIMO recently organized a grand event to felicitate and acknowledge their local business partners in automotive components, power tools and related businesses for 2011/2012. This event was themed "Tribute to our Champions 2012", justifying the objective of the entire activity and was held at Jetwing Blue, Negombo.

Three key business units took part in this convention - Bosch power tools and accessories, Bosch automotive components and original equipment manufacturing sales. More than 350 dealers and distributors from all across the country took part in this together with more than 10 foreign principals, representing each world class brand promoted by DIMO.

All participants were hosted at Jetwing Blue, Jetwing Beach and at Jetwing Sea on complimentary basis by DIMO. Top dealers and distributors were invited to the event along with their families. Special guests for the event included Abby Ong (Senior Manager Sales - Robert Bosch South East Asia), MalakannavarBalashi (Product Manager, Bosch Power Tools and Accessories-SAARC), MSR Prasad (Assistant General Manager, SBP-India), Philip Tweed (Regional Director-Asia , WD40 Company-Malaysia), Robert Loh (Program Manager, Sales and Marketing Blaupunkt-Malaysia) and ViswanathanKamath (Territory Manager - Sales and Service Bosch Automotive, India), while DIMO was represented by and Mrs. RanjithPandithage (Chairman-DIMO), GahanathPandithage (CEO-DIMO), ChannaWeerawardena (Director-DIMO), Suresh Gooneratne (Director-DIMO), SarathAlgama (Director-DIMO) and JamindaMendis (DGM-Power Tools, Automotive Parts and OEM).

This impressive event recognized local business partners of DIMO who have achieved the best turnovers by product category, the best distributor and dealer by product category and the best paymasters.

Some of the many product categories included Bosch power tools, Bosch automotive products, WD-40 products, Blaupunkt products, Rane brake lining products, SBP autoparts and Fenner belts and oil seals.

The winners walked away with many valuable gifts, which included several return air tickets and 3 day tour expenses to Singapore, Malaysia, Bangkok, and Bombay - for all winners in the best distributor and best dealer categories. More than 20 return air tickets were won by the participants. In addition, others received weekend for two packages in five-star hotels and many more surprise gifts during the raffle draw.

All participants had their gift packs arranged at their respective rooms, which included the "Tribute to our Champions" event t-shirt. The glamorous awards ceremony was preceded by a fellowship, that included various entertainment items ranging from fireworks, dance troupes, dramas and sword swallowing acts and amply supported by Sohan and the Xperiments with Corrine and Ronnie Leitch.

The night was a memorable one for all dealers and distributors, who enjoyed the carnival atmosphere on the beach and then later in the main ballroom with their families.

DIMO is one of the leading engineering companies in Sri Lanka, representing and adding value to the best engineered brands in the world for more than 7 decades.

This allows DIMO to provide and bring forth the world's best technologies to the doorstep of the Sri Lankan consumer.

Honda profit jumps fourfold to $1.7 bn

Honda Motor said Tuesday its net profit surged more than fourfold to $1.7 billion for the three months to June, underscoring a recovery from the impact of last year's quake-tsunami disasters.

The Japanese automaker posted a net profit of 131.7 billion yen ($1.7 billion) for the April-June quarter, up from 31.8 billion yen for the same period last year.

Sales soared 42.1 percent to 2.44 trillion yen while operating profit jumped to 176.0 billion yen from 22.6 billion yen a year earlier, the company said.

The sales and profit gains were "due primarily to increased revenue in automobile business operations as production recovered from the effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake", it said in a statement.

Honda left unchanged its full-year forecast, still projecting net profit at 470 billion yen on sales of 10.3 trillion yen for the fiscal year to March 2013.

"Strong sales of new models as well as a strong recovery from the supply chain disruption caused by the (natural disasters) contributed to a significant increase in profit in Japan and North America automobile operations," the automaker said in a statement.

It added that a boost in its Asian car and motorcycle business also helped the bottom line despite a still-weak European market.

Japanese automakers saw extensive damage to their supply chains as a result of last year's earthquake and tsunami in Japan and flooding in Thailand in the autumn.

A high yen also ate into exporters' sales and profits.

Japanese automakers have come under pressure from the value of the currency, which last year hit record highs against the dollar and remains strong, making exports relatively more expensive overseas and cutting the value of repatriated earnings.

In April, Honda said its net profit for the fiscal year to March plunged 60.4 percent to 211.5 billion yen while its full-year sales were down 11.1 percent to 7.95 trillion yen.

Among Japan's biggest carmakers including Toyota and Nissan, Honda was hardest hit and the slowest to recover from last year's natural disasters.

But Honda's results Tuesday were rosier than rival Nissan, which last week said its quarterly profit tumbled 15 percent as strong yen and weak European market dented earnings.

AFP