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Diwali fireworks can already be seen in the stock-market with the Sensex crossing 20,000. It has certainly set in the mood for Godess Lakshmi to step into the market. Stocks from Auto Sector amongst others have helped lift the Sensex to touch this new milestone with BSE Auto rising 0.27%. Traditionally, Diwali is also the time when auto marketers step on the gas to ride what’s considered the best demand season of the year. Dipawali hence sees a flurry of activity, from new models and upgrades to marketing and promotional campaigns, distribution and other ramp ups and more.
In my previous article I had talked about the discounts on offer from Auto manufacturers, lets get to the specifics now. You might like to compare each on TolMol Autos before arriving at a conclusion about the one best for you. For buying an Auto, in terms of variety, options, bargains on price, ac-cessories and insurance, this is about as good as it gets. So what if the interest rates still bite a bit, if they didn’t the bargains wouldn’t be that good, would it? Enough talk, lets get to the details of these offerings for Diwali 2007 now (Cars First):

• For the die-hard Maruti-Suzuki customer, its latest hatch, the Zen Estilo, comes with a Rs 45,000 rebate with dealers pitching in with further discounts on interest rates. Its other models too pack in quite a punch: the WagonR carries a discount of Rs 40,000 and the Alto Rs 34,000 while the old war horse Maruti 800 is off by Rs 25,000. Maruti’s mid-size sedan Esteem offers an impressive discount of Rs 56,000.
• Popular compact car Santro comes at Rs 25000 off while the Accent sedan carries a special price of Rs 4.99 lakh for a select few days. Hyundai is providing some value additions on its B plus Getz and C-seg Verna in addition to these discounts. The company is doling out a Rs 10,000 exchange bonus scheme on its Verna and Getz Prime models. A new car is being launched and its called “i10″, lets see if it manages to score a perfect 10 on your parameters!!
• Tata Motors is offering Rs 61,000 off on its Indigo Marina, Rs 45,000 on Indica Xeta petrol and Rs 40,000 off on the Indigo diesel range. Then Tata Motors has also rolled out a CRDi Safari followed by an Indica with V2 turbo and airbags and a Sumo Victa Turbo DI.
• Mahindra-Renault is offering a rebate of Rs 40,000 on its mid-segment Logan.
• Fiat Palio Stile hatchback is also off by a handsome Rs 38,000.
• General Motors is offering discounts of up to Rs60,000 or about 16% of the ex-showroom price for Spark, the car that is six just months old. GM is also expected to soon launch some limited editions and model up-grades.
• Honda has given a face-lift to almost all its products during the year, and has launched several limited editions of its various models.
• Czech auto maker Skoda introduced a third variant of its flagship model Superb last month
• Bentley has launched two convertibles - the Azure and the Continental GTC
• Ford rolled out a limited edition Fiesta which carries additional features like the 1.6 litre duratec engine delivering 101 bhp power, outside rear view mirror, stylish alloy wheels and an MP3 player with speakers and roof antenna

Well, bikes now and it appears that there’s a price war going on in the motorcycle market, this Deepawali.

• Market leader Hero Honda announced a discount of Rs. 2020 on its entry-level CD Deluxe and followed it up with Rs 2400 off on executive segment offering Splendor NXG. It also launched Hunk in the premium 150 cc category
• Its arch rival Bajaj responded by announcing a price cut of Rs. 4000 on its Platina. It has also launched a new product called XCD-125 and an upgraded version of Avenger which now features a 200cc engine
• Not to be left behind TVS motors is offering its upgraded Star City featuring 110 cc engine at the same price as its earlier 100 cc model.