The CarWale Daily Fuel - May 18, 2012

• Renault-Nissan are planning big for their growth in India. They have already ramped up the production from 200,000 units to 400,000 units in April 2012 and plan to increase the capacity further to 800,000 units by 2016. With plans to have a product line of 20-22 models, from compact car to premium SUVs, Renault-Nissan are looking forward to take the competition ahead and challenge the existing market leaders.
• The Motor Vehicle Act amendment bill drew stark opposition from the Lok Sabha as its clauses covet the insurance companies' interests rather than the mishap victim's. The clauses of fixing an upper cap for compensation and fixation of annual income of the deceased to one lakh per annum were cited as unacceptable.
• India's racing prodigy Aditya Patel has got a chance to participate in the Nurburgring 24 hours race. He would be driving the iconic Audi TTS for team Pro-Handicap e.V.
• Chinese auto-maker Geely will rebadge the XC90 to launch it in the Chinese market under its brand name.
• Skoda, VW's Czech subsidiary, will showcase the Citigo Rally concept at the Volkswagen group's Hot hatch festival at Lake Worthersee in Austria. The car seems to be a powerful rally machine with 18 inch rims covered by aggressively flared wheel arches and Skoda's celebrated rallying past.
• Volkswagen has also previewed the Polo WRC Street ahead of its Hot hatch festival. The four cylinder 2.0 litre 220bhp TFSi petrol will be showcased along with the rally-spec Polo R WRC.
• The 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 is a 662 bhp 856 Nm monster. With so much torque generated by the 5.8 litre V8, it is very difficult to get the right amount of torque to the wheels always for proper launches. Ford is developing a fully adjustable and intelligent launch control system that will have manually adjustable launch rpm.
• Students at the University of Michigan are eyeing fuel efficiency of a staggering 3300 mpg i.e. roughly 1400 kmpl at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Supermileage competition. Students build superlight single-seat cars with small engines to compete at this event. Last year's winner achieved efficiency figures of 917 kmpl.
• Apple legend Steve Jobs was unhappy about the car market in US before his death. He had ideas to design develop an iCar but never did it said Mickey Drexler, board member Apple Inc. Apple has had close association with the automotive industry by customising in-car entertainment systems.
• Apple has reportedly acquired the patent for the steering mounted controller to manage your iPod or iPhone or even iPad while driving aimed at minimising driver distractions while driving. We wonder how effective the touch sensitive device would be when turning the steering wheel hand over hand.
• Oscar winning director Martin Scorcese will make a film, Silver Ghost, based on the lives of the British marque Rolls-Royce founders, Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. The biopic, set in the early 20^th century, will be awaited by the automotive enthusiasts.
• After General Motors USA have reduced expenditure on their Facebook advertisements citing ineffectiveness,  Ford USA, who has had a successful run on Facebook, has had a jab at its rival by tweeting that 'it is all about execution'.
• After customising Mercedes Benzes and making road-going jets of them, Brabus has set up its private aviation division to make customised aircrafts. Now the high flying tycoons can look forward at luxurious and stylised flying.
• In an attempt to get closer to the hearts of their Chinese customers, Ferrari will open a 3 year long exhibition displaying race cars and road cars from the Ferrari stable. The exhibits will be regularly updated to give the Chinese a glimpse of Ferrari's legendary heritage and continual pursuit for excellence.

The CarWale Daily Fuel is your quick daily dose of automotive news from India and around the world. If you want to know whatever's in the news but want it short and sweet, here's your solution.