Starting this Sunday, I start a series of weekly specials. This will be insider news about future flagship company programs, happenings, things you haven’t read about in any of the fan magazines, and things that when published are accompanied by ‘SCOOP’ in all caps and bold. Since none of the media have any use for my ramblings, however accurate, I will be using my blog as a means of communication.

Maruti has some ambitious plans for 2006. The company will launch the Escudo, the replacement for the Grand Vitara, now available in international markets. The Escudo, based on the GM-Suzuki Chevy Equinox platform, is an attractive vehicle and would make a good flagship and image-maker, something the old Vitara couldn’t do.

After all this, Maruti wants to take a look at the Corolla-Octavia-Optra segment with an all-new sedan that Suzuki is developing. This is expected for the next year only. By the end of this year, Maruti’s diesel plant and its new facility in Manesar will be operational. And that would mean an additional headache for your competition.

The Wagon R is getting an overhaul this year. The Solio that Maruti displayed at this year’s Auto Expo is an indicator of things to come. The reworked Wagon R will get more legroom and a new face, too. I expect a diesel to be introduced when Suzuki is ready with Fiat’s 1.3-litre Multijet.

The Zen will finally rest, a difficult act to do with a model that still sells a few thousand each month. But the Zen brand will not die. I expect the MR Wagon to be introduced in India under the Zen brand. The MR Wagon is a nifty little car powered in Japan by a 660cc engine, but the Indian version may have a bigger engine.

The Swift sedan is also on the anvil, quite possibly later in the year with a gasoline and new Multijet diesel. Swift himself will also get the diesel injection.