Actor and wildlife enthusiast Sabyasachi Chakraborty gets the Auto Fair 2007 into gear last June. A Telegraph picture

The wheels they are a turning in town, again. With six leading auto manufacturers in partnership and options for test drives and spot bookings under one roof, The Telegraph Weekend Car-Nival Activity at 22 Camac Street is the place to head for.

From Friday to Sunday, between 10am and 8pm, over 4,000 sq ft of open space at the Camac Street retail address will turn into an auto mall where the new Outlander, Altis, Ikon and Vista will rub shoulders with the i10 and the SX4. Also on special display will be the Hummer, the aggressive off-roader from General Motors.

At a time when the auto industry is being forced to shift to a lower gear, companies are revving up for this ground activity. “The Telegraph Weekend Car-Nival Activity is the perfect platform for buyers to check out models and for makers to showcase their latest offerings and indulge in intensive consumer interaction over three days,” said Ford India regional manager Rashid Mohammad, who will be presenting the Ikon diesel and the Fiesta Sports.

Following the 40,000-plus footfall during The Telegraph Auto Fair 2007 at the same venue, the auto companies are back for more this time. Says Deepak Gupta of Topsel Toyota: “With budgets strained and the September-October sales dropping by 10 per cent, the Car-Nival will provide us with an opportunity for promotion of our newly-launched Altis and the Camry.”

Market leader Maruti too is looking to boost “sagging enquiry levels” through the three-day Car-Nival.

According to Subhasish Mondal, the zonal manager of Maruti, the company has been witnessing a de-growth in the last two months in Calcutta, but it has been able to sustain its market share overall.

In Calcutta, the Swift has seen an 11 per cent drop in enquiries, the Alto and the Wagon R have taken a 24 per cent hit and the Zen Estilo has plummeted by 50 per cent. Maruti will showcase SX4 and Swift at the Car-Nival.

For Tata Motors, the car carnival is the “right time to showcase the two-month-old Indica Vista”. Says Amit Joshi of Tata Motors: “At the Auto Fair 2007 we did four spot bookings. We expect to do the same if not more this time, with a new product to show.”

Mitsubishi will be driving in with its Outlander, a premium SUV priced at Rs 21 lakh. “Calcutta is always a slow starter but at the Car-Nival we will get a large audience to show off this urban SUV,” said Sanjay Shah, the director of Shah Automobiles, a Mitsubishi dealer.

The Outlander will lure actor Sabyasachi Chakraborty, who had unveiled Auto Fair 2007, to the Car-Nival. “I have a tight schedule and there’s the Calcutta Film Festival, but because the Mitsubishi Outlander will be on display, I will definitely try to drop by,” said the wildlife enthusiast.