Indian Autos Thread

Gus · Post by **Gus** » 06 Jul 2012 19:08

that will be a hard one to make and sell. Because diesels are self combusted by increasing pressure inside the chamber (which increases heat to self-combustion point) - it needs thicker walls to withstand such pressure, which increases weight. It does not really get you much better performance if you look at all parameters and compare it to the cost of parts and maintenance against the benefit of subsidized fuel. There was a diesel bullet and I have ridden those, not something I will buy for self and it is a withdrawn product in the market.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 06 Jul 2012 19:22

Until recently 5-7 years making Diesel engines for even small cars like 1300CC was difficult, now we have the one for Diesel Beat, hell you make a TATA ACE 16-18 HP engine with a Bullet Type Chasiss or an APE auto engine on it could be quiet a hit.

Gus · Post by **Gus** » 06 Jul 2012 19:31

Cars have dampeners, flywheels etc to help. It will harder to put such vibration controllers in bikes. And diesels typically accelerate slower (modern diesel cars all come with turbo chargers to boost acceleration)..so driving in city would be a pain. I am still skeptical of seeing mass market diesel bikes.

Yogi_G · Post by **Yogi_G** » 12 Jul 2012 15:16

Legal tangle? M&M scraps plans to sell pickup trucks in US

This is pretty sad news though not entirely unexpected. I wonder what the dealers will now do given that many of them were betting their fortunes on these pickups doing well given Mahindra's established name in the tractor market and the claims of 28 MPG (which fizzled down to 24 when it was tested in the US). It was a moment of joy when Mahindra claimed to enter the US market because it was seen as winning of the race between China and India in who would enter the market first with a competitive product.

the article says the development costs for the pickup was 100 million $, which is like 500 crores at 50 rupees a dollar. The vehicle comes off from the scorpio platform and I assume the bulk of the costs would have been in coming up with the safety tech to meet US market demands. But what explains 100 million dollars for this and the other modifications given that it costs some 400-500 crores to come up with an altogether new product from scratch for an Indian firm?

Manish_Sharma · Post by **Manish_Sharma** » 15 Jul 2012 08:23

Folks a friend needs advice on whether it is worth it paying extra for Quadrajet engine in TATA Vista?

He wants to chose between:

1. Tata Vista LX TDI BS-III
[Non Quadrajet Engine, 4 Cylinder Turbo Intercooled, 1405cc, Power (PS@rpm) 71PS @4500rpm, Torque (Nm@rpm) 135Nm @2500rpm

2. Tata Indica Vista LX Quadrajet
[4 Cylinder, Comon Rail SDE, 1248cc, Power (PS@rpm) 75PS @4000rpm,
Torque (Nm@rpm) 190Nm @1750rpm

The price difference is around 45 thousand rupees.

AbhiJ · Post by **AbhiJ** » 15 Jul 2012 14:58

High Torque at Low RPM. Well Well Worth it!

member_20292 · Post by **member_20292** » 16 Jul 2012 00:10

Whats the most reliable, cheap to run, cheap to maintain, and fun to drive small car available in India, today?

thanks.

AbhiJ · Post by **AbhiJ** » 16 Jul 2012 01:02

mahadevbhu wrote:Whats the most reliable, cheap to run, cheap to maintain, and fun to drive small car available in India, today?

thanks.

i10, i20 and Honda Brio would Fit your requirements.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 16 Jul 2012 02:09

http://mahindraxuv500.com/product/pdf/X ... RE_PDF.pdf

I like the spec.. 140bhp at 12L, and hopefully they can put on auto trans or variable transmission pack.

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 19 Jul 2012 06:05

Project Destroy Maruti - by Beijing's coolie army in India enters Phase II - more violence in Maruti, one dead., officials assaulted and seriously injured..

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 034588.cms

The workers should not listen to rapist goon traitors who have interest in this country's economy or future.

Manish_Sharma · Post by **Manish_Sharma** » 19 Jul 2012 07:43

IIRC it was around 2008-9 there was a news that Bharat had exported 2.65 lakh cars becoming bigger exporter of cars than china. So china starts hitting us with reds........

AbhiJ · Post by **AbhiJ** » 19 Jul 2012 13:58

Maoists in TN

They are taking law into their own hands. They frequently resort to violence to settle any dispute. That's a concern. Traditional trade unions don't resort to such means

Vasu · Post by **Vasu** » 19 Jul 2012 17:05

Suppiah wrote:Project Destroy Maruti - by Beijing's coolie army in India enters Phase II - more violence in Maruti, one dead., officials assaulted and seriously injured..

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 034588.cms

The workers should not listen to rapist goon traitors who have interest in this country's economy or future.

Maruti's Gujarat plant couldn't come sooner.

One online source reported that the Union is alleging that one manager made a 'casteist remark' to an employee.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 19 Jul 2012 20:09

Anyone knows any set timeline for getting an Auto Trans version of the Mahindra XUV500 ? Is it going to happen within the next two years or will the wait be much longer.

Gaurav_S · Post by **Gaurav_S** » 20 Jul 2012 05:54

Vasu wrote:
Suppiah wrote:Project Destroy Maruti - by Beijing's coolie army in India enters Phase II - more violence in Maruti, one dead., officials assaulted and seriously injured..

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 034588.cms

The workers should not listen to rapist goon traitors who have interest in this country's economy or future.
Maruti's Gujarat plant couldn't come sooner.

One online source reported that the Union is alleging that one manager made a 'casteist remark' to an employee.

Maruti's Gujarat plant couldn't come sooner? NaMo has plans to shift all Maruti operations to Gujarat. His motto appears to be "someone's loss Gujarat's gain"

After Tata Nano, Narendra Modi to convince Suzuki bosses to shift Maruti operations to Gujarat

rohitvats · Post by **rohitvats** » 20 Jul 2012 10:00

The way union situation is evolving in Gurgaon in MS Plant, I would not be surprised to see MS shifting lock stock and barrel to Gujarat. And any such move will spell disaster to local economy...lot of SMEs and households run because of the multiplier effect of MS. While Rajasthan next door is pushing out on all cylinders to attract industries (and is successful too), Haryana politicians seem to think that real estate will solve all their problems.

The level of industrialization existing and planned in areas of Rajasthan close to NCR is phenomenal with areas like Neemrana and Bhiwadi emerging as center of industrial activity. And this is all set to grow in future.

Gaurav_S · Post by **Gaurav_S** » 20 Jul 2012 11:15

rohitvats wrote:The way union situation is evolving in Gurgaon in MS Plant, I would not be surprised to see MS shifting lock stock and barrel to Gujarat.

The level of industrialization existing and planned in areas of Rajasthan close to NCR is phenomenal with areas like Neemrana and Bhiwadi emerging as center of industrial activity. And this is all set to grow in future.

And that will put all speculations of NaMo not winning next state election to rest. BTW, if I am correct Bhiwandi has many powerlooms supplying textiles.

Not sure if its just co-incidence or he planned trip to Japan after this incident. If he did it after reading all this new then he is real chaankya. In any case the event is enough to tarnish any reputation left especially among auto makers.

rohitvats · Post by **rohitvats** » 20 Jul 2012 11:55

^^^bhiwandi is in Maharashtra while Bhiwadi I referred to is in Rajasthan..right on the border with Haryana. Bhiwadi-Tapukhara-Khuskhera (BTK) is a huge industrial complex and Rajasthan has just about added another 8,000 acres of land for industrial usage in this area.

vina · Post by **vina** » 20 Jul 2012 11:59

I think Maruti should move to TN and will be at home among all the other Japanese and Korean automakers there. No need for any "imported" labor/shaber like in Gujarat. TN has ample highly skilled labor and infra and a solid engineering and ancillary base going back at least 50 years.

Come to TN. Amma will give Maruti a lot of love.

Gaurav_S · Post by **Gaurav_S** » 20 Jul 2012 12:05

rohitvats wrote:^^^bhiwandi is in Maharashtra while Bhiwadi I referred to is in Rajasthan..right on the border with Haryana. Bhiwadi-Tapukhara-Khuskhera (BTK) is a huge industrial complex and Rajasthan has just about added another 8,000 acres of land for industrial usage in this area.

Yep i was referring to the one in Rajasthan. Got it wrong. My bad.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 20 Jul 2012 12:09

vina wrote:I think Maruti should move to TN and will be at home among all the other Japanese and Korean automakers there. No need for any "imported" labor/shaber like in Gujarat. TN has ample highly skilled labor and infra and a solid engineering and ancillary base going back at least 50 years.

Come to TN. Amma will give Maruti a lot of love.

Last time Maruti wanted to move to TN 1992-95 period Amma asked for 1.25% of project cost and they said FO and went for Manesar/faridabad area. AT that time most of Maruti Anicillary suppliers were in TN.

Sridhar K · Post by **Sridhar K** » 20 Jul 2012 12:15

Manish_Sharma wrote:Folks a friend needs advice on whether it is worth it paying extra for Quadrajet engine in TATA Vista?

He wants to chose between:

1. Tata Vista LX TDI BS-III
[Non Quadrajet Engine, 4 Cylinder Turbo Intercooled, 1405cc, Power (PS@rpm) 71PS @4500rpm, Torque (Nm@rpm) 135Nm @2500rpm

2. Tata Indica Vista LX Quadrajet
[4 Cylinder, Comon Rail SDE, 1248cc, Power (PS@rpm) 75PS @4000rpm,
Torque (Nm@rpm) 190Nm @1750rpm

The price difference is around 45 thousand rupees.

Absolutely worth it. The TDI is a old gen engine that is very reliable, cheap to maintain but not as refined as the QJD. QJD is a gem. Wish Tatas offer CR4 on the Vista instead of the TDI

@abhi J
Having owned Hyundais, they are inexpensive to maintain for the first 2 years only and hence won't get i10/i20 into the list. Cost of spares is much higher than Marutis (Ritz, new Wagon R are much cheaper alternatives. Ritz K series is a gem but the K12 VVT engine on the new Swift/Dzire and Ertiga is plagued with an issue on the breaks. Not enough vaccum for the breaks booster at lower rpm resulting in breaks getting harder at start-stop traffice.

Gaurav_S · Post by **Gaurav_S** » 23 Jul 2012 06:27

Some reports have come about land allotted in Gujarat (Hansalpur) to MUL is getting ready now. Land marking and cutting weed is taking place. Seems at least, project is being fast tracked now.

tejas · Post by **tejas** » 23 Jul 2012 07:50

I absolutely hope this is not a rumor. The hoolaganism in Manesar needs to be rewarded with a relocation to an area where business is welcome. People in states which are in a race to the bottom need to be sent a message.

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 23 Jul 2012 19:21

That is probably not necessary...just catch the key guys that instigate the violence and treat them the way they treated MSIL management. Villagers from surrounding area are already actively getting involved in supporting MSIL. Once a few Beijing puppet traitors are taken care of, rest will be fine...the workers should be told to toe the line and discuss demands, not burn and loot. If not they will lose big time.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 23 Jul 2012 20:30

there was a report in TOI today that maoist penetration of workers union is suspected...authorities are investigating who the ring leaders were in this conspiracy. if they can be caught and crushed, rest of the "revolution" will fail. only a true maoist anarchist would want maruti to fail there - everyone else incl mgmt, workers, villagers, suppliers, state govt have a interest in its prosperity.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 23 Jul 2012 21:08

It would also behoove GJ not to mess about in troubled waters. India is not the USA where such things go un-noticed. This is a game two can play, and historically GJ is not one of the more robust powerhouses able to influence 'dilli'.

The less advanced states have always had the votes to essentially capture the entire Indian economic revenue stream. The rest of 'us' should remember that.

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 24 Jul 2012 22:40

Eicher signs pact with Polaris for powersport vehicles.

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 26 Jul 2012 08:10

Hindu tries to project Marxist-Maoist version of events...

Marxists rake up a 7 year old issue to blur the recent murderous attack by workers....when they realise the cheap trick of 'casteist remark' fell flat because the accused was a Dalit himself!! Next time they lie through their teeth, they better take some precaution..

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp ... 684564.ece

We fight because of the hunger in our stomachs,” said Ashok Yadav, president of the Honda Workers Union, “Everyone should remember this.”

Getting 17k per month and hungry? Try something else to arouse sympathy. In any case does that justify murder?

The Honda meeting acquired particular significance after a ‘mahapanchayat’ of local villages resolved to support companies such as Maruti and Honda and vowed to fight the unions.

On Monday, panchayat leaders, many of whom have transport and ancillary contracts with companies such as Maruti and Honda

So what's wrong if Maruti gives contracts for petty matters to local guys? Isn't that supposed to be one of the biggest spin-offs and benefits of industrialisation and investment? Everyone benefits, right down to the guy doing 'tyre puncture' shop..and lady selling flowers.

“We, workers, are the children of uprooted farmers,” said Centre of Trade Unions (CITU) representative Satbir,

Oh yes, and the villagers forgot the faces of their own sons..

rohitvats · Post by **rohitvats** » 26 Jul 2012 09:48

^^^That is BS of the highest order. Even TOI carried this news and it seems that union from Maruti's Gurgaon plant also showed 'solidarity' for workers in the Manesar plant. Already, there is demand for releasing the workers who have been detained by these so called unions. It was also reported that 'laal salaam, zindabad' slogans were heard.

With the villagers firmly behind the companies, the workers may well be in for a rude shock as far as muscle power is concerned...police had to prevent a body of villagers from marching to the venue of this solidarity meeting at Honda site...the MS's plan to establish second unit at Gujarat has really spooked the local who are worried about loosing their livelihood if MS moves this plant also to other state.

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 26 Jul 2012 12:36

A twin track approach is required. Workers have to be clearly told that lal jhanda and falling into traps set by Beijing puppets will get them nowhere. At the same time if they drop lal jhanda, everything is negotiable. Then work with local populace to stabilise.

Parallel to that an education campaign about leftist perfidy should be launched. After destroying BSNL and telecom manufacturing sector thru' unionised sloth now they are batting for Huawei. MSIL workers should be asked if a few years later Stalinist yellows will be demanding why we are not giving priority to Geely or Shanghai Auto and why only import American cars? Is that the future they want?

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 26 Jul 2012 13:26

maybe the idea is target japan/korea cos in developing nations where the chinese are unable to make any headway. chase them out or roll them back and then develop into these markets.

the chinese think in a very integrated way all leading to composite national power increment.

so if they can find willing cats paws in india to play with, they will. they have a long history with NE terror groups...trade unions and anarchists are just another paw of the cat...nothing off-limits or sacred about it.

Manish_Sharma · Post by **Manish_Sharma** » 27 Jul 2012 03:12

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 153893.cms

All cars in Gujarat to switch to gas within a year: HC

AHMEDABAD: In an order which would impact lakhs of people owning cars, the Gujarat high court on Wednesday directed the state government to pass necessary laws to make it compulsory for all four-wheelers registered in Gujarat to convert to natural gas within one year.

Further, the court gave two months to the state government to issue necessary orders to impose stringent restrictions to reduce pollution by fixing levels of emission to the minimum, at par with international norms. The order applies to both public and private vehicles running on petrol and diesel.

The order, passed by Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice J B Pardiwala, came in response to directions sought by Dhrangadhra Prakruti Mandal, through its vice-president Devjibhai Dhamecha, to the state and Centre as well as all gas and petrol companies operating in Gujarat.

The order said, "The state is directed to pass necessary orders compelling owners of all vehicles having registration in Gujarat to use natural gas and, if necessary, even at higher prices within the shortest possible period, not exceeding one year from today for the protection of lives of citizens."

The judges suggested gas prices be cheaper for public vehicles and higher for privately owned vehicles. Also, fares of public transport should be fixed at reasonable rates so that the end benefit goes to the public.

The Gujarat high court also directed the Central government to allocate natural gas for domestic and vehicular use to the city of Ahmedabad usage at the same rate as it is supplied to Delhi and Mumbai. "This is to enforce the right of equality," the judges said.

Vasu · Post by **Vasu** » 27 Jul 2012 15:52

I sincerely hope everybody does not go into a witchhunt and pronounce all the workers guilty.

Maruti and the government (barring the sections that want this to happen) must identify the instigators, isolate them, and punish them but must always act within the belief that most are honest hardworking workers. Unless I am a really naive idealist, I am sure this is the case.

Nobody wants to bite the hand that feeds them and for most of these workers, ensuring income for their family will always remain top priority and I wouldn't be surprised if many of the employees do not want to be a part of this but are probably being threatened to keep shut.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 27 Jul 2012 17:30

that would still mean atleast 1500 workers guilty of damaging the factory and 150 elite stormtroopers who came and beat up the executives including murdering the HR head.

thats a lot of people.

Vasu · Post by **Vasu** » 03 Aug 2012 17:09

Oh i didn't mean that!

It is would be sad to see that like everything else, the Government does a random sampling and picks up the people who were forced into it rather than doing the due diligence and extracting the worms out. But thankfully that does not seem to be happening. Already, 114 workers have been arrested. Thats a fairly large number too!

The defense lawyer trying to hide behind numbers....

Meanwhile, the defense lawyer Rajendra Pathak said, “Police are trying to plant evidences against them. It is looking like civil and police administration of the district and management of MSIL are completely against 12 workers who have been holding top posts in Maruti Suzuki Workers Union.”

“These 12 were not the only one who involved in violent clash in the plant. There were 4,000 other casual and permanent employees as well who have been more or less responsible for violence of that nature but authorities are targeting only these 12 employees,” Pathak added.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 07 Aug 2012 12:16

BTW, any updates on the Supreme Court order banning the use of sun-films (of any type. Nothing like 50% visibility required etc). I remember that some group had filed a revision petition. Was waiting to see if the SC gives an amendment to the original verdict.

Gus · Post by **Gus** » 07 Aug 2012 13:53

there is an update and you won't like it..

SC has expressed condemnation that police is not strictly enforcing its ban.

I am still running mine with films. I hardly take it out..except on weekends to in laws etc. And occasional trips to native. I just pull down the windows on known locations.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 07 Aug 2012 15:10

Gus wrote:SC has expressed condemnation that police is not strictly enforcing its ban.

Will wait for the first fine, and then remove it. Now need to get a few of those plastic/nylon net screens which has a vaccum cup on one side. Will have to clamp it onto the windows.

MN Kumar · Post by **MN Kumar** » 07 Aug 2012 17:01

I removed the sunscreen on my car. Its not comfortable during light when the light falls on your rear view mirror. Are there any good transparent films that reduce incoming reflections?