Indian Autos Thread

[Singha]

wuff wuff - cute but the production coupe will surely tone it down and we wont see it in india anyways. in US / EU its meant for badboy tuners and singles, in india its a 'family sedan'
in malaysia it sells with 16" wheel in india sdre 15"

team bhp has pix of the sedan undergoing trials in dubai...far more conventional than the above....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDffgtjd7Sc

if the dubai video is legit, I hate the tail side...got a kiss from my wife for buying the older model after she saw this. the comments on that video strongly agree.

the front end is a straight lift from the ANHC...can live with that but the tail end is like a old dodge neon it looks small, dark and rice eating.

the 2011 elantra looks much better imo
http://www.egmcartech.com/2010/08/03/20 ... d-of-2010/

[manish]

wuff wuff - cute but the production coupe will surely tone it down and we wont see it in india anyways. in US / EU its meant for badboy tuners and singles, in india its a 'family sedan'
in malaysia it sells with 16" wheel in india sdre 15"

team bhp has pix of the sedan undergoing trials in dubai...far more conventional than the above....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDffgtjd7Sc

if the dubai video is legit, I hate the tail side...got a kiss from my wife for buying the older model after she saw this. the comments on that video strongly agree.

the front end is a straight lift from the ANHC...can live with that but the tail end is like a old dodge neon it looks small, dark and rice eating.

the 2011 elantra looks much better imo
http://www.egmcartech.com/2010/08/03/20 ... d-of-2010/

Agreed about the looks GD. And I sincerely hope they don't do a CR-Z on this thing. The arching back seems to suggest just that though.

couldn't agree more about the Elantra - 'Fluidic Sculpture' seems to have clicked big time for the slanted H marque. Do check out the renders of the new Sonata wagon on auto websites, seems quite nice as well.

[Singha]

the sad part is the money we spend on civic/altis in india fetches a V6 accord/camry/sonata loaded with all options in massa.

It aint fair - I work the same hours and the same work there vs here and still get hit.

[Aditya_V]

Singha-> if you want that you need to CHange, CUstoms, Excise, CST, STate VAT, and Road Tax laws in India. These probably constitute about 45-50% of the ON road price you pay for your on road price in India.

Well then again given our Black money racket, most of the tax in India comes from Indirect taxes, whereas in Massa its almost fully DIrect Taxes. This is a nessecary price we pay for corruption.

[Pranav]

WSJ
Tata Offers Four-Year Warranty on Nano

The latest step comes after sales of the Nano dropped to 509 units in November from a peak of 9,000 in July. Tata Motors attributed the decline to sales and infrastructure problems in small towns. But analysts say the decline is due more to safety worries after a few recent cases of the minicar catching fire were featured prominently in newspapers and on television.

The Nano is good value for money, peppier acceleration than Maruti 800. But the lack of decent luggage space is a negative. I don't know how that can be remedied, given that the engine is at the back.

[Bade]

For Indian city driving I dunno why anyone would need anything more than a small 4 door hatchback type vehicle. All this honda-shonda, octavia and other high end over taxed vehicles are for show and little utility. How many drive long-distance regularly in India for vacations or even business visits ? I have cousins in mumbai who have their hondas parked in their 1+ crore apartment spots, which are even hard to get into without doing a full circus around pillars and other parked cars. It is very amusing to see them display their wealth to just get to half a km away shopping/eateries with so much effort needed for every entry and exit.

[Aditya_V]

For Indian city driving I dunno why anyone would need anything more than a small 4 door hatchback type vehicle. All this honda-shonda, octavia and other high end over taxed vehicles are for show and little utility. How many drive long-distance regularly in India for vacations or even business visits ? I have cousins in mumbai who have their hondas parked in their 1+ crore apartment spots, which are even hard to get into without doing a full circus around pillars and other parked cars. It is very amusing to see them display their wealth to just get to half a km away shopping/eateries with so much effort needed for every entry and exit.

Not to mention this will be a much safer mode of Transport for families who lug 2kids plus parents on a Bike. But the problem some of these guys have become too used to darting in and out of traffic and parking that they are too lazy to drive a car.
Also, all this world's cheapest car thing has also driven many an average Joe who earns 10-20K away( snob value) from it although the Nano's perfomance is comparable to a Maruti 800, except the luggage space but miliage which is 75% more.

I have noticed even Indica Cab drivers who sneer at Nano's and say it can't move over 40K when it can perfectly do. In city traffic I noticed that Nano's are capable of keeping up and moving faster than my accent.

[Singha]

um Bade sir, just compare the comfort levels sitting in and driving a Altis -vs- a smaller vehicle like Santro over good or bad roads. the heavier vehicle, with better suspension and bigger wheels comes out WAY ahead. since I own one of both categories, the difference is perceptible to me daily. for old people and women this is immediately a noticeable factor.

on highway there is ofcourse no comparison, but even for city drives the bigger vehicle is far more comfortable as mentioned above and seats 4-5 people in good comfort for a 2-3 hrs outing.

cons are harder to find parking and unable to 'dart' into gaps like santro but then I dont care to drive that way. and I am willing to walk 100mts for a proper neat parking space even if driving a santro rather than double park or illegally parking.

[Aditya_V]

To add to what SIngha, why I dont go too much for Alto Nano type is even in city driving, the ability to overtake faster, cover gaps in traffic and assured grip from the tyres while braking is a huge advantage and I like it and feel secure. I am also not the type who likes to dart in gaps and wouldnt mind walking sometimes 500m-1km sometimes for assured safe parking( SHQ, Mom hate this part of my behaviour- they nobody else bothers about these rules- nothing will happen to the car, you can do nothing about someone crashing into it etc.)

[Singha]

yes there is always parking available if one is prepared to walk a little bit - but people will double and triple park in front of shops (esp mithai and chaat shops) while trim young people amble out and queue for their grub 45 mins. sometimes the poor driver left behind has to bear the brunt of traffic police or accidents.

[ShivaS]

Hai Ho Bade saab your on dot. My M800 duo is the best!!!!

[geeth]

To add to what SIngha, why I dont go too much for Alto Nano type is even in city driving, the ability to overtake faster, cover gaps in traffic and assured grip from the tyres while braking is a huge advantage and I like it and feel secure. I am also not the type who likes to dart in gaps and wouldnt mind walking sometimes 500m-1km sometimes for assured safe parking( SHQ, Mom hate this part of my behaviour- they nobody else bothers about these rules- nothing will happen to the car, you can do nothing about someone crashing into it etc.)

Another thingy is with a bigger car,, you get some 'respect' from those who otherwise would like to 'brush aside' - particularly while overtaking. I mean they are a bit more careful while doing all kinds of stunts on the road. This I have experienced myself, though I didn't want to believe when my driver told this first.

[Singha]

^a strong case for the fortuner or endeavour!

[Pranav]

I have noticed even Indica Cab drivers who sneer at Nano's and say it can't move over 40K when it can perfectly do. In city traffic I noticed that Nano's are capable of keeping up and moving faster than my accent.

I drove a Nano belonging to a relative in a tier 3 city. Was perfect for city streets, and it can do 80 kmph fairly comfortably on highways. If you don't do long drives, it's quite suitable. Small size is an advantage.

[Bade]

I was constantly being overtaken by a few Nanos I saw on NH47 on way to TRV from Cochin. I think they can zoom away as fast as at least a Santro can. The driver was complaining that the Santro-AT pickup was no good, though did not feel so at all while doing the hills.

SHQ and kid was back seat and the kid was even able to lie down for our long drives. Only complaint was luggage space for long drives since SHQ likes to lug every piece of her belongings everywhere and I wished for a toyota van. If the road quality were uniformly massa type, which it is not it would not have made a difference to us in the quality of ride. I saw hondas, fords all scraping as well as flying across the humps and potholes. Their drivers did not seem to care about the vehicles. Very likely they are run as taxis in Kerala for the ones who cannot afford to buy them, but like to experience it.

[Singha]

a while back, enroute to mysore I was first overtaken by a yellow nano and then a by swift dzire driven by two aggressive looking women in spaghetti tops and voluptous build. 15 mins later as I was crossing the several traffic lights inside mandya town , the dzire was parked on the side, with a autorickshaw kissing its behind, and both the women were out and SCREAMING abuses at the auto wallah in convent school english, with the usual tamasha seeking crowd closely watching. not sure who was at fault.

[Bade]

Wimmen drivers in India are quite aggressive lot, the ones that really drive being few and the adventurous types. I stand no chance against them :-( with my conservative driving. Even our young driver had toned down after spending a few hours with me in the passenger seat next to him.

The only time my testosterone levels rose rapidly on the road was when a biker did a dangerous move on our car on ORR and I asked our perplexed driver to chase and mow him down. SHQ was not pleased with my use of cuss words with son at the back, had to calm down immediately.

[Bade]

We did Cochin-TVM (270 km) + local trips to Meenamutti on Ponmudi route via ISRO Valiamala facility where IIST and LPSC is located and back. Followed by TVM to Cochin and B'lore via Salem (550km) and back to Cochin via Mysore/Nilambur in less than 10 days. All a total distance of more than 1750 km including all the local travel in a Santro-AT. Only if the roads were good it would have been a breeze.

[Pratyush]

a while back, enroute to mysore I was first overtaken by a yellow nano and then a by swift dzire driven by two aggressive looking women in spaghetti tops and voluptous build. 15 mins later as I was crossing the several traffic lights inside mandya town , the dzire was parked on the side, with a autorickshaw kissing its behind, and both the women were out and SCREAMING abuses at the auto wallah in convent school english, with the usual tamasha seeking crowd closely watching. not sure who was at fault.

Happens all the time. The MG road (NCR) is a regular hot spot for men and wimmens to race and see who has the biggest injune.

[Vipul]

In India after a long time and the number of vehicles on the road seems to have doubled.Travelling on highways outside mumbai feels like you are driving in the city.The speedometer stayed below 60 kph during the entire 2.5 hr stretch
Whats the practicality of owning big sedans (forget the luxurious brands) if you do not have the roads to drive them on?

[Dileep]

Whats the practicality of owning big sedans (forget the luxurious brands) if you do not have the roads to drive them on?

Well, the same practicality of parking a boat in your driveway

It is a istatus symbol onlee! The boat, you take to the lake/bay/ocean and sail. The car you take to show off.

[Singha]

comfort not speed. atleast upto accord size. after that its ego. big suv also likely ego.
hold the hindoo to same yardstick - all of usa can manage fine with smaller cars....

[Singha]

I think aggressive drivers tend to buy swift in the first place....if they cannot afford the audi/3-series...

[Bade]

comfort not speed. atleast upto accord size. after that its ego. big suv also likely ego.
hold the hindoo to same yardstick - all of usa can manage fine with smaller cars....

You know that it ain't true Most roads with the exception of arterial roads in cities as well as suburbs and rural areas can hardly handle two cars of the size of a honda or innova. In massa the each lane can hold two santros each. Five years back when I took a Scorpio to B'lore and was visiting a friend's place in old B'lore (malleswaram) had to park the Scorpio far away from the house after a failed attempt by the driver to park it nearby. People were parking their vehicles half on the road and the other half over the drain covers near their gates. It is only in the new apartment complexes that there are proper parking spots, even if hard to get to in complexes designed a decade ago.

[Singha]

*cough cough* saar emotions and feeling good count for something. else Massa had a great party at 0% or -ve household savings rate for a while - not ejactly a logical course of action based on deep thinking.

as already mentioned - you do need to be prepared for a longer walk after parking if driving a bigger car - which is ok for most big car owners - some dont mind it, some double park brazenly, some have drivers with cellphones to summon when its time.

[Sridhar K]

Finally booked a Manza QJD Aura+, exchanging my 4.5 yr old Getz. Expecting delivery in early Jan. 15000 cash discount + 20000 exchange bonus, basic accessories, fast depreciating value of my Getz was too much for my patience to wait for Manza CS or any other better offering. Rejected Dzire due to space at the rear (my Getz had better space could have afforded the waiting time), Etios due to Toyota's dumping policy in India, Vento/Linea on budget. Hopefully I get through without the typical niggles found in Tata cars.

[Singha]

Nano finally gets a TV ad. more needed for youth and commuter segments, this one was for rural/small town buyers.

samsung is spending absurd amt of $$ just for peddling its galaxy tablet.

[pgbhat]

Finally booked a Manza QJD Aura+, exchanging my 4.5 yr old Getz. Expecting delivery in early Jan. 15000 cash discount + 20000 exchange bonus, basic accessories, fast depreciating value of my Getz was too much for my patience to wait for Manza CS or any other better offering. Rejected Dzire due to space at the rear (my Getz had better space could have afforded the waiting time), Etios due to Toyota's dumping policy in India, Vento/Linea on budget. Hopefully I get through without the typical niggles found in Tata cars.

plij to post fotu when you get delivery.

[putnanja]

Finally booked a Manza QJD Aura+, exchanging my 4.5 yr old Getz. Expecting delivery in early Jan. 15000 cash discount + 20000 exchange bonus, basic accessories, fast depreciating value of my Getz was too much for my patience to wait for Manza CS or any other better offering. Rejected Dzire due to space at the rear (my Getz had better space could have afforded the waiting time), Etios due to Toyota's dumping policy in India, Vento/Linea on budget. Hopefully I get through without the typical niggles found in Tata cars.

Good choice! I have heard that Manza is good VFM and is supposed to be quite good.

[nachiket]

Parents bought a Manza Diesel Aura+ in last month. They were upgrading from the old Indigo. Both of them seem extremely happy with the car, especially the interior room and boot space. The Fiat engine is much quieter compared to the old Indigo diesel engine and more powerful too.

[Pranav]

Nano finally gets a TV ad. more needed for youth and commuter segments, this one was for rural/small town buyers.

samsung is spending absurd amt of $$ just for peddling its galaxy tablet.

[manish]

Nano finally gets a TV ad. more needed for youth and commuter segments, this one was for rural/small town buyers.

samsung is spending absurd amt of $$ just for peddling its galaxy tablet.

OT here but the image of the protagonist wearing a pink chaddi is unlikely to help 'em much with male audiences, mainly due to echandee reasons.

The guy looks downright gay!

[Aditya_V]

Finally a Jeep wrangler type vehicle in India. I know what my next car will be ( if I can somehow convince SHQ)

The Mahindra Thar Launched!

http://www.zigwheels.com/news-features/ ... hed/7235/1

[Singha]

thar was allegedly available as a special order through 'contacts' earlier or so people claim. definitely should gel well with the tbhp crowd - places like chennai, blr, coimbatore, salem, kerala have a high number of true offroad types.

[manish]

Talking of big automakers passing off hand-me-downs to emerging markets, here's Honda with its Li Nian /Everus S1. One look and any SDRE can tell that it is simply a mildly refreshed Gen II City (what the T-BHP junta labels as NHC).

Honda debuts Li Nian S1 in Guangzhou

Honda has unleashed a new compact sedan on the Chinese market. Called the Li Nian S1, or Everus for those that speak the king's English, the new vehicle is geared toward younger buyers. We're guessing that this little sucker gets its bones from the likes of the Honda City given its proportions and the fact that Honda says that the vehicle is based on existing architecture. Buyers will be able to pick up the Everus with their choice of either a 1.3-liter or a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine when the pint-sized sedan goes on sale in spring 2011.

To be fair, they are at least admitting that it is based on existing architecture.

[Singha]

something called Nissan Sunny with 1.5 ltr engine is headed to India. some claim its in toyota etios/Dzire range , some claim ANHC/ventor sedan, some claim altis/civic range. it looks like a shrunk altima from the side and somewhat like altis too.
http://www.rediff.com/business/slide-sh ... 101220.htm

methinks it will compete with ANHC/vento sedan given its 1.5ltr engine and general interior size.

I kind of like the Micra - it seems to have a bigger interior than the Swift and is surprisingly large.

[niran]

Nissan Sunny is the mid subcompact line up of Nissan or shall we say it is in the
Honda Civic and Toyota Corrola class, current model looks like Toyota Camry 2010 version front headlamps and rear is from its Ceffario line up. good car albeit starts to disintegrate after 3 years of use.

[Singha]

WSJ - if X1 costs in same range as fortuner/cr-v it will surely sell more than either due to snob value alone

BMW India Unveils X1 SUV

By NIKHIL GULATI

NEW DELHI – BMW AG's India unit Thursday unveiled its new compact X1 SUV as it announced plans to raise capacity in its south India factory in a bid to meet a surge in demand for its luxury sedans and sport-utility vehicles in the country.



This is BMW India's second expansion in the country – Asia's third-largest automobile market – in the last three months.

The auto maker is also lifting capacity so it can assemble its new X1, which the company expects will become its best-selling model in India within a few months, BMW India President Andreas Schaaf said at a news conference.

The latest expansion will take annual capacity at the plant, located in Chennai in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, to 8,000 cars and SUVs from 5,400 previously. In September, BMW raised the plant's capacity by 80% to 5,400 units a year.

The expansion comes on the back of record growth in car and SUV sales in India. Overall car sales in India jumped 32% in April-November, with the luxury car segment leading the growth rate because of its small base.

Demand for luxury cars and SUVs is booming in India thanks to a series of new model introductions, rising incomes of the upper-middle class and easy availability of loans.

"Any assumptions of the Indian luxury car market we make goes wrong," Mr. Schaaf said. "The total market has nearly doubled to 15,000 units from 8,500 last year and is expected to continue growing further."

He said BMW India's vehicle sales are likely to grow 60% in 2010, ahead of an initial internal forecast.

From January to the end of November, the company sold 5,345 luxury cars and SUVs, while rival Mercedes Benz India Pvt., a unit of Daimler AG, sold 5,109 vehicles.

BMW Thursday officially introduced its X1, priced between 2.2 million rupees ($48,000) and 2.99 million rupees. It will sell a variant of the X1 with a 2.0 liter gasoline engine and two other variants with a similar diesel engine.

:The price and the value proposition of this car is very attractive and we expect X1 to be the biggest selling BMW model in India," Mr. Schaaf said.

The company has received bookings for 1,000 X1 SUVs. These pre-booked vehicles will be delivered between January and March.

BMW currently assembles its 3- and 5-series luxury sedans and SUV X1 in India. It also imports the 6- and 7-series, SUVs X3 and X5, crossover vehicle X6 and sports cars Z4 and M-series.

Write to Nikhil Gulati at nikhil.gulati@dowjones.com

[rsingh]

It is for snob value and thats it. Saw so many X1 stuck in snow like wet duck. IMO there was "top gear" pardafas on BMW 's so called SUV series. Even X5 is crap if one compare it to some real SUVs. (suspension is ok though).

[Singha]

india does not have extreme climatic conditions, plus nobody who buys a bmw suv here or abroad really does it for off-road work. so its ok as long as it rides well on the road.