Indian Autos Thread

Javee · Post by **Javee** » 17 Nov 2014 14:43

Aditya,
I travel 24kms (from Old Chennai to New Chennai) in about 50 mins. The traffic moves fairly consistent until I hit the world class expressway's Sholinganallur signal. That takes a solid 10 mins at the min, so I'm not complaining

I want to start a campaign for MRTS to permit cycles in at-least one of the cars. This will help people like me who lives closer to a MRTS station, who can pedal/ride the entire distance to SEZ's. I'm sure there will be a bunch of people who would ride a bicycle/train combo given a chance.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 17 Nov 2014 14:47

imo chennai has way less number of two wheelers and overall density even in CBDish areas like anna salai, cenotaph road, teynampet, T nagar the roads may not be that big, but even amidst pounding rain I could see the traffic was moving along and not gridlocked which is common in blr.

not ventured into itvity areas, but did spot a solid jam near iitm leading towards adyar.

two wheeler riders seem to be much more disciplined and law abiding vs blr which has the worst two wheeler riders.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 17 Nov 2014 14:50

just worried about their safety that all, see them on normal days

negi · Post by **negi** » 17 Nov 2014 15:39

Chennai's weather forces ITVTY brats to eat humble pie and buy a small hatch rather than a Bullet , Bangalore's young ITVTY crowd is the most pretentious bunch in the whole world they yap a lot about humanity and liberalism but bump into cars and pedestrians as if they were non loving objects.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 18 Nov 2014 09:29

There are enough brats in Chennai 2 wheelers and auto drivers, believe me. They cause the maximum injuries to civilians and dents to cars through sheer carelessness

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 18 Nov 2014 11:37

not carelessness , arrogance

Comer · Post by **Comer** » 20 Nov 2014 21:04

This could be a nice entry if fructifies, don't screw it up, local Govts

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ind ... 210985.cms

NEW DELHI: Tesla Motors, the world's most successful electric car maker, plans to enter the Indian market with its upcoming sedan that will be priced at less than half of its existing model even as the country's high import duty remains abig obstacle, a top executive said. Tesla is working on its third-generation car — a smaller and affordable four-door sedan code named Tesla Model 3 — to target emerging markets like India.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 21 Nov 2014 08:09

days of Govt officials moving around in ambassadors with curtains is over - except the poor army generals who are slowly moving maruti SX4 now.
while ministers and their chelas have got themselves corollas mostly, recently I saw

vice chancellor of tezpur univ has a swank Fortuner
the chairman of pondicherry port has a graceful brown BMW5 series..I was not aware pondi even had a port beyond a fishing port.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 21 Nov 2014 09:42

I think you talking of Karaikal port, a small parcel of land belonging to Puducherry 110km south along the Tamil Nadu Coast and not in main Puducherry. Thats why you might not have heard or seen it on a trip to Pondi

nandakumar · Post by **nandakumar** » 22 Nov 2014 15:45

Aditya_V wrote:I think you talking of Karaikal port, a small parcel of land belonging to Puducherry 110km south along the Tamil Nadu Coast and not in main Puducherry. Thats why you might not have heard or seen it on a trip to Pondi

It is a private port, too. Owned by a real estate firm from Chennai, Marg Construction. From all accounts, quite profitable. the CEO could be expected to drive BMW!

chiru · Post by **chiru** » 23 Nov 2014 10:21

asgkhan wrote:Got my Thunderbird delivered on the weekend. Already done 70 kms on it. Planning to ride daily to office. Man, never have I experienced such torque. Even in traffic it does not make a difference if I am in 2 or 3rd. The pull is addictive.

Had to control myself not to exceed 50 kmph speed limit during the run in period. But god, the ride was orgasmic.

Those three hours spent riding the bull put a smile on my face the whole day.

Got the numberplate and crash guard fixed. It grabs eyeballs like anything.

Only fly in the ointment was the dreaded ticking sound from the engine. But looks like almost all the bullets have it.

I have to live with it's idiosyncrasies.

welcome to the club saar, the ticking sound is normal, its caused by the tappets, nothing to worry about.

you will take some time to completely understand the bike as it has frequent mood swings, keeps you on your toes.
that is the most alluring aspect of the bike for me

as the saying goes - Enfield makes mechanics out of men

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 23 Nov 2014 11:25

chiru wrote:.....

as the saying goes - Enfield makes mechanics out of men

Comer · Post by **Comer** » 23 Nov 2014 11:47

Speaking of motorcycles, my twenty year old Yamaha RX 100 is still going strong( touchwood!). Only thing I did is paint it black(which I regret it had a unique color of red). Stick should have been an accessory to beat folks who check if it is for sale

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 24 Nov 2014 09:38

ASG Khan enjoy the ride, nothing beats it, owned a 2nd hand classic 350 for 1.5 years before marriage. Right side gear, used to religiously kick slowly and bring the AMP meter to 0 before starting. apart from that for 8 years owned a Suzuki Show gun, just to ride it on free roads used to get up at 5:30 AM.

My dream is to have saved enough for Housing, kids education and buy a Classic 500.

chiru · Post by **chiru** » 24 Nov 2014 17:08

talking about the reliability of an enfield, some chi chi mullas in LM thread have stated that they or their friends were treated unfairly by the bike.

for that i would say its Karma. I did delhi - pathankot- srinagar - kargil - leh - pangong - manali - delhi this year in june. for the entire journey of 3400 kms, my thunderbird behaved like a dream but my friend was not so lucky on his classic.

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 24 Nov 2014 18:02

Chiru ji, that is one fantastic drive you did. Cheers to your spirit and your Thunderbird.

negi · Post by **negi** » 24 Nov 2014 18:14

New enfields are different from older ones , new ones have aluminium engine block old ones had one made of cast iron that and new gaskets make sure that new ones do not leak as much oil as old ones.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 24 Nov 2014 22:30

I suspect those chi chi maulaners have some khuji/ grudge, maybe in thier younger days one of thier crushes fell for Enfield riding dude or they were intidated by it. Don't know but it is not such a bad bike. Yes , if teenagers or young puppies abuse the bike they are in for trouble, but under normal riding its maintenance is not such an issue.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 26 Nov 2014 13:41

Saw a White Ciaz white ZDI parked next to me in a signal, was suprised that it Goodyear- R15/185/65 section tyres. Does that mean 195 section tyres is only for Z+.

Looks a bit underspec tyres for a car of this size to go with a car to with Maruti not explaining how they have made such a large car lightweight, what specific type of lightweight High strength steel used on the body or other alloys or carbon fiber. This after it has been shown in Euro and Latin NCAP tests that the Lighter weight Latin America spec version(closer to Indian version) of Swift was structurally compromised compared to the European Swift.

ON the upside the underspec tyres will give better mileage at the cost of grip.

negi · Post by **negi** » 26 Nov 2014 13:52

Maruti targets the biggest section of India's car buyer i.e. the ones who seek a VFM car which is low on maintenance ,high on FE and obviously the biggest car for a given amount. I personally agree with Maruti's philosophy those NCAP tests do not mean much in Indian context , 90% of our driving is within city limits where speed is about 20-40kph as for rash drivers even a tank cannot save them or others whom they overrun. Maruti has kept the prices in Indian auto sector sane else if left to pakis like Skoda, VW and other new entrants they would have fleeced the customers by now.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 26 Nov 2014 14:00

True. But I do think people who are spending 10 lacs plus OTR will be less bothered about FE than say people like me 7-8 years ago when I bought a Swift for 5 lacs.

But they are ones who have enabled millions of Indians to own cars at reasonable prices with good after sales service. While people look for rear seat space this not the Real Estate market where more square feet for less money is better. Lets see how the Ciaz performs over the next 6 months.

nachiket · Post by **nachiket** » 26 Nov 2014 23:46

Aditya_V wrote:Saw a White Ciaz white ZDI parked next to me in a signal, was suprised that it Goodyear- R15/185/65 section tyres. Does that mean 195 section tyres is only for Z+.

Honda is even more paki about this than Maruti. The Honda City which is similar in size has 175mm tyres, even at the highest trim level.

Gus · Post by **Gus** » 27 Nov 2014 00:07

Singha wrote:not ventured into itvity areas, but did spot a solid jam near iitm leading towards adyar.

that would be the traffic heading into the OMR road. they sorely need some underpasses and flyovers at all the junctions there - madhya kailash, thiruvanmayur rd, tharamani rd, perungudi, sholinganallur.

at peak traffic, there is 10 to 20 mins stop at each of these signals.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 27 Nov 2014 09:04

nachiket wrote:
Aditya_V wrote:Saw a White Ciaz white ZDI parked next to me in a signal, was suprised that it Goodyear- R15/185/65 section tyres. Does that mean 195 section tyres is only for Z+.
Honda is even more paki about this than Maruti. The Honda City which is similar in size has 175mm tyres, even at the highest trim level.

Aware of that Pakiness , My father owns a 3rd Gen 2010 Honda city, have had scary braking experiences and suspension bounces too much, too many speed breakers scrape the underbody, power comes in too high in rev band. Thats why the city was a big no when looking for car for me.

Even Vento comes with 185 mm tyres, when all the TV channels announced that Ciaz they mentioned 195mm tyres, atleast I thought there will be decent grip. I was surprised to see a ZDI with 185mm tyres. At least 185 is better than the 175mm on Honda's, it gets really really found out when you break hard, even with ABS you don't get the grip and stopping power.

I sold my 2nd hand Accent recently, its main drawback was a slighly soft suspension, R13 175 mm tyres- Although I had switched to Silicon based tyres, you feel the lightweight 1015KG body on Highways where you are struggling with crosswinds while heavier TDI Ventos and Rapid drivers continue on with thier heavier bodyweight.

nachiket · Post by **nachiket** » 27 Nov 2014 09:37

^^In that category the Verna has 195mm tyres on all models with 1.6L engines(Diesel and Petrol). They have stiffened the suspension this year to fix the biggest drawback of that car. But I hear a new version is coming out in 2015, so you might want to wait and check it out. The Verna's diesel engine (1.6L) is apparently really good (2nd hand reports). Much more powerful than the one on the City and very smooth. Petrol is on par with City. But the Auto tranny is 4-speed discount maal. I don't think any other car in that class in India gives you four engine options.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 27 Nov 2014 09:44

Nachiket - ALdready purchased my Car, yes Verna with better suspension is a very good car.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 01 Dec 2014 08:46

[youtube]watch?v=VsnqizeRcX4[/youtube]

Check out the off road/soft roading, not bad for 2wd front wheel drive 1.0 liter engine.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 02 Dec 2014 23:57

Dunno how much of this off-roading all these SUVs claim to do perfectly is true, a simple sink hole opened up this morning in one of parkways around here, and people who tried to back out of the mess using the median found themselves stuck in the sludge from the overnight rains.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 03 Dec 2014 05:38

India surely needs 2/4 seated ATVs. The market is huge!

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 15 Dec 2014 14:56

Appreciating a Turbo petro engines, forced to take a night drive at OMR/ECR was generally sticking to below 80 kph, but overtaking is far easier with the ecoboost 1.0 than it was with my Accent 1.5P or my dad's 3rd gen city.

The City I find power comes too high the rev band, other than automag's (who don't own the cars) in the real very few are able to tap the power between 4500-7000 rpm in the I-vtec. If you are in 5th at 80 kph, even shifting to 4th you find a Dzire DDIS, Swift DDIS, I20 1.4 CRDI, can easily overtake you without risks in the 80-100 kph band.

Plus the skinny 175mm tyres and 3rd gen city suspension (I heard 4th gen suspension is much more firmer and better) makes the City not soo much fun on the Highways.

negi · Post by **negi** » 16 Dec 2014 20:07

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/busi ... 537958.cms

NEW DELHI: Ford India will recall nearly 21,000 units of the Eco Sport SUV over potential problems related to airbag deployment as well as concerns on fuel and vapour line corrosion. This is the second recall for the US auto major in recent times after it called back over 3,000 units of the Fiesta sedan to replace a faulty part that could cause problems in starting of diesel engines.

"The safety of our customers is always top priority at Ford... we have initiated a Field Service Action to correct product concerns on 20,752 EcoSport vehicles in India. This is a proactive, voluntary recall action to ensure customers' safety and satisfaction," the company said.

**********************

Must say a very brave and nice gesture by Ford, many OEMs in India still think about 'log kya klahenge' and quietly wait for problems to surface and poor hapless customers to form a beeline for service centers for fixing such manufacturing issues . There is no shame in admitting a mistake and making amends as against pakis who refuse to admit that a mistake has happened .

Ford will get more customers in future if they maintain a good stable and provide good after sales support which from what I hear is improving.

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 16 Dec 2014 20:26

^^^ Volkswagen are having a major problem in the fuel filter and starter on the Vento at least. My Vento just refused to start when engines were hot. A called up the Dealer and they took my car, repaired with a change in Fuel Filter only and delivered the car without charge. I checked with the delivery guy if I was the only one with the problem. He said the problem was happening with others too. Some at 10K kms and some more than that. The company was quietly changing the filters without an Official recall.

I think Fords policy is better. Volkswagen is not being honest with customers.

negi · Post by **negi** » 16 Dec 2014 20:29

Germans are the most pretentious of the lot they put the blame for everything on Indian conditions ; the VW cars do not honour warranty for suspension they say for Indian conditions the suspensions are covered only till 10k kms. As for fuel system related issues their customary response is "Saar this is German car , put good quality fuel" .

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 16 Dec 2014 20:54

They said that when I called up the Customer Care for feedback.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 16 Dec 2014 22:15

The response to such behavior is to name and shame them. Record the calls, post it online, and let SM do the rest.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 17 Dec 2014 15:30

Mine being a Oct 2014 manufactured ecoboost does not get the recall, hopefully fixed, from the link.

Appraently in about 70,000 ecosports sold in India (60K by Aug 2014 +10K for 2 months) only 2715 are with ecoboost engines

Ford EcoSport recalled, 20,752 units may not deploy Airbags promptly

All EcoSport SUVs manufactured at Ford’s Chennai plant between January 2013 and 2014 September are the ones that are recalled. 19,441 units of the compact crossover may not deploy side Airbags promptly due to a mistake in wiring harness, which needs to be reoriented. The problem occurs in top-end Titanium variant, both petrol and diesel versions.

Apart from the Airbag issue, 2,715 units of Ford EcoSport petrol need to be checked for possible ‘long-term’ corrosion in Fuel and Vapour line, and replaced with new fitment. Number of units that are determined to have both problems are 1,404.

Read more at http://www.rushlane.com/ford-ecosport-r ... jiir5r2.99

Ecosport was launched in India in June 2013, which means only ~170 units of ecoboost engines are sold monthly in India. There was a INR 5K increasse in Ecoboost variants without side airbags and 13K increase in Petrol variants effective 1-Oct-2014, there was no increase in the Diesel variants. AT that time I thought Ford was extracting maximum it can get, it seems this is related to bettterparts related to this recall issue.

negi · Post by **negi** » 17 Dec 2014 16:18

^ I think Ecosport bagged maximum number of sales in it's category in desh this year and going by the trends it might continue to do that unless someone comes up with a better product. Had it not been for a long waiting period even I might have gone down the same route.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 17 Dec 2014 17:20

I have seen in Massa also small suvs are getting popular.
Not much change in cars japan nd Germany rule the roost in bay area with Hyundai making deep inroads now.

But overall far less number of high end cars vs nyc dc Boston belt.

The whole blr vs Mumbai thing. Blr makes the headlines, Mumbai counts the money.

sampat · Post by **sampat** » 18 Dec 2014 01:23

VW always have some issues with thruster and doors. Damn doors refuse to open in winters. Audis and VW's are loved by garage owners.

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 18 Dec 2014 02:14

^Are you talking about desi winters? I once spent an entire winter in Vermont, with my trusty old VW for company. Not one issue I had, considering I had to start the car in knee deep snow, and -10F cold.