Bharat Rakshak

kvraghav wrote:Now that we are discussing this,was deciding on the choice between fabia and swift.Took a test drive of both.Fabia is like a volvo truck with tempo traveller engine.no power at all wat so ever even in the second.swift looks like a ferrari when compared to this..

kvraghav wrote:Now that we are discussing this,was deciding on the choice between fabia and swift.Took a test drive of both.Fabia is like a volvo truck with tempo traveller engine.no power at all wat so ever even in the second.swift looks like a ferrari when compared to this..

Himanshu wrote:

kvraghav wrote:Now that we are discussing this,was deciding on the choice between fabia and swift.Took a test drive of both.Fabia is like a volvo truck with tempo traveller engine.no power at all wat so ever even in the second.swift looks like a ferrari when compared to this..

Swift starts rattling after 6 months of ownership.. Don't own one.. but lot of my collegues and this is their FIRST and MOST vented out gripe..

kvraghav wrote:That now leaves me with lancer.almost the same price range as fabia and swift.somewhere in between..

The problem is that it is dated and will be replaced sooner than later. But withe the price cuts and deep discounts on offer, definitely worth a look. Much better value than buying the Fabia junk at that price.!.

kvraghav wrote:

The problem is that it is dated and will be replaced sooner than later. But withe the price cuts and deep discounts on offer, definitely worth a look. Much better value than buying the Fabia junk at that price.!.

Hmm that leaves me a very confused guy .Have to think b/w lancer,swift and fiesta now.Lets see.

Singha wrote:I have put some 96,000 odd Kms in 3 1/2 years.

what have you been doing ? I am barely at 25k in same timeframe.
your mileage is high even for Massa where avg Joe hits that in 5 yrs.

Nissan to start selling LCVs in India

Japanese auto major Nissan today said it will start selling light commercial vehicles in India from 2010. "As previously announced, Nissan will start LCV sales in India and the US during 2010," the company said in a statement.

pradeepe wrote:For me the tossup is between the Swift and the Honda City. I can probably squeeze out the moolah for the City, but the Swift is quite appealing in looks and compared to the City will leave nice li'l change for other boys' toys.

pradeepe wrote:Looks like it will end up being the City. I havent driven the Logan yet, and will need to give it a try sometime.

Btw, this might be stale news, but saw an ad in the local newspaper today morning. Tata's Alta (? - can't remember the name exaclty) being touted as a green vehicle with dual fuel option - LNG/Petrol. Cost around 3.5 lakhs.

bart wrote:The City buying crowd (know its overpriced but buy exactly for that reason) and the Logan (can afford a City but buy a Logan for the VFM) buying crowd are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Indian Officials (Try To) Put a Stop
To Risky Overcrowding of Three-Wheel Taxis
By SUDEEP REDDY
May 29, 2008; Page A1

HYDERABAD, India -- Mohammed Usman used to cram as many people as possible into his motorized rickshaw -- up to eight adults, twice the legal limit.

But not anymore. "If I put more than one extra person, I know I'll get a ticket," he says. "The risk is too high."

Tiny, tinny three-wheel taxis, known as autorickshaws, are ubiquitous in South Asia. They are nimble, cheap and popular: A ride costs just pennies.
[auto]
Sudeep Reddy
Passengers leaning out each side of India's crowded auto rickshaws risk being hit by passing vehicles; they can also make the auto unstable.

But they are also dangerous, and as Indian roads get increasingly crowded, passengers are paying with their lives. Here in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, autorickshaws are involved in one-third of all accidents, even though they account for only one out of every 20 vehicles on the road.

So the cops are cracking down. Police are enforcing long-ignored laws against overcrowding, and officials are rounding up drivers for training sessions. Drivers must sit through an educational video and view gory photos -- autorickshaws crushed between buses, and mangled on roadsides -- to qualify for a free lunch.

Several thousand drivers have shown up for the training so far, including Nara Krishna Choudary, who has piloted autorickshaws for 25 years. But he isn't changing his driving habits. "If I try to stick to the rules, I won't get anywhere," says Mr. Choudary, 54 years old, because "everybody else is breaking the rules."

The tickets, however, have forced him to cut down on overcrowding. "The police have become very strict" about that, he says.

Fines can take a bite out of drivers' pay. Tickets start at 50 rupees (about $1.25) for each passenger over the limit, so a single ticket can erase one-quarter of a driver's typical 200-rupee daily profit.

One goal of the state's antiovercrowding effort is to persuade drivers -- and passengers -- to respect rules limiting autorickshaws to just six children at a time, instead of the dozen or more routinely carried to and from school. Officials hold meetings in schoolyards telling stories about youngsters who die when packed vehicles crash.

'Tips From Tinku'

The state has also printed 2.5 million comic books aimed at children. In one, "Traffic Tips from Tinku," a boy named Tinku nags his uncle, Chandu, about wearing seat belts and other traffic-safety issues. During a ride to meet Chandu's bride's family, he sniffs his uncle's breath to be sure he hasn't been drinking. He also warns against crowded autorickshaws: "If an accident happens, no one will be left alive," he says.
[AUTOScomic_promo.jpg]
The state of Andhra Pradesh has printed millions of comic books to teach children about traffic hazards, including autorickshaws. Read along with one of them.

The government of Andhra Pradesh has also trained thousands of teenagers to be "Traffic Commandos." Wearing blue vests and badges, they keep watch near school grounds to be sure autorickshaws don't pack children in unlawfully.

"In my school, [overcrowding] is under control now," says K. Vamsi Krishna, a 16-year-old Traffic Commando at St. Marks High School in the suburb of East Marredpally, Secunderabad.

Mr. Krishna admits he used to ride to school in rickshaws stuffed with 10 children. Now he takes the bus.

Plenty of other people still take the risk because autorickshaws remain one of the cheapest and speediest ways to get around India. The vehicle's simplicity has provided millions of young men with a steady job. Many drivers receive the three-wheelers (which can cost more than $2,500) as part of a dowry gift from a bride's family in marriage.

Drivers say packing in passengers is win-win: They get extra fares, and riders get affordable transportation.

In that camp is Mohammed Shabbir, a driver who pulled up to the main bus station here in an autorickshaw that was clearly breaking the law. A startling number of people emerged: a mother and her son, a young man and his luggage, and then several women in saris. In all, nine people.

Mr. Shabbir is unapologetic. His passengers are too poor to worry about the danger, he says, and he needs the money. "What can I do?" he says. "I have a wife and six kids."

Game of Chicken

The city's 1,200 traffic cops have their work cut out for them in a region that's home to roughly 10 million people. Driver Abdul Raheem, 32, still packs his vehicle, but only when he thinks he can get away with it. "Everybody knows that during lunchtime," he says, "the police will be away."

Overcrowding can be particularly acute in rural areas. Nighttime routes between far-flung villages can turn into terrifying games of chicken with massive trucks that dominate the road.

One recent evening in Thirumalagiri, a village 80 miles from Hyderabad, autorickshaw drivers gathered along the main street, calling out their destinations. Driver Nagulagari Baburao carefully seated 18 people in and on his autorickshaw for a 17-mile run to a village nearby. Five passengers sat on the main bench, and three children squeezed into a space behind their heads. Three people sat on a ledge on the back of the autorickshaw, dangling their legs. Three more sat on the rails of the vehicle, and another three shared the driver's seat (not including the driver).

Each person paid five rupees, or about 13 cents.

Mr. Baburao estimates that he has been stopped by police 30 times or so for overcrowding. Sometimes, he offers the cop a share of his fares -- in other words, a bribe. "I cannot live like this," he says he tells the officer, in a pleading tone. "I'll give you a little bit."

But that doesn't always work, he says, so he pays the fine.

Riding in an autorickshaw is a cheap thrill. The vehicle has a roof but no doors, and drivers use a squeezable horn to honk as they weave in and out of traffic, ignoring lane dividers. Dirt and fumes are constant travel companions.

For many passengers, however, that doesn't sound so bad when "the alternative is hanging out of a bus," says S.V. Subramanyam, a doctor in Hyderabad. "So we prefer this," he said recently, as he squeezed into an autorickshaw with a half-dozen other people.

--Lison Joseph contributed to this article.

Write to Sudeep Reddy at [email protected]

Honda to offer India's first hybrid car

Honda Siel Cars will launch its and India's first hybrid car - the Honda Civic hybrid - on June 18 in Delhi market. The car will run on electricity as well as petrol.

"It will be available at all our 80 dealersips across the country for test drive on the same day," said Masahiro Takedagawa, president and CEO of Honda Siel Cars India Ltd. He said, while the company does not expect to sell more than 300-400 cars in the first year, the idea is to give its Indian customers an experience of the car.

The hybrid car, which will be imported from its Suzuka factory in Japan, will cost over Rs 20 lakh ex-showroom, post an import duty of 104 per cent, said Takedagawa, after inaugurating Pride Honda, the company's second dealership in Hyderabad.

Nayak wrote:Is This a Can of Sardines,
Or a Motorized Rickshaw?

Indian Officials (Try To) Put a Stop
To Risky Overcrowding of Three-Wheel Taxis
By SUDEEP REDDY
May 29, 2008; Page A1

HYDERABAD, India -- Mohammed Usman used to cram as many people as possible into his motorized rickshaw -- up to eight adults, twice the legal limit.

Singha wrote:how about having less kids ?

Chennai to house Nissan`s Micra unit

Nissan, Japan's third largest car maker in which Renault holds 44 per cent stake, today said that it will produce the next generation Micra, a small car sold in European and Pacific countries, in Chennai, along with other notified markets.

Vehicle maker Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt Ltd (RNAIPL) on Friday kicked off construction work for its new passenger vehicle plant in Chennai, which will have a capacity of four lakh units a year and will be set up with an investment of Rs 4,500 crore.

Nayak wrote:Bhai-log

One question.

What is the safest CNG/LPG kit available on the market ?

What is the cost of LPG at the pumps ?

I am planning to install one on my Alto.

Thanks.

CNG prices dropped last month from Rs 19.20 a kg to Rs 18.90. In addition to bringing down the running cost of the vehicle by almost 75%, CNG also has the added advantage of being a green fuel.

I view ALL the alternate energy technologies with skepticism.