DriveBlog

Fiat India is (in) the pits

There really and truly ceases to be any doubt about that at the moment. Go to the Fiat India corporate website now and you're likely to be greeted with:

"The Fiat-India site is currently Non-Functional due to Non-Payment since more than 1 Year."

I am, quite simply, at a loss for words.

(Found via the The Indian Automotive Blog)

What's your opportunities share?

Leave it to the market leader to redefine the way the business is looked at. For Maruti Udyog, marketshare is passe. They'd rather look at how many new opportunities they can create for themselves and more importantly, how many of those can be translated into real business? 'Opportunities share' - the MD's favourite new catchphrase is...well, catching on.

You've come a long way, baby

You just gotta believe that the Indian car industry is in overdrive when you consider the following:

• Passenger vehicle production has quintupled (yes children, that's 5 times) in the past decade
• Car loans cost anything between 18 and 26% in the early 90s. Compare that with car financing available today at 6.5%
• Delivery time for a new car has reduced from a few weeks (months even) to a few hours
• Competition's so fierce that carmakers are today selling cars at the same price, or even cheaper, that they were 7 to 8 years ago, technological advancements notwithstanding
• Customer satisfaction levels are at an all time high

Maine in India

(In) Maine and/or Massachusetts:
Always stop for cows in the road.

(In) India:
Same rule. But, if you have any snacks in the car, share them with the cow. He could be your great-great-great grandfather.

And more from a tongue-in-cheek and very funny piece on why driving in India and Maine / Massachusetts, New England is so similar...or different, depending on which way you look at it.

Maruti's cool schools

Now this is something that the anything-but-dull roads and traffic situations in India [link via Route79] could definitely do with. In what seems like a 'give-back-to-the-Indian-driving-public-what-it-gave-to-you' gesture, Maruti Udyog Limited has announced plans to introduce new driving schools of world-class standard, where they will impart, among other things, 'attitude training to deal with different situations on the road'.

The privilege of being second best...

They may have the country's largest selling car, but they're no longer the country's second largest-selling carmaker. Not for the 6 months from April to December last anyway.

PS: Post title unabashedly 'inspired'. =)

And all that Jazz...

The year 2005 could just be the year of the "new, emerging cusp segment between premium compact cars and sedans". The latest entrant to set everyone's tongue wagging is the Honda Jazz, which along with the City was specifically developed by Honda for emerging automobile markets such as ours. Once launched, the Jazz, talked about for its innovative interior storage options and extremely easy-on-the-eye design, is expected to set new standards in the premium hatchback segment in India.

Renault might be Logan on!

A great-looking, solidly performing, fuel-efficient 3-box sedan for under Rs. 3 Lakhs? You might not have to wait till when pigs take flight. How does a couple of years sound? If French carmaker Renault is able to work things out with Mahindra & Mahindra, then the Renault Dacia Logan could hit the Indian blacktop sometime in late-ish 2006. Already being billed as the 'cheapest midsizer in the world', the Logan could be everything the most die-hard sedan lover would love to have at a price he would hate to refuse.

Blown away?

A blow-by-blow (couldn't let that one by, could I?) of what you should and shouldn't do when one of your tyres gives way during a (high-speed) drive:

• A car veers wildly in the case of a front tyre blowout and less so in the case of a rear tyre one. Don't steer suddenly, but try to slow down and get to the side.

Hyundai Getz Autocar COTY

The Hyundai Getz won its second prominent award in recent times when it rolled away with the title of 'Car of the Year' at the 4th CNBC-TV18 Autocar Auto Awards 2005. But again, it was the Fusion that took home the honour for 'Best Driver's Car', just like it almost beat the Getz to the title at the BS Motoring Awards for being the more 'Fun to Drive' automobile. Seems like the Ford super-hatch / mini-SUV is one sweet drive.