DriveBlog

No hurrying please, we're Indians

Almost 40% of prospective car-buying Indians consider atleast 2 models before making up their minds, finds JD Power APAC's India Escaped(?) Shopper Study 2005. Price, financing options and fuel economy are their chief concerns and Maruti and Hyundai are the brands that are most often evaluated.

Also see:
India Online Auto User Trends 2004
Car-buying from the heart

Overwait!

Never did I think, that in this day and age, someone would have to wait 9 months for a new car.

Monday Top 5

If you're on the lookout for a car sometime in the very near future and happen to be someone who's determined to get the mostest out of your moolah (who doesn't, eh?), then here are truly five value-for-money deals - 4 sedans and one shoebox on wheels - that you might not want to miss.

Also see:
BS Motoring does the Maruti Versa (Download the .txt)

Pre-owned problems

The Indian used car market continues to go through what seems like an 'performance-appraisal' crisis. Is it doing well or isn't it? While a veritable barrage of new product / variant launches, difficult-to-refuse new car finance options and the city dweller's 'need to be seen' in the latest set of wheels seem to be pushing it to the fringes of extinction in the urban market, it's increasingly looking at rural segments and a revival of demand via the likes of Maruti's and Hyundai's (expected) pre-owned car ventures to bring it back to fighting fit.

What's your choice? Cheaper second-hand or is 'new' you?

Related: How to buy a used Hyundai Santro.

Auto Replies - 2

It's been a while since we hit those 'Which Car?' hotspots, so without further ado, here are some of those questions which I'm sure some of you would have identified with at some point or the other:

• Would you rather do without having to grapple with the clutch and a gear lever when you drive? Like things a little more uncomplicated? Here are some of the choices you have when it comes to automatic transmission. But be warned: there is a flip side.

Small car? Big decision

"In a market bursting with choices for all wallets and whims, shopping for a small car is no small job. Look left, look right, left again, proceed."

A no-nonsense, practical guide to buying a small car in India.

Feeling used...

It doesn't matter whether you're buying that hand-me-down from a dealer or from a previous owner - a thorough once-over of the automobile is pretty much mandatory. That is pretty much a known fact. What isn't is what exactly in the used car you should be giving the once-over to - so here's a guide to help you do that.

Confessions of a Car Buyer

There are three distinct personality traits that are bound to get you a good deal on a new car: obstinacy, skepticism and greed. Well, they definitely worked for this guy.

Car buying gets emotional

An interesting study by market research specialist, TNS, seeks to uncover the triggers that determine brand preference among Indian car buyers. And this time, they've found that these key determinants are becoming increasingly 'softer' - more a function of what the car owner would like to convey to the external world - rather than the 'touch-and-feel', more rational parameters like say, fuel economy and engine displacement.

Hyundai, Maruti, Toyota and Honda were the 4 auto companies included in the survey to assess the 'real' needs of car buyers. Based on the study, car customers are categorised into potency, utility, adventure, liberation, prestige and status buyers. Which one of these is you?

The Silver Lining

Metallic colours, and silver especially, have been gaining popularity in the Indian car industry over the past few months - a far cry from a few years ago when the larger percentage of cars that were seen on the roads were white. And supposedly, for all the right reasons.

And if you thought that the carmakers just picked a half dozen paint shades, slapped 3 coats of it on their cars and rolled them out of the factory for the buyer to pick from, think again. There's a detailed, scientific process - and an entire industry behind it - that's looking into what the colour of your car needs to be.