DriveBlog

The one where GM gets the drift

Industry pundits and market-watchers alike have long since been critical of, and been puzzled by, GM's determined non-participation in the high-volume compact car segment in India. Save for a rather lacklustre showing in the hatchback segment in the form of the Opel Corsa Sail, the world's largest carmaker has had us believe that the lack of its presence in the entry, B and premium-B segments has been part of a well thought-out strategy.

Well, you know that bit about doing as the Romans do. With every carmaker worth its salt scrambling over the other to grab a piece of the small car pie, it probably didn't take a genius to figure out and tell GM what they were missing out on. Ergo, very soon, car buyers in India will have the Chevrolet Aveo and the Chevrolet Spark (nee the Daewoo Matiz) add to what is increasingly becoming a bewildering (in a good way, you understand) range of small and compact automobiles to choose from.

Also see:
The Fiat Palio 1.6 GTX vs. the Opel Corsa Sail
The small shape of things to come

Baby got (hatch)back!

Finally, a shootout to warm the cockles of the hearts of the hardest-core hatch lovers! In a comparo that a lot of people will have been waiting for, Overdrive pits the Opel Corsa Sail against the Fiat Palio nv against the Hyundai Getz against the Ford Fusion.

The final verdict? Surprise, surprise - while the Getz scores on styling and driveability and the Fusion is the more technically superior car, the Palio continues to emerge as the best overall package when it comes to picking a hatchback.

In a shift from tradition, fuel efficiency is something that has more or less been ignored in the final analysis, the difference between the four being too close to call.

GM's Indian saga

General Motors features as one of the case studies in a column on leading global brands that found the going tough when they brought their offerings to India. Mistaken assumptions about growth-driving segments, a shortsighted approach to moves by the competition and a couple of faulty operational decisions were some of the faux pas that GM committed during its first few years here.

Festive bang begins

The first ones off the block to offer freebies and discounts to car buyers are Maruti, Hyundai and GM India. While MUL is giving away the Zen and the WagonR with goodies worth Rs. 28,900 and Rs. 26,500 on the house (the offer stands for all cars booked on or before the 15th of this month), Hyundai is rounding off the package on the Santro Xing for a tempting Rs. 3 Lakhs (ex-showroom), valid till tomorrow only. And in the C segment, it's the Opel Corsa Elite, a 200-numbers-only edition of the Opel Corsa 1.4 Gsi that's up for grabs at about Rs. 5.3 lakhs.

General Motors on call

Opel and Chevrolet owners can, starting October 20, 2004 (if you're in Delhi & the National Capital Region and December 1, 2004 nationally), call 3030-8080 from anywhere in the country to talk to General Motors India Customer Care. Charges will only be levied for a local call. GM is the first car company in the country to set up a dedicated call-centre as part of its customer care programme.

Fiat attempted something similar earlier this year.

A case of sink or Swing

Opel Corsa Swing sales rose by 1400% in the 4 months from June to September 2004. If you're wondering why they aren't exactly celebrating, here's why. They sold 1 unit of the car in June which went up to 14 units in September.

General Motors' Inner View

GMIL has a pretty confident outlook on where they are and where they're headed, according to their VP and General Manager. And this is inspite of a (claimedly) conscious absence in the high volume but price-sensitive entry segment.

Oh, and speaking of their future in India...I hope it includes this. One word - deelicious!

A case for the Corsa

Sedan variants of the Opel Corsa will now cost upto Rs. 36,000 less. But be warned, this may be only for the next 2 months.