Government Stops Issuing Vehicle Registration Number If Total of Digits is 8

In Tamilnadu state, transport authorities have stopped issuing those registration numbers for vehicles whose four digits have a total of 8 like 5435, 2204 etc. However, this ban is not official as no specific orders have been issued by the government nor there is any rule prescribing this as official method.  This interesting step has been taken by the state government to curb the corruption in the Transport Department of this state.

In Tamilnadu, people consider number 8 as unlucky like 13 in some western countries. A majority of the people always avoided registration numbers whose total was 8 while applying for a registration number for their newly purchased vehicle. So, some of the greedy officials at the transport authority were indulging in corruption by offering the vehicle owners a vehicle number that was not unlucky, i.e. whose four digits did not have a total of 8.  In fact, there were some cases where transport officials intentionally offered only these so called unlucky numbers so that the vehicle owner was forced to shell out some money for avoiding these numbers.

Now, to avoid these cases, Transport Department has made an unofficial policy not to issue any of these unlucky registration numbers.  Those still interested in getting such a number can pay a premium and choose the number.

Ford stops bookings for Ecosport

Ford has been flooded with the bookings for Ecosport, its small SUV right from the day it was launched in June this year. In just two months time, the number of bookings have increased so much that now Ford has decided to stop booking for some time.  This SUV has three different engine options, a 1.5 liter diesel, another 1.5 liter petrol and the famous 1 liter Ecoboost petrol engine.

In India, it is the diesel version that was expected to be the most preferred choice and the same has been the reality.  Waiting periods have climbed to 8-12 months in different parts of the country.  This is inspite of the fact that economy is in doldrums.  The price of Ecosport is the biggest drawing factor and it is more attractive as no competition is neither present nor is likely to be seen in the near future. The gap between Ecosport and its rival Renault Duster is aroung 200,000 Rupees which is quite significant.  Further, the soon coming Terrano from Nissan is not likely to be price competitive either.

Top Ten Best Selling Cars in India - July 2013

Following is the list of top ten best selling cars in India during July 2013.  All figures have been rounded off to nearest 100.

Suzuki Alto          18200
Suzuki Dzire         15200
Suzuki Wagon R  13400
Suzuki Swift         10500
Mahindra Bolero    7000
Hyundai Eon          6900
Hyundai i10           6700
Honda Amaze        6500
Hyundai i20           5400
Ford Ecosport       4700

Ecosport has entered the top ten list and left its rival Renault Duster well behind which sold 3100 units during the same month.

Hyundai i10 or Honda Brio

Our reader Gurpreet Singh has asked the following question -
I am considering i10. Is is a good car compared to Brio?

Our opinion* -

It is certainly good at the price along with the discounts it is available for.  But there are certain other considerations which make Brio a better car. The first one is the mileage issue.  Although i10 claims a mileage of 20 plus and Brio 19 plus, it is Brio which is winner in this area.  The second thing is that Honda engines as well as their cars are very reliable.  Besides this, the width of i10 is 1595 mm whereas Brio has 1680 mm of width.  This difference of 8.5 cm is significant when fifth passenger sits in the car.  Further, the ride quality in Brio is just decent but is certainly better than i10, thanks to its tyre size of 13" compared with Brio's 14".  In view of these, I would recommend Brio.

*The opinion presented is based on the summary of general opinion of users of these two cars, as expressed on various forums.