Ducks of February 2012

Following are the models who have failed to find any customer this month in India and thus their sales figure is a cute ‘0’-

1. Camry (Toyota)

2. Prius (Toyota)

3. Beetle (VW)

4. Sonata (Hyundai)

GM sales down this month by 4 per cent

GM sales have gone donw by 4 per cent this February compared with the same month last year.  It sold 8901 units this month against 9303 units last year during same month.  Model wise break up is given below-

Spark  - 1328
Beat  - 4684
Aveo  - 90
Optra  - 273
Cruze  - 537
Tavera  - 1964
Captiva  - 25

2012 Punto & Linea : Now with Discounts

Fiat just launched its facelifted Linea and Punto, adding some extra features to these two cars.  However, it seems that they were priced too high. So, withing a few weeks of their coming out, Fiat has started discounts on them-

Linea 2012 Introducing			Punto 2012 Introducing
	Oceanic Blue Shade			Oceanic Blue Shade
	Bright Dual Tone Interiors			Bright Dual Tone Interiors
Best in class features			Best in class features
	Rain Sensing Wipers			Ground Clearance 195mm*
	Automatic Headlamps			Integrated Audio System in all variants
	Ground Clearance 185mm			Central Locking in all Variants
Value Pack worth Rs. 4,999/- on LINEA and 3,999/- on PUNTO + Free Insurance + Free RSA
Exchange Bonus Rs. 10,000/- Assured
Benefits upto 40,000/- on LINEA* and 34,000/- on PUNTO*

How to get details of a vehicle by SMS

To get the details regarding name of owner, type/make of vehicle, registration and road tax validity in India, send the vehicle registration no. via SMS in the following way-

vahan<space>registration no.without space

Send this to 092-123-57-123

You will immediately receive an SMS giving you the above details. This is applicable for vehicles registered after 2003 in any Transport Authority that has been digitised. 

Diesel versions of Honda City and Brio coming by 2012 end

Honda is all set to bring the diesel versions of City car and Brio hatchback by the end of 2012.  City diesel is expected to be priced around Rs. 8 lakh to Rs. 9 lakh.  Jazz is also going to be available in its diesel version by the start of 2013. The City will be likely to have 1.6 lt. iDTEC engine.

Win a Nissan Micra

Nissan in India has offered 6 Micra cars for prospective customers to win.  All you have to do is to register on Nissan's website for a test drive.  A unique code will be sent to you on your mobile and e-mail.  Take a print out of the acknowledgement e-mail and test drive the Micra at a dealership near you.  Fill in the test drive confirmation slip and retain it.  It will serve as a ticket for the lucky draw.  One draw will be held each week till 23rd March 2012.  You will be eligible for all the draws after your test drive.  Enjoy.

How Toyota has destroyed the Quality in Q Class

It was in December 2010 when Toyota launched the Etios, a sedan in India and termed it as Q class.  Q was for quality, said Toyota.  After some time, Etios Liva, hatchback version of this sedan was launched in June 2011.  People expected very highly of these two models from Toyota.  Products from Japanese car makers particularly Honda, Toyota and Suzuki are very much in demand in India.  Toyota’s earlier line of products i.e. Innova, Altis and Fortuner were very well established and doing well in the market.  As such, a high level of quality was expected from Toyota in its Liva and Etios models.

However, contrary to expectations and much contrary to its Q badge, these cars have anything but quality.  Once you enter these cars, the first impression that comes to the mind is cheap, cheap and cheap.  Everything inside the car seems so cheap that you can compare it to a very basic, 800 cc car from Suzuki i.e. Maruti 800 which costs less than half of the Liva.  The display cluster is in the middle of the dashboard and it is not just the position of this display but also the shape that irritates you and reminds you of the fact that Toyota designers were hell bent on presenting the most disgusting feeling inside the car.  The dashboard design is just irritating and qualityless. 

Coming to the quality of doors, you can not expect the solidness and compactness of European cars in Japanese cars.  But then, not having proper insulation in the doors is something which could have been avoided.  It was not done and the result – everything unwanted like water, noise, dust, insects entering the car.  This was some basic thing that could have been thought about.  Complaints for this aspect have become a routine among consumers.

Cost cutting is so deep that nobody in Toyota thought about the engine noise entering the cabin.  And everybody knows that Toyota’s engines are not like those of Honda’s or Suzuki’s k series or Hyundai’s kappa series which are super silent.  Noise, vibration and harshness levels are too much for the people inside the car.

While Toyota has tried to make some changes in the recent versions, it has left a bad taste among consumers who were very impressed till some time ago by the reliability of its cars.  Interesting thing is that Honda’s Brio, whose quality of material and engine is just awesome is priced lower than Liva.  Liva’s base model, comparable to Brio’s base model feature wise, is priced at Rs. 402000 against Brio’s price of Rs. 395000 (at New Delhi).  So, Toyota can not say that cheaper car brings cheaper materials.  It has to think about it.

Liva and Etios are other wise very good for the space, ride quality and long, hassle free life of engines, characteristics much desired in India.  But cost cutting and bad designing by Toyota has turned Q for Quality into Q for Question mark on Quality of Toyota products.

Macan - the new compact SUV from Porsche

Porsche has revealed the name of its new compact SUV as Macan which is an Indonesian word meaning tiger.  Earlier, this SUV was known by a code name 'Cajun'.  Macan is part of a strategy of Porsche known as Strategy 2018.

This SUV will be produced at Liepzig plant of Porsche in Germany from the year 2013 onwards.

Supercars for Hire

An organisation called Club Torque is offering supercars on rent basis to its members at a registration fee of Rs. 1.5 lakh and membership fee of Rs. 5 lakh to 15 lakh.

At present, the club has Ferrari F430, Audi R8, Mercedes E-Class Cabriolet, Porsche 911 Carrera, and the BMW Z4. More cars will be added in the future.




 

Bookings for Brio Open Now

Honda India has opened the bookings for its hatchback Brio after improvement in the supply of its parts.

Current waiting list for Brio is likely to be cleared by March end.

Renault Duster launch in June, Bookings open

Renault is going to launch its compact SUV Duster in June this year.  Booking are open for this SUV.  Renault has updated its website and listed some features which are going to be available in this compact SUV.  Following is the list of features-

Music system with USB with Aux-in and Bluetooth connectivity

Four speakers

Satellite audio

Phone control

Keyless entry

Rear defogger

Rear wiper & washer

Electric mirrors

Rear parking sensors

Front fog lamps

Details of pricing and engines are not yet disclosed but it is expected that Renault will put a 1.6 Litre MPFI petrol engine that develops 105 BHP of max power and delivers approximately 13 kmpl of fuel efficiency. The diesel model of the same will probably feature a 1.5 DCi motor that will produce 85 BHP of max power and will deliver 19 kmpl of mileage.  Price is expected to be around Rs. 8-10 lakh.