[zaphod]

Maybe it would be good to feel patriotic if you choose a vehicle which has at least been assembled , if not completely built, in India. - That way at least some employment and revenue is generated.

However, when it comes to Mahindra, patriotism be damned - the only reason i'd buy a mahindra would be if i can;t find any other cheap 4x4 for my farm - after my horrendous experience with the Armada , I think that M&M are a bunch of incompetent idiots (and I'm being extremely polite when i say so) who havent made a single vehicle which can be called half way decent.

When we bought each of our cars , the thought of them being Indian or not never entered our minds - infact - our first car purchased in 1982 - a 77 beetle was built in Germany - and that was the reason we bought it - we couldnt afford another'foreign car' and didnt want to settle for the crappy padminis and ambys but the beetle was a tried and tested design and gave us almost 250,000 KM of service before we had to sell it off (the reason being we needed money after our accident in the f****** armada).

Tata however have come out with some decent vehicles, they could still do with better finish and definitely better and smoother diesels.

Then again, do we have a single vehicle which is truly Indian and has no foreign input at all ?

Maruti - and even Hyundai I'd say are now considered to be almost Indian vehicles - These companies have invested a lot in India and are making India their export hubs - providing a lot of investment and employment.

zaphod