[arjab]

Came across this interesting article in The Economic Times.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/32890532.cms

Definitely a positive step in making future TML products more enthusiast oriented

[Maky]

Ah! this does make me wonder...
If this is a publicity stunt, a poor one if that as NK was a horrid in F1 ; ), or if he will genuinely be following the production of a vehicle from start to finish.

On the other hand I do Indeed look forward to TATA Motors future, Which looks bright
if their showing at the recent auto show is anything to go by.

[honeybee]

Most likely he will test drive the prototype, give his feedback on the ride and handling, make suggestions and retest the revised prototype. Just because NK didn't succeed in F1 doesn't mean his sense of ride and handling is poor.

[Maverick1977]

Gents, can we for once learn to appreciate all the efforts that Tata Motors is making in giving the country and its people a car that we can happily, peacefully own and be proud of it. I feel even good things being done by the company are either being frowned upon or rubbished off as a publicity stunt.
NK might not have been greatly successful in F1, but lets recall that F1 is not an easy sport to get in to. He would have spent days at end preparing and training for it. The fact that the man reached such a pinnacle speaks volumes for him. Also the man didn't get a seat to the top teams and hence speaking such things about him in our respected forum is uncalled for.
Am I the only one or does anyone else also feel that we Indians have a habit of sneering at all things 'Made in Indian'

[chaudh2s]

Originally Posted by Maverick1977

Gents, can we for once learn to appreciate all the efforts that Tata Motors is making in giving the country and its people a car that we can happily, peacefully own and be proud of it. I feel even good things being done by the company are either being frowned upon or rubbished off as a publicity stunt.

I feel our country men gave them the opportunity, but they (the company, their dealers, and everybody else associated) willfully chose to squander it. As things now stand, i/we do appreciate the effort they are putting in, but thats about it.

I mean you don't need an F1 driver to assess ride & handling of an automobile. Tata is no ferrari, who need the services of "The Great" Michael Schumacher! ..and their current cars, vista, manza, nano, etc are decent handlers with a nice ride too.

The money spent on NK, could rather have been utilised to up the quality levels on the cars.
Indians don't need an F1 car like handling machine (enthusiasts are a tiny percentage of car buying public), they would rather be more interested in a decently engineered boat (from a handling perspective)from Tata. The success of verna, scorpio, etc proves beyond doubt that we Indians, give more value to quality, reliability above handling.

[swiftnfurious]

I never know that Narain was involved with TATA for so long! Thought his first involvement was after Karl Slym took over. I really hope we get some real FTD cars from TATA now on! They have clearly improved on the design and quality / feel areas (from Zest & Bolt pics); and hope they will have immense focus on the rest of the vehicles too!

[1100D]

They could have rather tied up with Ford/Lotus etc for suspension/Handling design upfront in the design phase of their vehicles. The point where a F1 test driver comes in and provides his inputs, might be too late as many of the parameters might be unchangeable at that point.

[anachronix]

Looks like a pointless PR exercise, if they are really interested in improving the dynamics they have their own experts & IP from JLR to develop improvements.

[condor]

Would like to know how he can give value add over and above the test drivers they have. I believe the test drivers are good too. Being in the test line, I wont be surprised if they are quite well educated - and trained.

[shashi63]

Originally Posted by Maverick1977

Gents, can we for once learn to appreciate all the efforts that Tata Motors is making in giving the country and its people a car that we can happily, peacefully own and be proud of it. I feel even good things being done by the company are either being frowned upon or rubbished off as a publicity stunt.

Am I the only one or does anyone else also feel that we Indians have a habit of sneering at all things 'Made in Indian'

I own a Tata vehicle and this is my second Tata vehice. I am one satisfied customer of Tata. I have also told this in another forum post and will again repeat. Tata Motors provide VFM cars and definitely offer more car per car. people look down upon Tata not because of any other but because of this snob culture which we love to cultivate. One should remember that what the world could not do Tata did by giving a Nano. Please dont look down upon Tata. The history of Tata tells you that they have done more for this country than any other organisation. They made us proud by going out and acquiring world class companies. Guys as an Indian one should be proud of Tata and i guess do everything to encourage them give the world a shake up. It's because Tata that you have the Honda's and others trying to woo the Indian consumer by offering whatever they provide at a price point which is far below international pricing!

[zenren]

Handling levels of a regular Maruti is what the customers expect from Tata Motors. If they think they need an F1 driver to help reach that level, I think their share holders should seriously consider replacing the middle level management in Tata Motors with folks who prefer driver's seat over the rear seat. There seems to be too many decision making MBAs out there who don't have enough passion about the automobiles.

I'm no expert but the first thing they should understand is that the handling levels should be perceived as good by a layman if they want to sell their car and that is pretty much enough. Trying to achieve the satisfactory handling levels of an F1 driver might be just unnecessary over-spending. After all, Tata Motors would still sell the car with front disc brakes and rear drum brakes, and no ABS on base version even if they design a car that is satisfactory to Narain. What is the point of all this futile exercise? I feel this is just a marketing gimmick.

[chncar]

I am not sure what the fuss and criticism is about. Just making it to F1 even if you finish in the back of the grid means that you have driving skills way beyond the average driver, and surely he would have some valuable tips to augment whatever Tata's in-house test drivers and experts come up with.

Also, if this is a PR/marketing stunt, compare with similar stunts by competitors like having SRK or some Bollywood personality as their brand ambassador, and I would any day respect NK's input over theirs.

Also, Tata group companies have been a long-time supporter of NK, and Indian motorsports as a whole, so please show them some respect, at least for that.

[Maky]

After my initial reticence I think I can now firmly state this is nothing but a PR gimmick.
What would NK, If it were not for his 'F1 credentials', possibly know anything about handling. Even so, Wouldn't his input be based on performance vehicles. TATA require this knowledge for what?.
Ride? NK as far as I know he hasn't any formal education on Automobile engineering, So yes I can confidently state my opinion that this is nothing but utilising him for sponsoring him all these years. It's common for a Pay driver to attend to sponsor events.

[Steeroid]

I assume that all those who are skeptical can drive Indicas or Indigos better than Narain Karthikeyan.

[2000rpm]

Originally Posted by chaudh2s

I mean you don't need an F1 driver to assess ride & handling of an automobile. Tata is no ferrari, who need the services of "The Great" Michael Schumacher! ..and their current cars, vista, manza, nano, etc are decent handlers with a nice ride too.

The money spent on NK, could rather have been utilised to up the quality levels on the cars.
Indians don't need an F1 car like handling machine (enthusiasts are a tiny percentage of car buying public), they would rather be more interested in a decently engineered boat (from a handling perspective)from Tata. The success of verna, scorpio, etc proves beyond doubt that we Indians, give more value to quality, reliability above handling.

The same applies to other car manufacturers as well. With Hyundai spending
the kind of money they did on SRK, I am sure NK was much more value for money. Plus whats the harm in having a genuine, proven consultant test the car?? Does it imply that Tata will work on Handling and dynamics but ignore reliability? No!!

Even if its a publicity stunt, I am sure NK will add more value to the car than SRK!!