What's with these newspaper car advisors ? Goof-up by even 'The Hindu' is shocking!!!

[supremeBaleno]

Among the English dailies in India, 'The Hindu' is considered top-notch in terms of quality, content, error-free reporting, lack of bias, newsprint, lack of Page3 content etc. IMO it is the best English newspaper in India and this is after sampling various newspapers available in different parts of India.

So every Wednesday, I do not miss the 'Metro Plus' supplement which has 2 pages dedicated to cars - new models, vintage and ofcourse the 'Virtual Mechanic' which can be called the print equivalent of our own "What car?" section.

Yesterday's 'Virtual Mechanic' had this query by a reader (D. Adarsh) :

Q : Can you tell me about the brands that are likely to be launched within the next year, in the same segment as the Maruti SX4? What about the VW Jetta? Will it be competitively priced like the Fabia Diesel? Are there any other VW brands likely to be launched in the Rs. 6-9 lakh range? Will Honda come up with a diesel version of either the new City or the Jazz?

And the answer was :

A : The next six months will be quite exciting in terms of launches. The new Toyota Corolla is expected in September 2009 and will be priced between Rs.10-12 lakh and the Fiat Linea is expected at the same time and will be priced between Rs.7-9 lakh. The VW Jetta is expected in July 2009 and should cost between Rs.13-16 lakh and will come with a petrol and diesel engine. There is no model from VW expected in the Rs. 6-9 lakh range this year, but the Polo will come out next year. There are no plans for diesel engines for either the Jazz or the new City.

To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I first checked the date of the newspaper, thinking that maybe I am reading an old paper. But no, it was a supplement dated 18-Feb-2009.

The Corolla Altis has been launched only few months ago. So I wondered how a new one is expected just 7 months later. I ignored this bit thinking that the Altis was anyway a minor makeover. So maybe Toyota will bring in a fresh new Corolla, though I don't remember reading anything about this on tbhp.

But then he goes on to say that the Linea is also expected in Sep 2009. We have reams of pages detailing Linea test-drives on the forum and people have booked it and some have even brought it home. And these guys are telling the reader to wait for it.

And then the article says that VW Jetta is expected in July 2009. I had read about the Jetta being already in the market, but since I am not much interested in 10lakh+ cars, I was not too sure. So checked the VW site online and yes, they have the Jetta on sale.

I just can't believe that 'The Hindu' had this on their pages.

Link to the article : The Hindu : Metro Plus Chennai / Wheels : Virtual Mechanic

[abhiram7912]

yes indeed it is shocking, may be this was a printing error.

the corolla altis is a new car ( if you can call that, i still feel it has some prev gen corolla in it) not a facelift. only other corolla is japanese corolla axio which i dont think toyota will introduce in india.

[Zappo]

There is a more plausible reason for such errors. The specialized columns like the ones on cars (wines, furnishings etc) are outsourced. They need to pay the person on an agreed basis.

Obviously they try to think of ways to avoid these. And the most common way to achieve that is to ask an intern, maybe a wide eyed girl or a starry eyed joe, to take the questions and select those for which they already have similar questions and their answers in their repository. The girl who knows zilch about such stuff just relies on her english to pick the similarity.

Rest you can guess . While it works in most cases here it boomeranged. So the last year's data got rehashed as this years. What is more atrocious is that it was not proof read for correctness, maybe because the editor thought its all stock reply which has been proof read in the past.

[vasoo]

For me it looks like a clear case of find/replace of year from 2008 to 2009. I think most of the other things fall in place if that's done. The whole clip seems to have been "brought forward" form last year same time.

[finneyp]

The Auto supplement in Hindu is a big joke!
I just see the pics & totally ignore the crap written there.

I bet a Newbie at T-BHP knows much more than the so called Auto expert @ The Hindu.

[Mpower]

You might want to write to the editor and point out this nonsense.

[ak916]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Among the English dailies in India, 'The Hindu' is considered top-notch in terms of quality, content, error-free reporting, lack of bias, newsprint, lack of Page3 content etc.

OT: Extremely debatable. It used to be all what you said above. But of late, I see that there is more than just a tinge of bias.

[icar]

The Hindu group tied up with Autocar India.
Car reviewed / Q&A in 'Metro Plus' had published in Autocar India magazine. I think the editor dig in old Q & A and published

[hrag]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Among the English dailies in India, 'The Hindu' is considered top-notch in terms of quality, content, error-free reporting, lack of bias, newsprint, lack of Page3 content etc.

'The Hindu' and lack of bias? You've got to be kidding. Since anything political is not allowed here, I will refrain from commenting on their bias.

Anyway, the auto sections are taken from Autocar India under license / syndication / whatever. Whether they use the latest edition or something a few months old is anybody's guess.

[Ravveendrra]

Re-check it SupremeBaleno - that piece was probably in the humour section. See the dateline on the article - it will show 1 April.

Do not trust your eyes - bo not believe anything you read, until you have checked it out on TBHP!

Cheers,

[greenhorn]

I guess no one at the hindu reads team bhp. there's been a repeat performance in the TVM edition!

The Hindu : Metro Plus Thiruvananthapuram / Wheels : Virtual Mechanic

[ballkey]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

error-free reporting, lack of bias, newsprint, lack of Page3 content etc.

LOL is all I can say.. And I thought cynicism was rising in this country...

[ashthedivx]

Clearly looks like a printing mistake, replace 2009 by 2008 and suddenly things will start looking better

Though i always enjoy these columns spl. the newspaper's one as jokes.

[MindSpeeDs]

Originally Posted by finneyp

The Auto supplement in Hindu is a big joke!
I just see the pics & totally ignore the crap written there.

I bet a Newbie at T-BHP knows much more than the so called Auto expert @ The Hindu.

Quite a few newbies on T-BHP would know more than even some senior bhpians. Being a newbie actually doesn't make them less knowledgable!
Yeah, the so called experts (not only auto but also various other columns) are not really experts.

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Among the English dailies in India, 'The Hindu' is considered top-notch in terms of quality, content, error-free reporting, lack of bias, newsprint, lack of Page3 content etc.

I think it should be lack of quality and full of bias instead rest everything will fall in place. Though I can not write on political lines so restricing on auto front, seeing their sustained support for case of Huawei tender for BSNL contract ,I am sure they would write great reviews for Cherry QQ if it is introduced or campaign for its introduction here.