[scuderiamania]

http://www.livemint.com/Politics/FUF...-soon-end.html

An interesting article by livemint that states that incentives for buying a new taxi in kolkata will not be restricted only to ambys. Now, any car with a 1050-1150cc engine and with a seating capacity of upto 5 will be given the incentive. So what are the options available to the kolkata taxi walas??

[arjab]

Originally Posted by scuderiamania

Now, any car with a 1050-1150cc engine and with a seating capacity of upto 5 will be given the incentive.

The engine displacement required to qualify for Kolkata cabs seems to be quite odd.
Is the above Petrol, Diesel, CNG or all of these? Is the upper cap 1150cc or 1500cc??
Because if its 1150cc - and assuming its Diesel, apart from the Chevy Beat no other Diesel will qualify as per the defined band. All the FIAT MJD powered vehicles displace 1248cc and I assume, that cabbies will not buy Petrol powered vehicles.
The article also contains a line which says, that Maruti Dzire (I understand, that must mean the Dzire Tour), qualifies, so it would mean that 1248cc is definitely defined in the cabbie band.

If that is so, then Dzire Tour will win. Its robust (reasonably), fuel efficient, got a large boot, cheap to maintain and got decent ground clearance.

Tata's Indigo CS, which i remember, attempted earlier to break into the mindspace of cabbie buyers will lose out. The Indigo CS has not changed much technically. Previous Indigo CS cabbies in kolkata are a disgruntled lot - having faced a lot of issues with their vehicles in the past, especially, rear wheel camber/alignment issues - due to overloading. (the Indigo CS has a independent rear suspension, more prone to misalignment/camber issues), compared to the Torsion/Twist Beam setup of the Maruti's.

Tata Manza may be a good option, but I doubt whether even a stripped out, de-contented Manza will be able to break the 4.5lakh INR price bracket.

Mahindra Verito is another able contender. After all, its forefather, the Logan was (and still is) one of the sweethearts of the various Radio Taxi fleets dotting the roads of Mumbai / Hyderabad / Bangalore / Chennai

[Burn_out]

Apart from incentives from the govt. there are other benefits of using an Ambi in Kolkata. Parts are cheap, repair is easy and its tough as a tank. You can use it, abuse it like no other car on the Indian roads today. Let me see a Dzire or Indigo walk out of a pile-up with only a minor scratch. Also, somehow we bongs are in love with this dino.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by Burn_out

Apart from incentives from the govt. there are other benefits of using an Ambi in Kolkata. Parts are cheap, repair is easy and its tough as a tank. You can use it, abuse it like no other car on the Indian roads today. Let me see a Dzire or Indigo walk out of a pile-up with only a minor scratch. Also, somehow we bongs are in love with this dino.

Apart from the above, the Amby has a huge boot too, which can accommodate even the kitchen sink brought by the travellers. Many CS like the D'zire do not have the boot size which can be termed massive. This is a big plus for Amby.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by saket77

Apart from the above, the Amby has a huge boot too, which can accommodate even the kitchen sink brought by the travellers. Many CS like the D'zire do not have the boot size which can be termed massive. This is a big plus for Amby.

Are you sure???
In my experience, which I can recall, Amby boot may look big, but actually is very small. In fact I was surprised (rather shocked to the core) seeing the boot of Esteem swallowing all our family baggage in the 90s compared to the Amby's that always used to force us to hand carry some or the other stuff (or load it on the roof).

Let me find out the specs:
225 L (http://www.cartrade.com/new-cars/Hin...tion-1000.html)

Indigo CS:
380 L (http://www.domain-b.com/companies/co...igo_cs%20.html)
(http://www.indianauto.com/cars-in-in...indigo-cs.html)

Mahindra Logan:
510 L (http://www.domain-b.com/companies/co...igo_cs%20.html)

Maruti Esteem:
376 L (http://www.indianauto.com/cars-in-in...ti-esteem.html)
(http://www.carwale.com/marutisuzuki-...tions-728.html)
(http://www.surfindia.com/automobile/maruti-esteem.html)

[saket77]

Originally Posted by alpha1

Let me find out the specs:

Now that is a revelation for me!

[1100D]

Originally Posted by alpha1

Are you sure???
In my experience, which I can recall, Amby boot may look big, but actually is very small. In fact I was surprised (rather shocked to the core) seeing the boot of Esteem swallowing all our family baggage in the 90s compared to the Amby's that always used to force us to hand carry some or the other stuff (or load it on the roof).

Let me find out the specs:
225 L (http://www.cartrade.com/new-cars/Hin...tion-1000.html)

)

Thats the CNG amby, not the regular one. The CNG tank takes a big chunk of the bootspace. The fun is, it still has 225l beyond the CNG tank. Beat that!!

This seems to be the more appropriate one (430 litres). However Kolkata cabbies in many cases remove the spare wheel, liberating more space.

http://www.gaadi.com/car-422-Specifi...ors-Ambassador

[Sommos]

The ambassador is the most favoured taxi in Kolkata for many reasons :
Strong body compared to the modern cars.
Absolutely low maintenance cost.
Easy availability of spares in every nook and corner.
Spacious inside, the comfort of the backseat.
Large trunk area.
You can get a mechanic even at odd hours.

This car has been an integral part of the culture of Kolkata for decades.

[amitk26]

Well similar sort of reasons and nostalgia were cited for Ambys elsewhere in India as well till a few years ago but eventually it lost out.

Writing is on the wall what happened in rest of India yesterday will happen in Kolkata tomorrow.

I would say good riddance and Kolkatans should also move on like everyone.

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by alpha1

Are you sure???
In my experience, which I can recall, Amby boot may look big, but actually is very small. In fact I was surprised (rather shocked to the core) seeing the boot of Esteem swallowing all our family baggage in the 90s compared to the Amby's that always used to force us to hand carry some or the other stuff (or load it on the roof).

Let me find out the specs:
225 L (http://www.cartrade.com/new-cars/Hin...tion-1000.html)

Indigo CS:
380 L (http://www.domain-b.com/companies/co...igo_cs%20.html)
(http://www.indianauto.com/cars-in-in...indigo-cs.html)

Mahindra Logan:
510 L (http://www.domain-b.com/companies/co...igo_cs%20.html)

Maruti Esteem:
376 L (http://www.indianauto.com/cars-in-in...ti-esteem.html)
(http://www.carwale.com/marutisuzuki-...tions-728.html)
(http://www.surfindia.com/automobile/maruti-esteem.html)

alpha 1, please get your facts right before quoting from any source. Merely by visual looks, the Ambassador luggage boot is cavernous.
Can the Maruti Esteem or even the Indigo CS boot have more space than an Ambassador's boot?
The Ambassador's luggage boot is anything between 450 L- 475 L in volume.

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by alpha1

Are you sure???
In my experience, which I can recall, Amby boot may look big, but actually is very small. In fact I was surprised (rather shocked to the core) seeing the boot of Esteem swallowing all our family baggage in the 90s compared to the Amby's that always used to force us to hand carry some or the other stuff (or load it on the roof).

Let me find out the specs:
225 L (http://www.cartrade.com/new-cars/Hin...tion-1000.html)

225L boot for Ambassador can't be right. 225L is about the size of the Swift's boot.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by StarrySky

225L boot for Ambassador can't be right. 225L is about the size of the Swift's boot.

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

alpha 1, please get your facts right before quoting from any source. Merely by visual looks, the Ambassador luggage boot is cavernous.
Can the Maruti Esteem or even the Indigo CS boot have more space than an Ambassador's boot?
The Ambassador's luggage boot is anything between 450 L- 475 L in volume.

Originally Posted by 1100D

Thats the CNG amby, not the regular one. The CNG tank takes a big chunk of the bootspace. The fun is, it still has 225l beyond the CNG tank. Beat that!!

This seems to be the more appropriate one (430 litres). However Kolkata cabbies in many cases remove the spare wheel, liberating more space.

http://www.gaadi.com/car-422-Specifi...ors-Ambassador

Agreed. The 225 L figure would be for CNG one because of the tank.
However, I would still state that the size of the boot is not really dependent on how big the boot looks. Logan still has a bigger boot! (Though the boot looks half the size from outside)

As I said earlier, in the 90s we were frequently surprised seeing how our luggage couldn't fit the jumbo Ambassador but could fit in the Esteems & Cielos