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23rd August 2013, 01:29 | #16 | |||||||
BHPian | Re: Independence Day Special: India (Tata Motors) builds a Truck Quote:
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In passenger cars, customers are more discerning and different quality aspects come into play. Trucks have to run > 500k miles in lifetime whereas cars don't. So if Indica is built like a tank, customers don't appreciate that it will go for million miles without breaking unlike a modern Skoda, and it will be much cheaper to repair when it does. Similarly, for panel gaps, and so on, but most importantly the badge! The Japanese took 35-40 years to be able to catch up to the Americans & Germans, Koreans are still working on it since 25-30 years and Tata has only just begun in 1998!! It simply takes time to build brand recognition and internal product development processes. In 15 years you already have a blockbuster product like the Nano which is acclaimed world over, has Euro NCAP 4-star safety rating, motorbike-rivalling fuel economy and numerous innovations while still seating 4 full-size adults unlike the Toyota Aygo & Mitsubishi i and Smart ForTwo, etc. Then came a huge economic downturn at launch and the negative publicity about the fires (which plagues entire auto industry including Ferrari) & the Bengal factory for no fault of Tatas. So my advice would be - join Tatas or buy Tata - it's the only way a company can continue to innovate Last edited by Activ8 : 23rd August 2013 at 01:36. | |||||||
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23rd August 2013, 07:39 | #17 |
BHPian Join Date: May 2011 Location: Hyderabad
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| I was not referring to you in that post, but I do have a grouse. I could infer from your location - ann arbor - that you must have opted out for masters in one of the universities in Michigan. I had done the same after graduation - lawrence tech - southfield, but luckily for me the situation back in 2009 was not as conducive as today, hence I discontinued and returned to do a master's course through ARAI pune. That was my entry point into Indian auto industry, it was a tough one but felt like the best option at that time. So my question to you is this - you would definitely have to work for a while after your course to get the best out of your experience there. When will you return? And if you do, would you be able to adjust to our style of working. Until then I can only say that the country has lost another passionate engineer. Not that it has not been done before, look at Dilip chabria, Pawan goenka, Chetan maini, you have a lot to live up to just keep that fire burning and dont lose your sights. Completely agree with that last point about buying more of their vehicles to continue to let them innovate... somehow we still are stuck with the mindset that anything 'phoren' is any day better than Indian. What we have to realise is that we were being plundered of all our wealth when the automobile was invented and 1900s to 1990s is a huge heads up to catch up with. We need to have the patience to appreciate what we are doing - the nano, indigo manza, safari storme which are really world class have all been made by Indian engineers, they deserve some credit. Look at americans they defend their homegrown manufacturers with all they got. They completely live by the idea to put their money where their heart is. The NANO STORY is a really good read if someone wants to understand what really went wrong with the one technological marvel that we should be proud of. The likes of carlos ghosn, ferdinand piech and even our own jagdish khattar had concluded that it is just not possible to make such a car. When Ratan tata and team did manage to create such a thing, somehow the rest of them saw to it that the car wouldnt reach the ones who really needed it. We dont have to look really far away for inspiration, agreed that Elon musk has madr the whole world sit up and take notice, but our own Chetan maini has created the world's most succesful electric car company ten years before Mr. Musk. Look at the team lead by Girish wagh that created the ace and the nano, that is exactly what the country needs today. Passenger cars are only a fraction of the automobile market in India, two wheelers and commercial vehicles are still account for a major part of our sales. It is these vehicles that earn the bread and butter for crores of people even today. The really passionate petrolhead engineer should definitely dream of building something as pure as a Mclaren F1 someday but for now the need of the hour is simple, cheap and efficient transport solutions. Jalopnik a popular US based auto blog described about the magic Iris- http://jalopnik.com/5965768/why-indi...teresting-cars. Isnt that something we should be proud of. If you go through the comments - Anand Mahindra had even invited him to come to India and experience them. He did and also continued it up with his Indian experience. Its a good read. Last edited by DReddy : 23rd August 2013 at 07:54. |
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