[Glifford]

Originally Posted by deepclutch

a que :IS neeta a big operator?

Yes they are! At least in Maharashtra!

I remember seeing one of the first Volvo buses in the country under their name running on the Popular Bombay-Aurangabad overnight route.

Was delighted when I took that trip myself (was something like 2001 / 2002). They charged a substantial premium then. 400 v/s 250 in a normal (non Volvo) AC bus. But still they ran full! I even remember their maiden trip. The way the bus was decorated and all.

Till the Volvos came, Sutlejs had a decent name and people would as for Sutlej buses!


Of course now Neeta is infamous for badly maintained buses... even Volvos!

[directinjection]

The Mercedes buses launched through Satluj are of the body-on-chassis type. The chassis comes from MB's Brazil plant and Satluj makes the body under Mercedes' supervision.

Quite like Azad used to make bodies for Volvo.

MB eventually plan to come out with integral coaches, to be made entirely at Mercedes plant, without any inputs from Satluj.

Now that's again like Volvo India, isn't it?

[esteem_lover]

Quite frankly sutlej certainly is not up for this. The shell looks cheap, just like any other on ALs & TATAs. For a premium brand like Mercedes, they have goofed up by not doing it themselves like Volvo does.

[fx45]

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...812-large-.jpg one of them already damaged.


link posted from Commerical Vehicle Thread.

[srishiva]

Even the Azad built volvos looked better than this.

[nevertouchme]

A friend of mine and a silent member here clicked these pics...























Cheers,
Jai

[hanmust]

Mercedes-Benz Buses has expanded its footprint to cover south India as its intercity luxury coach is operational in Bangalore and adjoining areas. To offer service, spare parts and aftersales support onsite, Mercedes-Benz has appointed Advaith Motors to represent the company in that region. The Managing Director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India, Dr. Wilfried Aulbur inaugurated the service center today along with Mr.S.V.S Subramanya Gupta ,Mr.M.P Shyam and A.C Krishna Raju, partners of Advaith Motors.

Speaking on the occasion Dr. Aulbur commented: “The southern region with good road network and strong intercity connections has tremendous potential. We are delighted to partner with Advaith Motors in extending world class service for our demanding customers. Our first customer for the buses was M/s Sharma Transport from Bangalore and we are keen to exploit the further potential in this region. The Mercedes-Benz buses have been very well received by our customers and the three pointed star is now truly the mass carrier for India.”

Advaith Motors, built on an area of 44,000 sq.ft is situated near Biocon Pharma in the Industrial suburb of off Bangalore-Hosur National Highway on the Jigani Link Road. A team of 12 people including a service specialist from Mercedes-Benz will be responsible for the efficient working of this service centre which would cater to the increasing requirements in the South.

Source: Mercedes Benz India

[abhijit 2284]

no engine cover louvers at the back ? hope they dont have any overheating issues in the april to june period .
But to think of that ,very unlikely for MB to overlook something like this .will have to wait and watch

[Glifford]

Originally Posted by abhijit 2284

no engine cover louvers at the back ? hope they dont have any overheating issues in the april to june period .
But to think of that ,very unlikely for MB to overlook something like this .will have to wait and watch

I doubt it is an issue. Most Volvos hardly have them.

It has got to do with aerodynamics. When a large body moves in fluid you have something called a wake behind it. So air is pushed to the back. So having louvers will not make much of a difference. Infact there are these two big horizontal slits you can see (above the three pointed star and below the rear windscreen) that allows air to pour in and air exits from the side vents.

If the vents are at the rear, air can only enter them, it will not exit from there!

[prmd_cochin]

The only thing thats worth in that body is the three pointed star emblem. This body work will suit the profile of a TATA or AL, but not for a Benz.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by abhijit 2284

no engine cover louvers at the back ? hope they dont have any overheating issues in the april to june period .
But to think of that ,very unlikely for MB to overlook something like this .will have to wait and watch

The louvers are on the LHS. This one is probably a side radiator rather than rear radiator. You also see a huge looking exhauster above the Merc logo at the rear.

[Glifford]

Originally Posted by Mpower

You also see a huge looking exhauster above the Merc logo at the rear.

Doubt it would be an exhauster, an intake maybe, can't be an exhauster. Would have to work hard if it is trying to push out anything. Air will automatically if it the bus is moving forward!

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by prmd_cochin

The only thing thats worth in that body is the three pointed star emblem. This body work will suit the profile of a TATA or AL, but not for a Benz.

Well said!

The body looks too boxy. The gear pattern looks very similar to (or same as) the Volvo B7R. The interiors too look very Volvo-ish. I feel Benz, given their name, should've gone for a different design for its body. I hope the body plant of Mercedes comes in at the earliest - else the body design would pull the brand down.

For a common man, the Volvo looks stylish any-time than this box...

BTW, it is very surprising that none of the Government STUs have evinced interest in these boxes so far. KSRTC (kar) has taken in Isuzu buses, but there is no word on the Mercedes so far :(

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by prmd_cochin

The only thing thats worth in that body is the three pointed star emblem. This body work will suit the profile of a TATA or AL, but not for a Benz.

Originally Posted by binaiks

Well said!

I think its too early to say that. Looks are not so important for buses. There are things like travel comfort, NVH, resistance to rattles, reliability of the bus, FE, tyre life, braking, driver fatigue and a zillion other things that we need to look at.

Originally Posted by Glifford

Doubt it would be an exhauster, an intake maybe, can't be an exhauster. Would have to work hard if it is trying to push out anything. Air will automatically if it the bus is moving forward!

That just my guess. it can work to exhaust the air that flows out of the rad.

[prmd_cochin]

Originally Posted by Mpower

I think its too early to say that. Looks are not so important for buses. There are things like travel comfort, NVH, resistance to rattles, reliability of the bus, FE, tyre life, braking, driver fatigue and a zillion other things that we need to look at.
That just my guess. it can work to exhaust the air that flows out of the rad.

The main reason Volvo got such a head start is because of its looks. A lot of its performance is attributed to its look. I know so many who travelled in fake volvos and said the journey was 'smooth'.

The 3-pointed star logo on the side view mirrors looks so cheap. It looks like its shouting out unconvincingly 'hey look im a Benz'.