Re: Why does "What car" matter so much.. Very nice thread and with very enlightening comments. Still, Let me try to play the devil’s advocate and tell the other side of the story. Comments and reprimands from seniors are happily welcome.
I am trying to buy my first car. I am 30, a doctor (Still studying, but earning 60K/m) and so is my wife (doctor, classmate, same earning). I have spent countless nights on TBHP to zero in on what I want....and realized that what my heart wants and what my head wants are completely different. Which brings me to this great thread.
My wifey, a very practical lady (with sudden outbursts of impracticality), says that altoK10, Santro, WagonR or i10 suits us the best. Reasons given by her:
1. Both of us have just learnt to drive (I had a bike, she never drove even a bi-cycle...but she loves driving now..). We need a small car - easy to drive and easy maintenance. We WILL bump here and there.
2. We drive in and around the city so no need for highway features.
3. We don't have kids and may be have one by next three yrs. So a small car is perfectly suited.
4. Its more about the feel of driving and less about the car..you moron!!
5. We are married now… we need cash to invest in house and other complicated investment stuff. You are not in college anymore!!
I said “think from your heart, not your head dear”…. “Buy me a Beetle, sweetheart” was her reply.
What she says makes perfect sense to my head. And I am a pretty logical person (I am holding on to my 5yr old Nokia without upgrading to Galaxys2, because the old phone works fine), and not the impulsive buyer type. But my heart wants….something different, something better.
I went on a test drive spree with my friends (many driving for as long as past 10 yrs). I don’t know much about turbos and lags…but I know about asthetics and feel. Where ever I went, which of these cars I drove…It felt wrong. It felt a choice of compromise. The plastic of WagonR was hideous, Music players costing 6k have better knobs and plastic quality. I10 appeared most promising….but on a Delhi summer with AC blower at 4 making tremendous noise we were barely cooled. Even Liva had excellent outer finish but inside the knobs and plastic is from junkyard. It seems that the auto industry is caught between giving features and cutting cost. Everything appears cheap/flimsy/eyewash. Chrome accents are not brushed aluminum…not even anodized plastic…they are silver coloured plastic….like a beggar wearing shiny clothes for a rich man’s look. Panel gaps gape, plastic edges protrude. Default speakers sound awful. My god, why give such speakers?
Late at night I remembered my uncle’s Ambassador. I might be wrong (because I was a child then) but as I remember, it was wonderfully solid. Chrome accents were metal. Things fit each other. Whatever little was there, was solid, not eyewash.
So not telling my wife, I went on to see one segment up cars. And I liked them. Polo: Wow, that’s what a car should look like (learn wagonr learn). Figo disel: WOW chiller AC, (silly i10), wow space. I20: WOW instrumentation, WOW for inside fit and finish. Ritz: surprisingly good feel inside, ummm back is a bit odd. Jazz: WOW everything. Punto: What beautiful curves.
Coming back I stared making up reasons why we need a bigger/costlier car.
1. We will be practicing Doctors in a year. A doctor in an Alto doesn’t go with the societal perception.
3. All my friends have bigger car, which means…every time we share car for movie or food or trip we will be hitching on their car. I won’t want to do that.
4. We are not going to sell it in the next five years…who knows what our requirements would be by then. Having a bigger car doesn’t hurt.
5. We can afford….it is within reach. It’s the first thing WE are buying together. Why not splurge a little.
However, at the back of my mind I knew that the chief reason is that the 3-5 lakh segment is bad. Not because its cheap (since when did 4 lakh rupees started appearing cheap to Indians?),but because this segment things are dealt with garishness, loudness and bling and shallow glitter. The next segment comes with sobriety and style. Class and subtlety comes at a segment that I don’t even dream now. I wish there was a 4 lakh car that had a good flowing shape, basic but solidly built interiors, a good engine with ac and slight breathing space. Electronic orvm, Bluetooth are all nice but not at a cost of a cheap dash.
Alas, that’s not going to be. So in-spite of all reasoning of brain I AM going to buy a segment up car. Just because they feel better. It will still be a compromise. I would love to buy a i20 disel asta or a Polo 1.6 or a Jazz…but I think I will settle for a Ford Figo Zxi Disel, because it is at the crossroad between the brain and the heart. It still has horrible chrome inserts in dash and door, but atleast most other things are in proper place. I guess that’s why so many people are zeroing in on Figo because currently it’s the car with the LEAST of COMPROMISES.
Sometimes I think, there was more “CAR” in our old M800 than is in the current wagonR. So buying a bigger car is not always vanity but it’s also a desperate attempt to escape cheapness.
Also a car is not a car but a dream that gives you wings. In 80s a car was the dream, It didn’t matter what kind, or what colour. Not only in India but world over. But now in 2011, Indian people have been shown the illicit dope dreams of consumerist luxury products. Once the drug has been given…normal appears so mundane. Is it so wrong then to dream a little big, and get a little more? |