[GrammarNazi]

My dad & his friend liked it (they thought it was like the OLD VW Golf GTI like in the UK) until they saw the boot design. It would've been great if it was a notchback!

Why Mahindra, you even had the designing skills & resources, then Why this Kolaveri Di?

[TheARUN]

I feel the Vibe is not being given a fair chance. Imagine a situation where the Vibe would have come before the Logan, then it would have had a fair chance and would not have had to carry the baggage of the elder brother.

Mahindra has a few things going for it, the dealer network, the reputation of making rugged vehicles etc. these should positively rub off on the Vibe

For me, whether the Vibe will be a success or not is too close to call, I think with some clever strategy by the marketing team, this one can be pulled off

[suhaas307]

So this is what happened:

Someone at Mahindra realized that the Logan didn't appeal to the private buyer much and that it is perceived to be too much of a taxi. And then they saw the numbers the Dzire clocks month on end. Instead of going back to the drawing board, they went chop-chop. Naturally.
And someone in the design department, with a Ford Focus infatuation, went ballistic at the back. It would have made more sense if the glass went up with the boot-lid, but it doesn't. Because that would have been expensive to do. It's all about keeping the costs down.

But I believe that in the process of attempting to kill two birds with one stone, Mahindra has forgotten the little touches that separate a utilitarian taxi from a personal car. I'll give it to them for trying with the carbon fiber trim and beige interior. Oh, and that quirky rear end. But they should have taken it a notch higher by offering standard equipment that you'd expect in a car meant for 'the private buyer'. Little things like a rear wash / wipe and 60:40 rear bench-split. At this price point, you and I would expect more. And even a taxi agency would consider something with a proper boot.

Mahindra, you need to either correct the price, or introduce a new variant with all the necessary goodies. Or both

[pratyush6]

Verito dont appeal to Private buyers, even though it is considered as a good car. It still did have a decent look. But Vibe? Gosh, that's an ugly looking car. Its not that I dont like touches of retro but this is bad retro.

I wish could have at-least re-engineered the body. Right now they have simply chopped the boot! So as someone pointed it out - its a Verito without a boot.

[InControl]

Saw the Vibe Advertisement today, Quiet slick and they have managed to hide all the ugly points

[vishwas]

This will be a major flop show for Mahindra - Welcome to the clueless loser world of Tata Motors ;-) What an opportunity lost - Mahindra could have made this into a proper sub 4m hatch like the Dzire or Indigo CS; Or they could have made it into a proper hatch, which would appeal atleast to the Tata Indicab crowd; Best they could have made it a sub 4m utility by putting a horizontal rear door, over sized wheels and an externally mounted spare tyre! I am curious to see how bad the first month numbers will be for this pointless car.

[svsantosh]

Last few days in my office I am thru some training programs, etc etc and wondered about a point.

In the Auto world...

How many leadership reviews take place when a new product (even if its a chop-chop of a existing product)?

I can understand as a CEO their work is beyond new products, they need to take care of HR, Payroll, shareholders, Govt, blah blah - but at the end of the day, if a car doesnt sell and eventually all their cars dont sell - the CEO/Shareholders go home hungry and cold.

Do people like Anand Mahindra, etc etc (lets say top 5 pillars of a organization) - actually TOUCH and FEEL a CAR (or a thar :P) before they ask their sales and marketing team to go ahead with the launch?

Insiders of any car company, can you throw light?

How different is the leadership interaction in Indian world and say the west, or east (Japan!).

If I were Anand Mahindra, and I even attempted once to load my pricey golf kit into that excuse of a boot, I would have paused at least once!!

[pjbiju]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

...

Do people like Anand Mahindra, etc etc (lets say top 5 pillars of a organization) - actually TOUCH and FEEL a CAR (or a thar :P) before they ask their sales and marketing team to go ahead with the launch?

Insiders of any car company, can you throw light?
...

Good question. Before Mahindra launched the Bolero (first generation), Anand Mahindra did walk around the Bolero - I was there. Did he sit in it and drive it later on? I doubt. Has he even walked around the Thar? Probably not.

But people at certain levels in M&M were given Boleros for their official use. People above those levels got Ford Escorts. So if not the top guys, at least some of the others were using those vehicles.

The top people usually only take a look at virtual reality stuff and presentations and at the most, may walk around them. They are more of businessmen than car enthusiasts. But I am sure in case of completely new models like Scorpio, XUV etc. the top shots would have driven them around along their test tracks.

[ajay_satpute]

I saw a black demo vehicle on road yesterday and honestly, i did not like it even a bit. No offense meant, its just my personal opinion.

The car, even though launched a few days back, did not look a like brand new product ( not in terms of cleanliness). There was nothing that would impress a layman (few friends in my team are layman according to me, based on their knowledge or lack of it ). It looked quite compact to me.

I don't think this car will change Mahindra's fortunes in the hatchback category, like it did in SUV category.

[ecenandu]

So Mahindra Vibe is not a hatchback but a compact sedan, that explains the weird boot lid design.

http://www.mahindraverito.com/vibe/

[shankar.balan]

A good strong, solid, practical, comfortable, no nonsense, inexpensive and roomy hatch with a proven, engine which will chug along pretty much indefinitely.

I do not like the restraining stay arms that they have engineered for the hatchback boot. They could have, at the very least, invested in some neat gas filled struts which would have added so much more finesse to the whole thing, not to mention the sleek, smart, modern look when compared to those horrid metal arms. If they could have designed it in such a way that the rear glass could be opened separately instead of having to open the whole hatch, it would have been even better, but I guess they would have had design limitations on that.

Otherwise, they should also certainly offer a fully loaded version with at least driver and passenger airbags along with ABS and EBD. Currently their top end model offers only one Driver Airbag, which is absolute rubbish as a strategy...

[lifebuoy]

Originally Posted by djpeesh

After the XUV, it looks like Mahindra's R&D team decided to take a break and so Mahindra hired a roadside carpenter and plumber to do their jobs in the interim. First they chopped a Xylo and produced the Quanto abomination. Then this. What were they thinking???

Precisely ! But as dr singh has rightly said, M&M have an excellent feel of the market, the customer likes and what will sell !
The adding of a stone guard to lower the ground clearance in the XUV to make it cheaper talks of our poor lawmakers' ideas and a smart alec in M&M to latch on to it !

Yes, TATA does not stoop so low. Whereas M&M have the Dilli-waali 'chalta hai' attitude and as long as there's a customer to buy it, M&M will make em! whether they have to copy or innovate, cheaper is the mantra i guess ?

Originally Posted by man_and_machine

Etios Liva, and the Vista should be the guys really worried. The Swift is in a different league. The Punto has a different fan following. The Polo customer are not oriented towards M&M. If you are on a tight budget and looking for a spacious car and do not want a "foreign" tag for your choice, you have a really good option.
If the taxi segment gets a stripped (Indi cab like), this is surely be the option for the commercial segment.

The Etios LIva and the Vista are both favourites with the cabbies. This speaks of low cost of ownership, no doubt. The Vibe is also targeted at that segment, no doubt and M&M have another model in their portfolio now !

Originally Posted by drsingh

Mahindra and Mahindra have a characteristic strategy which has brought them substantial success.

I have followed their strategy from the days they put together a team of 50 youngsters under 5-6 senior engineers to work on the scorpio project.they copied from several Suvs for the first design.

The bolero was a side product of this team.sort of applying jeep/cherokee design language to the armada.it worked and strengthened the brand.

The scorpio cost 500 crores.much less than 1700 crores spent by tata on indica.

This emabled Them to undercut the safari by a lakh and it worked.

They are very agile and very good at execution.

They dont have too much money to spare right now nor the experience to create a hatch/sedan platform.

The quanto and verito/verito vibe are hedges against their predominantly SUV business.

Theyre selling enough without any major investment.widening the mahindra brand to all segments of vehicles.gaining valuable feedback/experience to build their own platform later, like they came up with the xuv.

This is a major difference between Tata and M and M.

Tata has grand visions,poor execution.

Mahindra is continously working with what they have.learning and building brand equity along the way. Gatecrashing new segments and getting their foot in the door.

Anand Mahindra is also building a huge R and D centre, one of its kind in India.
Slowly Mahindra and Mahindra is working towards building all kinds of vehicles, two wheelers,autoricks,agricultural vehicles and machines,lcv, heavy commercial vehicles, buses, electric vehicles,power backup engines,, industrial engines., hatches,sedans,compact suv,muv,suv, luxury suv.

I admire what they have achieved and i admire their courage for being quick to respond to market needs and being a very efficient business.

+1 to that. That's where TATA seems lacking - to keep up the pace. But, what M&M does does not speak of quality by any standards, TATA is way better. M&M mantra is on profitability and to push hard their products. But fact is that, their products imbibe the characteristics that most customers look for, that's the golden goose for them !

[PPS]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Mahindra, you need to either correct the price, or introduce a new variant with all the necessary goodies. Or both

Your prayers have been answered,partly!
I guess they are now going to further chop the Vibe.

[RavenAvi]

Mahindra has apparently stopped production of the Verito Vibe since the start of FY2016.

Only 32 units of the Vibe had been sold in the first five months of FY2016. A high sticker price, lack of a petrol option, and better offerings from in-segment competitors had taken it's toll on the only hatchback offering from M&M.

However, an M&M spokesperson commented that the Vibe has not been discontinued.

Business Standard