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Will a car Ever be able to replace a bike??

Kinetic, Eicher have already fiddled with the idea of getting a CHEAP car in India. MUL is also targetting 2 wheeleres by reducing the price of the 800 and offering low fnance schemes. And now its TATA's turn. Whats the main reason behind these BIG companies spending crores of rupees to develop a sub 1 lakh car? Are they looking at dethroning the Maruti 800? Or do they want to replace motorcycles with cars?

Well, most of them have admitted that the sub 1 lakh Rupees car will be made to replace the motorcycle. But will it ever happen. I mean when someone has made up his mind to buy a motorcycle (i mean the average Indian who buys it for daily commuting), why would he change his mind and go for a car (however cheap it may be). He buys a bike cos it gives him 2wice or thrice the mileage of a car. In traffic situations, its best to have a bike to squeeze between those cars/autos and get out of it. Maintenance for a bike costs less than half of a car. Parking too never becomes a problem in small lanes. Spares are cheap. Servicing is cheap. Will the 1L car be able to provide all this? Or for that matter even a 2nd hand M800? No! The car can/will never replace the bike. At the most, it'll share the garage with the bike. But not replace. Agreed that the car is much safer and can accomodate more people. How many of you guys who own bikes are willing to sell it for a 2nd hand car?

Put in your veiws guys.

More like a step up from a 2 wheeler to a 4 wheeler being made easy. But the biggest threat to the 1 lac car will always be used 800's, Zens, Indicas and Altos.

GTO

Riders will be riders and drivers will be drivers. It all depends on your needs. A family of four, will surely be much happier owning a car, but a college student (who likes to ride, unlike me) will surely opt for a bike.

Bikes are easy to maintain, but cars are much more comfortable and safe.

A sub 1 lakh car will never replace a bike, for all you know, to cut costs, the car maynot even be as well designed/built as the bike.

Shan2nu

yeah i dont think either that its possible..more like a hybrid of the 2 would be made...(a lot of concepts do exist)

I think bikes are integral part of a ppr economy like india..china..indonesia..malaysia and more..

they cant go out even if a 1 lakh car comes out reason being it would more likely be closer to the bike family than the car..with no door and all like our good neighbours had developed...

I voted yes. But in India, no... never.

It can, but our infrastructure (cities, roads, buildings etc) must take useage of cars that into account.

My guess is that the US is what it is because they make everything with cars in mind.

- mvk

No, a car can never replace a bike. They are two entirely different things... A bike will remain a bike and a car always a car!

Although i don't expect any car to take over any major share of the 100cc economisers, I for one would actually love to see that.

Why? Because then motorcycles will sell for enjoyment rather than commuting, and manufacturers would bring the best of what they have in the market! Sorry about the selfish view, but I'm really going crazy here! BBDD !! Bike Bike Deficiency Disease you see!

I still can't believe that in the year 2004, you can buy a Ferrari or Porsche here, but you still can't lay your hands on even the most basic V-Twin or 4 cyl. bike. even if you had the money, none of the manufacturers here will sell you one! Just plain ludicrous!

Erm...did I go a bit off topic here...sorry, but I get wound up on this topic!

Rt

depends...(i voted no)

if u arent going to use a bike much and it's like a style statement(elim,aquila,imported bikes)....then u would never exchange it with a 800 right???
(i for one wouldnt love to part with my elim, but would gladly exchange it 4 a good looking jeep with allloys and works)

same's the thing with a 100cc bike too, unless u dont care for the mileage and more expensive maintainence, you would like to exchange it

a car might be there, but for only family outings only

Well Rtech another way to look at it is that not everyone can afford a Porsche or Ferrari with prices in the 50 lakh to 5 crore range. On the other hand one can derive a whole load of satisfaction from the mother of all bikes in an Indian's opinion, the Busa for around 10-12 lakhs.

So even if Ferrari and Porsche are here, chances are that you might end up seeing more superbikes than supercars.

Revv

P.S. You suffer from GWIYOD syndrome (Getting Wound Up In Your Own Discussion) syndrome .

Cars and bikes have their own pros and cons. A car will always be a car while a bike will always be a bike.

Not sure what you are trying to say here Revv???

The point I'm making here is only that you CAN officialy buy some of the best supercars in India from their official dealers, but you cannot buy a good bike. I'm not talking imports.

When a bike is officialy sold here, you can get a loan. Try getting a low interest loan for a used import with papers that may or may not be genuine.

Rt

very true rtech. Yamaha was supposed to launch the Dragstar. Aprilia was to get the RSV. But what happened. Nothing. There IS a market for these high-end bikes, even though it is limited. But 2-wheeler manufacturers do not want to take the risk of importing thse high-end bikes only to be sold for less than half the expected price due to bad response [Example : BMW F650]. The F650 was first launched at 5.5 lakhs. And the last batch of 20-25 were sold for 1.8 lakhs. Imagine the loss.

Yea, that BMW was an exeption though. The problem with that bike was
1. It was never a REAL BMW.
2. It was a single Cylinder bike
3. It sounded like a moped
4. Its not a striking design like a sports bike

All these reasons combined spelt doom for the F650. Although the bike itself is perfectly suited to India, the fact remains that someone spending that sort of money also wants a good looking bike!

I have no doubt that if a Yamaha R6 or the CBR600 was launched here for 6 lakhs, they would sell really well.

Rt

No a car can never replace a bike & as others have entirely different experiences ( iam not considering those who use it purely for commuting)

I also do not agree on the affordability aspect, coz if that was the case bikes like R1, Busa, ZX12R, blackbird etc wud have never existed & the rush which these beasts give can never be achieved in a car i mean how wud u feel driving in ur Ferrari on expressways showing off & some biker zooms past u on his bike, again am not saying its better its just that both types of machines ahve their own cons & pros & people *will like them for these adv & disadvantages..

may be he never drove a really fast car

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Just like more developed countries eh? The only bikers I saw in the States did so for the pleasure...not for budgetary reasons.

The BMW F650 was also ahead of its time, launched when the market was just about opening up after liberalisation.

But in the end, its not about profits at all. Its about image. Imagine what a CBR 600 can do to Hondas image and getting people to check out the showrooms. For the enthusiasts, not only will you get cheaper loans...but also clean paperwork, a warranty, and after-sales service

Bring the big bikes on!!!

GTO