[GTO]

Just remembered an incident that highlights the attention-to-detail of Toyota India.

Had gone for one of the Toyota drives and was booked in an airline where you have to buy your own meals (Indigo? Not sure).

So, when the hostess comes up with the food tray, I take out my wallet to buy something. She says "no, your meal has already been pre-booked with your ticket".

Pretty cool.

What's more, they had specifically booked a vegetarian meal for me. I don't know how they got to know about my dietary preferences.

[Nav-i-gator]

Originally Posted by GTO

Just remembered an incident that highlights the attention-to-detail of Toyota India.

Had gone for one of the Toyota drives and was booked in an airline where you have to buy your own meals (Indigo? Not sure).

So, when the hostess comes up with the food tray, I take out my wallet to buy something. She says "no, your meal has already been pre-booked with your ticket".

Pretty cool.

What's more, they had specifically booked a vegetarian meal for me. I don't know how they got to know about my dietary preferences.

I guess corporates have travel agents to take care of all official travel and corporate deals include meals on board (and free cancellations/rescheduling). Vegetarian is usually the default option, unless someone who have booked the ticket through the travel agents specifically notify them for non-veg meal before booking.

[CARDEEP]

Originally Posted by GTO

Just remembered an incident that highlights the attention-to-detail of Toyota India.

Had gone for one of the Toyota drives and was booked in an airline where you have to buy your own meals (Indigo? Not sure).

So, when the hostess comes up with the food tray, I take out my wallet to buy something. She says "no, your meal has already been pre-booked with your ticket".

Pretty cool.

What's more, they had specifically booked a vegetarian meal for me. I don't know how they got to know about my dietary preferences.

It's the perks of corporate account with ticketing portal, even I had privileges being CFO (courtesy MakeMyTrip) of the group, & had to travel out a lot

Attention to detail is veg meal for you. But, most airlines have bad list of items available, though I liked the Thai Hot (Veg) Curry last time (I believe in GoAir or Indigo).

[GTO]

Here's some trivia that many on Team-BHP will find interesting (as Bangalore is our no.1 source of traffic).

22% of vehicles in Bangalore are over 15 years old - source.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by GTO

Here's some trivia that many on Team-BHP will find interesting (as Bangalore is our no.1 source of traffic).

And yet most of them look way better than NCR vehicles for example.
Speaks for upkeep standards down here not to mention the available quality of workmanship.

There is also a very strong sense of bonding between owners/driver's and their vehicles here which results in greater care and sedate use.

Ayudha Puja is a few days from now and there will be many worshipped, festooned vehicles on the streets.

What also adds to vehicle life here is the comparatively moderate climate and the lack of humidity compared to Bombay/coastal areas.

[arunphilip]

Definitely an interesting statistic, I wouldn't have pegged the number as being that high (for the cars in particular, I can understand two wheelers being kept as a runabout for the owner/kids/household help).

Originally Posted by n.devdath

What also adds to vehicle life here is the comparatively moderate climate and the lack of humidity compared to Bombay/coastal areas.

The flipside is that like the NCR, Bangalore's weather makes it more conducive to smoggy conditions exacerbated by dust/DG exhaust/vehicular exhaust, so there is definitely a need to take care of our respiratory health.

The coastal cities have the bonus of stronger winds to keep the air moving around better, and a larger atmospheric buffer area.

[GTO]

With every car manufacturer, the more expensive the car, the better the engine.

Except Toyota. Perhaps the only manufacturer in the history of Indian cars to give a cheaper car (Fortuner) the better engine (2.8L) with more power (175 BHP) than their own product (Prado) costing 1.20 crores OTR which gets the old engine (3L) with lesser power (171 BHP).

Seriously lunatic stuff. Just like the Prado's price.

[GTO]

Perhaps the only engine to be wrongly sized up by everyone on the planet, including us BHPians .

Fiat's 1.3L MJD is 1,248 cc. It should actually be referred to as a 1.2L, not 1.3L.

[ashlil]

Originally Posted by GTO

What's more, they had specifically booked a vegetarian meal for me. I don't know how they got to know about my dietary preferences.

Did you check with other invitees whether they got their preferred meal? They might just have booked a vegetarian meal because it is cheaper than non-vegetarian! (and may also be due to the fact that vegetarian meal is more universally accepted in India).

[bullock-Car]

Originally Posted by KPS

Great job GTO. It was good fund to read this thread

I would like to add my contribution too

Maruti in the 90's had a TATKAL SCHEME for priority deliveries on the M800. Maruti realized that the Finance Companies were selling their bookings at a premium and they decided to dip their fingers in this pie . Imagine the audacity of a manufacturer to get away by charging premiums for faster deliver ! If I recollect Maruti's Tatkal for M800 AC was Rs. 23,000/- extra.

Significant holding of car bookings in the 90's were with NBFC like Citi, Llyods, Gujarat Lease, Sundaram, Kotak , GE, Apple, Twentieth Century (TCFC) etc. The only way you could get faster deliveries was to take finance and get allotment from the booking of these companies. You would opt for a finance company based on who would deliver faster, IRR at 26% did not matter. Finance companies would recover interest cost on the bookings with Maruti by charging a premium. I remember in 1993 we paid Rs, 20000 premium to TCFC for a Zen allotment.

Citi was the first finance company to start the concept of car loans. Kotak followed suit in 1991 and remains the only player to have been the car finance business for more than 20+ years without ever stopping this line of business. Citi also pioneered used car funding business

In the 1990's car loans in started at 26%, before falling to around 22%. In March 1996, I remember we had run a scheme at 18% for Esteems. I was working in Llyods Finance, Bangalore and that month we funded around 75 Esteems.

Cheers

KPS

I too paid 25K premium for Maruti 800 in 1995, this car still working fine with me. The finance was from Nagarjuna finance, which has closed shop. I did not remove hypothecation then now I can not sell or remove hypothecation

[jinojohnt]

Originally Posted by GTO

- In the mid-nineties, Tata & Mercedes were exploring developing a compact car together.

We would have got an Indica that looks like a Benz, or a Benz that looked like an Indica

[KrisTvpm]

Found this interesting graphic in Lkdn.



Mods, couldn't find an apt thread to post this, hence posting here; please change elsewhere if a better one exists.

[Anthym]

Originally Posted by KrisTvpm

Found this interesting graphic in Lkdn.

Attachment 1855668

Mods, couldn't find an apt thread to post this, hence posting here; please change elsewhere if a better one exists.

Excellent graphic though needs updating IMO, namely;
Vauxhall should now sit under PSA.
Nissan and Renault are part of the same alliance which also includes Mitsubishi.

[vigneshkumar31]

Some trivia from the D2 Premium SUVs:

Isuzu MU-X

Isuzu Mu-X stands for Mysterious Utility Extreme

Rexton/Alturas G4

The name Rexton is derived from latin words rex and tone translating to 'ruler's tone' or king's speech

Outlander

The original Airtrek name of the Outlander (2001) was chosen to "describe the vehicle's ability to transport its passengers on adventure-packed journeys in a 'free-as-a-bird' manner", and was "coined from Air and Trek to express the idea of footloose, adventure-filled motoring pleasure." The Outlander nameplate which replaced it evoked a "feeling of journeying to distant, unexplored lands in search of adventure." and the latest iteration is based on the 'Dynamic Shield' design language.

Honda CRV

Honda CR-V stands for "Comfortable Runabout Vehicle while "Compact Recreational Vehicle" has also been used alternatively.

Ford Endeavour

Ford Australia has more number of designers and engineers than factory workers.

Fortuner

The name Fortuner originates from the word “fortunate”. It was chosen to symbolize a new type of SUV aimed mainly at the higher-income and trendsetting customer segment. The name fits perfectly, as the vehicle brings fortune to customers who long to own a prestigious SUV. The name also evokes an image that is strong yet active, allowing it cross borders easily to be accepted by people around the world.':Toyota Zambia

Kodiaq

In Austria-Hungary during December 1895, keen cyclists Vaclav Laurin (a mechanic) and Vaclav Klement (a bookseller) started designing and manufacturing bicycles. At that time, most Czechs were fervently patriotic, so they called their first company Slavia. Their bicycles sold well, so Laurin and Klement decided to take the next step and add motors. That's the birth of the beautiful Skoda cars we drool at today. The Skoda logo has evolved over years to become the winged arrow. According to the ŠKODA website, around the years 1918-19 in the management office in Plzeň there was a picture portraying a Native American, and that was likely the inspiration for the feathered logo.

Originally Posted by vigneshkumar31

The Definitive Premium SUV Shootout

[rrsteer]

Interesting tid-bit on how the success of Maruti-Suzuki spawned other wealth creators.

Source: https://www.livemint.com/Companies/7...in-Munich.html