[thatsdileep]

Rated this thread a well deserved 5 stars.
T-BHP reviews are the best it ever gets and the kind of effort and pain you reviewers take to publish such immaculate official reports are very much apparent from the attention to detail that's shown.

I wouldn't mind waiting a month longer to go through a thorough review report than judging something with half baked info and make a hasty purchase decision for which I might have to repent for next 1/2-1 decade.

Kudos T-BHP...!!!

[GTO]

Ever wondered why we don't do interviews? Because the answers are always PR rubbish (200 word replies, but not one meaningful bit of information). I hate today's style of corporate speak. There's just no directness.

Now, PR idiots have some up with a new strategy. If there's an interview with a CEO / CMO / someone senior, you have to email your questions in advance. You read that right! The PR idiot will then approve the questions beforehand (or take approval from the CEO).

Like I said, now you know why we don't do interviews. It's just going from bad to worse.

Originally Posted by good.car-ma

How does the interaction work with the technical guys? I imagine they can't give out too much info. Also are they PR-friendly or the quiet genius types?

Already mentioned in this thread. Most technical guys share insightful data in a 1-on-1 interaction, only a few aren't as forthcoming. But tell them you're from Team-BHP and they get really excited. All of them are regular followers of Team-BHP, a couple are BHPians too .

[McLaren Rulez]

Out of curiosity, do these cars get sold soon afterwards as used cars? Or perhaps they go to dealers as TD vehicles?

[GTO]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

Out of curiosity, do these cars get sold soon afterwards as used cars? Or perhaps they go to dealers as TD vehicles?

Answered earlier. Quoting reply:

Originally Posted by GTO

Many things:

1. For a while, these cars will remain in the press / media drive fleet in Mumbai, Delhi etc.

2. Used by dealerships as demo / test-drive cars.

3. Used for promotional activities (road shows etc.).

4. Given internally to managers within the company for use.

5. Sent to magazines for 'long-term' reviews.

[GTO]

From the Skoda Superb thread:

Originally Posted by kiku007

How many man hours are spent for a review like this? From the time actually spent with the car, photography, taking rough notes, then penning them down up until publishing!

Back of the envelope calculations show that a highly detailed review like that of the Creta or Superb can take up to 170 hours (between all those who work on the review). For simpler cars, it can go down to 110 - 120 hours, but 120 - 180 is pretty much the standard range.

We don't count . But we do continuously work on the review until we're 100% satisfied with the end result. There are times that we'll run to the showroom (after the drive) just to reconfirm a smaller point or two.

[kiku007]

Thanks for the reply GTO. 170 hours is considerable investment but totally worth it.

Best part is how objective the different reviews are. So far I haven't been able to call out any review that has been done subjectively based on the particular reviewer's likes or dislikes.

[srishiva]

The best thing about tbhp reviews is the instant feedback and response to points in review. This follows until a point is driven to conclusion from reviewers and users of previous versions of the vehicle etc.

Reviews are also not a chore and is more of a enthusiast's feedback to every bit of the car from the viewpoint of everyday usage to emotional response of owning a engineered machine.

For me I have not known a car well until the review appears here albeit with a little delay. The delay doesnt impact since the final outcome is exhaustive and final.

The only thing I would like more is regarding driving dynamics. I am not sure if its allowed to push the car a bit during reviews.

[noopster]

Originally Posted by kiku007

Best part is how objective the different reviews are. So far I haven't been able to call out any review that has been done subjectively based on the particular reviewer's likes or dislikes.

We're only human, so such subjective stuff is bound to creep in. Typically the first draft looks very different from the final draft. A lot of fact checking is done by GTO, the back office team and the rest of Support team with relevant experience (e.g. ajmat for Euro car reviews, .anshuman for SUVs etc.) The objective is to produce a review that is as close to a comprehensive unbiased look at the car as possible. Glad that you and other readers appreciate it!

[Dr.Naren]

Few questions :
1)Do manufactures limit top speed or instruct not to go beyond particular speed?
2)Do they provide equipment for 0-100 timing?
3)Why don't Team-Bhp publish/test 0-100 timings? I know it is not useful for real time driving condition. But, just for the sake of numbers to compare.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by srishiva

The only thing I would like more is regarding driving dynamics. I am not sure if its allowed to push the car a bit during reviews.

We are expected to adhere to speed limits. We do try things like corner at a slightly higher speed to observer car behaviour but only is it is safe and there are proper run-off areas

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

Few questions :
1)Do manufactures limit top speed or instruct not to go beyond particular speed?
2)Do they provide equipment for 0-100 timing?
3)Why don't Team-Bhp publish/test 0-100 timings? I know it is not useful for real time driving condition. But, just for the sake of numbers to compare.

1: We are expected to drive as per the law. We need to sign up to this most of the time

2+3 - no - we are on public roads and also do not have the time to do 4-5 trials to validate

[Turbohead]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

2)Do they provide equipment for 0-100 timing?
3)Why don't Team-Bhp publish/test 0-100 timings? I know it is not useful for real time driving condition. But, just for the sake of numbers to compare.

I don't think 0-100 timings matter. It's only useful for bragging rights and to differentiate performance standards segment wise. Other than that it doesn't hold any value.
A classic example would be the Honda Brio. It has a rather good 0-100 timing ( around 12 secs I believe). Sadly I hear owners( non enthusiasts) say it's underpowered thanks to its low torque delivery at low RPMs.
I'm more than happy with the description Team BHP gives with respect to performance. It's 'all you need to know' and honest :thumbup:

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

3)Why don't Team-Bhp publish/test 0-100 timings? I know it is not useful for real time driving condition. But, just for the sake of numbers to compare.

Quoting a post of mine in another thread:

We'd love to include these, but I'm (personally) in two minds about it. When measuring something down to tenths or hundreths of a second, what is very important is consistency and accuracy. Given the differences between testing environments (mostly public roads), drivers, weather, set-up etc - i feel like this could cause more problems that it solves. Especially when it comes to the more complicated cars with automatic transmissions and tons of driver aids/restrictions. A test that's off by just a second could be an unfortunate source of misinformation. I'm not saying we'll never do it - but just sharing my thoughts here.

[GTO]

I'd written this post on another thread:

Originally Posted by GTO

Each & every day, without fail, I have to go through annoying calls from the PR arms of car manufacturers. It goes like this:

Cellphone rings....usually an unknown number (Truecaller gives the organisation name only).

Me - Hello.

Sweet voice at the other end (99% of the time, it's a female voice) - 'Hi Rush, I'm xxxx on behalf of xxxx motors. I've just sent you a press release. Wanted to confirm that you got it?'.

Me -

Me - 'Did you get a bounce back notification?'

Sweet voice - Shocked (not the answer she was expecting). 'Umm, no'.

Me - 'Then I've obviously gotten it. You sent it, I got it. That's how email works'.

Sweet voice - 'Ok, thanks'. Hangs up. Hurriedly moves on to her next bakra. These are generally entry-level PR personnel working their way up the ladder.

It has become terribly ANNOYING. The 'calling after emailing' practice started in 2014 and EVERY car manufacturer now follows it. I receive about 15 - 20 press releases a day. You can imagine the frustration.

Solution - Add them all to a common contact called 'PR Idiots' and block that contact . I religiously block all PR numbers. Since I don't answer, they always reach my voicemail. It's a different matter that 99% of Indians don't have a clue about what to do once you reach someone's voicemail.

Result - PR spam calls cut down by 90%!!!

Here's my call list of this afternoon . All PR spam blocked. No disturbances.

[GTO]

How Lincoln tried to cheat in a test-drive by giving it an option the car wasn't available with - Super grippy tyres!!!

There are four things on the 2013 Lincoln MKZ that are undeniably best in class — four things that will blindside Lincoln's rivals, and shock and awe its customers.

Those four things are its tires. The rest of the new MKZ is wanting, disappointing and generally undesirable.

Our V6, all-wheel-drive 2013 Lincoln MKZ test car showed up wearing ultra-aggressive Michelin Pilot Super Sport summer tires (245/40ZR19). They're the kind of tires that come standard on cars like the $90K BMW M5 and the $410K Ferrari 599 GTO .

Red flag. We contacted Lincoln and the response smacked of desperation. Seems the Lincoln engineers insisted on mounting these tires on all of the MKZs earmarked for media testing on the West Coast. They know us car tester types like impressive track numbers to bloviate about, and being in California means cold weather isn't an issue.

Problem is, Lincoln admits that the tires are unicorns. All versions of the 2013 Lincoln MKZ (2.0 EcoBoost, V6, hybrid, everything) come standard with 245/45R18 Michelin Primacy MXM4 low-rolling-resistance all-season tires. If you want the summer tires, Lincoln says it will sell you option 102A, the 19-inch Summer Tire Handling package, which also includes sportier suspension tuning. However, the package is not yet available. We're told its availability is delayed until the end of January and then the $1,565 option will only be available with all-wheel drive. Although the package performs well, and is an attempt to change Lincoln's stodgy image, the automaker admits that a tiny fraction of MKZ buyers will equip their MKZ with the package.

Source & Full Article - Edmunds.com

[GTO]

We've really hammered the poor PR folk on this thread. Well, here's a look from the other side.

What the Motor Industry's PR says.

I recently constructed a short (8 questions) survey to gather insights into the state of Motoring Journalism in South Africa. Using SurveyMonkey, a link was sent to all the motor industry PRs, as well as four industry experts that spend a lot of face time with the media. The following results were obtained following completion of the survey by 21 of them.

The reason for the survey? To provide better insights to aspirant motoring journalists attending my motoring journalism lectures.