[GTO]

Firstly, wish everyone a fab 2015!

Originally Posted by i10

Would it be possible to disclose (without giving details) if any of these represent mass market manufacturers?

Yes, all three are mass manufacturers.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

We were at a photoshoot location by sunrise. Shower, breakfast etc had to follow afterwards since we were so deperate to get some pics.

Just to clarify, I meant shower & breakfast after the photoshoot.

Originally Posted by naveenroy

including branching off into some magazine format

Whenever anyone asks me if Team-BHP plans a magazine, my reply is "Why would we move BACKWARD?" Why for heaven's sake would we move from digital to paper? Is there anything we can't publish on Team-BHP.com that we'd be able to in a magazine?

Would you remove the fuel injection of your car and replace it with a carburettor?

Would you get rid of grippy tubeless radials and get tube-type cross-ply tyres instead?

Move back to cassettes from MP3?

Why would Team-BHP Moderators spend time on a medium that is accessible to a small % of folk (compared to a website)?

Naah, I'll think of starting a magazine the day the world embraces dial-up 56 kbps internet again.

Originally Posted by iamahunter

What do the manufacturers do with these cars once the media drives or say all the pre-launch events are done?

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.

No, they aren't palmed off to unsuspecting customers.

[Ricci]

great thread, mods. It's nice to learn the internal nitty gritties of the job.

I know, I know, you probably have loads of volunteers already, but I would also like say, I'm willing to participate in the reviews, especially 2 wheelers , since I'm a bit of a noob on 4 , barely having clocked miles on 4 wheels. (Note to self: there's one hint for my 2015 resolution).

Somebody asked about professional journalism experience. I know at least 3 moto-journo types personally, and none of them are from media/journalism by qualification, they're regular joes like us, some with engineering degrees, some without , but got the right contacts and opportunities and made the jump. The writing of 200-500 words is the easy part, as long as you have had decent education is English, it's smallest of the demands, you don't need to a modern day Shakespeare or Wilde or Shaw. Most reviews anyway are usually simple English devoid of big words and few show any style that would make you identify the author from the style of writing alone, like I could guess Alan Cathcart.

I've also spoken to some other senior journos, and some of them do have dubious knowledge, the kind that would make mod Samurai think of the fresh college grads he interviewed.

Originally Posted by GTO

Whenever anyone asks me if Team-BHP plans a magazine, my reply is "Why would we move BACKWARD?" Why for heaven's sake would we move from digital to paper? Is there anything we can't publish on Team-BHP.com that we'd be able to in a magazine?

I believe that stems from the impression that only a "paper" publication has something to be taken seriously, because you need a good circulation to stay in business whereas anyone can start a site/blog for cheap money , and readership is a little harder to prove.

[dchahal]

Great details GTO :thumbup: These questions of mine were unanswered since ages. The quality of the Team-Bhp reviews leave behind all the delays these have in comparison to those 500 word super incomplete reviews published by many. The one who wants to read Team-Bhp review will read here only. All in all its lot of hardwork behind the scenes.

[humyum]

Originally Posted by GTO

Whenever anyone asks me if Team-BHP plans a magazine, my reply is "Why would we move BACKWARD?" Why for heaven's sake would we move from digital to paper? Is there anything we can't publish on Team-BHP.com that we'd be able to in a magazine?

Would you remove the fuel injection of your car and replace it with a carburettor?

Would you get rid of grippy tubeless radials and get tube-type cross-ply tyres instead?

Move back to cassettes from MP3?

Why would Team-BHP Moderators spend time on a medium that is accessible to a small % of folk (compared to a website)?

Naah, I'll think of starting a magazine the day the world embraces dial-up 56 kbps internet again.

Best part about team-bhp is, a comprehensive, honest and super elaborate review along with tons of pictures is published on the forum without any space constraints (magazines have a tough time getting the entire story across )Not to mention, team-bhp does not have to wait till the end of month to get the reviews published, while magazines have to wait for that and by the time the magazine is out on the stands, people have already read team-bhp reviews and the novelty factor about 'how the car is' is no longer there with the magazine folks.

Of course, magazines have their website too on which they publish the reviews but those are just trailers of the review as if they published the entire thing on their website, there would be no need for them to put their magazine on the stands.

In short, online forum is a win win situation all the time.

Also, let me add a little something here, more like a suggestion or maybe you can call it a marketing suggestion too, in each review, there should be atleast 4 to 5 pictures of the car in question which should be wallpaper material, extremely well shot with a nice location and background, not to mention extremely creative too and available for download by the forum members in their original 10-15 mb file. This will be a new trend in the industry. I have some more merchandise ideas too (very unique one's) maybe when we meet sometime, I ll share them with you as 'rivals' read team bhp too

[GTO]

Originally Posted by twin_turbo

I have got a chance to accompany the media drive event as a member of the development team for a recently launched car. On that side, every one of us will be equally tensed and in prayers hoping everything to go well.

I can only imagine, you guys have to put your best foot forward.

Originally Posted by Ricci

I know, I know, you probably have loads of volunteers already, but I would also like say, I'm willing to participate in the reviews, especially 2 wheelers

Thank you, appreciate the willingness to contribute.

The writing of 200-500 words is the easy part, as long as you have had decent education is English, it's smallest of the demands, you don't need to a modern day Shakespeare or Wilde or Shaw.

Rather than a powerful command over the language, I'd say it's very, very, very important to be able to communicate in an effective manner. The reader should have a 'complete picture' of the car after your review. Many reviewers miss this objective. Some reviews can talk a lot, but still leave you confused.

I believe that stems from the impression that only a "paper" publication has something to be taken seriously, because you need a good circulation to stay in business whereas anyone can start a site/blog for cheap money , and readership is a little harder to prove.

Anyone can indeed start a website. It's the quality of content & loyal readership that takes years of hard work.

Agreed on the magazines part. Some of them have a monthly circulation of merely 10,000 copies, and are only surviving because of a larger media company covering their back (i.e. paying their bills). We've seen a couple of magazines being shut down and / or acquired. Of the entire lot, only 3 have a circulation close to or over 6 digits.

Originally Posted by humyum

Best part about team-bhp is, a comprehensive, honest and super elaborate review along with tons of pictures is published on the forum without any space constraints (magazines have a tough time getting the entire story across )Not to mention, team-bhp does not have to wait till the end of month to get the reviews published

there should be atleast 4 to 5 pictures of the car in question which should be wallpaper material, extremely well shot with a nice location and background

Noted. For now, enjoy the higher-res ones (like this one) that are part of each official review!

I have some more merchandise ideas too (very unique one's) maybe when we meet sometime, I ll share them with you

Look forward to it.

[madroxx]

After reading the entire process behind a review the only word I have for you guys is respect. I'm amazed to see the hard work and quality time you guys put it. It is not easy for guys who have regular office work to show such commitment. Hats off to you guys for your contribution to the community, only truly passionate guys can put in such a selfless effort. I wish the mod team and all members of TBHP a happy and prosperous new year.

[Sisu]

Superb Insight on the car reviewing process GTO!

I was always intrigued about the life of an auto journalist and your thread summed it up beautifully.

After reading this I felt like quitting my day job and becoming a full-time reviewer with T-BHP (my limited knowledge of automobiles notwithstanding).

Someday.....sometime I surely will.

Keep up the good work!

Cheeerzz

[rattanw]

Kudos to GTO and entire team of Moderators for starting this excellent thread. Really, this is more than our fair share of information and hence becomes the de facto standard expected from TBHP. Hats off guys for this amazing insight in to your domain. I am hard pressed to think of an equally riveting and transparent insight in to way of working presented by any other community / publication.

I have a question - is there a way to measure the softer aspects of a manufacturer? After participating in reviews and sponsored events and after providing your expert opinions / suggestions to everyone ranging from an engineer to the head honcho (during discussions, informal chats, after event conferences or even later on through email or phone as follow up inputs), I am sure there are situations where you look back to find that out of the total suggestions you gave, 'x' suggestions have been incorporated while 'y' have been ignored. In this particular aspect, who do you think is the best manufacturer who incorporates most of the suggestions and who do you reckon is the worst.

I know the above question may be a little uncomfortable especially with sharing the manufacturer's names, if that is the case, please abstain from sharing any name while you may just share how many, on an average, suggestions are incorporated vs. suggestions which are ignored. That I guess may not be too hard to share. Of course, I am not looking for any hard data but just some top of the mind information that you may be able to recall.

Secondly, have you come across manufacturers who take care to provide explanations about the suggestions which they find irrelevant. Lets say you propose a change which you perceive as highly beneficial while the manufacturer rejects it point blank, is there a two way discussion on the same and the reasons for rejection? Or if the manufacturer states that they will get back to you with detailed in-house discussions and analysis, how many of them actually follow through on their promise? In other words, is there any 360 degree feedback mechanism.

The reason I ask this question is that different manufacturers have different priorities and approaches, and even in the case of same manufacturer its possible for them to have different approaches for different vehicles. The degree to which a manufacturer is willing to accept suggestions and make changes, at times even making major departures from their stated approach, in the face of proven benefits that a proposed change may bring, would indicate the extent of 'customer centricity' in their approach.

[groom]

Originally Posted by GTO

No, they aren't palmed off to unsuspecting customers.

Although they are not palmed off, during my interaction with few OEs i was told that some of them may end up with "KNOWN" customers who wouldn't bother to use a new barely used car at very low price.

They do let them know what kind of a car this is and also undertake a signed document. But in most cases some parts may be marked "non-saleable".

[avdhesh15]

awesome... always wanted to know how the official reviews happen. thanks for the great insights and keep up the amazing work!

cheers and a very happy new year!!!

[manas_270]

Ah, what a way & an opportunity to post my first reply after getting my membership approved. Great way to start the New Year

Thank you GTO for the wonderful write-up explaining the finer details that go behind each official review. Would like to Thank you & all the Mods for taking time out of their regular work schedule to come up with elaborate reviews that cover each & every intricate details about the car so that nothing is left to guesswork for prospective buyers/members on this forum.

Originally Posted by GTO

The Smaller yet Significant Things

• Inexpensive caps, t-shirts, scale models, bags etc. are still okay, but high-priced gifts make us uncomfortable (politely refused an iPad once and a laptop another time). IMHO, sufficient time with the car is all that we want. Manufacturers should do away with gifts.

One of the main reasons why this forum has such a huge fan base is because of the unbiased reviews & calling a stone a stone & nothing else to please the concerned manufacturers by accepting kickbacks. Only one word for all you reviewers - RESPECT!!!!

[GTO]

Originally Posted by rattanw

Hats off guys for this amazing insight in to your domain. I am hard pressed to think of an equally riveting and transparent insight in to way of working presented by any other community / publication.

I am sure there are situations where you look back to find that out of the total suggestions you gave, 'x' suggestions have been incorporated while 'y' have been ignored.

From time to time, we do see our suggestions incorporated. Don't know if we had anything to do with it though.

That said, Team-BHP's feedback isn't restricted to review events. All manufacturers surf Team-BHP on a regular / daily basis. BHPian comments are definitely picked up.

Lets say you propose a change which you perceive as highly beneficial while the manufacturer rejects it point blank, is there a two way discussion on the same and the reasons for rejection?

They are usually (and trained to be) incredibly polite. Thus, you'll never hear a 'no' from them. Even to a fairly lousy suggestion, they'll acknowledge it with a smile. Rather diplomatic.

Few managers are outspoken with the press. Can't blame them, reporters cook up any story out of thin air. A friendly Moderator summed it up best:

Originally Posted by Friendly Mod

This is how it typically goes:

Reporter: Do you have plans to bring the GTR to India?
Official: It's something we have considered for the future (realspeak: Not feasible)
Reporter: Nissan might bring GTR to India!

Originally Posted by groom

Although they are not palmed off, during my interaction with few OEs i was told that some of them may end up with "KNOWN" customers who wouldn't bother to use a new barely used car at very low price.

Could be, but I'm guessing this is restricted to some manufacturers and an inside network, not all.

[Deblovestodrive]

Excellent insight GTO. Good to know what goes behind the scenes and reviews. Must be a lot of work, but I am envious of your access to so many new cars. As always, you provide the best reviews.

[PearlJam]

Excellent thread, thanks for the detailed and wonderful insights into the whole process.

Question 1:
When performance details of a car are reported in your reviews, is it with a fully loaded car (4-5 people)? Is it with the A/C on/off? Windows rolled up/down? These could all add up and affect the final 'perception' of performance, especially in petrol cars.

Question 2:
Is it possible that the media test drive cars are tuned more for performance, but the final production cars end up being tuned more for mileage? That way, the manufacturer can boast about good performance from the media test drive reports, and good mileage from the actual customers' word of mouth

Thanks!

[noopster]

@PearlJam (nice handle by the way! )

We do not test "performance" of the vehicle in any of our regular official reviews. We report the rated power/torque ratings where provided by the manufacturer. Our endeavour is to provide as comprehensive a real ownership experience as possible for potential buyers. If you notice, we *never* test 0-100 timings etc in our reviews and certainly don't intend to in street conditions, in the interest of safety.