[pugram]

I agree with sam.

Ours is still a nascent market for the mods / accessories. Though we have them now through Methodsonline / Petes, whom do you trust the job with. what about after sales service and the original warranty.

Most of the cities are now crowded with cars. IT and easy loans from banks and a great deal of marketing by car cos, has sales zooming. Where will you drive this car to derive the joy. Our highways are only now looking up to (If i can say that) international standards.

I guess it will take atleast another 5 years for this market to develop along with mechanics / enthusiasts who can do these modifications. They are few and hard to find presently.

Maybe a new thread on such persons / workshops availble should be started (Pls direct if such a thread is already available)

my opinions

[tifosikrishna]

i agree with what manson and sam has stated here.

I would reckon, atleast 15 % of all current owners (including me) would gladly go in for a company fitted performance mod, owing to the addressal of points described in the first paragraph.

Going by your own logic, 15% of the pie is to be shared by hondas, palio, balenos,swift,ikons....et al.

assuming that there are totally 100,000 palios on road,15% comes to 15,000, and mind you , that this 15k market is spread across india. With so little market size, that too spread across india, i strongly feel that manufacturers dont have a viable proposition on hand.

On the legal side, what about registration formalities, our RC has all the all the major specifications of the car to the last detail, what impact does modding will have on those lines.

theMAG, i feel that you are carried away by the number of threads that talk about turbo charging, k&n filters and other stuff.... to draw an analogy, a person working in a sony service centre will definitely come across so many defective products, that his opinion may be skewed against sony. i guess its the same effect.

How many % of tbhpians do you think have their car modded currently?
can we run a poll??

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by tifosikrishna

On the legal side, what about registration formalities,

theMAG, i feel that you are carried away by the number of threads that talk about turbo charging, k&n filters and other stuff

tifosikrishna,

Try getting a kid into a decent school these days. Tell me that its a cake-walk. Or perhaps go for a driving license the legal way. Tell me that that's absolutely a breeze as well! There's absolutely nothing that can be done without a pain-point here. But thats not to say we shouldnt get on towards what we want.

Having said that, the topic is certainly not pertaining to our current context of RTO headaches, but perhaps a way forward if there is less red-tapism in the Indian automotive process, and for auto enthusiasts in coming into their own.

Even in developed markets, in terms of %, the sports packages are always a small niche.

Pertaining to your supposition that I might have got carried away, let me assure you that my feet are firmly grounded over the last 10 years of automobile ownership experience!

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by tifosikrishna

How many % of tbhpians do you think have their car modded currently?
can we run a poll??

You could post here

I feel manufacturers could give it a try. Honda has started off with Mugen. Fiat could come with Abarth etc.

[Vulken Auto]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

Well, I've got an opinion here. The population of YOU guys is miniscule. Let's talk about a very basic performance product - a high quality Air filter (K&N or whatever)how many of these are sold in a year?As opposed to how many cars are sold in a year?
[/i]

OOPS, knowing sam as some one who is a credible outlet for numbers in organised indian market, his voice doesnt seem right. Sam, can you spil the beans of the market trend and expectations in coming years for after market auto stuff? Growth and nature of the buyers.

Is there any thread discussed before about organised after market in indian Autos?

[abhijit 2284]

the main reason is why manufacturers choose not to pursue performance modifiers is

1)the cost of a vehicle will increase with no real justification for the average joe.

2) homologation cost will increase since engine configuration will change alongwith the mod

3)vehicle may not meet p.u.c norms ,makes changes in the engines necessary

4)not many buyers to warrant this cost burden

5)plus there are already established players who do these mod's expertly and are cost competetive.

[elf]

It's quite simple to figure out the percentage of people who would be interested in factory mods in India:
What are the total sales of Fiat Palios till date?
How many 1.6 liter engined Palios have been sold, & how many 1.2 & 1.9 diesels?
That would cover the bottom end of the market.

Do the same for 2.4 & 3.0L Accords.

You should get your answers.

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by elf

Do the same for 2.4 & 3.0L Accords.

Agreed Elf but there's a problem with this comparison. Problem is the 3.0 only comes with an Auto box & that for many including me is a problem. I would really like to own a 3.0 Accord but with a manual box & hence have no option but to either buy the 2.4 or look for something else.

[GTO]

Well, revenue isnt the only potential benefit from providing modification support.

Its also about boosting the brand.

[theMAG]

The newly and officially launched Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX FQ-360. Kind of a "super" Evo IX.



Notice the exhaust.

Retails in the UK legally with high flow catalytic converter, FFE (pic), 366 bhp, high pressure fuel pump and reprogrammed ECU.

Exists alongside with Evo IX stablemates FQ-300, FQ-320 and FQ-340, all of which are in a corresponding lower state of engine tune and no high-flow/free-flow anything

This is the power of manufacturer supplied performance.

[speedzak]

Well, how many of these will be sold? It'll be much less than the normal model.

I think the same will happen here too. When a model is excessively sold well, then the exclusive, sporty versions may be released. As of now it's purely cosmetic (eg. Fiesta Sport, Palio S10 etc..) but will soon change, I hope. (Swift sport coming in?)

[elf]

I had an extended, entertaining & enlightened chat with a gentleman from Mahindra yesterday - his card reads Dy. Gen. Manager - Customization, Automotive Sector.

The fact that Mahindra even have such a division makes me really happy, & says a lot for the pro-active nature of the company.

Yes they're into customizations - with full factory support. For those interested, please PM / e-Mail me for his contact details.