[theMAG]

With the burgeoning of the mature car buyer in India, coupled with the thriving grey-market of performance mods, don't we feel its time that manufacturers start their own line of company-branded performance parts such as headers, free-flows etc. for their cars?! This would constitute to the company a niche yet lucrative avenue, while for for car owner - a perfect one-stop solution for company-branded performance parts that ensure the car's warranty is in tact.

A win-win situation for the performance enthusiast and car manufacturer I feel. And an opportunity manufacturers should not miss.

[yeis]

Mag, you have raised a valid point but I think its not like that that car manufacturers are unaware of it. They could have done it far earlier but there seems to be a major problem, these manufacturers will have to fight with the market-leaders of those products and its quite possible that nobody gives a damn to them. There are specialists in every field and people go for those specialists only, very few admire jack-of-all-trades! Your point of warranty is quite correct.

[manson]

the manafacturers have their hands full of service and repair jobs, why would they dedicate so much of their time and effort for a very niche market. they might as well increase their capacity in what they do best.

manson.

[rahul_intlad]

Market dynamics in India where cost is such an important consideration makes it an unviable option in a country like India.Perhaps in future things may change.

[Ram]

Here's a severe statement!

Performance mods are illegal in many passenger car markets in the developed world!

The world's strictest road transport authorities are: Germany, the State of California, USA and Singapore.

And while the law in lesser lands, may marginally indulge an individual souping-up and hot-rodding a car of a certain minimum age, it will certainly not tolerate a new-car manufacturer offering such a car to the public. That would violate "Fitness for Merchantability" laws!

In fact, Chrysler USA once produced and sold a large five-seat passenger sedan with a hemispherical head engine. This model developed power beyond the range legal for insurance and registration. The car was issued with a federal sticker that disclaimed: "This automobile is manufactured for enthusiast speed-trials only. It is not street-legal and may not be registered for normal use!

That means in order to be able to drive it, the owner had to necessarily put the car on a trailer-truck and transport it to a designated racing track only. He could never have license plates for it. The checks and balances in a civilized country will prevent money from buying wanton uncivilized power.

Ergo, manufacturers cannot start their own line of company-branded performance parts such as headers, free-flows and other illegals!

Ram

[manson]

Originally Posted by viper

@ Manson - They would do it for the money as there will be a line of people wanting the sports packages.

And how long is that line? I honestly doubt even 1% of the total cars on our roads having any aftermarket equipment in context to engine mods, and 10% of that 1%, i.e. 0.10% of the total market would probably have anything more than the usual filter, exhaust, wires etc

To make it simpler, how many people on an Automobile Enthusiast forum that we have drive modded cars? i m not talking about filters, plugs now, manafacturers have better products to apply their resources to!!

Honda and maybe a couple of companies will prob. sometime bring in these hi-performance products, thats good. But if they don't, they surely arent missing out on a Serious revenue chain as the thread suggests.

manson.

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by manson

Honda and maybe a couple of companies will prob. sometime bring in these hi-performance products, thats good. But if they don't, they surely arent missing out on a Serious revenue chain as the thread suggests.

manson.

One of the main factors that current cars do not have performance mods is due to the threat of engine damage, usage of suboptimal/fake parts, immediate voiding of any car warranty and the single important reason - distrust in commiting your car modification to an accessory store whose owner is truthful abt lack of control he has in sourcing genuine components, providing comprehensive post-sales backup and incompetent domain-expertise.

Case in point: I've read on Team-BHP that a Mumbai OHC VTEC which had FFE installed had its engine seized up and had to be rebuilt for Rs. 2.5 lacs. Another case of a turbo-charger fitted Baleno that is now completely worth its metal-value only.

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.

And again, this would be a niche segment to the manufacturers.

[GTO]

I absolutely agree. The customisation scenario is booming in India, but the suppliers are mostly from the disorganised segment. Branded and manufacturer-backed modifications would be a welcome addition! Many car owners refrain from even basic modifications like tyre upgrades and sound systems since they are unsure of the route (specs, quality etc.) or dont want to mess up their warranty.

This is already in place in many countries worldwide, and I had personally seen some outlets in the USA. However, the pricing should include a reasonable premium and not one in excess.

[west]

Yes, but where is the market. Here we are using a 10 year old molds for indica , and m 800. Do you think they are going to make a sports package because .001 % people are interested. See the auto senario in india. We sell 12 lks cars every year as opposed to 1.6 cr in US. This is the main reason why we cant and we dont. One more reason I might add is our head of department in industry are little bit old for this , dont you think eh??

[viper]

Originally Posted by theMAG

Case in point: I've read on Team-BHP that a Mumbai OHC VTEC which had FFE installed had its engine seized up and had to be rebuilt for Rs. 2.5 lacs. Another case of a turbo-charger fitted Baleno that is now completely worth its metal-value only.

Hi,

Would you mind giving the link to the same. IMO the report is fake and if at all the engine had to be rebuilt it does not cost anywhere close to the figure you or the post have mentioned. It will cost approx Rs50k on the higher side parts included for a engine rebuild.

Which Turbo Baleno are you referring to.

Viper

[GTO]

@Viper : I had seen this blue Vtec myself at linkway Honda. Was busted due to a defective exhaust system, and Linkway estimate was 2L+

[black12rr]

Cars manufactures also have to taken care of warranty and the insurance guys .Since Guys who are going in for these mods would obviously take there car to limits and any defects or damange the delears/maufactuere has to bear the expensives and insurace guys might offend these.Just my thought.

[viper]

Originally Posted by GTO

@Viper : I had seen this blue Vtec myself at linkway Honda. Was busted due to a defective exhaust system, and Linkway estimate was 2L+

Hi,

That is really odd. It may be a 1 off case or in reality a wrong diagnosis or a combination of exhaust + some other stuff. Anyways no point discussing the same. Linkway is known for exhorbitant estimates

Viper

[yeis]

Instead of providing power-modification instruments manufacturer could also provide power-packed maybe turbo/super-charged engines as an option. Example could be a all Honda City variants may house 1.5L i-DSI, 1.5L VTEC, 2.4L i-VTEC and just to make things thrilling a 3.0L V6 engine as options. FE-lovers could happily go for a 1.5L i-DSI and a dude could consider 3.0L V6! We don't have this kinda thing in India at all, I guess. You will have to live with an engine that's provided by manufacturer. Now either wait for warranty-expiry or simply go ahead and screw things by going ahead with engine-modification and end-up voiding warranty, insurance and god knows what.

[Sam Kapasi]

Well, I've got an opinion here. The population of YOU guys is miniscule. Except for cities like Coimbatore and Bangalore, performance add-ons are rarely asked for and they are strictly toys for a small group of enthusiastic boys. I mean no disrespect here whatsover

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?

Why do you talk about engine performance only? Let's talk about the luxuries in a car. Our "Fully loaded" cars come with options that are basic for most countries. Even the Luxury Audi (A4? A6?) comes with "Leather Seats" as an option.

I can speak for the audio system. Worldwide Toyota has a reputation for providing ROCKING factory speakers, see here.
Try getting it in a Corolla/Camry here.

Has anyone seen the OE speakers supplied in a Honda City? Poor and Cheap.
One cannot blame ANY car manufacturer in India. Questions like "performance" come very far behind "Cost" and "looks"

We are a developing economy where a car is still a super luxury and every manufacturer in India is bending over backwards, trying to provide their machines at a lower cost to the consumer.
A testimony to this fact is that car dealers/showrooms make little or no profit on the sale of a car. I know this for a fact.

So you may as well ask, why does Toyota not offer a custom installed High-end Audio option? Why doesn't Honda offer an assortment of Alloy wheels and low profile performance tyres as an option? Why do they rely on the after market for these upgrades?

Disclaimer: My opinion on engines and upgrades is just a broad overview as I do not know enough to comment. These matters I have discussed are based on my personal opinions only.

My forte (pronounced for-tay) lies in other fields