[rsidd]

Originally Posted by King_pin09

Back to the subject despite having the most advanced technology of that period, and other first mover advantages, the problem was there were no adequate takers in the car market. The M800 and Omni per se were products of aspirational value and not very fast moving.

Absolutely not true. Maruti 800s had a 3 year waiting period. My parents booked in 1985 and got delivery in 1988 (they kept that car for 18 years).

Also,

Looking at the other side of the coin, Maruti commenced operations in India during 1981 when, even spotting a single car in a whole day was a matter of commemoration (at least in tier II cities).

Those were quieter days but, even so, this seems a gross exaggeration. At least if you count Trichy, Madurai etc as tier II cities. As for Madras (as it was then) and Delhi, parts of those cities were almost as gridlocked as they are today.

[blackasta]

Originally Posted by rsidd

Maruti 800s had a 3 year waiting period

Maybe restricted production due to license raj?

[GTO]

Just in case anyone (read = all of us) were wondering how the Baleno RS sells:

Sales of the 1-litre three-cylinder turbocharged gasoline direct injection Boosterjet engine, that was launched in the Baleno RS sporty model of Maruti Suzuki last March, has raked in less than 10 per cent of the total sales numbers of the Baleno.

CV Raman senior executive director-engineering of Maruti Suzuki told ETAuto that the Boosterjet volumes are in the range of 900-1000 units per month. “They cater to a niche market as it is a performance based product.”

Source

[romeomidhun]

Originally Posted by GTO

Just in case anyone (read = all of us) were wondering how the Baleno RS sells:

That is not a small number. If we consider the "Sporty" aspect and numbers of a 4WD version compared to its 2WD numbers, we may be able to see a similar pattern, IMO.

Had this Boosterjet engine been manufactured in India and priced around 50K more than the regular model, it would have sold even better.