[abhi182]

I checked out the U-VA in a Chennai showroom yesterday ...they don't have a demo-car as yet but promised to send one for a TD as soon as they get one (ETA Thursday)

the first impression...ummm...
- A lot roomier than the swift
- Interiors look as tacky or as sophisticated as the Swift
- A visibly longer wheelbase
- A visibly higher ground clearance

The sales lady (surprisingly quite knowledgeable) confidently stated it will return a better FE than the swift..she also stated that the company ppt tehy attended compared the torque and power delivery of the U-VA with the Getz and Swift and thoough she refused to divulge full details, she emphatically stated that the pick-up and power delivery will be at least equal if not better than the swift while the handling and suspension will be in a different league altogether....

Not sure of the power delivery aspect but given the longer wheelbase (helping the handling) and GMs track record with superior suspension on Indian roads (Corsa, Optra, Astra), I do not doubt the latter part of her statement....

Anyway, do pardon me for the cliche, but the proof of the pie is in the eating, and hopefully the Thursday TD will not be a let-down....

Oh, And I do agree completely with Nikhil here....Passing judgement on a new car without even so much as seeing it (forget driving it) is not justifiable in any way....
Unfortunately, a lot of so called auto-experts in the country take great pride in dissing products coming from certain manufacturers while making no bones about even covering obvious shortcomings on certain other supposedly vehicles targeted at enthusiasts (Read Baleno, Palio etc.)
Now that I clearly view as prejudice....

sorry for the digression here but Kind of reminds me of the way the so called technology experts dissing Intel (at least used to) or bashing ipods just on the basis of certain prejudices...
Anyway, just my two naya paisas on the topic at hand which is certainly not meant as a flame-bait

[rahul_intlad]

Of course, maybe the U-VA is really not as good the competitors (in the COTY contest) and it didnt deserve to win. That is besides the point.

But that is what the thread is trying to highlight,along with the timing of the COTY award.

The thread was/is not meant to highlight U-va vs competition in its segment.

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by rahul_intlad

But that is what the thread is trying to highlight,along with the timing of the COTY award.

The thread was/is not meant to highlight U-va vs competition in its segment.

You can never say unlkess you test drive the car yourself....

And also keep in mind the value for money. The only real competitor it had in my opinion was the Civic. It is priced almost 2.5 times more.

[gunbir]

Originally Posted by nikhilb2008

And also keep in mind the value for money. The only real competitor it had in my opinion was the Civic. It is priced almost 2.5 times more.

how??? can you please elaborate?

[abhi182]

Gunbir, If I understand correctly, that comparison was only within the context of the BS COTY where Civic was one of the contenders along with U-VA

[naveendhyani]

simply "when money talks bull$hit walks"

[vinu99@gmail.co]

IMHO, BSM's premature judjing or a costly buy out for the GM guys. Whatever, lets see how many U-VAs will hit the road even after this. I really doubt this campaign's gonna help GM.

[Palio_2005]

Sad to see BS going this way. I strongly beleived that BS was different but looks like they too have succumbed to the market pressures.

[karlosdeville]

well, heres their side of the story i read in their orkut community...schumis post...

BSM's COTY and BOTY awards have always been 'controversial.' Here's why (long post... split up)

Part 1
1) Timing.
We always announce the award on the last weekend of the year, in BS Weekend Motoring. The problem with that is quite funny. We close our January 2007 issue by December 10. Then we set about working towards the February 2007 issue and the COTY and BOTY evaluations. And what happens is that often, we end up with a car or two that don't make our Jan issue (which hits the stands roughly at the same time as the BS Weekend Motoring announcement) that're contenders for the award. Like this year, we have just enough time to log in a proper road test and then consider them for the award.

To the reader it looks like we awarded it without testing. Whereas the reality is that we tested it, thought it was good and considered it for the award. But our press schedules mean that the road test will appear in print at the same time or later than the award announcement



Part 2
[2) Format.
When the BSM award structure was created, almost a decade ago, we were clear that enthusiasts' cars were important, but realistic cars were even more central to the award. And how popular the award winners proved in the market was something we didn't need to worry about. Which is why only forty percent of the evaluation is actually in the hands of the testers. The rest are numbers, which are now swayed by the emotional appeal of the automobile in question. In our format, a cheaper, more fuel efficient car is always more likely to win. And we believe that is how it should be. Until our markets reach the same maturity levels as markets abroad, it simply does not make sense to award an expensive car that is obviously excellent and appealing but only a few can afford.

In terms of evolution, I have no doubt that eventually the structure will need changes to represent changes in the market and we will modify it when that happens.

But for the moment all of us at BSM believe that controversial they may be, but our awards are real. They mean what they stand for in our context. And they go to the cars and bikes that truly deserve them


Part 3 (sigh)
Is the U-VA the best car in the segment? We'll find out. Look for the story shortly. Would we ever choose it over the Swift as our own car? Same answer.

Is it a good car per se? Unlikely as it appears to you, everyone of us who drove it actually had a good time in it. Is it as exciting as the Civic? No. But Is it fair to expect it to match the excitement of a car roughly three times the price? No again. Would it have made a difference if the car was obviously better than its peers? To you, it would have been an easier proposition to accept. To us, it would simply have shown up as more points in the scoring.

Let me explain why. The award format only considers new launches in the calendar year. The car competes on its merits and not on the its relative merit to its peers. And I remind you 60 percent of the evaluation scores are pure numbers. Not swayed by our opinion of the car. The rest also is a well-thrashed out set of numbers. And till such time that a significant chunk of people are buying small cars, our award must reflect that. As opposed to the minority who can actually afford the more exciting and hugely more expensive cars. What we want to find out is, which was the best all-new launch in the year within the context of our market and its buyers. The Indian COTY.



Part 4 (this ends here)
Will the U-VA be the loser of its segment? We really don't care. People buy a lot of very poor cars and bikes in huge numbers. And people also happen to bypass and not buy some really great cars and bikes. So, should our car of the year (and bike of the year) automatically be the greatest sales hit for the company? We hope so - and we're sure the buyers who do buy the car will like it - but it doesn't really matter for the award itself. And I said as much in my previous post.

Is the CR-V really a much more deserving candidate for the Indian Coty? A good soft-roader worth 21 lakhs? We beg to differ. By the same standard, shouldn't every Ferrari/Lambo automatically sweep all international awards? This year's International Car Of The Year, for instance, is the relatively humble, even boring, Ford S-Max.

As to your last point, will the Civic outsell the U-VA. It might. Will it make any difference to the evaluation? None whatsoever. We're not awarding the Most Popular and Best New Launch Of The Year. It's just Business Standard Motoring Car Of The Year

[sajo]

Thanks for posting BSM's POV here Karl ! Was contemplating doing that myself, but didnt know if it was allowed.

Anyway, the original post by Shubhabrata Marmar (Shumi) can be found here.

[karlosdeville]

well, while im not making any comment on their choice, i cant bear to see so much BSM bashing...i had to do it, allowed or otherwise!
cheers

[normally_crazy]

How many of you seen the U-VA on road here in Mumbai, put your hands up !

[sajo]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

How many of you seen the U-VA on road here in Mumbai, put your hands up !

Can I put my hand up if I have seen one in Pune? Saw one a couple of days ago, was new and the family was in the process of garlanding it.

[normally_crazy]

Good atleast GM sold one !

[ported_head]

I saw 4 yesterday. From the mouth of somebody who works at GM, they were quite surprised by the response to U-VA. Apparently their production capacity for the U-VA can't keep up with the demand, so they have had to cancel orders.
But I would watch out for the Spark, I expect it to do significantly better than the U-VA.

I find BSM's POV quite convincing. Magazine publishing deadlines would mean that we might not get to read a particular story when we would like to.