[warrioraks]

Interesting title. I could only think of shared autos.

Not sure if they are spread across the country like roaches but this is a common sight in Gurgaon.
They are pesky, unsafe and even the government has not been able to make them comply.

Mods - please delete the post if this violates any of the forum rules.

[pannags]

I can't stand the insect in question, but in the parlance of the discussion at hand, my vote would go to the ubiquitous Amby - The Ambassador.

Coincidentally, I could never stand the car either, thanks to the horrible refinement and resulting vibrations from the engine, which used to leave me nauseated even on short drives.

[TSIboy]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Hyundai Santro
Attachment 1971369

The tallboy Santro was introduced back in 1998 & Hyundai claims sales of 1.32 million copies in the country. When Mumbai decided to replace the ageing Premier Padmini cabs, the Santro was the choice. These "black cockroaches" are all over Bombay, literally! They might be old & creaky, but they run without issue day after day.

Just like cockroaches, they seem to have spread to other places too.


There are quite a few of them where I stay, albeit they're all 1st gen models. Almost all of them driven by college girls. Here is one of them.



PS: I too own one of these roaches back in the Motherland, she's 18 years old I love her to bits! I had to swap the whole engine two years ago but ever since its been a smooth run.

[DWind]

Originally Posted by DicKy

1. OMNI

Be it metro cities or the interiors of North East, you will find Omni doing anything and everything that machines on wheels were meant to do. Add to the super long production period, it would be decades before it becomes a rare sight.

Will agree with OMNI. We bought a 2000 Model which I learnt driving on. The abuse it took on on my new driving skills, especially when I wanted to park it in a tight spot over an incline and have no issues with the clutch. In fact it held its value well after 7 years when we sold the car (sold for 1.10 lacs) and is still doing duty as unofficial school bus.

[octane_100]

I would go with the Qualis which was also as ugly as a cokcroach! Its succcessor, the Innova too is an extremely reliable vehicle and qualifies to be one. Then as many pointed out, the 800/Alto and Omni from the MS stable and one car if I may add to the list is the Fiat Uno. It may not be on the roads anymore but it was a hardy vehicle with the same essence as a roach!

[landcruiser123]

Having experienced the Qualis and Innova (1st gen) for 18 years, I can clearly say that these cars are the kings of reliability. Even more reliable than a simple non-AC Maruti 800.

One thing common amongst all the vehicles mentioned in the thread is the mechanical simplicity of the vehicles. I’ll not be surprised if Innovas predominantly driven on the highways can give 1 million Kms of service life.

In a parallel thread, the HH splendor and Honda Activa are the kings in the 2W segment. They start at the first kick/press.

[Heart_Revs]

Let's not forget Mitsubishi. Pajero are living on since 20 years

[Simha13]

I would tell all Japanese cars have the potential to become cockroaches. Of course we have our Bolero, Force Trax etc. which will fit into the category easily. I have seen badly maintained examples from Mahindra and Tata (read Sumo) with lakhs of kilometers on their Odo, they simply refuse to die

[stairsin]

I would vouch for the first generation Honda City since I own one. It's now been driven close to 2.5 lac kms and there is no sign of fatigue what so ever. I am yet to get her engine overhauled. She is such a delight to drive. I recently drove my friend"s 2016 city and I was quite disappointed. My ohc now needs some makeover though like the body painting. To my surprise each n every feature works flawlessly even though I don't drive her much now days. It's a zero maintenance car and a true beauty.

[yogeshnagpal]

The first and only thing that came to my mind after reading this thread are "Autorickshaws"

They are truly the roaches on the Indian roads.

They behave like one - Cut across, run around, act like pests and what not.

And, they require a clean-up soon!

[1.2TSI7DSG]

Here's my list:

Premier padmini
HM ambassador
Gypsy
MM540
Omni
Maruti 800
Swift
Innova
Trax
Tempo traveller
Sumo
Qualis
Fortuner
First gen Octavia
First gen city
Bajaj re and fe
Chetak


Anyone Remembers the name of that wierd garuda contraption 6 seater rixa which had engine on the front and leaf and coil spring together in rear-not talking about mahindra champion class

[varunsangal]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

Interesting title. I could only think of shared autos.

I was just checking to see if anyone posted a pic of these real cockroaches yet, and i'm not disappointed!

Auto rickshaws are the true cockroaches, especially in Mumbai. There are far too many of them, they refuse to die, they can be found in all nooks and crannies, they spread the disease of traffic jams on Mumbai roads, continue to run despite damage...

[atu2good]

Akin to the 3 cockroaches in the popular kids cartoon series "Oggy & the cockroaches", Mahindra too has it's own set of repulsive undying cockroach triplets - Quanto, KUV & TUV.
If I ever spot one coming down the road my entire day goes for a six. Symptoms like nausea, vomiting, fatigue & fever start manifesting instantaneously. Administrating first aid to myself, I immediately stop the car, get down and commence decontamination procedures with generous splashes of water to the face & eyes followed by multiple intense Listerine gargles to get rid of the bad taste which the siting usually leaves in my mouth. I rush back home & hurriedly isolate myself in a room away from my family members (so as to not spread the radiation from the exposure), remove all layers of external clothing exposed to the visual assualt, dispose them off in a lead lined opaque plastic bag (to be buried deep underground in the city outskirts later), take a 45 minute blistering hot water bath rigourously scrubbing all exposed body parts with Rhino brand concentrated phenyl, come out & kneel in front of the God's to atone for my sins for which such a sight bechanced on me & finally surrender to my ill fate by having two tablets of potassium iodide with a neat large of Jim Beam.
Jokes apart, the fact remains that infused with the rugged Mahindra genome it is unlikely that the visually offensive triplets will perish off from our roads anytime soon. Till then, the best we can do is come together & pray for a better future, afterall it's our responsibility to leave behind a beautiful world for our coming generations.
(This is a jest, no disrespect intended to any owner. Mods may delete the post if found offensive.)

[SKC-auto]

I like to add Hyundai Accent, see them regularly on the roads. I sometimes feel Hyundai makes one of the most reliable cars.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Taking that analogy into the Indian car scene, which cars are the "cockroaches" of Indian roads? The models that simply refuse to die or disappear?

Going purely by that definition, it's gotta be the Omni!

The Abmy, the Lamby, the Sumo, all seem to have disappeared. But these guys are still pretty visible, all over the nation! Hauling people, loads of schoolkids, gas cylinders, food containers for office lunches, wedding props, animals, cash for ATMs, you name it! And if the urban legends are to be believed, kidnap victims too!

And like the cockroach, it really should be off our roads by now! But something keeps it alive...

Before I'm accused of bias, we had one in the family for about 4 years, I learned to drive in an Omni! We used it to haul cement bags while our house was being built and I also used to carry our two big dogs around in that.