[aaggoswami]

GTO:

Each and every point from your side is perfect. Lancer managed to outsell City on I think more than one ocassion. Also, Lancer ruled in JD surverys where it had the least problems in 100 vehicles ( also least PPV i.e. least Problems Per Vehicle ).

Honda has now new Accord, Civic and soon new City,but new lancer , which I believe can be a hit considering the looks , is not here till now.

[pgsagar]

1.

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

What I feel about Lancer : I feel that the lancer ( Lancer available with 1.5, 1.8 petrol and 2.0 diesel ) was one of the best looking cars of that time. Even by todays standards the looks of the car when it was launched are still great. Even today I feel that this car is one of the best.

2.

Originally Posted by GTO

Mitsubishi & Yamaha were on the top of their game at one time; the Lancer had great brand value, prestige and moved off the showroom floors well. In fact, it even outsold the Honda City on occasion. Ditto with Yamaha and their RX100 over a decade back.

3.

Originally Posted by Ajaybiz

Yamaha RD350 was not ahead of its time she came from 70's and launched in India in late 1983 which is quite late, you can say we indians were not ready for that powerful bike and the most important factor which still people keep on asking is fuel efficiency.

1. I fully agree. Even today I feel Lancer looks best among all sedans this side of Civic. No other sedan is as good for customisation, I feel. If only, the car had more power--- the go to match the show. Or may be I am biased towards its looks because I own one.

2. Yes, GTO once both rules the roost but they just threw the game away to the competition and that hurts.

3. The RD 350 was not ahead of its time in looks but in performance department it sure was. That said, I find nothing wrong with its naked lightweight looks even today. I own one and it still goes like a missile.

[five46]

Originally Posted by GTO

... Ditto with Yamaha and their RX100 over a decade back.

Its a herculean task to get your brand equity back....just ask Fiat.

Fiat, Yamaha, Valentino Rossi!
Irony that all the three are tryin to regain lost ground?
Oh... I missed Mitsubishi!! Does Fiat hold some stake in the Jap factory?

[Chat]

Sagar,

Really an interesting thread and very emotional one for me personally. Yamaha RX 100 was my first bike and am currently driving Mitsubishi Cedia.

Both these brands are lagging in India for few years despite great products in their stable. Just proves that in these times, it is not only about making great products but is also about art of selling, pricing, promotions, marketing etc etc

Nevertheless, I am enjoying my Cedia to the hilt

[iceman7]

Originally Posted by GTO

HM has clearly missed a golden opportunity. Its a herculean task to get your brand equity back....just ask Fiat.

second this statement. This i think should go into the management books of brand building and stuff

[pgsagar]

Yes, Chat you are right. Both Mitsu and Yamaha should master the art of selling along with the art of making automobiles. I own a Lancer and an RD 350. So I feel they are not doing enough. Of all the people in India, Mitsu had to team up with HM. They have allowed it slip to a point where Hyundai sells many more cars and commands better brand value than Mitsu in India. Need we say more?

[MA5K]

Originally Posted by GTO

.. while the old Lancer still struggles for a place in the market. This, after 10 years since launch.

Well, its HM! If they can drag along Ambassador for 50 years, Lancer is just a 10 year old car.

[Chat]

Would we categorise Maruti also with HM? Well we should, given that 800 is around for almost 3 decades. Altos and Wagon Rs also clearly showing their age and so much for new Zen Estilo!

[aah78]

Originally Posted by Chat

Would we categorise Maruti also with HM?

Ofcourse not. Maruti (Suzuki) enjoys a lot of success in India and it's products sell well, no matter how old they are.
That's because they've studied the market properly and haven't gone HM's way as described in previous posts.

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by Chat

Would we categorise Maruti also with HM?

No, IMO, we cant. Maruti 800, Maurti Alto and Maruti Wagon R are in different price brackets than what Lancer is.

Mostly all cars are successful from Maruti. Baleno is now replaced by SX4. Versa, GV and Zen Estilo are exception though. But the products are more VFM than what HM offered.

Moreover, Maruti also has a huge dealer network and this is definitely the reason behind poeple finding Peace-Of-Mind in Maruti products, which HM could not provide.

[agbenny]

May be they have too many diversification. Musical instruments to Video cassettes.

[Sandeep_K_Ram]

R15 makes 17PS which is 16.xx BHP (1PS=0.98BHP)

Dont dismiss the bike by mere cubic capacity of BHP figures. You must have a look at what Killer has posted. Launch it right and it will chew up even the P220 in a drag and in the topspeed stakes.

Looks like YMIL are living upto their prelaunch predictions.

[pgsagar]

Sandeep, I still think Yamaha isn't doing enough. People are spoilt by Pulsar which offers most bang for their bucks. Pulsar did what Tata did to diesel small car market with their Indica.

When your car's engine strains, you drop a gear or two to accelerate and then get back to top gear. Similarly, Mitsu and Yam should drop their prices a cog or two till their sales zoom and then they can resume their premium pricing once again. Honda did this with their City. OHC always lagged far behind Accent in sales all through '98 to '02. When Honda introduced cab-forward NHC in '03, they dropped their prices and sales took off and it zoomed past Accent. Can Mitsu do this when they launch new Lancer, that is if and when they do that?

As for Yam, why give even little number advantage to Pulsar. Lesser cc, lesser BHP than Pulsar at more price. Couldn't they at Yam have made it a 250 cc at 5 / 10 grands extra? And multicylinders? It's like asking for God, in India, I guess. They all toy around with single cylinders only. It is sickening to see them exhaust all their superlatives on tiny puny 150 to 220 cc single cylinders. Wonder how would they advertise if they ever made a litre bike with 4 cyls.

[Chat]

Ever wondered why so many global giants bite dust in India. Sometime back I had a very heated argument with a colleague of mine on Mitsubishi in India. While I agreed with him that mitsubishi could surely do better in India, I did not agree with the fact that they should be written off. I asked him about some other reputed names who seem to struggle here in India and the debate got over. Lets talk about:

1. Nissan
2. Volkswagen
3. Volvo, known for its luxury coaches than cars in our world
4. Audi, Indian minds are still hooked to Mercs and BMWs
5. Skoda, most of you would disagree but they have almost blob presence outside 5 - 6 metros in India and dealership network is in single digits if I am not mistaken.
6. Opel, ah somebody told me it was from GM stable
7. Fiat, how could this list be complete without counting it in

Considering the bad show of the above so called giants I gave myself consolation that in whatever state Mitsubishi in India is, they are still better off.

They should phase out current Lancer and Pajero.
India Mitsubishi would look good with Montero, Outlander, Cedia and new Lancer in their stable, perhaps Gallant in a year's time too.

[backrub]

Mitsubishi in India is doing better than any of the above listed manufacturers, But I dont think this is a list that can be straight away compared to Mitsubishi.

Fiat and Opel fits the Bill perfectly.

But Audi is a player in a different league, and it is very fast catching up sales with its beauty A4. So Audi should not be in the list, its not a manufacturer going down in anyways.

Skoda, even if only in metros, has its number in sales and automobiles

VW just got into the market