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Old 31st March 2005, 15:25   #31
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Firstly, what the heck is a TATA Magna, do you have any pics of it?

Have TATA anounced it's launch in the near future?

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Old 31st March 2005, 15:42   #32
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almost forgot....
the new city v-tec will have a spoiler. (as Shan2nu has posted in post no.7, pg.1)
so just removing the v-tec badge & fooling others wont be enough

also, give more details about the tata magna. i heard about it recently but no idea about the specs. will it be both petrol/diesel ?
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Old 31st March 2005, 15:43   #33
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hi shan2nu, the tata magna was going to be tata's first mid size saloon, way before the indigo. if you have look into the feb 2001 issue of overdrive, you'll see the pics of the car.if you can't source the mag, just try checking out the archives on overdive's site. trust me , the car was good, but for some reason, and i don't know what the hell it was (the only reason i hate tata), tata shelved plans for going forward with the production of the magna.
the engine that you see now in the safari was originally meant for the magna.
the aria and the magna are 2 utterly cool creations from tata, but i don't know if they'll ever see the light of day.....!
and no natarajan, not the isuzu engine-i was talking about replacing the original 1.8 isuzu with the 2.1 from tata,which i have spoken of above.
yes gamerno, it was also supposed to come in a diesel version, but i don't have the specs on that- the engine was speculated to be a 2.0 litre, 90 bhp-probably from the safari.
and trust me guys, if it was or will be (please,god) launched, it would (or will-again, god!) have blown the trunks off the competition into oblivion!!

Last edited by veyron1 : 31st March 2005 at 15:48.
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Old 31st March 2005, 15:48   #34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by veyron1
me too! i was just making a point. but the new Carisma, which is about to hit our shores has revised proportions, headlamps, et al. all in all, it'll at least be better lookin' than the new city vtec.
LOL, we all know that making a car to look better than the NHC is not a tough feat!!

On the Magna topic, I am a strong believer that simply showing the goods on paper doesn't always translate into the actual fun-to-drive quotient on the streets.

A good example is Hyundai with its twin-cam 100 hp engine in the Accent. It has the competition beat on paper, but its a rough and uninspired performer when you are behind the wheel.

I don't mean to write off a car before it is even launched, or in this case still a prototype, but Tata has some ways to go yet before they can make a car an enthusiast would like to own and drive, no matter how much power it claims to make.

I would prefer a slower 0-100 time in exchange for superior driving pleasure. Ofcourse, for others, its only about 0-100 times. To each his own.
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Old 31st March 2005, 15:57   #35
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with the kind of experience TATA;s have, it is just a matter of time before cars like magna will come out. They probably have to aim for a niche market, put in high quality parts.
it would be coll to see performnace cars roll out from TATA
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Old 31st March 2005, 15:58   #36
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veyron, the reason the Magna wasnt launched was simple: it looked so dull, and tata couldnt be wasting time making a better design as it anyway wouldnt have sold well as Tata has never been known for making premium cars.

Even they admitted that!!
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Old 31st March 2005, 16:07   #37
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Quote:
by rtech

LOL, we all know that making a car to look better than the NHC is not a tough feat!!
that , well, is the gospel truth...!!!
regarding the magna, as i stated earlier, remember, it's a rear wheel drive, unlike the accent. so there's no question about the driving pleasure- it will be great, for sure. even when the prototype was undergoing rigorous trials, the autocar, bs motoring, and the od team had a brief chance to test the car's dynamics, and trust me, they were all praises for the car- the one thing that all these publications agreed upon!!!

regarding the engine, well, why don't you take a test drive of the safari petrol and tell us what you thought of the characteristics of the engine?!! believe me, you will be floored, either by it's performance or it's refinement, or it's seamless power delivery, or the technology on offer, or........!
and don't forget, the same engine is being used to power tata's first racing car(formula and rally series, both).
hey islero, ratan tata himself said that he would like to see a proper sportscar roll out of the tata stables, at the geneva auto show.
and also, tata is a brand that's trusted by indians, so there's no question of not being able to sell premium cars-look at mahindra, who ever thought that a tractor maker would come up with such an indigenious design as the scorpio? and furthermore, mahindra's going to make cars such as the renault logan from it's factories, market it and sell it. going by your theory, nobody's going to buy those cars too, eh?
the success of safari, and the mark of tata into formula one states that tata can well be trusted with premium brands-be it sales, or otherwise.

Last edited by veyron1 : 31st March 2005 at 16:15.
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Old 31st March 2005, 16:37   #38
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Well the first drive for the NHC VTec was featured in the Overdrive way back in June '04 ... heres the linky .... http://www.overdrive.co.in/Art_dtls....unches&code=62
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Old 31st March 2005, 16:52   #39
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yeah wacky, but the guys at honda have been fine tuning the engine since then!!
dunno why.
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Old 31st March 2005, 16:55   #40
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oh yeah, forgot-must be for the new emission norms and stuff!!
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Old 31st March 2005, 17:04   #41
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Hey Shan2nu

here are some pics and an excerept from BS Motoring...It was due to be launched in mid-2002,but i guess plans were scrapped due to some feasibility isuue.



Business Standard - Aug 29, 2000

New Delhi: Tata Engineering has put all speculation on new models and variants of Indica to rest by categorically saying it does not plan to bring in any new car or new variants of its small car, Indica, before 2002. It’s much awaited premium car Magna is now scheduled to be launched in mid-2002.

Speaking to Business Standard at the ACMA annual general meet, Rajiv Dube, general manager, Tata Engineering, said that the company is presently looking at two to three new versions of Indica and a mid-segment car, Magna. "However, Tata Engineering would neither be launching the new Indica versions nor the Magna before 2002, " Dube added.

Tata group chairman Ratan Tata had said that the launch of the Magna was an year to 18 months away at the Auto Expo in the capital in January this year (i.e. latest by mid-2001). However, Dube said that the Magna would be commercially launched only around mid-2002. In June this year, Dube had mentioned that Tata Engineering plans to launch two new versions of Indica. "We would take a final decision on which new versions of the Indica we can launch by the first half of calendar 2001," he had said. Tata Engineering was considering a three-box and a family-van version of Indica, he had mentioned. However, Dube did mention that Tata Engineering is currently testing a mid-segment car (Magna) which was showcased at the 2000 Auto Expo. Tata had mentioned at the same venue that Magna would be positioned in the premium car segment. Reacting on a recent news report that Tata Engineering had drawn up plans to launch another small car, Zing, Dube said that no such decision has been taken so far.
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Old 31st March 2005, 17:18   #42
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hey, nice pics, wacky!
i think that now, others will get my point- that the magna was, and still remains, a good proposition, and regarding the looks- it's just about perfect for my tastes-kinda has a merc-cut.
and feasibility, well...if any dude from tata is reading this-" please launch the CAR man!!!". i'm pretty sure that the whole lot of team-bhpians (and a whole lot of other car lovers out there)would love to get their hands on this 2.1 litre, 135 bhp, 200 kmph rear wheel drive sedan from tata, even if it were priced around rs 10 lacs!!!

Last edited by veyron1 : 31st March 2005 at 17:24.
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Old 31st March 2005, 17:23   #43
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oh, and almost forgot-inside info says that tata is working on a premium sedan, slated for late 2005-mid 2006 launch, but dunno if it's the magna or the aria. i just hope that it has 135 bhp+ and is rear wheel drive!!!

Last edited by veyron1 : 31st March 2005 at 17:26.
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Old 31st March 2005, 17:29   #44
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Anyway i wont comment on the Magna as I...........or rather, none of us have driven it with 2100cc, 135bhp engine. We'll see when it gets here.

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Old 31st March 2005, 17:37   #45
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well shan2nu, just to get an idea of what the engine's like, go in for a test drive of the safari petrol, and you'll understand why i'm mad, no, lusting after this car!!
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