[Path_Finder]

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

On a more serious note, a friend of mine has gone for the Hybrid for all the wrong reasons.

Hi ImmortalZ, I am not getting into the high revving debate, but let me add that on a much more serious note that 99% of all Civic buyers go for it for the wrong reasons. (Not counting you in the 99%). Check my previous post (#185)

[StarScream]

And that is the end of that...here's looking forward to more chatter on this thread next November when Honda slashes the price again in the absence of any govt. incentives on hybrid imports:

Honda closes bookings of Civic Hybrid under special programme

New Delhi, November 17: Honda Siel Cars India Ltd., leading manufacturer of premium cars in India, today announced the closure of the special programme on Civic Hybrid which was announced on November 12, 2008.

HSCI received an overwhelming response to the car at the special price with more than 1100 enquiries in just 4 days and all cars planned for this programme have been allocated against confirmed bookings. The deliveries of the cars are in the process.

The Civic Hybrid is imported as a Completely Built Unit (CBU) from Japan and no fresh arrivals of Civic Hybrid are expected till the end of March 2009.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Jnaneswar Sen, Vice President, Honda Siel Cars India said, “The huge interest in the Civic Hybrid shows that Indian customer is ready to adopt such new environment friendly technologies. The introduction of the special price was our effort to promote this technology. We are very hopeful that with Government’s support for these environment friendly vehicles, a lot more customers would be able to experience this technology in future.”

HSCI’s pioneering move to launch the First Hybrid car in the country - the Civic Hybrid marked a milestone in the Indian Automobile Industry. The objective of launching Civic Hybrid in India was to create awareness about environment friendly technologies and to let the customers test drive and experience this new technology. HSCI had introduced a special programme on Civic Hybrid for a limited period and volume and partly bear the cost of the car on behalf of the customers to make the car more affordable so that more customers experience & own this new technology.

[Ym-enjn]

Originally Posted by GTO

However, we are again missing the point here. I fail to see the sense in spending 16.5 lakhs for a car and then, compromising a lot (power, a good transmission, highway performance, boot space, driving pleasure) all for a saving of 1,666 in fuel costs per month.

I understood your point about performance. You say that the hybrid technology (electric engine) will not be in use at higher speeds and at lower speeds this particular technology of starting and shutting of engine could be a pain specially in city driving. That is a very simple and clear point, if the basic drive of a car is not good then there is noting else in that car which can justify buying it.

Then a price difference of 53K or 1.5L should not be considered, even if that is available at lower price then also its not justified to buy a car which don't give you ideal driving. Whats the cost of cancelling the booking.. Not me..

@high revving issue: I seriously still can't stop my laugh every time I imagine Immortalz madly high revving his Civic in first gear at speed of 60kmph, for so called pleasure. Just bring a shot of Tom and jerry in front of my eyes.. Very funny.

Excuse my ignorance on this issue Friends, whole time I was thinking of high revving in 3rd fourth and 5th gear. Thats why I was so amazed to see you guys touching the red line zone so often. I seriously didn't knew it was for 1 and 2nd gear. Thanks this issue came to surface, otherwise I had full plan to blast my Altis till the speedo would break.

[johnda]

Originally Posted by StarScream

Honda closes bookings of Civic Hybrid under special programme

HSCI received an overwhelming response to the car at the special price with more than 1100 enquiries in just 4 days and all cars planned for this programme have been allocated against confirmed bookings. The deliveries of the cars are in the process.

The Civic Hybrid is imported as a Completely Built Unit (CBU) from Japan and no fresh arrivals of Civic Hybrid are expected till the end of March 2009.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Jnaneswar Sen, Vice President, Honda Siel Cars India said, “The huge interest in the Civic Hybrid shows that Indian customer is ready to adopt such new environment friendly technologies. The introduction of the special price was our effort to promote this technology. We are very hopeful that with Government’s support for these environment friendly vehicles, a lot more customers would be able to experience this technology in future.”

Well when a company slashes price by 8 lks anybody will turn his head and on his way to the booking counter check if
1. it's a scam
2. it's a factory reject or seconds
3. is it cause of bad sales - finally
4. what the heck I made a profit of 8 lks !!

Frankly the fact that the Hybrid is sold out is not the technology only. proof - don't look to far this thread is an example.

[ImmortalZ]

Originally Posted by Ym-enjn

if the basic drive of a car is not good then there is noting else in that car which can justify buying it.

And then you say the Altis is better even if it drives worse. Only worse, not bad, mind.

Originally Posted by Ym-enjn

@high revving issue: I seriously still can't stop my laugh every time I imagine Immortalz madly high revving his Civic in first gear at speed of 60kmph, for so called pleasure. Just bring a shot of Tom and jerry in front of my eyes.. Very funny.

Because you can't do it? I bought the Civic exactly for it.

P.S : Before the gang pounces on me, I have hit redline exactly twice in the 1200 odd KM it has covered. I plan to stick to the run-in as much as possible. Ym shouldn't have a problem consider he can't NOT stick to it.

Originally Posted by Ym-enjn

Excuse my ignorance on this issue Friends, whole time I was thinking of high revving in 3rd fourth and 5th gear. Thats why I was so amazed to see you guys touching the red line zone so often. I seriously didn't knew it was for 1 and 2nd gear. Thanks this issue came to surface, otherwise I had full plan to blast my Altis till the speedo would break.

It's a Toyota. Your heart will break hearing that poor engine screaming in agony before the speedo does. Hell, I'll bet it'll outlast you. You won't have any fun in it, but it'll live forever.

You know what, I propose a truce. As long as you don't go spouting nonsense in every thread with a Civic in it, I shall shut up.

Originally Posted by Path_Finder

Hi ImmortalZ, I am not getting into the high revving debate, but let me add that on a much more serious note that 99% of all Civic buyers go for it for the wrong reasons. (Not counting you in the 99%). Check my previous post (#185)

This is very true. I know people who have bought the car who are chauffeured. Why on earth would you want to buy a driver-oriented car with mediocre ride if you aren't going to drive it?!? For the image of course.

My friend bought it for the higher FE. He was all "I get a CBU petrol Civic with 20KMPL mileage!!! WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE?!?". I told him to go buy a Verna if he wants FE with dollops of power (because a remapped Laura will be off his budget). But noooo, he had to have the sleek shape. Oh well.

[sidwadia]

Originally Posted by Ym-enjn

I understood your point about performance. You say that the hybrid technology (electric engine) will not be in use at higher speeds and at lower speeds this particular technology of starting and shutting of engine could be a pain specially in city driving. That is a very simple and clear point, if the basic drive of a car is not good then there is noting else in that car which can justify buying it.

Then a price difference of 53K or 1.5L should not be considered, even if that is available at lower price then also its not justified to buy a car which don't give you ideal driving.

I completely buy your point - no two ways about it !!! However , pls pls pls do drive the car and figure it out. In my opinion , if it was a car that would jerk/anything that spoils the driving comfort of the car , Its clearly not worth even considering - irrespective of the price.

Now to the great news that has just struck me , My booking has been put on hold as Honda has overbooked and they are giving preference to people who have booked it with a 100% down payment ( under the garb of calling it first come first serve )!

I am really thinking of pulling out if this is the way they treat customers (me being a repeat customer).

[Path_Finder]

Originally Posted by sidwadia

Now to the great news that has just struck me , My booking has been put on hold as Honda has overbooked and they are giving preference to people who have booked it with a 100% down payment ( under the garb of calling it first come first serve )!

I am really thinking of pulling out if this is the way they treat customers (me being a repeat customer).

Even for the ANHC that is what they did that. People paid up booking amounts with penalty for cancellation – but one had to pay full amount to be considered for allotment. And they have no loyalty consideration.

[johnda]

Originally Posted by Path_Finder

Even for the ANHC that is what they did that. People paid up booking amounts with penalty for cancellation – but one had to pay full amount to be considered for allotment. And they have no loyalty consideration.

when folks at honda see 50 people stand in line they jus make their own on the spot rules!!! this kinda of shoving is expected right!!

[madhokritesh]

Called all dealers in Mumbai all say Honda has asked them to stop takeing bookings, also tried calling Nagpur, Pune and other dealers and Chandigarh. Now i cant understand if all this was a gimmick as it was mentioned that the Hybrid would be sold at this price till Dec 08. Feel cheated by Honda.

[jassi]

Originally Posted by madhokritesh

Called all dealers in Mumbai all say Honda has asked them to stop takeing bookings, also tried calling Nagpur, Pune and other dealers and Chandigarh. Now i cant understand if all this was a gimmick as it was mentioned that the Hybrid would be sold at this price till Dec 08. Feel cheated by Honda.

it was limited by time and number of units (200 i believe). They are not here to make a runaway loss, by absorbing duties for all hybrids Also it has anyway been proven on this thread that its not really worth it - unless you feel otherwise

[GTO - Touring]

Originally Posted by aseem

GTO the point you are missing is that in Gurgaon and NCR the price difference is only Rs. 53000 between Civic Automatic and Civic Hybrid.

Aseem, you are missing my main point. The Civic Hybrid, to me, doesn't make sense AT ANY PRICE POINT. Even if it is priced on par and with 0 difference over the regular auto. Simply because the HCH is a stop-gap imperfect technology. Please drive the Civic in bumper-to-bumper traffic, evaluate its real life functionality, calculate actual fuel efficiency and then come back to me. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, there ARE other cars that are more efficient AND quicker, both at the same time. As per my previous post, pay 8 lakhs less (and not 50 grand more) to get the same kind of efficiency & power.

[Sowmya]

Now it will have a very bad effect on HONDA Comp.

Is it they wanna sell the RD Copy of the Vehicle ?
HONDA is running lottery company ?
What will the CIVIC(Previous/Present/Future) Customer will feel ?

CNBC is saying this offer is closed.

[Sahil]

Just got news that Honda has allotted 100 hybrids at the discounted price to dealerships. Anyone hear of the same?

[AlokSriva]

Japan slides into recession, 1st time since 2001-Intl Business-Business-The Times of India

"Japan has long relied on exports of its cars and gadgets to fuel growth. However, the country's companies have had little choice in recent years but to expand aggressively overseas in the face of a shrinking home market."

Folks, the drastic price cut now is a simple 2+2 arithmetic..

Foreseeing an economic recession in Japan, Honda@Japan would have issued a directive to HSIL to clear off the stock of HCHs using a marketing ploy and recover the cost of dead stock lying in the stockyards.

From whatever little understanding I have of the international economics (it is no rocket science, trust me), I can see more HCHs being dumped in the Indian market to unsuspecting buyers who are over-awed every time there is a similar marketing gimmick by the "H" company..

Talking about the dealerships refusing further bookings, again, no rocket science here, pure logic -
a) stock of alredy imported HCHs being sold; and
b) more importantly, create a hype amongst the prospective buyers to generate demand to further import HCHs from Japan and help the parent company.

I am sure, the dealerships would start accepting bookings pretty soon for HCHs, not necessarily at the reduced price, and also not at the price at which HCH was launched. They would be selling at a price point somewhere between the two.

To take care of the duties levied on imports by GOI, I would not be surprised if Honda@Japan invoices them to HSIL at a lesser price - by officially reducing the price of HCH in Japan or by somewhat similar arrangement.

[StarScream]

Originally Posted by sidwadia

Now to the great news that has just struck me , My booking has been put on hold as Honda has overbooked and they are giving preference to people who have booked it with a 100% down payment ( under the garb of calling it first come first serve )!

I am really thinking of pulling out if this is the way they treat customers (me being a repeat customer).

I feel your pain Sid. I didn't even get down to booking it and the offer is over, you actually made the effort and thought you had the deal in the bag. Like I said earlier, this company sells cars despite their sales force not because of them.

Originally Posted by Sahil

Just got news that Honda has allotted 100 hybrids at the discounted price to dealerships. Anyone hear of the same?

Nope, wishful thinking methinks. Prime Honda has no idea.

Originally Posted by AlokSriva

Foreseeing an economic recession in Japan, Honda@Japan would have issued a directive to HSIL to clear off the stock of HCHs using a marketing ploy and recover the cost of dead stock lying in the stockyards.

From whatever little understanding I have of the international economics (it is no rocket science, trust me), I can see more HCHs being dumped in the Indian market to unsuspecting buyers who are over-awed every time there is a similar marketing gimmick by the "H" company..

Talking about the dealerships refusing further bookings, again, no rocket science here, pure logic -
a) stock of alredy imported HCHs being sold; and
b) more importantly, create a hype amongst the prospective buyers to generate demand to further import HCHs from Japan and help the parent company.

I am sure, the dealerships would start accepting bookings pretty soon for HCHs, not necessarily at the reduced price, and also not at the price at which HCH was launched. They would be selling at a price point somewhere between the two.

To take care of the duties levied on imports by GOI, I would not be surprised if Honda@Japan invoices them to HSIL at a lesser price - by officially reducing the price of HCH in Japan or by somewhat similar arrangement.

Perhaps you're right in your deduction and there may be a silver lining to all this - one will start to hear ownership reports from early adopters, which may clarify some of the issues raised here and by the time the offer comes around a second time interest rates may have dropped further for those who plan to finance the car.
By the way, as I was typing this I got a call from Prime Honda about a question I'd asked last week on the hybrid. Now they say there is no extra warranty on the hybrid components other than the standard 4yr/80,000 km. The battery replacement will cost 1 lakh plus but, Prime says, it should last 6-7 years.