[anjan_c2007]

Whoa Bajaj Stride? That's the first question one may ask and the reply will be, its was a scooter, as Bajaj was synonymous with scooters till a decade back.
The Bajaj Stride was introduced in the early 1990's with the same technical specifications as the Bajaj Chetak and also the body/chassis (it was a monocoque), but with lots of plastics and some cosmetic changes for some supposedly "youthful" looks.It was not at all aesthetic. Perhaps the "Scooter King" was worried about the waning Chetak sales and wanted some new age looks. The scooter bombed sales wise and was withdrawn from the market soon. We still see some on the roads with the faded light grey plastics falling off.
Some common points between the Stride and the newly launched Tata Sumo Grande
-Both were indigenously designed and their companies totally Indian.
-Both had predecessors (Bajaj Chetak and Tata Sumo) that sold very well during their heydays.
-During the sunset years of the older models(Bajaj Chetak and Tata Sumo), their companies decided to launch something as replacements with fresher looks, but these looks were not acceptable to the buyers. The "Scooter King"(Mr Rahul Bajaj) and the "Truck and MUV King" (Mr Ratan Tata) fared miserably in foreseeing the market expectations.
-The predecessors of both (Bajaj Chetak and Tata Sumo)had lots of metal and only metal, but the newer models viz. Stride and Sumo Grande had/have lots of plastics.
-The sales of the newer models (Stride and Sumo Grande) stand nowhere when compared to the robust sales and demand for the older versions that were the "bread and butter" ones for their respective companies.

Summarising, we may say when a product is a best seller, upgrade it with all the popular inputs and try to make another that sells even better.
The Japanese are adept in practising such marketing strategies. The Qualis/Innova, Honda City/New City, Corolla/ Corolla Altis, Maruti 800/ Maruti 800 new model/Alto/A-Star and so on to cite only a few examples, amply prove their prowess and that is why their products lead in the world.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Wow!!! You had me confused for a moment - I thought that Bajaj have competition to the Sumo.

The fact is, the market perceives the Sumo as a taxi - a good replacement for the jeep from the Mahindras. Tatas perceive the Grande as a private use vehicle, So, I guess the perceptions of the customer and manufacturer are as compatible as oil and water.

So far, I have seen less than 5 grandes on road. In entire Kerala.

But, I think we should concede that unlike the chetak > stride, execution of the Sumo > grande was excellent.

And please remember that not all jap. offerings have been instant hits. Zen > estillo?? Yuck!!!!

I guess Tatas should borrow from Suzuki here. World wide, M800 was replaced by what we have here as the Alto. What we were used to as the Zen was sold world wide as the Alto. The Alto world wide is replaced by Astar. In India, we have all of these existing side by side.

Why not continue with the Old style Sumo as a taxi and the grande for private use?

[headers]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

I guess Tatas should borrow from Suzuki here. World wide, M800 was replaced by what we have here as the Alto. What we were used to as the Zen was sold world wide as the Alto. The Alto world wide is replaced by Astar. In India, we have all of these existing side by side.

Why not continue with the Old style Sumo as a taxi and the grande for private use?

There are a lot of Grande 's here in Chennai. It does look UGLY.

@Backseardriver: I do agree with your views that they could have the models side by side: Infact, I'd personally love the Tata Sierra with the new 140BHP 2.2 Dicor engine and a 4x4!

Thats what you call dreaming: cheers:

[harimakesh]

I feel Tata is better than Bajaj. However the Sumo Grande is fresh in exterior and Tata sincerely gave 2.2VTT engine. However the Old Name Sumo and its old dash board ruins the enthusiasm of a private buyer.

The price difference between Sumo Victa GX turbo and Sumo grande GX is over one lakh , therefore kept the fleet operators too stay away from it.

Tata failed not by radically changing the obvious old sumo interiors in luring private family car buyers and by their execessive pricing kept Tata's traditional & faithful fleet operators also.

A radical dashboard interiors + Good quality plastics + spruced up exteriors like sky racks+sparewheel on tailgate addition of safety features ABS + Alloys with Airbags as option with a smart branding & radical price can lure private family car buyers.

Indian car manufacturers must realize the fact there is a great lot of aspiring young indians travel abroad on work and earn money & along side Young Indians get great exposure to great global cars and their expectations are truely global! Plasticy changes will result in bust!

Tata must be redesigning/re-working on the grande! Sumo the brand name being enjoyed by fleet operators TATAs please do not impose it on family car buyers!

[madhokritesh]

Yes i remember a person living in my next building had a Red Stride those days, it was stranded for long due to non availablity of spares and then sold off as junk for some 1000rs. The Stride was introduced to counter the LML Vespas and the Kinetic Hondas those days i guess. Can someone please post a pic of the Stride.

[anjan_c2007]

A Bajaj Stride -guess too less survive on the roads. Most of them have changed two or more owners.

[siedo]

I somehow have feeling that grande to tata is what bolero is to M&M a interim by product of scorpio development,tatas will come up with a good vehichle

[Yeldo]

I bought a red Stride once, got fed up with its poor ergonomics (better than Chetak, BTW) and tried to sell it. I looked up my old records, and found it was sold for a partly some of Rs 2000 after it gathered dust for nearly an year. I purchased a Sumo Deluxe in blue colour when it was launched, drove it 20,000 km and sold it for a good price as there was a huge demand for the vehicle back then. The Grande is no selling in numbers anywhere close to the Sumo.

I feel that the "Sumo" tag went wrong. The styling (except the grille), the interior, the 2.2 engine, etc. are all good in its class, and the price/ equipment packaging is also good. I think Tata went wrong in its positioning strategy with the Grande. A redesigned front, availability of ABS and a deletion of the prefix "Sumo" might be corrective measures in the right direction.

[prmd_cochin]

Sumo Grande is a refreshingly new UV, just bcoz it hasnt set the sales chart blazing doesnt mean its a failure. It doesnt have a taxi license and so TAXI guys havnt bought it. SUMO name hasnt attracted families either. Sad situation. I was very close to buying it.

It though has big minus, its steering, no feel at all.

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by siedo

I somehow have feeling that grande to tata is what bolero is to M&M a interim by product of scorpio development,tatas will come up with a good vehichle

but siedo the Bolero now features in the list of Top ten cars sold in India since the past six months. Yes as far as an interim product its okay to compare but not sales wise.

[anjan_c2007]

The Japanese failed once in India in the mid-1980's, when the DCM Toyota, Swaraj Mazda and the Allwyn Nissan 1.5 ton capacity mini-trucks were launched. These were no doubt excellent, but had high price tags due to a huge component of imported parts on them.
Tata shrewdly surveyed the market scene and needs for a lighter truck and got excellent feedbacks. The veteran JRD Tata was at the helm, while Mr Sumant Moolgavakar (after whom some say the Sumo is named) was the CMD at Telco (now Tata Motors).
Then came along the Tata 407 which beat the Japanese companies and wiped some them off the scene.
The reality was that buyers wanted a lower priced 1.5 tonner as "low investment-high profits" was and still is the motto for most businessmen.
The Tata 407 was and still is a big hit.

[fx45]

The 2 most ugly things i find on SUmo Grande is its gear leaver and the front grill..otherwise its a good package overall.

[amtak]

I agree with FX45. They should change to to the honeycomb/mesh grill. will give it the much needed looks. And yeah, the Safari alloys please! the current wheel caps look like some cheap after market fitments.

Can someone please do a quick PS job on this image?

[maheepgupta]

I dont know its just me or there are others as well but somehow I feel that grand is not that ugly looking.. in some colors like black, it looks really nice with a macho feel. It might be that they didnt do the marketing strategy right (to start with sticking with name Sumo) but it has the potential to sell. Unlike Bajaj Stride

[d3adlythegame]

Originally Posted by maheepgupta

I dont know its just me or there are others as well but somehow I feel that grand is not that ugly looking.. in some colors like black, it looks really nice with a macho feel. It might be that they didnt do the marketing strategy right (to start with sticking with name Sumo) but it has the potential to sell. Unlike Bajaj Stride

i agree with you, i personally like the new looks of the sumo. Its hard to beleive that it is an Indian car, and would have bought it if the interiors were different. I love SUV's, i have both Scorpio and Safari and i feel that the exterior of the new Sumo is better than both Scorpio and Safari.

Ofcourse its my Personal Opinion .