[xezas]

@XSailor
Dude, please read the "exhibitionist...cars/accessories" post in context with the rest of the comment. The idea was that beyond all the hype, people will finally choose (in the same cost bracket) with their attitude/personality.
Never intended it to read so prudish or "let 'em eat cake"ish.

Coming back to the topic of the post, HYPE will definitely help in generating interest and getting people to notice the car. It will also get a majority of the population to overlook defects because of the "So many ppl like it, hmm...it must be good" factor. It'll get another segment of the buyers with the "Look, I have the car that everyone's talking about" factor.
The above 2 segments w'll reel in another bunch of ppl with the "So many people actually BUY it (or BOOK it, in this case), hmm...it MUST be good" factor.
Hence, I am wary of all overhyped things (even for a good product) but hey, that's just my personality

[chetanhanda]

Originally Posted by Surprise

Its the other way around for me. I never liked the Swift in pictures and even on my first look. But the more I see I was comfortable with the looks ( Iam not impressed with looks). I love the front portion of the car than the rear view. For me nothing beats OHC in its looks and as you said it's very subjective

ya right .. I too loved the OHC looks !!

[hell_rider]

Originally Posted by ajmat

What exactly sucks about the Esteem engine ? It is offered as a lower variant in the UK. If they offered it here no one would pay Optra 1.6 money for a Swift. If it is a 1990 design, so what, does that mean that the Bentley Arnage is a write off - engines dates back to 1965

ajmat...you either missed the point, or maybe i did not put it correctly.

i already accepted that the esteem engine is a reliable and good performer.

my gripe is that they chose to continue with it, when there is a better alternative (the actual engine planned when the SWIFT was conceived) available, and which is used elsewhere in the world with the exception of India and China.

I take exception to the fact that a manufacturer can blatantly build up hype about their next WORLD CAR and launch it in a flavor its not launched all over the world. Like i said in my earlier post, it was not that the SWIFT was being launched with a V12 engine or something that would make it uneconomical or unviable for Indian markets. It was just a damn 1.5 engine. Why couldn't MUL maintain some dignity and pride and launch it with the new 1.5 engine ?

Going by the rest of the posts, if the Esteem engine is not a major factor and the rest of the car is still world class, then did not MUL have the wherewithal and the guts to bring in the new engine and sell it a tad more expensive ? If the SWIFT in its current avatar is really as good as the hype, should it not have still sold itself ?

Or is MUL incapable of selling anything expensive ? a fact corroborated by former pathetic Baleno sales which are now picking up with the huge price cut ?

This is what pisses me off. Members on the forum have often voiced concerns about foreign manufacturers dumping extinct products on the Indian market. why blame them ? they are merely following the indian market leaders.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by RX135

And did someone say about 25000 bookings? When Indica was launched few years back, it surely exceeded even that number.

Yeah and I remember that the Uno raked in 80,000+ bookings in a couple of weeks when it was announced. But the Swift wont be going that way - thats for sure.

[LandCruiser]

Before launch of Swift there was news in all magazines that the suspension of the car is tuned or designed by indian engineers to suit indian conditions.
But now the reviews mention that the ride is not as good as in a Getz! (ACI & OD)

[Shan2nu]

Before launch of Swift there was news in all magazines that the suspension of the car is tuned or designed by indian engineers to suit indian conditions.

Whoever said that a suspension designed by Indians is the only way to make it work in India? That's just a marketing gimmic.

Shan2nu

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by hell_rider

i already accepted that the esteem engine is a reliable and good performer.

my gripe is that they chose to continue with it, when there is a better alternative (the actual engine planned when the SWIFT was conceived) available, and which is used elsewhere in the world with the exception of India and China.
.

My impression is that people are into the "latest" is the only thing

Two reasons for the current engine to run

1: Quality of petrol in India
2: Learning the lessons of the 1.6 Palio - people will run away on perceptions of mileage - besides cost of introducing this engine, indigenising the engine cannot justify the volumes

[Mpower]

The point is, when Honda launched the NHC, they could have kept the excellent B15 from the OHC and just given us a new body and interiors. That engine is still a jewel, But instead they chose to give the Indians the latest and greatest that is on sale in Japan today. Its simply a case of corporate philosopy. If the Qualis belonged to Maruti, there is no way they would have let it die after the Innova came out. But you gotto realize that if Maruti had offered the new 1.5 Vvt engine, they would not be able to offer the Swift at such a good price. In foriegn markets, new models come in with higher technology and more value added but at the same price as the old one. Somehow, this is not true in India.

Petrol quality issue is solvable. Even the latest and greatest from Honda is running fine on Indian brew. At the end of the day the 1.3 is still a good engine and hopefully this will not be a repeat of the Maruti 1000 story.

[hell_rider]

Originally Posted by LandCruiser

Before launch of Swift there was news in all magazines that the suspension of the car is tuned or designed by indian engineers to suit indian conditions.
But now the reviews mention that the ride is not as good as in a Getz! (ACI & OD)

i think this was ACI. they were raving about how indian engineers have contributed to the seat design and how indians understand sitting comfort best. Ironic, since the SWIFT in india only gets a disgusting bench at the rear. the 60:40s are for the more "evolved" markets. that rear bench to me is the single worst attribute of the SWIFT. while the downgraded engine spec only pisses me off, the rear bench makes it unsuable.

Originally Posted by ajmat

My impression is that people are into the "latest" is the only thing
Two reasons for the current engine to run
1: Quality of petrol in India
2: Learning the lessons of the 1.6 Palio - people will run away on perceptions of mileage - besides cost of introducing this engine, indigenising the engine cannot justify the volumes

if people are into the "latest", why would they not want the latest in the single most important component, the heart of an automobile ?

i seriously doubt if "petrol quality" was one of the factors which prompted MUL to not bring in the new engine. i think you are giving MUL far too much respect. like mpower has pointed out, far more superior and sophisticated engines are running on indian petrol.

The palio had other problems associated with the marque, which were more of an issue than its mileage, i believe.

i doubt if maruti would have had problems with volumes. especially considering the 25000 number that is being thrown around.

also i wonder how fuel efficient this esteem engine will be powering the SWIFT. moving the esteem which is around 875 kilos might be right up its alley. but the SWIFT pushes at something like 1.2 tons (?). thats even more than the baleno. So the engine is obviously going to be working harder. we'll know when the fuel efficiency reports come in. wonder if the 1.5 wouldn't have been more fuel efficient.

by the way, info from well known maruti dealer when we had gone in a couple of days back. he's been receiving gripes about the FE of the SWIFT. customers complaining they are getting only between 9 and 11 kmpl.

[Shan2nu]

but the SWIFT pushes at something like 1.2 tons (?).

1010 kilos.

wonder if the 1.5 wouldn't have been more fuel efficient.

With VVti on board, you never know!!

Shan2nu

[RX135]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Two reasons for the current engine to run
1: Quality of petrol in India
2: Learning the lessons of the 1.6 Palio - people will run away on perceptions of mileage - besides cost of introducing this engine, indigenising the engine cannot justify the volumes

1) There are host of other cars running on Indian roads without too many fuel issues. May be I didn't get your point otherwise.
2) Palio GTX was tuned for sporty/enthusiastic nature. It was bound to give far lesser FE. Maruti had option on Baleno engine, which is not most fuel efficient, but still frugal enough to keep customers satisfied. Petra 1.6, which is the same engine as GTX, gives better FE than GTX.

[Surprise]

Earlier I had explained about the problem of door locking in my Swift. After very bad experience, I sent the vehicle to Maruti workstation to get it repaired. Also this morning I got a call from Maruti saying that I can collect my Original RC book. I had hired a driver and sent the vehicle to the showroom to attend the door problem and collect the Original RC book (I had authorized the driver to collect the same)

After 2 hrs, I got a call from the driver from the workstation saying that it will take another 15 days to receive the original RC book & they do not have any stocks to replace a few parts to bring back the door to working condition, which is expected after 2 weeks from Delhi. I spoke to different persons at different levels and got frustrated. They simply say "miscommunication within Maruti" as the reason for RC book confusion & nothing could be done without availability of parts.

Better is not to think about these guys and need to prepare myself to deal with such idiots.

[Surprise]

I was told that the central locking door unit got jammed in rear right door resulting in making the door struck & they need to replace the entire unit.

I had enquired whether this would be covered under the warranty. They say generally it will be not covered under warranty, but anyhow they will let me know on that. Also they say that in Swift this sort of problem could not be repaired at all.

They were saying it as entire unit, but not explaining me in detail. Any idea what do they mean by entire unit & how much it cost.

[gkrishn]

Originally Posted by Surprise

I was told that the central locking door unit got jammed in rear right door resulting in making the door struck & they need to replace the entire unit.

I had enquired whether this would be covered under the warranty. They say generally it will be not covered under warranty

This is pathetic, it has to be covered under warranty.

[RX135]

Get either AutoCop folks or Maruti folks to pay for it. They can't just pass the buck to each other. Not covered in warrantee sounds like crap. Tell them that you'll go to consumer court against both.