[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by S2!!!

The funny thing is I was working in VW back then and was a fresher myself. Hence, came the comparison with the Passat. I do know for a fact that the sales consultants are sent for training sessions and was shocked to hear him talk.

You just made me doubt myself for some time. I went through all the links on wikipedia to realise that I wasn't wrong. Having different gear ratios and total number of gears are two different things. The A4 did come with a 8 speed back then and it was the first thing I found out after he hung up.

Can you elaborate? Since each gear has a fixed ratio , the number of gears Will be fixed.

If the ratios itself are Infinite then the gears are also infinite because each gear can have only one ratio.

[audioholic]

In a CVT, there is no specific number of gears. In simple it is just a set two cones, the driving cone and the driven cones placed inverted to each other. There is a belt which links the two cones. It travels from one end to the other and as it does so, the diameters of the cones changes and hence does the turns ratio. For every small movement of the belt, there is a change in ratio. That way, a CVT has 'n' number of ratios. However, in some cars, the belt positions are preset, thus making it act as a ratio.

[KL01BE]

Recently I took a test drive of Punto. The test drive car had around 8k on the odo and the parts were falling off(the door open lever etc). I told the sales person that the brakes were good. Further to prove the point, on our way back, the sales person drove so rashly and braked so hard that we narrowly escaped being in the "Accidents in India" thread.

[abhijosh]

About a month ago, I was at Maruti dealership to book the Ertiga for a friend. The sales person was very enthusiastic in showing what all the car had compred to the competition. He said "Sir, look in the front, there are two crankshafts here near the suspension, so that in case of an accident the engine will not enter the passenger cabin" I was like . I walked away from the car saying "Boss you better tell the gentleman behind the vehicle who is going to purchase the car. I am happy with a single crankshaft in my car"...

Regards,
Abhijeet.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by audioholic

In a CVT, there is no specific number of gears. In simple it is just a set two cones, the driving cone and the driven cones placed inverted to each other. .....However, in some cars, the belt positions are preset, thus making it act as a ratio.

Due to the annoying rubber banding (where the engine note and road speed seem to be uncorrelated) this preset ratios are becoming very common. Most of the 7-speed boxes (as in the Altis) are exactly that.

One more point a CVT tends to be more compact than a normal transmission. Expect a CVT on forthcoming Brio AT (no presets either).

[DRIVE_ADDICT]

On my Figo's delivery day, When i enquired the sales person @ Chennai Ford regarding the Fog lamp switch's double pull mechanism, he said the second pull is for increasing the power of fog lamps.

On my bro's VW polo delivery day, When i noticed the right side of tail lamp not working, the sales person told, in german cars only one side will work . I couldn't with stand the sales guy's version of german engineering. He doesn't stopped there, "Sir, you can notice this in SX4 also, there is only one lamp at rear". I told him its the reverse lamp your are talking. Even then he doesn't stopped. To my utter surprise the manager also acclaims the same. Then i walked in to the showroom, went ahead to the demo Polo, switched on the headlight and showed them both the tail lamps working in the demo car. The manager apologised and promised to fix the issue next day.

Im pretty sure its because of poor human resources most of the good brands sales and after sales are getting a BIG hit here. Ex, Fiat, VW group, Ford, etc.

[S2!!!]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Can you elaborate? Since each gear has a fixed ratio , the number of gears Will be fixed.

If the ratios itself are Infinite then the gears are also infinite because each gear can have only one ratio.

I'm not too much into technicalities but I do remember checking that the A4 had an 8 speed CVT transmission. Hence, the confusion. All I wanted to know was how many gears without bothering to know the ratios et all, which wasn't answered to me and I was given a strange reply (or at least that is what I thought) instead. I'll still learn about these CVT boxes to clear my doubts though.

[manikjeet]

I have a friend named Balraj and he bought a Beat Diesel and he always running to the dealership saying that the car is not giving good FE. one day i went with him to see what exactly was going on.

He went and starting arguing that the car is not giving good fe and what not.
Then i heard that the car was actually giving 17-18 KMPL and i was like seriously

He was arguing that the car is advertised for giving 25 kmpl so it should give that. I have a hard time and still having hard time convincing him that the FE is good and he should not worry

so in the end i am saying the comedy is not limited to the sale people but to the customer as well

[ObsessedByFIAT]

Today's scene at Ford Service Center:

While giving my car for the rear twist beam replacement, I asked representative if the upcoming Figo (the new model) has power windows for the rear passengers. His reply:

"No Sir, this is a German car and as per the regulations there, you can only have kids on the rear seat, so no power windows for them only manual".

I left the topic there itself and asked when can I collect my car!

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by S2!!!

I'm not too much into technicalities but I do remember checking that the A4 had an 8 speed CVT transmission.

It is a CVT but the continuous variation in the ratio is limited to the 'active band' at any instant. Thus there are 8 bands in the A4 all of which are internally continuously variable.

This reduces the rubber banding as observed by the driver to a very large extent.

[ankur_fox]

Originally Posted by manikjeet

I have a friend named Balraj and he bought a Beat Diesel and he always running to the dealership saying that the car is not giving good FE. one day i went with him to see what exactly was going on.

He went and starting arguing that the car is not giving good fe and what not.
Then i heard that the car was actually giving 17-18 KMPL and i was like seriously

He was arguing that the car is advertised for giving 25 kmpl so it should give that. I have a hard time and still having hard time convincing him that the FE is good and he should not worry

so in the end i am saying the comedy is not limited to the sale people but to the customer as well

It's not uncommon these days, people like we all sometimes forget that for the uninitiated the figures they see are the figures they expect to get. I have a friend who's a dentist, and had to be told how these figures actually are achieved and how things are different in real world applications. Hopefully if new regulations are passed, those insane figures will be toned down to better suit real life figures. Some manufacturers already have revised figures displayed.

[dezrskb]

Here I go for a test drive on a Laura. The so "Knowledgable" sales person is sitting next to me.
I ask him just as a routine - of course I know they are from research online: "Braking is very good. So all 4 disc brakes?"
"No sir, Rear ones are drums" !!
"Come on..They are discs"
"No sir, drums". Now he is offended. His tone says that. But little did he know that he was denying an advantage the vehicle he is trying to sell me had.
"Please confirm. I want disc brakes"
"Of course sir, that can be done. Let me confirm" !! He calls somebody on mobile. Probably to find out whether he can retrofit disc brakes on rear wheels as he has promised that to me already. I can overhear his superior saying something loudly on other end. This person now is more humble but doesnt want to admit mistakes. "Sir, this is old model. New ones will come with all 4 discs". Of course, Skoda dealer has sent him specially to try to impress me and get a deal.
As soon I finished test drive, I got out and saw. Rear wheel had disc brakes. But I didnt want to offend him again.
Next comes the issue of spare tire. I say "Your company is stingy, should have given a spare alloy wheel".
He says what he has rehearsed: "Sir the entire concept behind this vehicle is your safety. This is done with your safety in mind". I dont get it how. So he goes again
"Sir, when you get a puncture and change the wheel, new tire would not have been aligned / balanced. So you may drive fast and meet with accident. Non - alloy spare wheel prevents you from driving very fast". Its new concept indeed to me.
I said "Going by what you say, Fluence and Toyota Corolla Altis must be quite unsafe vehicles then as they have a spare alloy wheel". He doesnt know what to say but repeats same thing.

Well informed SEs are a rare breed indeed !!

[prashant316]

I was at a VW showroom in south delhi, had gone there to check out Polo. All the SA's there were women and so one came to me started describing the car. I was checking out most of the things myself though. And then i popped the hood. The following happened:-

I: Thats one heavy bonet
SA: Yes sir, its triple steeled

I: hmmmm...
SA: Do you know this car has the best in class power (we were checking out the petrol verison)

I: Really?
SA: Yes sir, this car has 200 power

I: 200? in what units?
SA: Sir the power of the car - 200

I: Ya, but in what units? bhp, nm, ps, what??
SA: Sir, the power that this car can generate is 200

I: (getting irritated and amused now) look lady, this car makes 75 bhp at peak rpm and is one of the lowest in its segment. Cars like swift, brio make 85+ bhp. (and i started closing the bonet)
SA: No sir.... aaaaaouch!!!

And her finger came between the bonet and the body when i closed it . I kept apologizing

She went away and never came back. Me and my friends still have a great laugh at the incident.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by dezrskb

I said "Going by what you say, Fluence and Toyota Corolla Altis must be quite unsafe vehicles then as they have a spare alloy wheel". He doesnt know what to say but repeats same thing.

Well informed SEs are a rare breed indeed !!

Well you have to give him some credit for trying to make this into a sales point for the customer. There is no correct reply to this and everyone knows that its a cut back measure adopted by Skoda. And I guess the logical reasoning given by companies in this regard too is the same so we really need to show some appreciation for the SA in this case.

[san2]

I went to the TATA showroom and the salesman told me that the 1.3 multijet is only available in Vista and Punto and has been discontinued in Swift
pity, all the diesel Swifts are running on duplicate engines