[howler]

err.. what decade? we've got another full year to go before that happens.
@trinadha- maybe you could hold on with your very informative discussion until the decade is actually up?
Just a suggestion.

[aaggoswami]

1) Arrival of Alto in September 2000. One of the most VFM buys even today.
2) Swift coming in and making huge waves. A much needed change from regular hatches like Wagon R/Alto/Santro and this was really exciting.
3) Tata Nano. Do I need to introduce this car ? Tata made an impact with Indian flag.

This was for cars.


Now for technology.
1) CRDI available below Rs. 10 lakh, thanks hyundai for bringing this technology to higher middle class. Merc introduced this tech, but Hyundai brought this for higher middle class.

2) Fiat diesel engine produced by Maruti. Changed the face of small car market. Crdi now below rs. 8 lakh. Thanks maruti for bringing this technology to masses, for common man.

3) Availability of ABS and airbags. Suzuki brought this in G2HC. Fiat was too far ahead in this. They had these things available, but were not noticed. Nevertheless, this is becoming more common atleast on higher variants.


Bad things.

1) Discontinuation of enjoyable driver's cars.
2) Almost all cars are now " Exciting ", " Sporty " and " Premium ". All show and ZERO go.
3) Too much cost cutting under the skin. Give good plastics, give good form, but cut cost under the skin. The shocking withdrawal of IRS in mid size segment cars and even in small cars.
4) Ignoring safety equipment. ABS and Airbags must be optional on all variants. Suppose you dont want power windows, but want ABS. Is this possible ?

[ac 427]

nice thread

For me:

1. Launch of the Maruti Suzuki Swift, this car redefined the way we saw hatch backs
2. Launch of Force India in F1: Got india the respect it deserves
3. The Volkswagen Chakhan plant: more than 1800 crore rupees invested in Inda
4. Birth of Tata nano : one of the most important international events, on par with Model T
5. tata buying Jag and land rover
6. 1st Jan 2000, Mr. Jagdish Kattar takes over MUL as managing Director.
7. Launch of Bajaj Pulsar in 2001
8. Yamaha R15, return of the Legendary yammy.

cheers,
ac

[shantyrocks]

The multijet engine coming to india.

[Aarman_008]

Nice discussion thread:

1. Nano launch and the way Tata overcame the challenges in Gujarat in releasing it
2. Launch of Premium hatchbacks like Swift, i10, Punto and i20
3. Change of perception amongst Indian drivers on buying diesel cars.
4. Technology improvement in Diesel Engines. The introduction of CRDi and Multijet by Hyundai and Fiat
5. Nice healthy competition leading up to launch of many premium cars.

[AltoHoncho]

I think it would be:
- Reduction in import duties on cars
- Entry of Yokos, K&Ns and such tuners
- launch of Force India into F1 and ofcourse their first podium finish
- Formal Entry of LR / VW / BMW etc in India

[anjan_c2007]

Believe maybe its yet to come. Lets wait till 2010 passes by. After all we have clocked nine and the tenth one is enroute!

[MotoKris]

From year 2000 we would have clocked 10 years by end of 2009. So, the decade is over.

My list:
1) Palio 1.6 - Hot Hatch
2) Swift - Styling, Drive, Safety, Affordable. For the first time Indians got a punchy, affordable, safe and good looking car.
3) Multijet Diesel 1.3L - huh! do I need to say anything?
4) Nano - ummm... wot to say? Definitely the world's most awaited car. It turned more heads than the Bugatti Veyron could and best part is it turned the heads towards India.
5) Carola - Though the launched car was not as exciting, the launch of World's best selling car of this generation in India was enough of excitement.
6) Octavia - Changed the way Indian Junta look at luxury cars
7) Ace - Changed the landscape of sub 2-ton load carriers

[motor spirit]

nano launch..it was such a proud moment. so anticipated

[aKrain]

Originally Posted by basilmabraham

Many happenings like

- Swift starting the era of premium hatchbacks.

I would say that the Fiat Palio 1.6 GTX started the era of premium hatchbacks. It had ABS, EBD (electronic brake distribution) and a driver's side airbag certainly makes her premium.

[akhilesh51]

Originally Posted by harimakesh

TATA should learn the true quality contemporary car making / automobile engineering skills from JLR and reflect them on Indian domestic product offerings such as Indica/manza/safarie etc.

Whoa! When was JLR a benchmark for automobile engineering skills and contemporary car making???

In fact, quite otherwise, Jaguar has been repetitively synonymous to tradition automobile manufacturing with a good number of parts & Leather manually assembled by craftsmen. In fact, The upcoming Jaguar models have been slammed by a lot of corners of british media for being 'contemporary' and just very Anti-Jaguar.

And not to forget the price associated with JLR models even by european standards. Just compare jaguar model pricing in India to german manufacturers.

Tata just doesn't quite enjoy the luxury of free pricing.



Coming to the topic of thread, TATA NANO is certainly the most anticipated moment of decade.

Other notable moments :

Launch Of FIAT Uno (Sadly Anticipation was not rewarded)
Launch of Tata Indica (One Again, Great anticipation not being rewarded - atleast not first time around)
1.3 Multijet - As mentioned earlier, It changed the way people looked at Diesels
The Sunshine Car - Say what you may but first car to actually take Maruti hatch head on.
Octavia - A big Hit, redefining luxury segment.

[prakasse]

Here is my list:

1. Tata Nano --- I was in NewYork and this car was exhibited in some Auto show there. I could see all the newspapers carrying news of NANO in the first page. Felt very proud.

2. Birth of multijet diesel engines in India. Who said diesel cars are boring? Fanastic technology of Fiat gets in to maruti and they use the same in swift. Even more it gets in to the most VFM car in India TATA Indica

3. FIAT coming back in to India

4. Maruti Sx4 creating a benchmark in the segment. When all other players were stealing the market Maruti intorduced audio controls on steering wheel, ABS, Airbags for a superb price.

5. Introduction of SPARK. Its a make or break for GM and they got back in to track after the price correction. I know many ppl very eagerly awaiting for this car as this was the successor of Matiz[atleast in India]. Its one of the cutest car.

6. When the world largest car maker VW understood the market in India and painted the whole TOI newspaper with their branding.

7. When force India won their frst race in 2009

8. TATA making inroads with ACE.

Thanks,
Prakash.

[tacho]

Originally Posted by prakasse

7. When force India won their frst race in 2009

Force India did not win a race. They got pole in Spa

[Pyrotek]

In terms of automotive technology for the masses, I think there are 2 things that stand out in this decade.
1) The adoption of common-rail diesel technology, which filtered down from the likes of the Mercedes C-class down to the Indicas and Swifts.
2) same goes for safety features. The availability of ABS and airbags even in modest cars like the Estilo, Spark is highly appreciable.

On a personal note, I'd mention the launch of the Swift which accelerated the growth of the premium hatchback segment. Not to mention that the car also marked a turnaround for Maruti on the desirability index.

[navan49]

1.Maruti cars are the no one sellers throughout the decade.
2.Sales volume increase in India during recession too.
3.Splash could not enter as splash in India but came as Ritz in the background.
4.Suzuki succeeded with diesel cars.