[Takumi-san]

I recall my mama (moms brother) had bought it and I was super excited to go for a drive. My dad at the time still did not have faith in Marutis (they go too fast to stop in an emergency!) - and had just bought ANOTHER Fiat. Unfortunately since the time I am totally against Fiat despite the new cars.

Nicely maintained , though the low mileage probably helped.

[mnhegde]

Thanks tintin and Roy for correction. I couldnt get the meaning properly. I forgot that the car was designed by Japanese engineers.
@ The Mole : It will be interesting to know the FE of your vehicle (Car being from the first production lot).

[S@~+#0$#]

Nicely maintained car Amol. Keep it like this forever along with your Ponton and fiat.

We bought a Germaine Red Maruti 1000 from Mandovi Motors, Bangalore in 1994. We had the car till 1999. We had the A/C version which cost around 27k over the regular one. A/C was not available as default until the Esteem came in (Zens always came with A/C and were only around 50k lesser than the 1000). I remember I was a kid and went with my dad to check it out and remember the salesman saying "Saar, why you need A/C in Bangalore?".

Like MPower mentioned, even we were impressed with the A/C duct through the front doors. The Engine was quite sluggish but the gearbox was buttersmooth. Overall nice car, lots of memorable moments.

Within months of our buying, the Esteem was launched and we were like .

Originally Posted by Raj1008

Remember the quarter glass getting stolen was the rage. I lost all on the first day. I just love that car. SO many memories.

Ofcourse I do, we had a grille to protect ours....lol . Yes, even I lost one of the window weather strips and remember them being available only in a set. So, one had to buy either the right or the left side.

[Technocrat]

Thats a well maintained M100 mole

Ofcourse I do, we had a grille to protect ours....lol

Err was that grille to protect the glass or to protect the car as the quarter glass was easily removable?

[AyAn!]

Wow! Thats a wonderfully maintained car.I just love those twin decked interiors.They have a certain charm.This was India's first luxury sedan.Only the well-off could afford it then..

[S@~+#0$#]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Err was that grille to protect the glass or to protect the car as the quarter glass was easily removable?

Protect both the quarterglass and the car right?

The M1000/Esteem quarterglass has a hole at the top with a flat bolt outside (one that could not be opened from outside) and a nut inside. The after market grille had a clamp would be fitted to the same bolt and also also fastened by screws drilled into the window frame all round. This meant that one had to get inside the car to remove the glass.

If someone stole only the quarterglass and nothing else, it would still make one unhappy(relatively less unhappy though as nothing else was lost). But, one would still need to replace the quarterglass which would cost atleast Rs.500. 500 bucks would not be dismissed as small money in those days.

I agree it is very difficult to relate to all this today as we do not see such petty thefts. Today, even theft of music systems from car is very rare or is just not worth the effort. Back in those days in Bangalore, school kids used to pull out front indicators from cars just for the heck of it. It meant nothing more than a cheap thrill to the kid but still cost the owner some money to replace it. There was an after market grille for the front indicators of M800s as well. Today nobody bothers to get these grilles fitted.

[Technocrat]

Actually what used to happen was that car thieves used to break this glass & open the car for stealing the car or equipment, these grilles prevented such attempts.

But yes we used to see grilles on Quarter glass, Side turn indicators & on tail lamps in those days

[hillram]

well maintained car.The interiors look awesome.

[amit V8]

a really well maintained car. brings back those good old days.

[siddartha]

hate it when this happens!

[esteem_lover]

Just the same as my M-1000. Brings back pleasant memories. Was a hoot to drive after ambys.

[passion4cars]

you referring to ?

- discoloring ?
or
- Gap

Originally Posted by siddartha

hate it when this happens!

[kannan666]

Originally Posted by passion4cars

you referring to ?

- discoloring ?
or
- Gap

Looks like Siddartha is refering to the part of the dashboard which connects up with the front door inner beading which seems to have melted due to it being exposed to heat or otherwise deformed due to some misadventure !

[S@~+#0$#]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Actually what used to happen was that car thieves used to break this glass & open the car for stealing the car or equipment, these grilles prevented such attempts

You are right Sir. In all other cars, the glass could come out but the grille would prevent theft. Only in the M1000/Esteem, the grille is fixed to the window frame and also fastened to the glass. So the glass would not come out fully after the rubber beading was removed.

Originally Posted by passion4cars

you referring to ?

- discoloring ?
or
- Gap

The rexin loses its glue in that area after a few years or when parked in the sun a lot. I am sure all M1000 and Type-1 Esteem owners would have seen this.

[kannan666]

Originally Posted by S@~+#0$#

The rexin loses its glue in that area after a few years or when parked in the sun a lot. I am sure all M1000 and Type-1 Esteem owners would have seen this.

Mine has not but then I am very careful as to where I park and always try and cover the dashboard with a thick piece of cloth in case I am parking it in the sun. However, the discolouring is there because I guess different plastics are used for the door mould and the actual dashboard.