![]() | #91 | |
Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Ranchi
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What I want to ask is that how much the FE will be affected if the manufacturer adds an ABS, Airbags and a more robust platform? I am sure, not more than a km or two per litre. The main issue is the higher initial price that the customer has to pay for the car itself and what I believe is that making them mandatory on every car will surely not affect as much as it affects the prices now due to economy of scales. Regards. | |
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![]() | #92 | ||
Senior - BHPian ![]() | ![]() Quote:
Maruti's widow maker strategy --> ROFL. ![]() Quote:
And you're right; as long as WE start looking at safety as a NEED and demand for it, surely no manufacturer is going to care to create any such supply (demand, supply and all that, right). | ||
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![]() | #93 | |
Team-BHP Support ![]() ![]() Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bangalore
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I'll give you an example. On of my friends is buying an Amaze Petrol S-MT. The person is single, lives alone and is buying the car for single-person city use (read: definitely doesn't need the boot). I suggested they go for the Brio AT top-end instead (same platform, better equipped car), but the person would rather have the prestige that comes with the 'big car' (someone else from their group is also buying an Amaze, but the top-end) rather than buying the top-end hatch variant of what's essentially the same car. The two variants (Amaze S-MT with extra accessories and Brio top-end are roughly the same price range, give or take a few tens of thousands). I tried reasoning a couple of times, then gave up. No arguing with a buyer who has his priorities all wrong. Sadly, this is the story of 9/10 Indian car buyers, esp. the lower and intermediate price ranges. Last edited by Chetan_Rao : 13th August 2013 at 18:56. | |
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![]() | #94 | ||
Senior - BHPian ![]() Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: NCR
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This is TBHP come to fore & play an important role in Indian Auto horizon. Quote:
![]() I still, however, believe that it is the responsibility of the buyers to buy a recent product which is crash tested because it is his & his family's life which is at stake. But, at times budget plays a spoilsport in may cases. Best decision would be to go for safest vehicle in budget or defer purchase till one has amassed sufficient funds for safe vehicle for himself/ family. It is better being late rather than being Mr.Late. Last edited by CARDEEP : 13th August 2013 at 19:05. | ||
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![]() | #95 |
BHPian ![]() Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Blore
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| ![]() I can connect with this thread. My uncle owns K10 Alto and last week the car met with an accident. There was a Volvo bus that just kissed the car from rear end (left side) when both were moving. Of course I was not present when the incident took place but going by what my uncle says, it was very subtle touch. But the damage that car suffered is big. The boot got crumpled and is now undergoing a complete replacement along with body work until the rear door. |
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![]() | #96 | |
Team-BHP Support ![]() ![]() Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bangalore
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![]() Manufacturers fall in line in other markets because the customer is conscious of what he's buying and there are strong, independent bodies to make sure the manufacturer/product image takes a hit if they try to cut corners. No such setup in India, so we're in a situation were the manufacturer dictates by-and-large what's in the market, and are often reluctant to fix issues which would warrant an instant product recall in more evolved markets. Absolutely agree on the purchase bit too. Buy the 'best' you can afford, not the 'biggest'. If you can't, better be late in buying than be 'late' Mr. X because what you bought isn't safe enough. | |
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![]() | #97 |
BHPian ![]() Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Jaipur, RAJ
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| ![]() I fail to see why people are defending the vehicle just because it caters to low-income buyers of India. To all those people who see safety as equating to ABS & Airbags, it isn't just that. If you were to study NCAP test parameters, you'll realise that the construction of the vehicle, design, and materials play pivotal role in defining safety of a vehicle. It is these parameters that Maruti Suzuki has failed to address regularly and consistently. The 'kitna deti hai' attitude has led them to design excessively light vehicles with poor cabin structure and deplorable crash stability levels and that is what earns them a big, fat '0'. Even Nano, which caters to a segment even below Alto K10 has body construction, and crash safety standards that have made it eligible to pass european norms. In fact, Tata is the only manufacture to have in-house crash test facility in India. C'mon Maruti Suzuki, you gotta learn from this and really pull up your socks. You are the most trusted auto brand in India and basic safety is the least you can provide to your loyal customers. Last edited by akhilesh51 : 13th August 2013 at 19:27. |
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![]() | #98 | |
Senior - BHPian ![]() | ![]() Quote:
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![]() | #99 | |
Team-BHP Support ![]() ![]() Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bangalore
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But we as a market are not even buying the 'best' available to us, which itself is pretty poor compared to what's available globally, because of our misplaced cost-consciousness. We'll readily spend money on non-essential things, but suddenly pinch pennies when it comes to the important (possibly life-saving) stuff. As for Maruti, they're milking their 'brand' for all its worth. I was shocked reading GTO's review of the current-gen Swift. The ultra-thin glass, practically useless boot-space, intentionally inadequate brakes on the L & V variants (which incidentally happens to be the one that sells most). But does all that stop the average Indian buyer from buying such ill-engineered cars? No Sir! It's VFM, however convoluted our definition of VFM may be. ![]() | |
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![]() | #100 | ||
BHPian ![]() Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Kolkata
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Instead of running this model to the ground, we need to understand the issue in context and to that effect I would like to propose the following questions which are worth reflecting on (especially K10 owners) • Is this test in Latin America sufficient for us to conclude that K10 is the most ‘unsafe’ car in India? • Is this applicable only for K10 or also to the regular Alto and if yes, we are potentially talking about a fifth of all passenger vehicles on our roads being patently unsafe? • How safe are the other cars from the Maruti stable? Since Alto/K10 is almost a category by itself, how much ‘safer’ (if at all) is a Wagon R, A*, Swift et al? If the answer is in degrees then its acceptable owing to the higher price they command, if the answer is Alto/K10 is unsafe period and the other checks the ‘basic’ boxes, then we have a problem • This leads me to ponder on the fundamental question, what is an ‘acceptable’ degree of safety/crash worthiness for cars in India; how do we define that in the absence of NCAP like certifications available elsewhere? While its intuitive and inevitable, is it fair to consider random test samples done elsewhere for a select number of Indian models when we are assuming that some ‘made to export’ models use better material for stocks meant for export. How do we know for e.g. that model x in India, which is both exported and available in India, has not achieved a better rating on its ‘export’ quality stocks while peddling stocks sporting an inferior quality of sheet metal in India • Finally the damning question, if a Nano, which in terms of price point seems to be a gazillion segments below even the Alto, sports a far superior safety rating, then this is a scam of epic proportions. The K10, fun to drive while it is, is no V8 and the pricing difference cannot be explained in performance alone. Considering both the Nano and the Alto are Spartan in every respect, what explanation does MSIL have for peddling something so shoddy? This mind you, is assuming that the ratings which we are talking about, represents a 2x/3x qualititative difference in safety for Nano and Alto models available in India Am not out of questions but have run out of words to express them. I do not plan to take this lying down if this is true, but would like to be absolutely sure that the first two questions are true before I damn my precious possession which so far has been the highlight of my acquisitions. I can live with the fact that m K10 may not have the structural rigidity of a model which commands a much higher price point as that is the truth of basic economics. I will leave people to draw the conclusion whether that makes me a ‘cheapo’ as this is a democracy and we have a right to our opinions. But lets ask some of these probing questions and determine if this a feature of most cars in the Indian passenger car industry and the difference is in degrees and K10 owners need not feel like pushing their cars off the nearest cliff. | ||
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![]() | #101 | |
Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Calcutta
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Sometime back MM tried to introduce in the US market a small diesel pickup. Could not because it consistently failed safety norms. What platform was it based on? Regards Sutripta | |
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![]() | #102 |
Team-BHP Support ![]() ![]() Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bangalore
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| ![]() @hothatchaway This isn't just about the Alto, or Maruti Suzuki alone for that matter. The Indian automotive consumer is getting majorly shortchanged by almost all players in the market. We either get stripped-down models, or pay a huge premium over effective global prices for the same models elsewhere (when available). Last edited by Chetan_Rao : 13th August 2013 at 21:25. |
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![]() | #103 | ||
Senior - BHPian ![]() | ![]() Quote:
Real life situations are worse because cars usually end up submarining under trucks. (which have no under-ride bumpers in India) Check the accident thread to see the different types of scenarios. The fatal ones are all 'head-on' & T-bone collisions with heavier vehicles Quote:
Not sure about crash..but IIRC you can still sell cars with 1 or 2 star rating...if you can survive the media beating & humiliation. The passing grade is below that Last edited by Mpower : 14th August 2013 at 00:04. | ||
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![]() | #104 |
Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Calcutta
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| ![]() ^^^ Thanks, though that was a rhetorical question! IIRC it was crash test norms. Given their subsequent problems (legal) with the US dealer they had appointed, am sure all the dirty laundry is there somewhere on public record. Regards Sutripta |
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![]() | #105 | |
Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bhubaneswar
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A bit OT, but all new trucks sold in India do actually have front, rear and side under-run bumpers for quite a few years now. Though I agree there are still a lot of old trucks on the road which dont have it. Hopefully by the end of the decade the older trucks would have been phased out. | |
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