[SchumiFan]

I think we are over-reacting a bit here. There should be a reason as to why the frontal impact test is conducted at 64kmph. Technically that is true for all the cars irrespective of whether they are a 5L V8 monster or a puny 1.2L. So it doesn't matter if you are travelling at 80 & 160 kmph, the safety rating is always for a crash that is 'supposedly' happening at 64kmph.

Also does any of us know what is the current legal standard for car safety in India? If yes, please provide that info here and that should be enough to ascertain if MS has produced a car meeting the standards. If not, they should be held responsible for breaking the law.

Finally, we ourselves should take a long hard look at our driving practices. I have seen many instances here on the forum where members have quoted that they have reached 150+kmph speeds on our road. I am not sure if that is even legal. The justification being that the road was desolate.

[riturajsharma19]

More crap - "Apex Auto Industry Body Defends Maruti & Datsun Against NCAP Results"

Interesting quotes from the report-

"It is just scaremongering," said Vishnu Mathur, director general, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

"Global NCAP can do what they want. We have our own safety road map that we are going to follow and are already following."

[sidindica]

Maruti's not 1, not 2, but 3 of its models got a zero star rating with an unstable body shell as its comment by the testers. And yet, this kind of a response just shows that CSR is not prevalent in this company. Since I drive a Punto, which is atleast having a strong BIW, I cannot fathom to imagine how scary it is to drive the alto k10 for both me and my cousin. The car has just clocked 7 k kms in a lil under 2 years and is only confined to local city running, not venturing on highway. Also, as a responsible community, its high time that brand biasness is not shown in team bhp in the name of "peace of mind" and fuel efficiency. I may not enjoy the best of the service, but when it comes to safety and sturdiness, the euros always rule, and equal amount of credit has to go to them. Not always we should favour the Asians in the name of reliability, though that's equally important. But, Honda city niggles thread has shown otherwise.

[zenren]

Originally Posted by RavSam

Reply from VP marketing of MUL:

Attachment 1305561

Well

So the Marketing VP of Maruti says Maruti vehicles are safe only when driven upto 46 km/h, in line with Indian regulations currently. Can he explain why I should invest 10L and buy a Maruti Ciaz to drive it under 46 km/h in a highway that carries 70km/h speed limit?

If any of Maruti's competitors (Ford/Fiat/VW etc) are reading this, please use the above comment by Marketing VP of Maruti in your advertisements. Let the public be aware of what Maruti is promising and what they are not guaranteeing.

[luvtandon]

Seems like somebody has woken up in the government. this article was published on the front page of the Hindustan Times, Delhi edition dated 05th November, 2014.

Source :- http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

[commonman]

Originally Posted by john doe

Here is an article that might show a realistic difference between the exported cars and our domestic cars. It talks about the Brazilian market, very similar to ours:

"One auto engineer described the situation by sketching two car body designs with identical perimeters, but one depicted internal gaps — missing body reinforcements.

He worked three decades for Volkswagen and spent the last 10 years as an independent engineering consultant for big automakers. He asked that his name not be published for fear of losing contracts and benefits.

"The secret of a car's body being able to withstand the crash test are the weld spots," he said.

"Let's say this is a German car," he pointed to the gapless sketch. "It's really sophisticated. Nothing is missing."

Then he pointed at the car made in Brazil, full of incomplete ink strokes.

"The Brazilian version looks the same from the outside, but it's missing pieces," he said. "In one version they include the reinforcement, in the other they don't. What's of interest is the final shape. What's inside, nobody can see."


http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ap-im...zil-are-deadly

This is really an eye opener. Nicely explained .The same story repeats in India now. Greed is the culprit.Lax government laws will increase the accident mortality rate. Lets hope for a change now.Its time for us to come out of our decades old vehicle concepts.
Just see my mistake,I have bought all VXi cars. . By the way ,I feel much secure in the 2010 Ritz than the 2014 Swift. Is it just a coincidence or just my feeling ? When I bought Swift ,I was told that,it comes with a bigger brake disc than the previous model ,so that braking efficiency is increased.Now I am even doubting this claim from the manufacturer.

[amit_mechengg]

Originally Posted by RavSam

Reply from VP marketing of MUL:

Attachment 1305561

Well

I cant believe the VP marketing is uttering non-sense from his mouth. The swift is one of the fastest hatch, mostly driven pretty fast inside the city limits too.

He must be crazy to say that the indian conditions dont allow to drive fast. Forget about going fast but the fact is that the Indian conditions are the worst of the lot. A 20kmph truck can crush the swift into a thin can.

So we must have better norms than Europe considering terrible indian driving conditions.

According to his logic they should sell the swift with big sticker on the rear glass " Safe only when driven at 40kmph"

[bageherath]

I feel mass Indian buyers also play an important role here...because many see mostly for mileage, maintenance costs and false notion that all Maruti/Suzuki's are cheap to maintain. Manufactures like Ford, VW, Fiat are at-least more inclined towards safety or better build (chances of survival on impact are high). And also people don't care how many tick marks the car has in the safety area. Once the Indian mass buyers wake up and ignore the manufactures that take us for granted, eventually the big change will happen.

[jessie007]

Originally Posted by bageherath

I feel mass Indian buyers also play an important role here...because many see mostly for mileage, maintenance costs and false notion that all Maruti/Suzuki's are cheap to maintain. Manufactures like Ford, VW, Fiat are at-least more inclined towards safety or better build (chances of survival on impact are high). And also people don't care how many tick marks the car has in the safety area. Once the Indian mass buyers wake up and ignore the manufactures that take us for granted, eventually the big change will happen.

In continuation, I feel that reliability of lighter vehicles can be relatively better than those of heavier ones, as various components are less stressed and therefore less prone to wear and tear. Eg. A lighter vehicle will accelerate faster but gain less momentum as compared to a relatively heavier vehicle. On one hand, the lighter vehicle has an advantage of better fuel efficiency, and on the other hand, under braking, there will be less wear and tear of braking components due to the comparatively lesser momentum. Though engineering of components on both type of vehicle (lighter & relatively heavier) might be different to cope accordingly and hence the difference in price.

[StepUP!]

Originally Posted by RavSam

Reply from VP marketing of MUL:

"The speeds that can be achieved by the vehicle given our roads makes it completely different, so applying a foreign standard may not be practical"



Well Mr VP can you clarify if the vehicle can't achieve those speeds given the road conditions why don't you provide a 100 cc engine in all of your cars so that they can never cross 40kmph?

Clearly an attempt to lie loudly and expect people not to pay attention to such test results.

Maruti is stooping to such low levels. Utter disregard towards customers' lives and bold shamelessness to expect people to buy Maruti tin cans and continue dying.

Well it's about company philosophy and moral values. And Maruti has clearly demonstrated how sick they are.

Mr VP should be sacked with immediate effect.

[highsteem]

I am devastated and very angry. I did not expect structural integrity to be compromised for Indian swift. Damn the multinationals!! We chose their cars because they have the expertise to provide us with a better and safer transport solutions. But what do we see here? Crawling under the laws of the country. I feel sick about you Suzuki and Nissan.

I am better off with a Vista or a Figo or a Polo (and hopefully Punto).

[zenren]

@Mods,

Based on the reply from Marketing VP of Maruti, can we add that detail to the Official TBHP reviews of all Maruti cars that it is intended to be driven only up to 46km/h?

Its one thing to fail a crash test and a totally different thing when the company leadership justifies the failure rather than owning it up.

This is not Maruti bashing from owners of other brands - I have 2 Swifts and a Zen in my garage and I'm forced to drop the plan of a 200km road trip since it would take me ages to reach there if I stick to the company's expected 46km/h on the highways. If they think cars in India do not go above 46km/h, then that expectation from the manufacturer should be made clear to anyone who reads our reviews to avoid wrong expectations.

[vinodvayyat]

Originally Posted by jessie007

On one hand, the lighter vehicle has an advantage of better fuel efficiency, and on the other hand, under braking, there will be less wear and tear of braking components due to the comparatively lesser momentum.

This clearly reflects typical customer mindset, preferring maintenance costs as a measure over vehicle safety. Who cares about wear and tear if there is a safer vehicle with better brakes than the rest in competition? What are we trying to prove?

[S_U_N]

@zenren: If the VP has said so and it can be proved that he mentioned that, then it is possible for any Swift owner to file case against Maruti for not disclosing this limitation in the user manual.
However Maruti can attempt to dodge this bullet by saying that the VP was mis-quoted.

[arnabchak]

Originally Posted by zenren

@Mods,

Based on the reply from Marketing VP of Maruti, can we add that detail to the Official TBHP reviews of all Maruti cars that it is intended to be driven only up to 46km/h?

..... If they think cars in India do not go above 46km/h, then that expectation from the manufacturer should be made clear to anyone who reads our reviews to avoid wrong expectations.

And it is not only that. You can drive this "coffin on wheels" at 46 kmph but then, what is the guarantee that teh collision is with a stationary object(as in NCAP videos).

A Swift can face collision from a fast moving vehicle from the other side and the speed of 46 kmph comes to nothing.

It is not the question of speed at which it could be driven but the integrity of the shell and lack of safety features in itself.

Maruti has to own up and take corrective actions. A senior management official statement will be viewed very seriously and such loose talk is certainly not called for!!