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Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() | ![]() In what may be a somewhat terrifying development that tries to detract attention from the urgent need for safety features in all cars sold in this country, Maruti Suzuki Chairman Mr. R. C. Bhargava has come out with a statement that implies that the need for active and passive safety features in motor vehicles sold in India is probably redundant in the present scenario. http://indianexpress.com/article/bus...-maruti-chief/ Quote:
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Till we as a nation manage to unite in our demand for safer cars AND drivers on our roads, and till sanity prevails, the best we can do is to continue with the prevalent practice of using garlands, coconuts, vermillion swastika marks, prayer, incense sticks, idols, stickers on windscreens and elsewhere - and the quiet folding of hands and touching the forehead every time before we fire up the engine - to keep us safe. Till then, I can only hope (and also pray) that the numbers of Mr. Bhargava and PlugIn Caroo's tribe manage to see reason soon. FATALISM: The belief that the driver is powerless to do anything other than what he actually does. He has no power to influence the future, or indeed, his own actions; therefore, his actions are free, and the result is inevitable, pre-determined and ordained by God. No wonder then, that so many drivers in India decorate their car dashboards with so many religious symbols. Let us change that mindset. Last edited by SS-Traveller : 13th November 2014 at 23:30. | ||
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![]() | #2 |
BHPian ![]() Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Mumbai
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| ![]() The statement reads like "Safety First" is not the mantra that MSIL believes in for the guys who just bought 6-10 Lakh rupee cars from them, and trusted them with their lives. This statement is bound to leave a lasting impression on the young people who drive on our roads and who work for the company, as it comes from the biggest car manufacturer of India. In my opinion, this defense of decisions taken, which have resulted in expected but unwanted results - the inconvenient truth - is one of the biggest outcomes of the Swift NCAP tests. Last edited by GTO : 14th November 2014 at 17:45. Reason: Typo |
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BHPian | ![]() I actually cannot completely deny what they have to say and mark their comments as rubbish. However, saying that their points are not justified as excuses for not providing safety features in cars. It will make me vulnerable to harm even at low speeds. Why should that be ? My house can break down in a big earthquake or a tsunami that does not mean I will use the lowest quality of materials which will make it fall in the slightest of vibrations. Also if ABS is so useless why do the manufacturers advertise them to be Safety features with diagrams ? Last edited by Altocumulus : 14th November 2014 at 00:01. |
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Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() | ![]() So for Rs. 40,000, a consumer would go and buy a bike over a car? What is the likelihood of that happening? |
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![]() | #5 |
BHPian Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: New Delhi
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| ![]() nonsense I say ![]() If a machine is designed to be used by a very small segment of population , it does not absolve the manufacturer of his responsibility to follow good design practices which includes safety considerations. You can't make an inherently unsafe designs , sell it to unsuspecting buyers and justify the decision saying that only a small part of population uses it. For example a power drill is used by very few people but still the manufacturers have to include various safety mechanisms as trigger lock to prevent its accidental misuse. As for the allegation that only bigger cars getting 5 star ratings is baseless. Many cheap cars from manufacturers of economy cars get five star rating such as European version of Hyundai i20 , Ford Fiesta , Toyota Yaris , Volkswagen Up , Skoda Fabia , Fiat Grande Punto , Renault clio and even European Suzuki Swift and so on , the list is endless where as premium car such as Jaguar XF has got only 4 stars. Further more all these NCAP agencies provide exhaustive data to support their conclusions logically rather than mumbo-jumbo from Mr. Barghava and the blogger mentioned in the above post. I'm totally at a loss of words. What do these guys smoke? ![]() |
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BHPian ![]() Join Date: May 2011 Location: Amdavad
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| ![]() I have stayed away from all the debate on safety related threads as I used to indulge in it a year or two ago in some Fiat specific threads. Anyway, back to the current topic. The entire context of this article and perhaps Mr. Bhargava's understanding of safety might change if he chooses to use absolute terms instead of relative terms.
Safety should always be in absolute terms. It's either safe or unsafe. We can't accept a logic like "an unsafe car is safer than a two-wheeler". ![]() Last edited by Biraj : 14th November 2014 at 00:28. |
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Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() | ![]() What do you expect from a company that omits airbags and ABS from all its AT variants just to keep prices down? As for that other misguided fool, I can only pity him. No point discussing what he has blogged and give him even more credence than he deserves. |
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BHPian ![]() Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Chennai
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| ![]() The thing is, if Maruti brings in airbags & ABS in its base models as well, the sales of the top end models will significantly drop where most of the profit is. Now a days, there are people who buy the top variant just because of the safety features even though, they do not need the additional gizmos. Moreover Maruti chief has been saying so much on the addition of airbags & ABS, Does he have an answer for the Euro spec swift to have a rigid body structure compared to the Indian swift? If quality has taken a dip due to localization of parts, then the export variant of the swifts are manufactured by a upper grade of same local parts? |
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Senior - BHPian ![]() | ![]() What a load of trash on safety, that too from a company that sells the most number of cars. Very sad to hear such comments and feel sad for the uninformed buyers as well! I hope our government could do something to beat sense into these dimwits and make at least airbags/abs-ebd mandatory on all cars sold in India! |
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Senior - BHPian ![]() | ![]() I dont understand this "demand" thing. What exactly are we demanding here? Don't we already have cars with airbags available in the market? |
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![]() | #11 |
BHPian ![]() Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: chennai
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| ![]() hi Honestly it makes you laugh in pity after reading such blogs and of course the “interview” from the head of Maruti Suzuki ! I am sorry I really don’t mean any offence ; but I should say that one should never argue with fools because they can take you down to their level and beat you. I have said it in another post and I am saying it again here; “safety is a culture” . There have been various cultural shocks in India ; this is one of them few good ones which i hope jolts everyone up |
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BHPian ![]() Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: McLeod Ganj
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| ![]() All I have made out so far is RC Bhargava's intellectual capabilities rival this gentleman who speaks of cloud computing. I hope BHPians avoid hiring, working for or doing business with either of these guys outside of the entertainment industry ![]() On topic though, the volume of A segment and B1 segment (see image below), the two price points where full safety kit may be excused, is only 25% of the vehicles. If A segment comes without safety features (for its price to be accessible to all) and B1 segment comes with only 2 airbags and ABS (since it is also price sensitive but to a lesser degree) and B2 and above segments come with full kit of 7+ airbags, ABS and ESP I see no reason why adding safety should push more people towards two wheelers instead of cars. ![]() |
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Senior - BHPian ![]() Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: cochin
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| ![]() A couple of decades ago, most cars sold in India did not have power steering or airconditioning. Now in the 21st century, most cars/models/variants do. Did the Indian customer stop buying vehicles because these features made cars that much more expensive? In my view, it definitely is the responsibility of the market leaders to show the way ahead for the Indian customer - if necessary to educate them on priorities, on the importance of safety features (and safe driving). They could take it as a responsibility to society. |
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BHPian ![]() Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: India
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| ![]() We were thinking that MSIL is silent on these crash test and will come out with some good news for its future customers by making these features standard in all of their cars but surprised to see their approach towards safety features (as per them luxury feature, selling in top variants only). Quote:
Offering safety features like ABS, airbag in top variants only is a "commercial angle" where you force the buyer to opt for music system, alloys, leather seat if he is serious about safety in his car and make big money. Quote:
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![]() | #15 |
BHPian ![]() Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: India
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| ![]() Start reading users manual of any Maruti car and you will find more tips on saving fuel rather than tips on safety. If they can make people of India so much fuel conscious then why they can't make them aware about safety? But safety has never been a priority for Maruti so safety first or last is not even in question here. Then the statements coming from the guys at top position in Maruti are comparable to statements coming from leaders of UP-Bihar, what more can be expected from them. |
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