[dark.knight]

Here's how it played out as far as this country goes :

1) Mag wheels were born (to indicate magnesium alloy wheels)

2) That term was quickly shortened to alloy, which would actually indicate a presence of magnesium as a lightweight, high tensile component of the alloy.

3) While steel is an alloy, the original term of magnesium/aluminium alloy indicated the presence of magnesium or aluminium as exotic metals within the mix which would explain higher production costs.

4) Now alloys just portray a hollowed-out, no wheel cap design to contain the tyres.. what exactly is the alloy and to what percentage, no one knows. Hence dozens of cheaply made Indian turd wheels are out in the market that cracks like a biscuit when hitting a pothole (saw a Swift with custom alloys with the spokes shattered over a pothole).

5) Companies take advantage of the situation by using diamond-cut wheel caps and using narrow steel spokes behind the diamond cut wheel caps to hide the "steel" defeating the very purpose of steel wheels which are usually milled as a solid structure with holes in-between for greater rigidity.

Tragic. This is why it is important to get the terminology right at its infancy, and also go for purpose-oriented products and not what the trend dictates. Here's an idea for TATA - how about a black gloss wrap on the roof, about 2 feet long, 1 foot wide, curved edges and call it "DurSun Roof"?

[NiInJa]

I am not surprised a bit, I am in a rural area of North India right now with my in-laws and they are in a process of buying a new car. While checking out the Tigor, the sales person here explained with conviction that the materials used in the car are the same used in Jaguar

While we are conscious buyers and Tata should not be doing this, there is a large number of people who will buy this gimmick. Thanks to forums like team-bhp such cheap tactics don't float for a long time.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by GTO

Okay, now I'm seriously starting to get angry. Earlier this month, there was the features thread, and now this.

Very frankly, looking at the pics, website, press release & brochure, I would've thought they are proper alloy wheels too. I have no problem with such clever plastic wheel caps - they are indeed clever. But why call something "DurAlloy wheels" when they are NOT alloy wheels . This is gross misleading of the customer.

Agreed. This is classic mis-selling for which there is no excuse. For a company rebuilding its market reputation, it needs to BUILD trust at every touch point. The consumer in the most rural parts of India is only a Google away from the facts! In 2018, every angry customer that feels swindled, is something they can hardly afford, given the power of social media.

Like my Australian friends would say: If it looks like a dog, if it barks like a dog, then it is a dog.

This fancy wordplay is a really bad idea. Of course,the wheel is cleverly designed. Kudos to the engineers but the marketeers need to introspect.

To expect the "aam aadmi" to read through the minor details is just not fair. I'm sure they can devise a better name that is clear that the wheel is a fancier steel wheel, but NOT an alloy.

The lovely car really didn't need this controversy.

[r0nit7]

Tata has become the perfect epitome for the idiom One step forward - two steps back
: Launch of JTP twins!
: Removal of features across the portfolio and now this cheap "marketing" stunt!

[GrammarNazi]

So unethical. Has Tata become the new Skoda ?

Sad to see even such a relatively small tiny success with Tiago has gotten to their head. Charging ₹4,500/- for 4 alloy dubbed wheel covers! mis-selling is an understatement. Such tactics seem to have become a regular activity at Tata Motors.

Seeing the flak they're getting across many forums, I requested them a to clarify about DurAlloys' price via social media, but NO, they won't do the mistake of committing anything. They want me to go all the way to their dealership for this!

Maybe they should change the name of "Tata Code of Conduct" to "Tata Motors Code of Misconduct".

If we blame & criticise Maruti/Honda/Hyundai/others for cutting corners even after they have such a massive scale & market share, Tata should definitely be held to the same scrutiny, if not more. Of all the other brands, I expected Tata Motors to set high ethical standards in the industry, but having observed them for a long time, I can guess they're just proving why their low market position was befitting them all these years.

[400notout]

I can't understand what the whole fuss is about. For me it was plain from day one that these were plastic caps on steel wheel. I have a TATA showroom on my way to work and I have seen a number of NRG versions sans this wheel cap. I never followed this variant as it never interested me one bit.

Also, any person looking at the car in person should easily make out that it's not a regular alloy.

The only thing that's annoying is why this version lacks a regular alloy when it's more expensive than the XZ which has alloys.

But I think to accuse TATA of cheating is blowing it out of proportion.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by 400notout

Also, any person looking at the car in person should easily make out that it's not a regular alloy.
The only thing that's annoying is why this version lacks a regular alloy when it's more expensive than the XZ which has alloys.
But I think to accuse TATA of cheating is blowing it out of proportion.

Not everyone is a auto enthusiast and could easily spot a difference. Many would go by what brochure/sales advisor say. This is similar to a case where an authorized apple retailer sells you Iphone where I stands for "Imitation" and charges you roughly same amount as real Iphone. This may not qualify as cheating but something unethical.

[arjab]

Started with the Safari 2.2 VTT DiCoR.
These wheels are stylised pressed steel wheels.
Of course, during the Safari times there was no fig leaf covering the steel rims. Was not required also, as the wheels looked smart enough.

Hyundai also had some of their base models of i20 Elite running on stylised steel wheels

TML could've just acknowledged the stylised steel wheel covered by wheelcaps as a fact and not cook up some cock and bull story about DurAlloy et al.
Hope the smart alec who miscommunicated to the customer has been taken to task by the line managers.

Pic source: Team-Bhp search

[Gildarts]

Originally Posted by 400notout

But I think to accuse TATA of cheating is blowing it out of proportion.

"Durable dual tone –4 spoke DurAlloy wheel that enhance the strong muscular design." This is how TATA motors website describes AurAlloy Wheels. The wheels offered are just powder coated steel wheels. Only the plastic caps have dual tone finish. It is completely misleading. If this can't be called cheating, what else can it be called
What makes it worse is that the car is not an all new one. So there are bound to be customers who have test driven Tiago in the past and book the Tiago NRG based on those impressions, without ever checking it out in person.
Wow, used to trust TATA products and brands a lot. Busted.

Originally Posted by amit_mechengg

Duralloy is the patent for the wheel not the cap. The steel rims have composite alloy which adds benefits like heat dissipation added strength etc.

Don't mistake the cap for a duralloy wheel.

I think those wheels have nothing to do with the DURALLOY shown in the video. The video describes a special chromium alloy coating used in tribology, i.e., bearings and stuff. This in no way adds to the strength of the base metal. Essentially, even if the 4 spoke wheels are coated with this "DURALLOY" it will still be weaker than normal steel wheels.

Most probably, DuraAlloy in TATA's wheels is just Dulux's DuraAlloy powdercoat paint.

This is my understanding. If I have misunderstood. If TATA has any designed any special composite alloy wheels, pl elaborate.

[sgiitk]

More than anything, Alloy wheels (nowadays Mag is very rare so are almost all Aluminum) offer a major advantage, lower unsprung weight, resulting in a lower unsprung weight. Cosmetics etc are secondary. A lower unsprung weight translates to better road holding. Also, they give better brake cooling. So any attempt to mislabel steel wheels gets a big boo from me.

[kovilkalai]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Well, from metallurgical point of view, steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. So you can't take them to court for marketing steel wheels as alloy wheels!

Actually, it doesn't work like that. If their own feature list (on their website and brochures) makes a distinction between steel wheels and alloy wheels, it becomes clear that the terminology has a commonly understood meaning. Technically correct doesn't necessarily score points if Tata lists "steel wheels" in the feature list for base models and "alloy wheels" for top models.

Imagine if Tata sold you Calcium Carbonate instead of Sodium Chloride. Technically, they are both salts. I am sure you can take them to court for this.

That said... I do wonder... what does my salt contain?

[autocrat]

Well... Technically, steel is an alloy of iron and carbon

EDIT: saw the earlier post mentioning this. And I completely agree that legally steel is an alloy and it's an alloy wheel. However, this looks like purposeful misrepresentation of fact to misguide / misinform customers to believe they are getting something better than what's being provided.

[kiku007]

Just couple of days back I was proud of Tata and I see this now.

Bean counters + Marketing team has won this round I guess.

The entire exterior marketing material is a comedy of errors. Anyway, this is well deserved for people who want an SUV out of everything. You have a problem with the duraAllow wheel but not all that crappy plastic on the body?

[silverado]

Credit goes to designers for this creative design, very impressive.

I am a fan of such great looking wheelcaps.
Forget about this wheelcaps/alloys, i feel TATA could have actually done more for this variant as this has been projected as life style/rough version of hatch. This variant if showcased as rough would have looked great without those wheelcaps and in Matt finish colours.

IMO the steel rim design is such welcome change than usual designs

[sudeepg]

So if someone who is not a keen observer goes by the words alloys in DurAlloy expecting that they are alloys, only to eventually find out from someone else that they are plastic caps over steel wheels, how would they feel - I wonder?

I really hope the sales folks are going to make it obvious to the unsuspecting buyers.

In our country, for many of us owning a car has a certain amount of pride. Equally, the pride includes having a nice set of wheels. This is going to be a let down for many when they really find out (from others, and perhaps get laughed at what they got) that they are running on plastic caps.

Agreed with all the technicalities but the sentiments are surely going to be hurt for many if not all and that's not at all good for TATA who are trying to create a good reputation for themselves in our market. A negative customer sentiment isn't good for any company IMO.