Indian Autos blog

Ford Figo – Let the game begin

Ford India today announced the prices for Ford Figo variants. The base version for the Petrol is available at Rs. 3.49 lakhs while the Diesel starts at Rs. 4.47 lakhs. Figo, the first small car offering from Ford India, is specifically designed for the Indian market and is expected to be a game changer for the company. The variants and prices (ex-showroom Delhi) below -

Duratec Petrol 1.2 Litre

LXI – Rs. 3,49,900

EXI – Rs. 3,81,900

ZXI – Rs. 3,99,900

Titanium – Rs. 4,42,900

Duratorq Diesel 1.4 Litre

LXI – Rs. 4,47,900

EXI – Rs. 4,72,900

ZXI – Rs. 4,96,900

Titanium – Rs. 5,29,900

The BMW 330i is powerful, but slightly cramped

IAB drove the BMW 330i. We saw the word “Joy” all over the BMW dealership and were hoping the car lives up to it. We did not have this car for long and the short time would not do justice to a full review. We only wish to share our thoughts on the drive here.

At first, we spoke to the people at BMW and if there is a common word that comes out of everyone at BMW it’s “Joy”. I do not know why they keep emphasizing on it, but did get bored with it.

The word really did not appeal to me and seeing it at every corner of the dealership forced me to do something else. Yes, finally the right thing to do…look at the cars and you would not want to take your eyes away.

So, we neatly buckled up in our car 330i and set out. I had two advisors from BMW who must have thought that I’ve never driven a car before. They kept saying, “Sir, you are two close to the wall”, “Sir, the brakes”, “Sir, please ensure you do not put your left leg on the brakes”. Well, I let them do their job and said “Agreed” to every one of their comments.

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Suzuki Every – Air con problems could cause fire

Barely few days after IAB remarked that more recalls are expected (Read – Now Hyundai recall the Sonata in US and Korea), the industry appears to be proving us right.

If you look at the faults that we have seen over these recalls, a majority of them are to do with systems or designs that have become complex with technology advancement or generations.

This raises three questions -

A/ Are testing methods for new technologies and mechanical designs insufficient? Is it a case of car makers compromising on passenger safety in a race to introduce new technology and designs in the market?

B/ Are existing safety/ testing regulations inadequate? We know of the stringent crash tests (like Euro NCAP, incidentally this rewards cars that employ electronic stability control and speed control) but what about technologies like the air con and steering systems? Is it time to create a regulation on these designs?

C/ Can mechanical designs and technologies such as Airbags, ABS, ESP etc be standardized? Take F1 for example. The McLaren ECU is standardized for all teams. This helps F1 and FIA regulate all cars. In my opinion standardization is the way to the future. It reduces development and testing costs. All manufacturers can then compete on the actual competitive factors of automobiles (i.e Product design, engine performance and value proposition).Just a thought to car makers.

YF Sonata – recalled in US and Korea

If there is one word, we are getting used to lately, it is “Recall”. Hyundai is the latest.

Yesterday, Hyundai have recalled 47300 Sonata’s in Korea and US. No problems in India as the model recalled is not sold here. Rather, the model “YF Sonata” has not been introduced in India yet. Just for the record, the YF Sonata also bagged the IIHS Top Safety Award for 2011 in US. The award is presented to the car that scores a good rating in front, side, rear and roll over crashes.

I must admit, this comes at a time, when Hyundai is actually doing well in the US. Considering Toyota’s problems, one of the biggest beneficiary in terms of sales in US is Hyundai. Of the 47300 vehicles recalled, only 1300 vehicles are from the US. That is a negligible number, but certainly one that the US market would not discount in the wake of recent trends.

Suzuki A-Star – fuel system forces recall

Joining the recall wagon is our own Maruti Suzuki and the problem is with the A-Star manufactured in India. IAB earlier carried a post in December 09 of the same problem in Netherlands (Suzuki A-Star facing lethal fuel systems).

The company has recalled about 100,000 cars manufactured between November 2008 and August 2009. It has identified a fault in the fuel pump gasket and O lining. These faults potentially cause a fuel leakage in case the fuel tank is filled to the brim beyond the auto cut off position. Yes, the sure shot way to avoid this problem is to never fill up your fuel tank to the brim, but now with the recall issued, we suggest you get the fault corrected should you get a notice from Maruti Suzuki.

The company has already sent out letters to customers who might face this problem and about 50,000 cars have been corrected since November 2009. This includes cars from India and overseas markets. That’s being very proactive and customer oriented. Kudos to Maruti Suzuki and team.

Toyota Camry – causing more problems for Toyota in US

Toyota is completely focused on customer service in the US. That is definitely good. Providing the best customer service is key to growth and loyalty.

Bob Carter, Vice President, Toyota Group remarked -

We have a singular focus today – taking care of the customers on an individual basis. That’s everything that we are doing. Quite frankly, nothing else is important.

I read through Mr.Carter’s remark twice before making any logical conclusions. Focusing on customer service is fine and he could have stopped with that.

Honda City – Deserve a diesel heart

Some good news for Indians who have been waiting for a diesel car from Honda. The company is conducting studies to develop a diesel engine for Indian market. Let us be more specific and set the expectation straight. The development is at initial stages and at best indicative. Honda wants to flourish in emerging markets and realizes that a small diesel engine is required to sell more cars.

No time lines are available on the launch and specifications of the engine. We are very much awaiting the diesel City or even a diesel Jazz. The diesel option on these cars could be a very attractive package and provided the pricing is sensible, these cars could be game changers for Honda.

BMW X6 – 2010 models recalled in US

It appears that Toyota and Honda are not alone in the recall game. Joining the bandwagon is the premium car maker BMW. The company has intimated the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in US of a fault in X5 and X6 models manufactured between December 14, 2009 and December 16, 2009.

There have been no reports or complaints filed with NHTSA by customers. This is a notification by the company to the administrator of a safety defect in case of a rollover crash.

We do not know the number of vehicles under the recall, but this could be merely in hundreds. What is of more significance is the nature of the notice and the probable safety issue being reported.