SKODA LAURA

Skoda's new car Laura, launched recently, adds to its line of luxury cars. The feature packed Laura comes at around 17 lakhs, and like other Skoda cars, is said to be good value for money. The car features a 1.9 liter engine which delivers 105 bhps.

The car has feature packed interiors which includes 6 air bags, a refrigerator compartment, climate control system, cruise control, ABS, ESP(Electronic Stability Program) and much more. See Skoda's Laura webpage for more details and pictures.

LUXURY CARS FLOCKING INDIA

As India is becoming a larger and more mature market for cars, more and more car makers and new models are hitting the Indian markets. What is surprising is that more people are betting on luxury cars costing big money than the small and volume markets. In a report that could be of surprise, as many as 30 new luxury cars are about to hit the Indian roads, which includes companies like Audi, Bentley, Porsche and more. Read the entire story on Rediff.

FINALLY, A MAGAZINE FOR BIKES!

Most of the auto magazines in India claim to be car and bike magazines. They don't live up to the claim. You either see very little or no coverage on bikes. And occasional coverage you do see may be more about Harley Davidsons and Bmws, not Baja and Hero Hondas. Now some one has stepped in and decided that its time to have a mag only for bikes. I was pretty surprised to see a new magazine on the stands named 'Bike India'. The issue I noticed had a review on Hero Honda Achiever on the cover. Frankly speaking, I am doubtful if there would be a good market for the biking mag, but I wish them all the best and hope that they stay put and prosper.

THE YEAR END DISCOUNTS

For those who are planning to buy, it is normal to see some discounts in December. I just noticed a couple of ads on discounts which I am posting here. I shall add to it if I see more. If you know any other offers, do post a comment. Of course these discounts may come with riders, check carefully before buying.

Chevrolet Optra: Save 75,000 to 1lakh. 1 year free insurance, 3 year or 30000km free service. 3 year or 60000km warranty. Includes finance incentive.
Chevy Tavera: Save 50,000 to 60,000. Includes finance incentive.
Maruti Zen: Save up to 22,000. Free insurance, free MP3 player.
Maruti Wagon R: Save up to 35,000. Details unknown.

In addition, you may be getting some perennial discounts on Fiat Palio and Open Corsa models like the Corsa sedan, Swing and Sail. But these are obviously models that are not doing very well in the market.

CARS IN INDIA - A MATURING MARKET?

A few days ago, Maruti recalled more than 2000 units of Versa to replace a faulty component in its exhaust. A few years ago, recalling cars citing manufacturing defects was almost unheard of in the Indian market. It was a much discussed news when Honda recalled some early models of the new City a few years ago, but it seems to have become an acceptable and understood practice now and Maruti's recall has not created so much of a news. It could well be a sign of car market getting more mature in India and accepting practices in the global market, and at the same time becoming more responsive and responsible about quality issues and consumer satisfaction.

MARUTI HIKES PRICES

Price hikes have become common these days. I have lost count of how many companies have increased prices how many times, and not it is the turn of Maruti to increase prices. The hike will be effective on all models and will be up to Rs.15000 and this will be effective from January.

There is also a line of thought that the price hike, which is declared much in advance could well be a gimmick to make customers rush to buy before the hike gets effective. Read more on it here.

CHEVY AVEO: THE REPLACEMENT FOR OPEN CORSA

So everyone now know that General Motors will soon phase out Opel Corsa models in India and it will be replaced with Chevy Aveo, which is expected to be launched in February 2006. The fact that the news is public should have sent the sales figures of Corsa models to very low figures and it must be available for a good discount now.

The Aveo is originally designed by Daewoo in Korea, which is now owned by General Motors. Aveo will be launched in both Hatchback and Sedan versions to replace the Sail and the sedan Corsa respectively. There is no news about a station wagon model that could replace the Swing. There are many rumors about the engine capacity and the pricing of the versions of Aveo. "CAR India" magazine says that both versions will have a 1.4 liter, 95bhp engine. ET says there would be option of 1.4 and 1.6 liter engines. ET also proposes the price to be around 4.5 to 5 lakh for the hatchback and 6-7 lakh for the sedan, an estimate that does not need any expertise to make! See images of both hatchback and the sedan here

The launch of Aveo hatchback should heat up the upper B segment, which is now dominated by Swift and followed by Getz. The sedan should give some life to the ageing group of lower end sedans comprising Indigo, Esteem, Corsa and the Ikon, assuming that Aveo falls in this price range.

GM had never had things going good for India and it might change if Aveo makes a mark with the Indian customer. With Open Corsa being phased out, GM seems to be up to reducing focus on Opel brand in India and give more emphasis on Chevrolet instead.

TVS VICTOR EDGE AND A BAD EXAMPLE IN ADVERTISING

If you have seen the recent ad from TVS about their bike - TVS Victor Edge, you would be surprised about what they are up to. When did corporations forget about their responsibility and started throwing away all the rules in public? The ad glorifies a dad who drives dangerously in a zig zag manner in heavy traffic, with no regard to traffic rules, lane disciplines and speeds, just to bring his kid’s homework to school. And the dad is picturised as the hero on his bike, which they call "traffic cutter". Whatever happened to the days when automakers talked about wearing helmets, road safety and things like that? This is the ugliest form of advertising I have seen in a long time. Where would they go next? Would they encourage you to jump signals? Drive past yellow lights at great speeds? TVS needs to wake up and make ads with more responsibility.

I decided to take this up with TVS and have written them the following email. I sincerely hope they take it seriously and respond to my mail sensibly. Here is the copy of the email:

"I saw your ad on the bike TVS Victor Edge, described as 'traffic cutter'. I have to say that it is shocking for a company like yours to encourage bad driving on roads - in a zig zag fashion at high speeds with no lane discipline and complete disregard to rules. I request you to be more repsponsible with your advertisements and take this particular ad off air. I hope you take a quick action on this."