Driven the i10 yet?

If you are wondering why the hype over a teeny little car (it won every award there was to be won including the ICOTY), then here's a comparison. Remember the old Zen? How it was so much... fun? Zippy, eager and sooo easy it made driving a no-task. It was silent, it was responsive and it felt like it could go on forever. Well, Maruti phased out the Zen but Hyundai cashed in on the very same market. The i10 is all that the old Zen was, only it is many times better. It is not just powerful and fun but has a surprising amount of space inside. We say, test drive it today.

Taking the high road

Being auto journalist has some perks. Getting to drive and test new vehicles, even if it is beyond your budget a hundred times over, is the most obvious one. But there are other perks that let you relate to wheels better than riding or driving it everyday - like witnessing rallies like Raid De Himalaya, the Royal Enfield Himalayan Odyssey or the Desert Storm that has been covered in the May issue of our mag - http://epaper.wheelsunplugged.com

The first two take the high road (quite literally) from Manali to Leh and then onto Khardungla - the highest motorable road in the world. Picture a 100 Bullets crusing on the oh-so-straight road on the More Plains or the highly modified Gypsys tackling the slush on the road between Debring and Tanglangla.

The participants are not doing anything that others haven't done before or they themselves havent done in the previous year's rally. But that particular road has a personality - one that people who regularly go on it recognise. A landslide will mean that the road sinks by a few feet or that you will be forced to take straight-down short cut. Or a simple overturned truck could mean that you are stuck for two days at 16000ft till the BRO comes and frees the road. The beauty of these rallies are not in the time-distance counters but more in the challenges that the road, the altitude, the terrain offers. And like anyone who has taken part in them will tell you, winning, even completing it is not important. Just taking part in it, the experience of negotiating a steep turn at 18,000ft (where you are breathless just standing around), is enough.

The first of these will be the Bulleteers who will come thundering into Manali in June. Can't wait!

What women want!

Believe it or get left behind: women determine 90 per cent of all car sales. What do they look for in their wheels? And are automakers in India ready to win this race?

Did you know that the Boxster, inspite of being marketed as a male sports car, is bought by more women than men? Or that, way back in 1955, Daimler became the first automaker to customise a car for women? The ‘104 Ladies Model’ came with a cosmetic pack, fitted luggage, an umbrella, and even a shooting stick! Soon after, Dodge introduced the La Femme, a pink car with cosmetic cabinets built into the seats. While only 50 Ladies Models were sold, the La Femme didn’t do too well either. That’s probably because most customers were men back then.

Now, though, things are significantly different. Over 50 per cent of all car sales are made by women and a massive 90 per cent of all car choices are determined by women. Are automakers listening? They have to do a great deal more than add that token vanity mirror to woo the women. We decided to take a look at what women want in cars, and how well manufacturers are responding to their requirements. Beyond the vehicle itself, we also asked women what they expect from automakers so that the buying of a car can be a pleasant experience.
More storage, adjustable seat, safety features, ease of cleaning and power steering / automatic transmission are some of the determinants for women. Indu Prasad has answered all these and more in our April issue of WheelsUnplugged...
http://epaper.wheelsunplugged.com/Default.aspx?selpg=4&page=07_04_2008_002.jpg&ed=897&arthigh=3
For more auto news do visit http://www.wheelsunplugged.com/ and explore the world of wheels!

Brand it right!

A massive image enhancing exercise is underfoot in the auto industry – from mega showrooms to innovative rallies

They already make great cars. Numbers are flowing and newer models are keeping the interest alive. So, what next? If automotive trends are to be interpreted, then the current one is a massive across-the-industry brand-building exercise. Making the customer happy goes much beyond making good vehicles. So if Hyundai has an “Always Around” campaign, Maruti does it with special “brand stores” similar to what Bajaj and Royal Enfield have done for the two wheelers. Honda is taking their worldwide approach of safety-with-environment-friendly to India as well. While India’s biggest two-wheeler company Hero Honda builds its brand image with emphasis on the green steps it has taken in its production.
How far will the companies go to woo their existing and potential customers? What are the schemes that add real value and what are plain fanciful? Do consumers really like the perks or are they just happy with a good car and good service? Indu Prasad has answered all these and more in our current issue of May 2008 issue of WheelsUnplugged... http://epaper.wheelsunplugged.com/

BMW is the latest one to open dedicated showrooms in Delhi and lately in Kolkata. If you have thoughts, comments and viewpoint which you would want us to take on board, do leave your comments.

For more auto news do visit http://www.wheelsunplugged.com/ and explore the world of wheels!