DuPont releases data on vehicle color popularity for major markets across the world and in 2008 have included India data separately. I hope it will be tracked going forward as well. Here is the DuPont report for 2008. Lots of interesting data point there including variants on core color types, finishing, textures etc. While mentioning the textures something very interesting is Chrome finish paint. An example is seen here.
They have been tracking such data for US, Europe and Japan for close to ten years now. Though they haven’t given it in one single chart – Zimbly Cars spent the time to collate it from data made public by DuPont. Here is the trend for the past 8 years.
**2001 – I wasn’t able to find data for this year on the net – if anyone has it or knows someone in DuPont please let me know.
The most popular colors over the past 8 years for cars are White, Silver, Black and Blue. These have been fairly consistent and have not lost their charm over time.
Red has been a consistent color with no changes in popularity since 2004. Grey has been steadily increasing in popularity since 2004 and may be a serious contender to Black.
Black though considered a timeless color went through a small dip in popularity between 2002 and 2005 but has been increasing in popularity since 2005.
I came across an article in Money Today that talked about the running costs of the Tata Nano compared to the Maruti 800, the Santro and the Swift. It was a very interesting read especially since I was wanting to put up a running cost calculator of my own on this website. I felt a better comparison would be of the Tata Nano with the Maruti Suzuki 800, the Maruti Suzuki Alto, the Maruti Suzuki Omni, the base Hyundai Santro and the Tata Indica Xeta GL. These are the 5 cheapest vehicles currently available. I feel there is no point comparing it with the Swift. The only true comparison is with the M800. The others are much costlier.
I have used Chennai prices as my reference. Insurance values come from Carwale.com. For registration and life tax have used a standard 8%. I have used a different way to calculate costs and have added some parameters as well. Of course most of the parameters may need to be tweaked for actual use but hope this gives an idea.
Please click on the below image to view the comparison chart.
For 3 years the Nano has the lowest running cost with the 800 close behind. The Alto and the Omni are very similarly priced while the Santro and Xeta are also similarly positioned.
Of course the maintenance costs of the Tata Nano still need to be seen. Hope the quality of the finished vehicle will be decent enough.
Am still working on an online running cost calculator. Will add it in when I am done with it. Till then do let me know your comments on this comparison. If you feel like you could also play with the excel I used to create it runningcostcalculator.
I have always been curious about the mass of information available in Auto magazines and the Internet on the various vehicle brands, models, variants, body-styles and price segments currently available in India.I realized there was a lot of reference material available but nothing consolidated in one place. So I went about collecting as much as I could. So here it goes- My study on new vehicle types currently available for a buyer in the Indian market and primarily focused on Chennai. Most prices used are Chennai ex-showroom prices with some vehicles using a Mumbai price.I spent some time trying to categorize the vehicles by their price brackets and found it wasn’t easy to do but here’s my shot at it.
I call the various groups “segments” just to minimize confusion and they start at A with the cheapest and smallest vehicles with the least number of features and move through B, C and D where the cost , size and feature list increases.Beyond a price of 25 Lakhs I have called the segment as a “Z” segment which comprises the true luxury vehicles available in India.
The ASegment starts off currently with the Maruti 800 – but soon I will have to update it with the Tata Nano.
This grouping will be used all through my subsequent posts. Have a look at the following graph for the starting price points for the various segments and a more detailed sub section as well.
If you are planning to buy a Tata Nano and want help deciding how to accessorize it-read on…
A lot depends on the trim level you plan to buy. If you go in for the base version, you spend less on the car upfront and have money to spare to accessorize. You could also go in for a middle-of-the-road variant as well and accessorize accordingly. If you can afford the top of the line variant and still are not satisfied with the accessories, you may want to look at a costlier car :-).
Seat Belts (ELR Front, Static Rear)
Engine opening through rear bumper
Speedometer and Odometer
High mounted Rear Stop lamp
Centrally placed exhaust
Only Driver’s seat adjust-sliding and reclining
Fixed front passenger seat
Folding Rear Seats
2-Spoke Steering wheel
Grey bumpers and interiors
Driver side outside rear view mirror
CX(Adds the following on the Base)( On Road Price Approx: Rs. 1,30,000)
HVAC (Air conditioner with heater)
Tinted Glass
Both Driver and Co-driver seats slide and recline
2 tone grey interiors and seats
Optional Metallic paint. Hopefully the CX gets body colored bumpers.
LX (Along with the features of Base CX Adds the following)( On Road Price Approx: Rs. 1,60,000)
Trip-meter
Front Power windows
Central Locking
Front and Rear fog lamps
3-Spoke Steering wheel
Moulded door trim with fabric inserts
Floor console with glass holder
Anti-Glare inside rear view mirror
Sun-visors on both sides
You have to define your vehicle budget as the first step. Based on that you
can determine what you need to or what you can add on as an accessory. Also decide if you have that sum all at once or if you need to spread it over a period of time.
For an all-at-once deal you could either spend it all on ICE and interiors, exteriors or on performance options or on a mix of it all. For a bit at a time you may want to do the exterior at one time, interior at another etc.
Factory installed options (must do at booking time): The stop start technology is a must have in addition to getting a diesel if this is at all given as a factory option. This would improve mileage by a great deal. As of now only the petrol’s will be launched.
Must have exterior list: Get exterior rear-view mirrors to make sure you are aware of what traffic is there outside. A single one shouldn’t cost more than Rs. 500. (Required on all models from Base upwards)
Must have interior: Music system and a set of 4 speakers. This on a minimum would cost you around Rs. 8, 000.
The options available to a buyer have increased many-fold from early days where India had only the Fiat & Ambassador to choose from.This post attempts to help a buyer who already has owned a vehicle for some time and is looking to upgrade/change the vehicle. The way society/your peer group works you are expected to go on a path of A segment to B segment to C to D each time you look for a new vehicle. This approach is fine for someone with money and not very clear requirements and just wanting to ape the peer group.
This post is not for them but for someone who has a budget limiting them and for with a lot of unclear requirements. This is for someone having to squeeze out the last bit of value from their hard earned money.
Most usually you are changing your vehicle because you need more space. Be clear if you want interior space or luggage space or space for more passengers.
If you just need interiors that are roomy you can choose from a large tall-boy or B+ segment hatch which is still cheaper than most sedans. ( Hyundai Getz, Hyundai I10, Maruti Suzuki Wagon-R, Maruti Suzuki Swift ).
Is there a vehicle that appeals to you in the list meeting all or most of your requirements? If there is you are lucky – just take a test drive to make sure.
If you had issues/missed features in your prior vehicle try looking for options that overcome those limits. For e.g. you didn’t have power windows & central locking on your first car and got tired of rolling up the windows and checking the doors were locked each time – you should look at a car with all of these.
Choose a color that you yearned for while you were driving your previous vehicle and for better exterior finishes. Maybe try a switch from a metallic color to non metallic color or vice versa. Or try a bright/bold color after a dull one. (I have made such a switch from driving boring silver cars one after the other to bright red and bright blue –
makes finding your car in a large parking lot very easy).
Look for better quality/ looking/feeling interiors. Nowadays beige or two tone interiors are available instead of the usual dull grey. If your car will need to withstand a lot of rough use you may be better off with grey interiors since beige ones look dirty with rough use.