Buy a Car the Indian way: A prized possession any day

We all have heard about Roti, Kapda aur Makan (Food, Clothing, and House) – the three most important things in any person’s life. But ever since Maruti came in our life, one can add a 4^th element to the above three and that is a “Car”. Yes, we Indians love to buy and own a car and more than owning we love to display it. Car is one of the biggest symbols of affluence in our society.

A country that used to run on Ambassadors and Fiats today boasts of all the global brands. You name it and we have it. Mercedes, BMW, Volvo to Maruti, Hyundai, Nissan, Ford, Honda, Toyota and many more. While every Indian today feels proud of owning a foreign badge, India as a country feels proud of owning one of the most prestigious global brands “Land Rover”.

Today we have reached a stage where a new car model gets launched virtually every month. In spite of some negative news coming from the automobile sector, the zeal to launch new models has not lost momentum. Kia Motors, a sister company of Hyundai has just launched its first model in India and it is selling like hotcakes. It has already received more than 60000 car orders.  The unexpected demand forced Kia motors with an annual capacity of 3 lakh cars, to start a second shift. Visit Kia website by clicking on the link:

https://www.kia.com/in/our-vehicles/seltos/showroom.html

MG motors (Morris Garages) another British car manufacturer and now Chinese owned also has just tasted success with its Hector in the Indian market. Know more about MG Motors Hector:

https://www.mgmotor.co.in/vehicles/mghector

How we buy a car

The car manufacturers woo the customers by a combination of several factors. Latest technology engine, great looking features and improved safety measures are few of them. But Indians love to buy a car driven by emotional quotient than by the physical quotient. So what are these factors which an Indian considers to buy a car?

The Looks

The Look scores as the number one factor while buying a car. Maruti has understood the pulse very well. It always comes out with great looking cars especially under the NEXA brand like Ciaz, Baleno, S-Cross.

Hyundai is another company that has won the heart of Indians just by sheer design. Hyundai calls it the fluid design concept inspired by nature. All its models show a lot of smooth curves.  The odd-looking Santro became a craze as every Indian felt like a Shahrukh Khan while driving the car. Santro became a darling of Indians. When Hyundai decided to withdraw it from the market, it led to a lot of disappointments. Santro was re-launched recently but by that time the country had moved forward. Even Toyota and Honda score big when it comes to new generation looks.

The day a person buys a car, the first thing he does is to create a protective shield around the car to save it from the rowdy traffic. He doesn’t want his car to even have a small scratch. He safeguards his front and rear bumpers with an iron metal grill. It’s a separate issue that his metallic guard plays the villain leaving scars on other beauties on the road.

The next thing is to get thick rubber lining on all the 4 side doors. The idea is to protect the doors from brushing closely with a fellow car. The owner doesn’t want his car to get involved with a car with great looks.

The Interiors

The success of MG Motors Hector can be attributed to the positioning it had taken in its communication. It called itself the Internet car. It is packed with a host of features like voice command, pre-loaded infotainment content, futuristic security feature. The 10.4 inches vertically placed infotainment screen is a first for any car in India. The passengers can control the entire SUV from a single touch or voice command.

This is what Hector got it right. Indians love to have a big music system in their car. A factory fitted music system in a car doesn’t need installing one from the open market. Getting a music system installed from the open market runs the risk of getting rejected by the insurance companies during accident claims. The reason is that any change in company fitted wiring is unsafe for the driver and other riders.

Car manufacturers try to give the best cushion seat covers which give a feel of leather. But whatever be the quality of the original seat covers, Indians love to cover any seating with a protective one. We tend to cover our sofas with a cover, our mattresses with a cover and even our quilts with a white cotton cover. Then how can we leave our original car seat covers exposed? And the protective seat covers come with an added feature, big pockets on the rear of the front seat cover used for storage. One can keep a newspaper, magazine, kid’s toy, water bottle, and other miscellaneous stuff in the pocket.

The Storage

The Uneven Dashboard

One of the biggest drawbacks in most of the latest technology cars is that the front dashboard is too curvy to keep anything on the top. Instead, if the dashboard is flat, one can keep utility items on it. Whenever a person is rushing to his destination, he looks around for a place to keep things he carries in his hand. It can be an office file, a diary, a mobile phone, house keys, sunglasses, etc. Since the top of front dashboard can’t be used, he keeps it either on the co-passenger seat provided it is not occupied or else  keeps it in the glove compartment.

The Glove Compartment

Coming to the glove compartment, I have an objection to its name. In India, you will hardly find people wearing gloves, except during winters and that also in the North. It should be called an All-purpose utility compartment. Indians tend to carry a lot of items while driving – Mobile, Power bank, Sunglasses, Lipstick, Make-up kit, Cigarette box (For smokers),  An obese wallet full of redundant documents and so on. Add to these a cloth bag which has become a must these days while visiting any shop or grocery store.

In the absence of proper storage space he tends to keep it on the back seat. My suggestion to car manufacturers is that can they make the front dashboard utility box slightly bigger so that apart from the RC papers and pollution certificate, it has enough space for personal utility items.

The Boot

A bigger boot is another feature that an average Indian loves as he never travels light. If you are leaving for a weekend break with your wife, then expect the boot to fall short on space. Her baggage alone will occupy 2/3^rd of the space. And if you have kids in the family then adjustment becomes even more challenging. It’s a common sight in India where you can see hatchbacks on the highway with overflowing baggage visible through the rear windscreen.

And we also need the following when we buy a car

A place on the front dashboard where we can fix our beloved Ganesh Ji, Shri Bal Krishna or Sai Baba.

A hook just under the front and the rear bumper where we can hang the black parandi to keep away the evil forces.

A place on the rear windscreen where we can paste funny stickers like “Pappu ke Papa ki Gadi” without obstructing the view in the rear-view mirror.

Car manufacturers who can work around on such features can score big on the emotional quotient of an Indian when he buys a car.

You can read more such interesting stories on my blog. Click on the link below:

Driving an Electric Car: Charging ahead with full power

Driving a car safely: Don’t be Fast or Furious