[prasadee]

Originally Posted by Habanero City

I think you are referring to the good old tempo which was a 3 wheeler used for carrying cargo.
It had a steering wheel and I remember the funny gear shift rod or something like that in the cabin.
This vehicle was front wheel direct drive through a chain.
Brings back good old memories.

You are right- it was the Temp Hanseat. I found a bunch of images online and on other T-bhp threads.

[handsofsteel]

Very nicely written thread. I still remember the rover montego ad about aircraft comfort being passe compared to the ride. I think they quoted a Bangalore chennai trip- 4 hours of pure comfort or some such thing. Also,IIRC, it was the first 'made' in India car to cost 10L.a huge sum at that time. Brings back good old memories.

[PCIHD]

That was a mouthful . Robin was a nice touch . Almost reminds me of something .

[nishingne]

WOAH!!
wink wink! pinch me please.
That MH 12 J 930 from the website used to be in my building parking lot!
My neighbour owned it and was gathering dust. Best place to hide while playing hide and seek during my childhood.
Who owns it now? Plase tell me my bicycle key is somewhere in that car's engine bay. Just kidding

[FINTAIL]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Thank you Fintail, for a trip in the memory lane.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by AirWind

I remember Jaya Diesels based in Coimbatore were also trying to supply diesel engines to the Montana - not sure if it went into production

Interesting- Jaya Diesels were fitted to many Ambies as well- Dieselization.

Originally Posted by 71Convertible

Memories...

Yeah- EPIC PICS!

Thanks for sharing!

Originally Posted by handsofsteel

Very nicely written thread. I still remember the rover montego ad about aircraft comfort being passe compared to the ride. I think they quoted a Bangalore chennai trip- 4 hours of pure comfort or some such thing. Also,IIRC, it was the first 'made' in India car to cost 10L.a huge sum at that time. Brings back good old memories.

The W124 was also assembled in India. TaMo used to assemble those, in Pune, in the mid-Nineties.

The W124 costed ~21-22ish lakhs onroad, Bombay, IIRC.

Originally Posted by PCIHD

That was a mouthful . Robin was a nice touch . Almost reminds me of something .

Yeah- It reminds you of 'something'- or rather, 'someone' - Yours truly!


Nice to see you around here!

[soonya]

I think Steeroid got it right, the D1 had an Autoland engine, 1400 cc, it was a take off on the Diahatsu of the times. I have had a terrible experience with Sipani's, as an amateur aficionado (whatever it means), my doctor cousin trusted me and my advice and booked the car by paying Rs. 25000 (a princely sum then) which never was returned nor the car delivered! So much for Sipani ethics. After chasing them and my cousin chasing me, we just gave up!

My friend who had an auto garage and who also was a dealer lent me a Montana Diesel which had the VST tiller's engine while my Fiat was being 'reshaped'. I had a horrid time managing the car, as the clutch would 'fail' often and the blessed Montana would refuse to budge and inch!

However, I remember an interesting episode on the car - a lorry hit the car while turning and I heard such a bang, I thought I had to end up being a slave to my friend's garage for the next few years! Lo, and behold, what I saw was the fender went in and returned, and cracked a little! The driver of the lorry was all shivering and was pleading with me saying that the brakes failed! It cost very little to put the fender back again into shape! That's the beauty of fibreglass.

But the hand moulded body panels had their own 'variability' and finish!

While the 'Kitten', nay 'Dolphin' was a good looking car, the Montana was as good as the Gazelle as compared to the Standard Herald! Gawky, ungainly back and of course poor finish! And the rainbow bin of parts added to the complexity of the product!

Sigh, what times!

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by FINTAIL

The W124 was also assembled in India. TaMo used to assemble those, in Pune, in the mid-Nineties.

The Montego was launched 1993 and was around till 1997 if I recall. The W124 was announced in 1995 but production started in 1996

[Gearphile]

Originally Posted by FINTAIL

Sipani. The Dolphin. The Badal. The Montana.

Can you honestly tell me- You've heard of them?

I certainly remember the Badal and the Dolphin. IIRC, the dolphin came out later (maybe in the late 80s or early 90s) and had a fibreglass body. The dolphin looked like a Maruti 800.

[NandanB]

Hi,

This brings back memories. Old memories. 1988 perhaps, when my father was contemplating on buying a car, a Premier Padmini 2nd Hand or a Montana. We were in Hyderabad then. One of my friends had a 2 Door Yellow Color Dolphin ( and I was quite attracted by its sporty look). We used to call it the plastic car because of its fibre glass body.
Though I was very much attracted towards the Montana ( believe it was bigger than the M800 and looked better than the Premier Padmini.) But, better sense prevailed and my father opted to buy a second hand white color Premier Padmini. And that ended my short relationship with Montana.

I still thank our stars that we purchased the Premier Padmini and not the Montana.

[FINTAIL]

Originally Posted by ajmat

The Montego was launched 1993 and was around till 1997 if I recall. The W124 was announced in 1995 but production started in 1996

Yeah- Thanks!

But then, it seems to me that the W124 would've been pretty successful in India. Production began in 1996, and ended in late 1997, or early 1998.

And, soooo many examples survive. Quite successful I guess, inspite of the then (high) 22 lakhs price tag.

Originally Posted by Gearphile

I certainly remember the Badal and the Dolphin. IIRC, the dolphin came out later (maybe in the late 80s or early 90s) and had a fibreglass body. The dolphin looked like a Maruti 800.

You've gotten both the things wrong.

A] The Dolphin came out before the M800 (But only - slightly before). Around 1982 or thereabouts. The M800 came in late 1983.

B] The Dolphin (The Reliant Kitten) looked typical for it's era, abroad. Looked somewhat similar to the Alto SS80/M800.

The Montana looked much more M800ish- similar to the 1986-1997 version of the M800/Suzuki Alto SB308.

Originally Posted by NandanB

I still thank our stars that we purchased the Premier Padmini and not the Montana.

Excellent!

EDIT:

Originally Posted by nishingne

WOAH!!
wink wink! pinch me please.
That MH 12 J 930 from the website used to be in my building parking lot!
My neighbour owned it and was gathering dust. Best place to hide while playing hide and seek during my childhood.
Who owns it now? Plase tell me my bicycle key is somewhere in that car's engine bay. Just kidding

Whoa- Where did you live in Pune? I think this pic was originally shared by @Karlosdeville- or Shreeram.

I presume you lived around the Boat Club Road?

[wilful]

Yes this thread does bring back memories of of the eighties and nineties.
I remember two of my friends had Dolphins - one was black and the other was red if I remember rightly. I remember hitching a ride from Coimbatore to Cochin with the friend who had the red Dolphin along with my wife and two year old daughter - to date my wife, who was seated at the back, curses that cramped nightmarish ride. I do remember however that the engine was pretty zippy compared to my sluggish Amby.
Thanks for the memories - nice thread.

[pksnathan]

Friends,

What really went wrong with Sipani Automobiles?In my humble opinion I think they lacked a strong Research and Development department.They simply imported Reliant Kitty kits and assembled them and marketed as Dolphin.At a later stage they could have developed an engine suitable for Indian roads and instead of fibreglass body they can contemplate of having a metal body.Things like this could have taken place in my opinion.I may be even wrong in my thinking.

Thanking you,

pksnathan

[Cooltronics]

Wow ! Not many of this generation remember the Dolphin.. I was a kid back then who use to like this car for its button like tail lamps
How I wish some of such brands could have survived the changing times and kept producing newer generation cars.

By the way, it seems Sipani factory was in Whitefield. I daily see its board at ABB junction. Will take a picture today and share it across

[zenren]

Originally Posted by pksnathan

What really went wrong with Sipani Automobiles?In my humble opinion I think they lacked a strong Research and Development department.

Does that mean they had a weak R&D department?

What they really lacked was a service and spares network to make their cars run reliably. Even Maruti existed and dominated for over 10 years without any development on their 800/Omni/Gypsy.

[StarrySky]

Years back, a neighbour of my late grandmother owned a blue Dolphin. One day with their driver at the wheel, the car caught fire. It did not stand a chance with its fibreglass body and was completely burned down in a matter of minutes. The driver escaped unhurt. The Reliant Robin always brings a smile to my face - only because of the Top Gear episode which had Clarkson driving one.