[volkman10]

Maruti Suzuki Omni To Be Discontinued

R C Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India :

There are certain models that cannot be made ready to meet the upcoming safety norms and we will have to discontinue them, Maruti Omni being one of them. The Maruti 800 was a very important model for us but we had to discontinue it, in a similar manner we will also discontinue the Omni

The design of the Maruti Suzuki Omni being a flat front lacks the structural integrity to conform to the new crash norms. It cannot be fitted with crumple zones to absorb the impact in case of a collision. Other products under scanner are the Eeco Van and the entry-level Alto 800 hatchback

Link

[DicKy]

A plausible news, but a little apprehensive of the source.

http://www.keralakaumudi.com/news/au...qwOVhjgnOtI7VI

According to the malayalam daily, 'Kerala Kaumudi', the Maruti Omni has been stopped due to the upcoming safety crash norms.

" End of an era. Omni no more "

Maruti has decided to stop the production of Omni due to inability in modifying it for the upcoming crash norms. Maruti engineers are working hard to make the Eeco and Alto 800 meet the upcoming crash test norms. Maruti Suzuki chairman, R C Bhargava has said.

I know there are a lot of members who are going to say good riddance.

But I do feel, it was one of the iconic cars that India has seen. Nothing can be more evident than the sales figures and long production run it had, and the versatile role it played in society.

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Maruti Suzuki Omni To Be Discontinued

At Last.

Or should the response be,

At Least NOW!

Many people will miss this 34 year old veteran of Indian auto scene. Although Omni was the most versatile four wheeler that ran on our roads - personal car, cargo van, school van, mobile canteen, ambulance, hearse, and what not! - it was one of the least safe passenger vehicles ever manufactured. Hope Maruti will stick to its decision to retire the model and not backtrack on it by coming out with a special edition Omni adorned with safety stickers .

[KiloAlpha]

The Omni being discontinued will hit Maruti-Suzuki's bottom line really hard. Pure profit from around 6000 units per month will simply evaporate!

Bean counters will surely mourn!

[arunramaswamy]

I cannot believe how cheap, by principle, Maruti has been all the while. Never have I heard about an automobile manufacturer harping about mileage figures and yet conveniently compromising on its structural integrity. These tin cans are basically ticking time bombs on our streets. I have seen umpteen Omnis packed with innocent school children. I really feel sorry for them and pray nothing un towards happen to them.

I am simply running out of adjectives to describe Maruti which compromises safety for profit.

Proudly anti-Maruti under any cost. I would rather be without a car than to buy a tin can.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by arunramaswamy

I have seen umpteen Omnis packed with innocent school children.

Although I share your concern - I would also like to point out that the Omni has lived on for almost 30 years because there were simply no alternatives. Even I've seen Omni vans full of school children, but then the other alternatives I've seen are rickshaws, with their open body structure, three wheels and even lesser regard for safety. Even something as modern and 2018 as the Bajaj Qute probably wont fare any better than the Omni.

Omni was successful because it offered the maximum space for the least money. Coupled with a very reliable, efficient motor and RWD - it could be used for a variety of applications - the most important of which being rural transport.

However - I'm not surprised it can't meet the new crash norms. The car doesn't crumble to protect the occupants here - the crumble was the car. Omni still does decent volumes, so they may plan to migrate that market to the Eeco, or may be some new product derived from the SuperCarry.

[Amartya]

Originally Posted by arunramaswamy

I cannot believe how cheap, by principle, Maruti has been all the while...
These tin cans are basically ticking time bombs on our streets. I have seen umpteen Omnis packed with innocent school children. ...

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Although I share your concern - I would also like to point out that the Omni has lived on for almost 30 years because there were simply no alternatives. Even I've seen Omni vans full of school children, but then the other alternatives I've seen are rickshaws, with their open body structure, three wheels and even lesser regard for safety. Even something as modern and 2018 as the Bajaj Qute probably wont fare any better than the Omni.

This is why government regulation is so important. Without legislation, manufacturers by themselves would hesitate to give up money making products and it ends up being a race to the bottom. Government action can level the playing field somewhat.

Unfortunately, we are laggards when it comes to safety or health related legislation. The Bajaj Qute getting approved to ply on our streets as a quadricycle is a travesty. People ought to wear helmets while traveling in it.

[HighwayofLife]

Originally Posted by DicKy

I know there are a lot of members who are going to say good riddance.

But I do feel, it was one of the iconic cars that India has seen. Nothing can be more evident than the sales figures and long production run it had, and the versatile role it played in society.

Absolutely good riddance. This vehicle has been responsible for horrible accidents. There are videos online where this car has been side-swiped by another vehicle and it opens up like a can, causing worse injury to occupants who fall out of the vehicle.

Nothing iconic about it- this vehicle and the Maruti 800 are testimony for how much Maruti has taken the Indian public for a ride (literally and figuratively), by producing unsafe cars for so long. This is all the more shameful considering the government of India had and continues to have stake in this company

[amtak]

I think, it was about time. Having said that, Maruti will perhaps launch an Omni version of the Carry with a diesel engine.

[Tapish]

Originally Posted by HighwayofLife

Nothing iconic about it- this vehicle and the Maruti 800 are testimony for how much Maruti has taken the Indian public for a ride (literally and figuratively), by producing unsafe cars for so long.

Originally Posted by arunramaswamy

Proudly anti-Maruti under any cost. I would rather be without a car than to buy a tin can.

That is because Arun you can afford to be without a car. There are millions in India who don't have an alternative. There are Vikrams plying as shared autos in NCR, leave aside the rest of the country and so many people rely on them to get to work on time. Its easy for us privileged lot to say that ban Vikram, ban rickshaw & ban Omni because we can afford the cars with required safety. Even if the government bans them, the people will not be able to afford the higher alternative and settle with something even more unsafe.

[am1m]

Mixed emotions. I learned how to drive in an Omni in '97. We used that car extensively while we were building our house to carry bags of cement and stuff. Since the locality those days was a deserted one, I used to return from work, put one of our dogs inside the car and drive to the under-construction site to sleep there at night. I don't think either of our big dogs back then could fit into any other small car.

Before that, that car took me and my roomate with all our luggage from Bangalore to Manipal when we were going to college. Also had the car with me for about six months in college. Drove it between Manipal and Mangalore, remember hitting 90-odd (on the odo) on that highway. The car fully loaded with college buddies also made it up the Agumbe ghat road!

But yeah, it's about time it was discontinued. It was certainly unsafe. No debate about that.

It's easy to dismiss the Omni when one has the luxury of all the models available today, with the income levels and bank loans available to buy better cars today and the availability of Uber/Ola. But as many have pointed out, it suited a purpose back then and did it well.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by DicKy

I know there are a lot of members who are going to say good riddance.

But I do feel, it was one of the iconic cars that India has seen. Nothing can be more evident than the sales figures and long production run it had, and the versatile role it played in society.

Good riddance, no doubt. It would be truly iconic had Maruti done something to keep the car modern and in line with today's technology. Barring some fancy stickers and headlights, doubt there's anything different from the first iteration.

Originally Posted by Tapish

That is because Arun you can afford to be without a car. There are millions in India who don't have an alternative. There are Vikrams plying as shared autos in NCR, leave aside the rest of the country and so many people rely on them to get to work on time. Its easy for us privileged lot to say that ban Vikram, ban rickshaw & ban Omni because we can afford the cars with required safety. Even if the government bans them, the people will not be able to afford the higher alternative and settle with something even more unsafe.

Sorry, but there can't be different rules for different people. An auto, if rated for three passengers, should only carry three passengers, regardless how poor the driver is. Although small, such steps (of discontinuing Omni) are extremely necessary. We have miles to go in terms of assuring safe transportation: be it vehicles, infrastructure or regulation.

[SJM1214]

34 years! An unsafe car survived for more than 34 years. It's one the best utility vehicle. Personal car, cargo van, school van, mobile canteen, ambulance and one of the best car to kidnap someone due to its sliding doors(Reference Bollywood movies).

The flat front lacks structural integrity. I have driven this car many times and never felt confident in the pilot seat. I never drove it above 60kmph. Omni survived these many years because of the lack of a proper alternative as well as the non-existence of safety norms.

It's good to see that a major Car- maker have to discontinue their well-known product due to safety norms.

[chaudh2s]

Shame on all the people spewing venom on a veteran icon. Am sure these are the same people who shame their elders for not being tech savvy and not ready for Industry 4.0, etc. etc.. I'd like to ask them, which car sold in 1983 was NCAP certified? Leave 1983, even 30 years later in 2013, how many cars sold in India were NCAP certified? And even if Maruti had gone out of the way and launched a Euro NCAP 5 star rated M-800 in 1983 at INR 2L (opposed to 40K INR), how many would have bought it? The company would have got closed in 1 year.

Mind you, a car is a commodity built by a manufacturer on his terms, and to keeping his cash registers in green. If you see value in it, buy it, if you don't see value, don't buy. They are not here to do community service. If Maruti hadn't launched cars in India at whatever price it did in 1983, am sure more people would have lost their lives, travelling in Matadors, Scooters and other unsafe means of transport available back then.

[PearlJam]

I agree with @chaudh2s's points, though he's been a bit too harsh .

By today's standards, the Omni need to be discontinued, absolutely no doubts about that, and there is no debate on this. Roads today have vastly improved, hence the average speeds too have increased, especially on the highways. Hence the Omni deserves no place on the highways today.

But we also need to see this from a historical perspective. The Maruti Van, as it was called then, along with the Maruti 800, provided an excellent, *relatively* safe, and super reliable alternative for the Indian middle class in the cities back then. Traffic was sparse, highways weren't too good for higher speeds, and there were no other choices that people mentioned above. I'm sure many of us remember the short fun trips to the beaches or parks, with 10 kids packed together . In general, few people cared about safety back then - remember climbing trees or walls, no safety gear riding cycles, etc?

Let's not trash this 34 year old car (or van) just because it doesn't meet the safety norms of today, since we can't really compare points from two different eras.