[no_boundaries]

Love this thread !!

Here goes mine -

1. 3 Cylinder engines are dumb and car makers must really push for 4 cylinders through and through - Turbo or Non Turbo engines

2. Car Makers - Shed your inhibitions and tune up the car for better performance and safety than the outgoing models, you are going backwards in evolution with engines weaker than outgoing models

3. Cars with Safety ratings less than 2 stars must be banned immediately and those lobbying this must be charged criminally (WHoop !! A big one there)

4. BRING BACK BLACK CARS !!

5. If a driver doesn't understand the scientific aspect of the road rules and machine operating responsibilities stay away from operating any machine

There I said it !!

[da3mn]

Features such as sunroofs, wireless charging pads, heads-up displays, automatic headlights, automatic wipers, and electronic parking brakes are not worth the long-term reliability issues they may introduce to a car.

And sadly and hypocritically my next car is most probably going to have every one of them.

[ZenMaster]

Absolutely love this thread!

Here goes my list:

1. 70% of the drivers in our country are idiots(driving-wise). They'd be in jail if it was a different country. They don't have anything needed to be good driver, be it spacial awareness, knowledge of the rules, driving courtesy etc.

Most of these people only know how to operate a vehicle and that's it.

2. The same goes for a large portion of pedestrians who couldn't care less about their own safety and think they are entitled to jump into the middle of the road and car users should compensate them for anything that happens because of their stupidity.

3. Driving standards of car drivers becomes worse as we move from south India to North India, whereas it becomes better in the case of Truck and Bus drivers. (Private bus drivers in my home state of Kerala are the worst)

4. The Headlamps used in the Honda Activa and Bajaj Dominar should be banned. It's worse than flashing lasers directly into you eye.

[RRM]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Virtue signaling of safety ratings: In the last few years it has become fashionable to virtue signal high safety ratings and sneer at 0-rated cars. A 5-star won't keep you alive. Not getting into that spot will. Driving safety is 99.99% not getting into a dangerous spot.

Bulls eye. Absolutely right. I was about to write on the similar lines. Tx for covering it. It’s good to have 5* rating but shouldn’t be THE requirement, as max of India's public drive at way above the speed the vehicle was tested for! Your are the driver and on the ground and know the road conditions well to manage the drive

Reduce the usage of sensors and software dependency

[Toni]

Originally Posted by no_boundaries

Love this thread !!

Here goes mine -

1. 3 Cylinder engines are dumb and car makers must really push for 4 cylinders through and through - Turbo or Non Turbo engines

2. Car Makers - Shed your inhibitions and tune up the car for better performance and safety than the outgoing models, you are going backwards in evolution with engines weaker than outgoing models

3. Cars with Safety ratings less than 2 stars must be banned immediately and those lobbying this must be charged criminally (WHoop !! A big one there)

4. BRING BACK BLACK CARS !!

5. If a driver doesn't understand the scientific aspect of the road rules and machine operating responsibilities stay away from operating any machine

There I said it !!

Yes I agree with you in all your mentioned points.

Driving a four cylinder or above cars feels driving a matured and refined car. I am always for strong engine car. As per my opinion, a car should be at least 3 star safety rating.

[Toni]

Originally Posted by ZenMaster

Absolutely love this thread!

Here goes my list:

1. 70% of the drivers in our country are idiots(driving-wise). They'd be in jail if it was a different country. They don't have anything needed to be good driver, be it spacial awareness, knowledge of the rules, driving courtesy etc.

Most of these people only know how to operate a vehicle and that's it.

2. The same goes for a large portion of pedestrians who couldn't care less about their own safety and think they are entitled to jump into the middle of the road and car users should compensate them for anything that happens because of their stupidity.

3. Driving standards of car drivers becomes worse as we move from south India to North India, whereas it becomes better in the case of Truck and Bus drivers. (Private bus drivers in my home state of Kerala are the worst)

4. The Headlamps used in the Honda Activa and Bajaj Dominar should be banned. It's worse than flashing lasers directly into you eye.

You are absolutley right. I have similar views too. Just want to add that any vehicle driven with Laser, high capacity LED lights should be banned in the city limits.

[sreerknair]

Few I can think of -

1. Despite the chaos, driving a car in India is much enjoyable than driving on the freeways of developed countries (provided you are not in hurry and you have abundant time to complete a trip)

2. It shocks me when someone says - don't touch the car while washing and drying that even a microfiber cloth will scratch the paint. Damn, it is a car after all, and not a newborn premature baby !!

3. Many who give opinion about cars on public forums (including TBHP) are under 20 who has not yet seen cars in practical life/world other than YouTube videos or Parent's/Friends fancy cars or Test drives. We call them "Car Enthusiasts".

4. Car and safety are always relative

[Kxar07]

Though fun to drive, the non-autonomous cars are likely to see serious decline in a decade or so. The assisted-safety tech is going to slowly replace the old school drive machines.

And I think it is for the good.

Mainly, as we do need some technology to link driving habits to traffic and lane violations that are too numerous to count, detect, and penalize. I pray for the day when the car uploads all such violations, with their proper context, to the RTO and the person gets penalized.

So, doing a quick break-check and launch on an empty stretch, identified as "non-proximal traffic zone" doesn't get a ticket. But someone doing that on a highway or busy lane is taken off the road for a few days.

Hope drivers get better before we see that, to be absolutely honest. But I don't see that happening.

[shyampsunder]

Here are my two cents after owning and driving 20k+ KMs on an EV (80%+ highways)

Having driven Honda's 2.0l i-VTEC engine for more than a decade and trying out a friend's VW diesel engine, I don't find anything fun in driving an ICE anymore.

The moment I turn on a diesel engine, I feel something is wrong with the car with the Diesel clutter and noise.

Petrol engine disappoints with the lack of low-end torque which is desperately needed on our roads where we constantly have to slow down.

The punch of the electric motor is addictive and I have no intentions of ever buying another ICE vehicle even if I have to pay a 2x premium in operating costs.

[GautamJ]

More than FASTag being mandatory following should be made mandatory :-

• Dashcams
• Glass Breaker and Seatbelt cutter

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

A lot has been written on this very apt and much needed thread. I will try and avoid repeating points already made. I'll also avoid going into existential questions of whether cars are needed or not and where they fit into the overall road transport and instead stick to cars themselves.

So here goes.....

Ahhh! The bliss of writing on a thread with no retaliation. Vrrroooomm here are some more.

How much bhp do we need? What do we really need to lug our 70 kgs backsides around town at an average speed of 30 kmph. Do we really need 150 bhp? No sireeee all we need is 30 to 50 bhp to carry 4 backsides weighing say 280 kgs at 40 to 60 kmph comfortably. That is why cars in the 1920s and even the 1950s had power ratings in that range including our very own Hindustan Ambassador, Premier Padmini and Standard Herald. All horsepower above that is merely for acceleration & speed & ego*. In the bad old days we could cruise our Padmini's with 4 adults and a couple of bags at 60 kmph on the less impressive highways we had then. And if there were only two passengers one could cruise at 75 kmph. I'll confess coaxing the old girl beyond 80 kmph on a sustained basis could be dream sequence.

Putting this point down to indicate how overpowered our cars are these days.

Taxation slabs: Indirect taxation slabs in India should be on car lengths - first slab for cars below 3.6 metres in length; then 3.6 to 4.0 with a much higher rate; and finally 4.0 to 4.4 at a still much higher rate. And finally cars above 4.4 metres in length should be not permitted to be made or sold in India*. Given the narrow roads of our cities and given we are the 4th most densely populated large country in the world space is a resource we need to conserve.

Racing a low powered car: Who says you need 100bhp or 150 bhp to have fun driving fast. What is driving fast afterall - is it gliding effortlessly at 120 kmph in an air conditioned car with nary a rattle or shake or squeak out of the car like my Volvo C40? Or is it driving at 70 kmph with the chassis rattling, the wind blowing in your face, the car swaying from side to side, the engine screeching like my long gone Padmini and with you feeling like 007?

*Please note: author of this post is a hypocrite who does not practise what he preaches being the owner of a 400bhp EV and a 200 bhp Hybrid, both over 4.4 metres in length

[Raghu M]

Originally Posted by ike

Wasn't the WRV a done up Jazz? Just my thought, not looking for a debate as pointed out in the opening post.

• BTW the statement I hear the most is how "European" cars are very different and why once you drive a VAG a non European car is a "downgrade". Now they say VAG 2.0 isn't good enough for people who are used to the earlier standards
  
• I still go back and read the Ford exit thread and laugh reading how some people were saying we don't deserve good cars and good OEMs. Ford was a one trick pony that had ONE successful car at any point in time. The fiesta initially, the figo and then the Ecosport. Endeavour never sold in massive numbers anyway to keep their India operations alive.
  

Spot on! The Ford exit thread was a jaw dropping and eye brow raising one while I read comments on how great the company was and that Indians don't deserve such great brands!

[Raghu M]

Close the car door and say that thud is reassuring. There is no way you can tell how safe a car is by closing the doors. Stop giving those statements during car reviews.

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by Raghu M

Close the car door and say that thud is reassuring. There is no way you can tell how safe a car is by closing the doors. Stop giving those statements during car reviews.

Adding on to this: there is now an entire acoustic engineering division dedicated to making doors sound good while closing because of how much people trust this. It means nothing anymore.

[2000rpm]

1. Dashcams need to be factory standard.
2. WagonR drivers are typically a nuisance on highways (60 in 1st lane on expressway, no skill to overtake on single lanes resulting in choking of lines behind trailers, poor indicator manners).
3. EVs are the best solution for climate change (hydrogen, maybe).
4. FastTag implementation has many frauds than there have been highlighted.
5. Driving post age of 70, should be highly discouraged.
6. The CIVIC (8th GEN) was the best looking mass market sedan ever launched in India.
7. Riding rules from Chandigarh (full pants and shoes mandatory) really make sense.
8. I am glad that the Tata Nano failed, a successful Nano would had led to very very congested unlivable roads all over India.