[Guna]

Originally Posted by D'Artagnan

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with you.
Let us say two of tbhpians are traveling in two amaze.
1. One of them (A) has filled his boot with 20kgs worth traveling luggage
2. The other (B) has his boot empty
3. Both of them are traveling at a constant speed of 100kmph when they need to brake suddenly.
4. (A) will have more traction compared to (B) because of the additional weight at the boot resulting in better braking and less stopping distance. (A's) amaze won't nose dive also.

What you are not taking in to consideration is, more weight means more inertia, which means more braking force required to bring down the speed.

[ananth_iy]

Autos.maxabout has published a pricelist for the various models. It goes from 5.5L for the base petrol version to 8L for the petrol automatic and 6.5L for the base 8.5L for the diesel variants. If these are the showroom prices, do you think Honda has just made another pricing boo-boo? I think so.

[sgiitk]

Wait another day, all will be revealed (officially at that). I am surprised that the Kanpur dealer has not yet called me for the launch.

[Coolman]

A day away from launch, excitement peaks...

Honda's first diesel in India, and a small one at that. Definitely a big launch in India!!!

For Honda, to make early inroads, pricing will be the key. Presuming Honda India has learnt from the past (read Jazz pricing), I believe a lot of maths has been done as homework.

Based on how the Brio was placed, priced and received (sales clocking a decent 2.5K to ~ 4K units every month for the last 6 months, remember - this is petrol only), and considering the fact that the Amaze as a sedan is based on Brio, I expect the pricing to be strategic and at the same time be very competitive as well.

Taking into consideration how the Swift, the Dzire and the Brio are priced, here is a view of how the Amaze pricing should look like or rather "might" look like.



Note: Pricing for Automatic Variants not depicted here.

Disclaimer: The above projection has been arrived at, based on what I think will be a win-win situation for Honda and the market and is for illustration purpose only.

Thanks,
C_

[StarScream]

Originally Posted by jaibir

To me, not having a CD player is a big negative. For my main system at home, I mainly use CDs . Ripping all that to MP3 just to listen in the car seems like a big waste of time to me. While I agree that a lot of car systems dont really see any extra benefit from CDs, doing away with the option to play them altogether in an OEM sytem seems to be taking things too far.

If you were to rip only to listen in the car, then yes. But in my opinion most people have already ripped their CDs to ipods or other devices for portability, travel, size etc. So plugging that device into the car is not a big deal. I too listen to CDs at home or digital files through an external DAC. But I also have an ipod to take my music along when I travel and that is what I plug into the car. Hence, no CD player in the car is not a deal breaker.

[agambhandari]

About the CD player debate, you would have to put in much better speakers to distinguish between the two qualities.

If the person can afford to spend enough to upgrade the Sound System, the person can probably buy a car of the higher segment.

Brio(and Amaze) have been built to a cost and for the mass market. Most of us find CD's to be clunky and difficult to handle and thus its omission in many recent Hondas

[rock75]

LOL. so much discussion over CDs! Majority of the customers don't use CDs anyways so it does not matter. In my personal experience, CDs get damaged faster than the tapes did, though it was supposed to be otherwise. Anyone who still prefers to use CDs can change the music system.

Most of the manufacturers announce price only at the time of introduction, what you hear before that is only a guess, so wait for tomorrow.

[vasanthn21]

Happened to see an Amaze being driven spiritedly, cutting across lanes and other vehicles, zipping through traffic on Kanakapura road around 10.30 am this morning.

My guess is that the showroom driver is taking the vehicle from the stockyard on Kanakapura road (near Khodays call center) to Magnum Honda which is about 5 kms from the stockyard.

Thankfully the distance is less between the stockyard and the showroom. I would not like my new Amaze to be driven this way before it was handed over to me!

[shabash]

Originally Posted by Coolman

A day away from launch, excitement peaks...

Can't sleep only properly in the night

Originally Posted by Coolman

Taking into consideration how the Swift, the Dzire and the Brio are priced, here is a view of how the Amaze pricing should look like or rather "might" look like.

Attachment 1071709

I expect the pricing of the Amaze VX (Top End variant) to be inline with Swift Vxi and Vdi repectively for the Petrol and Diesel variant. If Honda prices it Higher than that, then I think the Car will not clock big numbers, let alone taking customers away from the DZire. I can vouch for this as the maximum sale of DZire is for the middle versions and not the top-end ones. Then again there is the challenge that Honda has better Safety equipment, which is considered a premium in India

Anyway I will be very happy if the top-end spec is available for 30-40K lesser than the on-road price of top-end spec of DZire, that translates to something just below 9 lacs.

[Coolman]

Originally Posted by vasanthn21

Happened to see an Amaze being driven spiritedly, cutting across lanes and other vehicles, zipping through traffic on Kanakapura road around 10.30 am this morning.

Attachment 1071746

Attachment 1071747

In these pictures, the rear profile of Amaze bears a considerable resemblance to the Dzire rear! What say?

Thanks,
C_

[S_U_N]

Originally Posted by shabash

Anyway I will be very happy if the top-end spec is available for 30-40K lesser than the on-road price of top-end spec of DZire, that translates to something just below 9 lacs.

Very unlikely. Imagine Amaze getting sold in volumes similar to the DZire. Will Honda be able to handle these volumes with production constraints? Can it handle service volumes like Maruti?

[thiagust]

Originally Posted by ananth_iy

Autos.maxabout has published a pricelist for the various models. It goes from 5.5L for the base petrol version to 8L for the petrol automatic and 6.5L for the base 8.5L for the diesel variants. If these are the showroom prices, do you think Honda has just made another pricing boo-boo? I think so.

If it is going to be priced as above, I'm not sure whether they would be able to do sell huge numbers. But on the other hand the pricing could be to ensure Amaze does not end up selling huge numbers as cabs.

[thiagust]

Originally Posted by Coolman

In these pictures, the rear profile of Amaze bears a considerable resemblance to the Dzire rear! What say?

Thanks,
C_

YES. IMHO Still the overall looks are well thought off and balanced unlike dzire which looks as if it has been hit from behind. The chrome is a bit overdone for me.
Eagerly waiting for the launch tomorrow and the td later this week

[shabash]

Originally Posted by S_U_N

Very unlikely. Imagine Amaze getting sold in volumes similar to the DZire. Will Honda be able to handle these volumes with production constraints? Can it handle service volumes like Maruti?

But what about the 2500 Crores that they have decided to invest. What about the total production capacity being upped to 240000 cars a year essentially double from the current. Where are the volumes coming from ? Not from City and higher end ones. It is either Brio (Read Bree-o) or Amaze.

Also I do not think Honda will be able to steal all customers from Maruti. So assuming they can steal 50%, the number of vehicles should stand at around 8 to 10K per month with the remaining capacity going to the other models. Of course Honda's expectation will be that ultimately they would be able to optimally utilize their capacity (read 80-90 % loading). As you probably know their current capacity is under-utilized (50-60 % max) which is not a very happy scenario anyways.

[D'Artagnan]

Originally Posted by thiagust

If it is going to be priced as above, I'm not sure whether they would be able to do sell huge numbers. But on the other hand the pricing could be to ensure Amaze does not end up selling huge numbers as cabs.

You've got a point, I do not like it when cab drivers purchase a vehicle I like. It reduces the flamboyance of the vehicle and diminishes its value in the eyes of the consumer. I do not see a lot of the new Dzire cabs although there are quite a few number of the old ones, the verito has been labeled a cabbies car only the Innova is an all time favourite of owners even though its the cabbies favourite.

Pricing higher might end up as a double edged sword chances are that consumers might end up thinking "the price is high and its new in the market Maruti is tried and tested, better to buy that" even though it'll keep cab drivers at bay. But looking at the car, the lackadaisical dashboard design, the side quarter lines and those thin tyres makes you think "hmmm, is this meant for me or for someone without penchant for love of design".