Ready for a roaring start? Do with a mini

Published in the Deepavali special supplement
October, 2006

By Francis P Barclay

MAKE this festival a roaring start with a vrooom as you rev the engine. Driving a car is always a pleasure and owning one is no more a dream for a middle-class bloke. It has all been made so easy thanks to the myriad schemes offered by manufacturers who are facing a cut-throat competition.
Want to own one? Yes, this is the best time to buy with so many special offers.
The four-wheeler companies are pulling up their socks to make their vehicles affordable to the common man. Cars are available for as low as Rs 2 lakh. This festival season is marked by a spurt in the buying trend as manufacturers and retailers have come out with special offers and discounts to woo customers. The buying-spree in this domain started a fortnight back.
Coimbatore being a conservative market, auto dealers are offering free accessories, discounts and gifts.
Discounts are up to Rs 15,000 for a Rs 2.18-lakh car. It's even more when one exchanges his/her old car.
Showroom managers are encouraged by the jump in the sales this month. For Prakash, senior manager (sales) of Ambal Autos, a person with an annual income equalling the price of a car is a potential buyer.
With the boom in the industry sector, the affordability has increased, he points out.
``Small cars are additional family vehicles and not necessarily the replacement of two-wheelers,'' he says.
He beholds safety as the main reason for people prefering cars to two-wheelers. Seat belts and collapsible steering columns are among the safety features. India is becoming a small car manufacturing hub and myriad
small industries and people are dependent on this sector. Car manufacturers strictly follow the emission norms, he adds.
Says Vasudev of Hyundai Chandra: ``We received about 60 bookings this month alone.''
People, nowadays, prefer mini cars to two-wheelers, he points out. The profile of the customers is highly varied. Riding a car is safer than going on a two-wheeler.
``You can buy a car without spending even a single rupee. Certain banks offer such schemes for purchasing a car. Normally, the banks offer loans up to 85 percent of the vehicle cost,'' he says.
The feel-good-factor and the ads being bombarded through media also compel one to go in for a mini, he says. The purchasing power of the people in cities has increased with the advent of software firms and buying a car is
no more a dream.
There are small cars which give mileage up to 20 kmpl. Diesel cars further reduce the fuel expense. LPG-run cars are bound to be cheaper with regard to fuel cost, but there is no LPG refill station in the city, he points out.
``The quality aspect of cars is getting better day-by-day, with leaders like Volks Wagon and Renault set to enter the market. Cars with more power, acceleration, safety features and luxirious interiors are to come in the
near future,'' he adds.