Photographs from Auto Expo – 2014

DC Tia
DC had a great stand, but the whole stand was out of reach of people/

Auto Expo has moved places, this time literally over 40 KMs if not more. This time the venue is Greater Noida – Expo grounds. Yes, there are crowds and these all pictures are from business hours, at business hour crowd includes kids in strollers.

Let us begin the show with vintage first. This beauty was standing at the Chevy stand, of course it was much admired and loved. This vintage had a young & gleaming girl in gold standing next to it.

Vintage Classic
Old Is Gold

A pair of hot wheels need no be accompanied by a pair of hot legs, but Hyundai thinks it helps. Overheard two young girls to each other, “boys have a tough one out here, whose curves are better car or the candy’s?” India is changing for sure, at least vocab is.

Hot wheels - fair marketing
Spice it up

Display/ description boards were too close to cars, taking clean photographs was truly a challenge. I did try to find my way through it and focused more on detail than on the generic car in itself. Cheek by jowl in this case doesn’t work.

Jaguar at AutoExpo
Cheek by jowl with description board is a big NO

There is so much to notice in a Jaguar that one doesn’t know where to begin from and when to stop.  I have tried to take as much detail as my feet would allow me to manage and this one is one of those which i am going to cherish for a long time.

 

Jaguar at Auto Expo
There is so much to notice in a Jag

If the wheel doesn’t mesmerize you the dashboard would, or shall we say the cockpit. It is just waiting for one to get it going. Clustering can be overpowering but it looks so friendly.

Jag lets you drive
Hold it light, let it drive

A Jag within a Jag, the tail light looks like inspired by the car itself. Its curves are nothing short of sketch of the cars contours. Jag F Type in dolor red looks stunningly beautiful and moving from one detail to the other is a pleasure.

Jaguar F Type
Look closely – It is an inverted Jaguar

Every six inches on a Jaguar their is a Jaguar. I am sure there would be at least 100 plus body notes and embedding on the vehicle and still it doesn’t look imposed on you. I just wish to see more and more of it.

Jaguar
It is Jaguar all over

Jags would be jags and each Jag is bound to set its own standard for being respected on the road. This Jaguar CX 17 has been developed to announce itself. It dominates, road presence is extremely powerful and it is totally compromised. This car is as bold a statement as corporate jets would like to make. Admiration!

Jaguar CX 17 Auto Expo
Roaring Road Presence

Maruti Suzuki is convinced if Ambassador car can be alive and kicking in today’s time and world the Maruti van of 1987-88 can seel like hot cakes and coffee. In another avatar of the Maruti van, Maruti Suzuki converts it into a “cafe on wheels.”  Not a bad take, though.

Business on wheels
The Maruti Van of 1987-1988, lives on

While Maruti struggles to keep Omni an omni present vehicle efforts are on to add to the segments Maruti can rule. India seriously needs a crossover and I liked this very bold attempt by Maruti to develop a crossover around SX4. It looks good and is definitely one of the cars I would consider if I am looking for a car in that segment.

SX-4 Cross Over
SX-4 Cross Over looks good

Maruti Suzuki needs at least 5 more serious cars to maintain its lead in the Indian market, it has done well so far but for it to continue doing exceedingly well its portfolio has to become bigger and better covering each segment. Suzuki Ciaz is one such attempt and a serious one at that. Car looks good and maybe would be aimed at Rs 10,00,000/- to Rs 15,00,000/- segment. Suzuki has no presence in this segment and Suzuki’s ill-fated Kizashi was not on display either.

Suzuki Ciaz
Suzuki’s Answer To Its Middle Band Crisis?

One of  serious skill sets which Maruti Suzuki has is, they really know how to mess in the SUV segment. They have never been able to get the Vitara right. First they had Vitara, then it became Grand Vitara and finally it is becoming Grand Vitara Luxion, God Bless!

Grand Vitara Luxicon
Can Maruti Suzuki Ever Get This Right?

Just three letters, B.M.W define and redefine quite a few perceptions and contexts. Here on display was the sensational debut car BMW i* which was launched by none other than master blaster Sachin Tendulkar. There were long queues to see this beauty and why not, it looked extremely attractive and displayed a creatively worked upon silhouette. Worth a look and great admiration would naturally follow.

BMW i8
Brilliance on Display

It is the positioning which BMW is known for and would love to be known for it always. BMW z4 sDrive 35i is a few mouthful for a model name but BMW is convinced that this particular car is born to compete and destined for glory. And glory be to it.

BMW Z4 sDrive 35i
BMW – Born to compete

It is not just about cars, it is also about awesome presentations. Ford had almost 100 feet long theater panel and awesome videos playing on it. Messages were lod and clear and images were mapped perfectly.

Great Presentations
Yes, it is not just about awesome cars

Jags would be jags and each Jag is bound to set its own standard for being respected on the road. This Jaguar CX 17 has been developed to announce itself. It dominates, road presence is extremely powerful and it is totally compromised. This car is as bold a statement as corporate jets would like to make. Admiration!

The house of Tatas is so close to people that i has to reflect somewhere in everything they do. They have a vestibule bus which brings smile and keeps on bringing them till you are in that area. Amazing commitment to people and products reflects.

It is a motor show
Tata Stand was all happy, happy.

Count the heads, two middle rows have two folded seats. Totals up to 11. Yes, it is an 11 seater by Ssangyong – A Mahindra Group Company based out of Korea. Does India have a market for a car like this? Would this vehicle be configured differently for India, team Mahindra was silent on all of that. It is a wait and watch till then.

Ssangyong
Is it an MPV or a people carrier?

 

Looking at a red Chevrolet Corvette and that also brand new, latest on the roads is soul energizing. It is like desire on steroids. I can do a whole post on this, but to begin with let us just do a teaser.

A Cult Car
Corvette, Corvette, 2014 Corvette

You can hear them roaring and the shockers absorbing it real hard to get you that awesome drive. It was a great experience getting close to this blue Yamaha which was finished for those who live distinctly if not differently.

Yamaha
Getting Close With Yamaha

All cars can dream to be like this, amazingly poised, brilliantly smiling, aesthetically designed and above all mildly stated elegance. I was hooked on to this for quite some time. It looks so neat, just out of a design studio straight to the auto-expo. It claims to be a fully blown concept and not a production piece.

Audi Quattro Sports
Every Car Would Aspire To Look Like This

 

 

The MRF stand was looking very aesthetically designed, it was reflecting the stature of the player and marking its presence with its all strength. The tyre marks on the “road” were a great touch.

MRF - being their boldly
MRF moves motors

Mercedes has a way with India and India has always reciprocated. Last decade has been throwing pointers that things are changing, they are drifting apart, looks like India’s romance with the three pointed star is slowly but surely losing its intensity. Here in this picture I have tried to cover that sync which has existed between India and Mercedes always, moving together in harmony.

Mercedes - The Three Pointed Star
Moving together – Symphony

Dilip Chabaria has been at it for decades and his Avanti is of course the most stunning sitting car at the show. Why I say it is a sitting car is the fact that launched two years back, it isn’t in for production yet. DC Design is confident that it would be all set to go beyond the mannequin stage later this year. Let us see.

Avanti by DC
Avanti – Stunning & Sitting

There is so much to see, challenge is in drawing attention and if that require sticking a car to the wall, so be it. Cars have been disected, put on the walls and their engines pulled out, anythings as long as it gets noticed.

Car on the wall
It is all about drawing attention.

DC Design was a big flop, what is the point in having a grand stand and not allowing anyone to come close to any of your cars, ridiculous.

DC Tia
DC had a great stand, but the whole stand was out of reach of people

Smiles have a unique way to connect and the larger they are better they connect, Hyundai decided to make larger than life size connects with smile and it showed. I was glad that I could capture this picture in its character as intended by its visualizer.

Auto Expo Coverage
Smiles Connect Us For Life

Range Rover is known for making you go for it, and the process begins from lights. Whosoever has seen a Range Rover approaching knows that it is magic playing on the road, the details which are drilled through while designing these lights, light up night and ensure that not only its path is cleared but its presence is also loved.

Range Rover Lamps
Not Just Clustering

 

Ford has been battling with its Fiesta brand in India since 2006, have they got success? No, they haven’t and reasons are not tough to find. They don’t sell as smart as Hyundai and they have a perception that their cars just don’t know how to save fuel. Here what I saw was the third incarnation of Ford Fiesta in India, I liked it and I also liked the fact that they were marketing it well and talking about fuel efficiency.

Ford Fiesta
Looking unlike Ford

Tatas have been trying to place a vehicle at every entry point, Venture and Aria are two which haven’t been registered by users at all. Repositioning Venture is not a bad idea, and they may succeed eventually.

Tata Venture opens opportunities, it is a cool concept
Tata Venture opens opportunities, it is a cool concept

Say Hello to Halo! It looks like the punchline for the new electric car under development by Mahindra. Mahindra wants to ensure that they emerge as a big player in Electric Car segment and Halo looks like its version 2.0 for the battle, it is still an early stage prototype and the real vehicle can be very different. from what has been shown here.

Halo by Mahindra
Say Hello to Halo

 

The Adra is stunning and promises to be affordable. This car is a big crowd puller and if Chevy really works hard it can give Ford Ecosport & Duster night-glares to say the least.

The Adra
Stunning & Affordable

Harley Davidson Motor Cycles don’t need exposed, high-heeled beautiful legs to attract potential customers. The whole stand was as masculine as it can get and it was all about people who live life on their terms.

 

Harley Davidson
Harley Doesn’t Need Beautiful Exposed Legs

Reanult wants the whole world to know that they are beyond Duster and Fluence, they choose to paste it straight on the wall. Renault means different things to different people and an active sports car lineage helps.

Lotus on the wall
Renault wants to be seen beyond Duster

 

I want to be the one who is flashing this lights and lighting up the night sky. I want to be the one who is setting the whole road on fire. What a detail and a great coordination of what exactly should be placed where.  Just awesome.

 

Moto Guzi at AutoExpo
Count the Details

 

 

It is India Auto expo, how can it be complete without Nukad Nataks. I saw this one going on importance of traffic rules, was funny 🙂

Action on many fronts
And there were roadside plays

More to come 🙂

 

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