I’m a petrol head at heart. It’s all about horsepower and grip and apexes for me. I believe diesel is for old people, hot hatches are civilizations greatest gift to man, even saying the word Prius is sacrilege and that Ferraris happen when God is in the mood to make babies. It is a different story though that I currently have a pre-owned Maruti Alto, which is also my first car. But hey that doesn’t dampen my enthusiasm at the lights or when I make my way up and down a twisty hill side. Yes it is a different fact altogether that I have to turn the air conditioning off and literally stand on the throttle for 3 days for anything remotely significant to happen. But hitting the apex and powering out of a corner is when I am the happiest. Hence, if and when I am a prospective car buyer, what I would look for in a car is how it looks, how fast it goes, how well it corners and if it has enough space for some stuff and another person. I even don’t mind paying a premium for these features if they make the options list. This will be a good time though to mention that paying this premium that I’m on about may just be a slight bit of an issue. This is considering the fact that I can barely put together the dough to pay for the base version of a new vehicle at the present time. It’s no surprise then that you will have to scan the classifieds to find the next buys that I have lined up. But no matter! First, the 1.6 Fiat Palio. I mean 100 bhp for less than 2 lakh Rupees, in a hatch!!! That’s not bad at all eh? Then in a couple of years I would like to graduate to a Skoda Octavia VRS. These cars have been revered by Indian petrol heads for years. So, as the enthusiast that I pretend to be, am I really missing out on the Indian new car market? I am a middle class man with a middle class job that pays me enough to survive and yet afford a few luxuries here and there. Safe to say then that I could afford to push the envelope on the budget, that I would allocate to a new car buy, to a healthy 8 to 10 lakh Rupees. What have been my options thus far then? The petrol hatchback segment has barely ever had any names worth mentioning that accommodated my tastes. All I was left with were fat under powered saloons that ride soft, seat 5 comfortably and boast of great mileage figures. The fact that proper drivers’ cars are available in a comparable price range if I were abroad doesn’t do anything to better my already dampened spirit. For my money I could have had a thumping new Fiesta or a Swift sport or a quick Polo even, if not a Golf. It pushes me to frustration knowing that I could make the money to afford these cars if I tried and yet, it would be for nothing in my part of the world. It is no secret then that the automobile scene in this country, in my opinion, leaves much to be desired.
I blame this wholly and solely on the quintessential Indian car buyer. An ad film made by Maruthi Suzuki not very long ago sums up everything we need to know about them. In the end it all boils down to “kithne ka hai aur kitna dethi hai?” which quite literally translates to how much is it for? And how much does it give? The second bit pertaining to fuel efficiency. I have absolutely come to detest this approach towards buying cars. The sheer nonchalance with which looks, quality of fit and finish, engine power and even safety features are shockingly overlooked just to trim the budget a tad and own a car that gives a million miles to the gallon, is appalling. I have an unabashedly condescending approach towards car owners that belong to this category considering the aficionado that I think I am. But am I right in doing so. Are the discerning Indian car buyer’s demands worthy of that much ridicule? Trends in the market would paint a completely contradictory picture. Look up and down the segments and you’ll notice that manufacturers across the globe are steadily incorporating the needs of the fussy Indian car buyer. Diesel is being used as a staple and might I add is not as uncool nowadays. Hot hatches are fuel efficient and Ferraris are now hybrid!!! Ferraris??!! Wasn’t that what the Prius was? But is that such a bad thing? Technology and engineering has improved in such huge leaps and bounds that today you can buy a diesel that’s almost as fast and as responsive as a petrol. More fuel efficient cars mean the limited reserves of fossil fuel, that we were happily depleting without a care in the world, will last that little bit longer. And so what if the Ferrari is a hybrid? It puts out just a shade under a 1000 horses while polluting the environment just enough to keep the Eco mentalist quiet and us petrol heads yearning. Isn’t that a win win for all of us?
This begs the question. Whose approach is more viable for the foreseeable future? Who needs to be taken seriously? Old school petrol heads that worship the gods of speed and live and die by the corners they devour? Or the shrewd car owner, to whom everything that was just mentioned sounds like plain lunacy? From being what we could call a definitive answer, the response to those questions has slowly inched its way to an ambivalent one. What I mean is say 20 years ago the answer to those questions would have been plain and simple. Petrol heads were the future. But today it’s not us that have our noses in front. Look around you. Practicality, ease of use, efficiency figures and longevity are the nouns given importance when any engine bolted on to four wheels is talked about. From European manufactures making tailor made products for markets like India, to products from markets like India gaining global recognition, to fuel efficient and low emission F1 cars, to super cars that you can actually see out the rear window of, everything speaks of combining the best of both worlds. What this is leading to is the production of supremely versatile world class products at amazingly competitive prices.
Does this mark the beginning of the end for us petrol heads? Of course it doesn’t. We were always meant to co-exist with the new age yuppies as is the case with any school of thought. Much like two sides of the same coin. Sure we love a manual gearbox but we will never deny how absolutely fantastic the new flappy paddle ones out there today are. And do we mind if its diesel or petrol so much anymore if both of them are just as fun to drive? A look at the ever improving options available to us across segments in India today should be enough to confirm that. But I for one can’t wait for the bunch of fast, fuel efficient and stylish looking hatchbacks slated to be launched in a year or two from now. To tell you the truth it increasingly seems to me that it is us petrol heads that are reaping the benefits of this revolution. So then, are we worried like the title suggests? Why should we be? The future of the car industry in this country has never looked cooler than this before. And yeah, diesel is still for old people.
Where do you belong?
kennethanto 