Cars !
I had always loved the premier padmini for its engine sound, the amby mark 3 for its wooden interiors and then came the Maruti 800 AKA Alto in european and japanese markets.
The world had seen over 6 generations of Alto, however we goto see 4 generations with 3 generations available in different names at the same time.
Maruti 800 - 3rd Gen Alto
Zen - I guess was the 5t Gen Alto
Alto - 6 Gen Alto
Would be surprised if Suzuki decides to launch the alto lapina.
Lets take a trip down the memory lane.
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1st gen 800, looked very sporty and for its time had the best overall package. With an 800cc engine and a very low body kerb weight if offered the best acceleration
2nd gen 800, one of the cutest mini cars ever launched in India. It had features that included factory fitted Ac, ergonomic controls, bucket seats, great quality plastics, reliable switch gear and the list goes on.
our amby had a tank like body , with a terrible finish and the padmini still had an amazing engine sound (sporty).
The 2nd gen 800 went through a hell a lot of modifications and has survived its way upto 1998 and would prob for anoter 2 years. Until 1995 the car remained unchanged except for maurti's innovative idea of changing the badge from sticker to plastic continued.
A few change in plastics and we got a upgraded 2nd version. There was a change in the dash board, the steering wheel, head lights, grill, bumpers, as usual the sticker was replaced by embossed plastic painted in silver for the Maruti badge, seats etc, but it was still the same shell. And yeah the brochure was also new, but the car intrinsically didnt change.
Some where the design elements didnt gel. The bumpers were badly designed and the car lost its cute status to the Matiz.
And then we got the 4th gen 800 with a mpfi engine and 5 gears. Amazing car, but alto was just introduced and wasnt doing well. A clear strategy to promote Alto saw the gear box switch back to the standard 4 speed. Maruti knows how to sell its minis, the alto picked up and the 800 continued to sell.
In all the action, for 800s , maruti launced its next gen alto code named zen (Zero Engine Noise) with a 1000CC engine. Run away success and continued till 2006 and the designers in maruti did bring in few clumsy ones like the zen classic.
The final change in shape to the zen killed it , I always believed te ZEN was an icon and reduced price tag would have made it the competition killer. Maruti thought otherwise and discontinued ZEN.
A final goodbye to Zen and the Alto took over from where the Zen left. I guess maruti would have definitely missed the Zen ,coz it made them a hell a lot of profits. Imagine a 1000CC mini sold at 4 Lakhs, the current Santro/Wagon R out class the Zen in features and performance any day.
Alto 1100CC was discontinued and maruti started mass manufacturing 800CC. With power steering and costing little more tan 3.2 Lakhs alto conquered the market exactly where the Zen left off.
This was a beauty wit 1100 engine, but was more expensive than the over priced Zen. Maruti finally decided to pull the curtains on the 1100 and concentrate on the 800CC. A decent starter car, with AC, decent switch gerars, good seating although some complain about its rear seating and FUEL ECONOMY.
Alto (Indian Alto) has gone through several superficial changes the name badge story, headlamps/tail lamps, rotary AC switches (They share it with the Swift and hence for cost effectiveness Maruti decided to share it).
Good car ! but at the same price point you could get an Indica petrol with a 1200 cc engine, better power, better room, decent mileage.
Now the profit makers for maruti are Alto L series , 800 and Wagon R. Maruti had to get rid of the loss makers like Versa (I believe had the potential but the new gen has to hit the market), Baleno (Drivers love this car) and the Esteem. Although Esteem was making numbers , it had just lost its leader status some where in 2001.
Good startegy by Maruti to crowd its offering. Alto, Wagon R and Zen Estilo on the premium hatch segment, Swift in the super mini segment, Swift Dzire on the entry level sedan and then Sx4 in the sedan segment.
