One for the Road

“The metros are saturated,their markets cramped with too many auto brands on the road. The new spending power lies in Tier 2 cities and that’s where we are headed — in towns and villages in the interiors of India,” says the spokesperson for Ford,the latter organising a Ford Figo drive across a couple of states,especially Punjab to capture the market there. A first for Ford,the move was not aimed at creating awareness alone. “It was also to celebrate milestones and encourage dealers for their work,” he says,adding Figo sold 21,000 cars in just 100 days. Similarly,Honda Siel Cars India flagged off a month-long ‘Drive to Discover’ rally from Chandigarh this Sunday. The rally,which will cover more than 70 cities across India,will cover cover Chandigarh to Jaipur through Bharatpur and Ranthambore on its second leg.

“‘Drive to Discover’ is a first for us,and it’s a relay rally by Honda along with eight leading automobile magazines and three auto shows. The Honda City will be driven from Jammu in North India all the way down south to Kanyakumari,a distance of more than 6,000 kms,” says Jnaneswar Sen,vice-president Marketing,HSCI. According to him,such initiatives get media eyeballs and helps discover the incredible diversity India offers. “Our message is that Honda City is not just a city car as it can traverse high altitude mountainous terrains,barren stretches of deserts,beaches,flat highways,congested city roads and kuccha roads in the interiors of India,” he adds.

Sunday witnessed the start of another family entertainer — Chevrolet and Rashi Entertainment’s 10th Family Fun Car Rally 2010,reminiscent of the Maruti Swift Parade held earlier this year in Delhi. To mark five years of its launch,1,500 Swift cars were brought together for a series of car rallies across the country on May 30. “It’s a way of interacting with fellow car owners while celebrating milestones,” says Mayank Pareek,Maruti Suzuki’s managing executive officer (Marketing and Sales).

Yet another record-breaking drive was undertaken by city’s Bhalinder Singh Sangha,Harinder Singh and Karanbir Singh Bedi. They broke the Limca Book World Record’s Fastest Drive by driving from the dust-laden roads of the Rann of Kutch in the western part of the country to the lush forest of Tezu,the eastern most point. With a budget of Rs 1.5 lakh,they covered a a distance of approximately 3,941 km in just 85 hours,breaking the previous record of 119 hours by a good 34 hours in their sponsored Mahindra Xylo. The record will be noted in the 2010 edition of the book.

“These are carefully thought of business strategies in line with changing times,” says Marius D’Lima,Head,Corporate Communications,Fiat,speaking about the Fiat Deisel Drive — a 10,000 km,16-state tour to experience the endurance of Fiat’s multijet diesel engine. Recently,Fiat India flagged off an 18-day ‘Securing Borders Drive’ from Mumbai to pay a tribute to those who have died defending the nation. As part of the drive,Fiat’s Punto will travel through diverse terrains along with the students of Chetana College,Mumbai tp carry out social work and interact with the jawans on the India-Pakistan border.

“These drives are a test of competency,reliability and technology at the highest level. They also reinforce the growing network of dealers across India,” say Marius and Sen. Take the Tata Nano which recently came under fire for its manufacturing defects. As part of its Superdrive in June,nine Tata Nanos circumambulated India on three different routes on a 26-day voyage,visiting 36 cities and covering 15,000 km. The routes were christened as ‘The Saffron Route’,‘The White Route’ and ‘The Green Route’. In the process,the drive proved that the car is safe,steady and sturdy. The road trip,it seems,has just begun.