The Sun & The Rain

The thing about cars is, to me, they're all special in some way or another. A point I always like to make clear, is that things don't always have to be technical when it comes to speaking to me. Some cars remind me of design elements they were probably inspired by. It could be anything from a chair (Volvo's floating centre console) to gull wings (Mercedes SLS AMG doors, which are of course based on the iconic 300SL).

What I believe, is that the Indian market has matured. There are prospects for every market segment. Be it a sub-2 lakh car, or a car with a price tag of over 2 crore. If it is distinct enough to sport the tag, it will be accepted. This brings me to a point I've been trying to understand for a while now. Trying to be unbiased, and speaking from a generic marketing perspective, I would say certain manufacturers are growing exponentially, while some are just asleep. There are car corporation giants who are hugely successful abroad, but suffering in India, for whatever reason.

Mercedes-Benz has been here for over a decade, and they have the strongest brand acknowledgement you can think of. However, aggressive marketing has enabled another German giant, BMW, to storm in and claim top spot in less than half the time it took MB. Now, MB didn't have any competition in the first place, they were a monopoly. People had to buy what they sold at the price they sold it at. They had no choice, plainly put. BMW came in, and in a span of what, 3 years, launched their entire product portfolio, something NO other manufacturer has ever done in India. That made MB sit up and take notice. Earlier, Mercedes had their C200 K petrol and C220 CDI diesel models. BMW poured in with the 320i, 325i, 320d and M3, forcing MB to bring in their C230 and C63 AMG just to stay in the race, let alone compete for position. It's grown, the segment. Now, BMW, Audi, Volvo, Jaguar, and soon, Cadillac and Lexus will flex their muscles here - then the proverbial pot will most certainly start to boil.

Volvo. One of the brands I feel is asleep, or simply lacks the resources it needs to raise it's head and make a statement. They have a wonderful lineup internationally, a lineup which in purchase decisions, supercedes the very top brands. In India, it's a case of too little, too late. But with the slew of launches expected in 2011, they might just manage to dent their target segments. Their brand-building exercise is, to say the least, critical. Stephen Jacoby, newly appointed CEO, says the funding is in place and Geely is being supportive. Which cars would I like to see as a representative? A C60, S90 and an all-new XC90 or XC100, as is rumored. Think about it, how cool will a targa-roofed, strikingly designed, 304 horsepower coupe appeal to the market now. I looked through the papers this morning, as I usually do, and something unusual caught my eye. A grey car, with gullwing doors and striking headlamps, that I thought was an Aston-Martin, until I noticed the diagonal slat on the grill - a Volvo! Blimey even!

A little more Volvo. Why has Volvo always trumped in terms of safety? Simply because all other manufacturers, earlier at least, aimed to meet the top Euro NCAP safety standard of 5 stars. Volvo on the other hand, aim solely at building cars to save lives. Which is why even the smallest Volvo, the C30, is as safe as the house-on-wheels XC90. Volvo defines the benchmark, other manufacturers must replicate it.

Right then, my thoughts about luxury cars. Just as Volvo aims at building the safest cars, Mercedes-Benz aimed at creating the perfect automobile. Which is what brought about the S-klasse. The S is created, painstakingly I might add, to be the best car in the world. And it almost does it. True, you have Rolls-Royce and Bentley who beg to differ, but then again, cars like the BMW 7-series, the Audi A8 and the Jaguar XJ - they WANT that spot that the S has. Technologically, they will have it, even exceed in some areas, but they are cars built to take on the S-klasse; the S, it's simply designed to be the best. And that, I tell you, is it's defined purpose; which is why, it always will be.

The world is moving on, automobile manufacturers are moving with it. Green does not mean less powerful anymore. I'm glad to see the way things are turning out. Like I said, no technicalities. Think of a hybrid roadster as enjoying the sun and the rain on a June afternoon, all in a matter of seconds.

Here's to the future of the automobile. ;)