I read a recent article on Popular mechanics “Jay Leno Predicts Future Collectible and Classic Cars”.  I had to create a similar one based on cars available in India.  

Long Post Warning: This is another long post ( I do have to learn to write shorter ones soon).

The vehicles  I [...]]]>  

I read a recent article on Popular mechanics “Jay Leno Predicts Future Collectible and Classic Cars”.  I had to create a similar one based on cars available in India.  

Long Post Warning: This is another long post ( I do have to learn to write shorter ones soon).

The vehicles  I have listed match one or more of these criteria:

• Vehicles sold in India to the mass market not imported vehicles
• Car of the Year awarded  (typically packed with features and are usually popular).
• Have some “first” attributed to them or some other unique characteristic, unusual engines or features or designs. Highest trim level versions are usual suspects since they have new features ahead of their time. (For e.g the Swift ZXI was the first Indian hatchback with steering mounted audio controls and climate control and airbags.)
• Special editions / signature editions.
• The first models  or the last models  of a car/brand.
• 4x4s, convertibles and coupes and higher engine powered variants. 
• Shouldn’t cost more than 15 Lakhs (ex showroom) when new.
• Sold between 1975 till today April 20th 2009. Why 1975 ? Because that’s the year I was born. Simple ? .

In the order of Manufacturer/Brand I predict that in the year 2034  (25 years from now) these cars will be considered as collectible antique cars:

Fiat:

• The 2002 Fiat Palio 1.6 Sport (Car of the year for 2002). The S10 is collectible just for the signature.
• The Palio Adventure for being a  station wagon with go anywhere looks. Unfortunately was not a 4×4.
• The 500 just made my list at 14.8 lakhs
• Upcoming: I predict the Grande Punto to be a collectible just for its looks. Hope it has an engine to match.

Force Motors:

• The Trax , Judo and the Ghurka all in 4×4 versions.

Ford:

• The Escort 1.6 and the Orion and Iris special editions – these are rare already you cannot find cars in good condition anymore.
• The 1999 Ford Ikon 1.6 SXI with ROCAM engine a popular enthusiasts car giving good performance for a reasonable price. 
• The Fiesta Diesel from 2006 for having the best diesel engine from Ford. BSM Jury Award 2006. Fiesta special editions with weird stripes as well since just a few in number were released. 

General Motors/Chevrolet:

• The Aveo U-VA. BSM Car of the year 2007. The only reason this can be a collectible is that very few actually sold.
• The Chevvy Spark(Daewoo Matiz reborn): Best Value award for 2008. Plus it looks really good for an Indian Chevy.
• Optra SRV:  Sporty hatchback. Very poor sales makes this a collectible.
• Upcoming: Chevy Beat & Cruze both look good and could become really popular

Hindustan Motors:

• The 1.8 L MPFI Petrol Isuzu engined Grand versions will be popular. Non cabbie vehicles of course.
• The Avigo will be a collectible for its looks plus it is a rare car as well due to low sales.
• The Contessa Classic (Late 90s -2002): The real object of car lover lust in the late 80s & 90s based on the Vauxhall Victor/VX FE series.

Honda:

• The Old Honda City V-Tec – for its engine and being the most popular enthusiast car of early 2000s.
• The New Honda City (CVTs might be a bit more popular) for its weird shape.
• The All New Honda City of 2009  (arrow shot design) for its great looking shape.

Hyundai:

• The 2000 Santro Zip Drive for starting off the Tall Boy trend (this one had a bump in power than the original base version).
• The 2004 Hyundai Getz GLS ABS. The first real super mini hatch with more space and features than any other available Hatch. First with ABS as well.Car of the year 2005.
• Verna CRDI. Performance car of the year 2007.
• 2009 Verna Automatic – First diesel automatic in the C-Segment, First Diesel auto under 12 Lakhs
• 2008 I10. Car of the year for 2008.

Mahindra:

• Mitsubishi Voyager Van – very few sold. (Sold through Mahindra)
• 4x4s of the Jeep family based on the 5XX series. The “Classic” takes special mention and is already sought after.
• The 2003/2004 Bolero Invader – the only new soft top 4×4 to come out in recent years.
• Custom versions of the Bolero and Scorpio. 4×4 versions of the Bolero and Scorpio are rare.
• The Scorpio Petrol (Renault Engine) 116 BHP. Very few sold.
• The Scorpio 2.2 CRDE Automatic 4×4 in 2009 is the first auto box 4×4 SUV under 15L.
• The Scorpio Getaway 4×4 from 2007 when it was launched.
• The Bolero CRDe with the Bosh Micro Hybrid tech (for being the first vehicle in India to feature it).

Maruti Suzuki:

• 1983 Maruti 800 (with Japanese made engine and very few local parts). 
• 1999 Omni XL (High roof): Very few still remain and also this version was stopped very early. The flat low roof one is too common. Also front mid engine rear wheel drive layout.
• 1993 Zen (the original jelly bean): The timeless shape of the zen. The current Zen Estilo cannot ever dream of getting this popular.
• 2000 Zen “Classic” though hated by everyone for its looks will definitely be a collectible. If you own one do maintain it well and don’t ever sell it.
• 2003 Zen Carbon (Mica Black) and Steel (Silver) two door coupes.
• The 1989 1000: The first 1000cc + sedan from Maruti.The later post ’93 1.3 L engines are also popular.
• The 1996 onwards Gypsy King MG413W: The first time the Gypsy has adequate power and decent looks together.
• The Baleno for being another favourite enthusiasts car
• Baleno Altura for being one of the few station wagons at the time. Again low sales volume.
• The 1.1 L Alto VX. Great power to weight ratio. This engine also had a short production run.
• The Swift: The car that changed the impression of Maruti and is probably only rivalled by the Zen in popularity. I already mentioned the ZXI for being the first car in its segment with adequate safety features at a reasonable price. The DDiS VDI will also be a collectible for being the first really loved Diesel from Maruti(Fiat).
  Also BSM car of the year 2006 for petrol engine ZXI. I am planning to keep my Swift for as long as I can .
• The SX4 ZXI (2007) for being the first car from Maruti with all possible features and even leather seats. The interior space of a Corolla with comparable features at several lakhs less
• Upcoming: The Kizhashi if it ever comes out and is priced under 15 lakhs for being the first D-segment car from Maruti in India.

Mitsubishi:

• The first iteration of the Lancer in India with SFX trim.

Opel:

• 2003 Astra 1.7 Club – one of the earliest cars with an OEM sunroof. I would avoid initial batches for build quality issues.
• The 1.6 Corsa Royale edition with sunroof and leather. Loaded with features but sadly didn’t do too well because of the price. Also the last special edition trim sold in a last ditch effort to rescue sales. A 1.4 Royale also was sold I think.
• 2002 The Corsa Swing: Only station wagon I have seen in Yellow. Already not on the roads.

Premier Automobiles Limited:

• The Premier Padmini of course (1968-2000). I pick the 137D version with its fancy wheel caps and much improved paint quality and looks. Am sure a lot of petrol heads will object but I chose this for the reason that it was the latest in the iteration. Premier Padmini petrols are already rare enough and sought after.
• 118 NE (Nissan Engine & Transmission) good unmodified versions are no longer available easily.This car was based on the Fiat 124.
• Sigma MiniVan – never seen these till I saw the links on Wikipedia.

Peugeot

• 309 (1994-1997) – for becoming extinct in India. Only one model was sold here.

REVA Electric Car Company

• Reva 2001 onwards for being the first electric car of the 2000s in India

San Motors

• San Storm: The only convertible under 15 lakhs. The few that were actually sold are collectible.

Sipani Motors:

• 1983 Dolphin based on the Reliant Kitten with a fibreglass body & 2 doors 4 seater.

Standard Motors:

• Standard Gazel (1971-1977). Not listed the Herald or the 8s or 10s since they are not in the year range I used for my criteria.
• Standard 2000 (Rover) launched in 1985 and made till 1988

Tata Motors:

• The Tata Sierra Turbo 4×4 – First Turbo charged car in India
• The Tata Estate  -One of the first to feature Power steering and power windows
• The Tatamobile: The first pickup truck after 1990.
• The first generation of Indicas for being the first foray of Tata into hatchbacks. 
• The Vista Quadrajet will be popular too. 
• The Indigo CS – for being the first compact sedan in India. Cheapest Sedan available in 2008. 
• The first batches of Safari 3.0 & 2.2 Dicors. First time the Safari has a decent engine powering it and the start of the Common Rail Diesel Wars between Tata and Mahindra. The older petrol engined ones also are rare by now.
• The Tata sumo Grande – not much by way of sales till now -it may die a natural death soon or be refreshed.
• The Indigo XL – the only OEM built Long wheelbase sedan under 15 lakhs.Best with the diesel Dicor engine and at the highest trim level with headrest mounted displays.
• The Xenon Pickup truck – as of now low volume but if priced right will really become popular.
• The Nano.

Good References:

• Shyam Krishnamachary’s article on Indian Lemons
• Wikipedia – Cars In India (Current and discontinued)

Thanks:

To Jayadev (JayD) for graciously granting permission to use a photo of his Maruti Suzuki SS80 (first photo in this post). His car is one of the last few well maintained unmodified SS80s in India – maybe even in the world. More pictures of his car are available on Team-BHP. 

Do you agree with this list or have I missed any car out from 1975 till now that may become a collector car ? Please re-look at the criteria I mentioned and if it fits please let do me know your thoughts.

PS:   Please do use your own judgement in picking cars that may have a long term value – if the car doesn’t appeal to you it has ZERO value for you regardless of how much it is worth. If it appeals to you you wouldn’t ever part with it if you own it and would try your best to get your hands on one regardless of the price. 

Car themed movies are my favourite type. I have extended it into movies with really good car chase scenes. I have been carrying a list of around 60 movies to add to my existing collection for the past 2 years and adding them slowly [...]]]>

Eleanor the star of Gone in Sixty Seconds

Car themed movies are my favourite type. I have extended it into movies with really good car chase scenes. I have been carrying a list of around 60 movies to add to my existing collection for the past 2 years and adding them slowly one at a time when I find them. These are Hollywood movies in English and range from 1900 till 2009. I still have not built up a non-English collection (just noticed that there seems to be a good number of Japanese and French movies that fit the car theme). This weekend, I delved a bit deeper into the data of movies available and tried grouping them into categories and also sorted them by year. In the process my list of 60 suddenly became 135. I have added this list as a free pdf download. As of now, I own around 30 movies that I call car themed movies. If you have to ask who Eleanor, Bumblebee, Herbie, The Judge and General Lee are you should probably stop here and decide if you want to read the remaining.

The current decade (2000′s) seems to have the maximum number of car themed movies  and movies with car chases occupying key parts of the storyline.The next closest decade was the 70′s. We are indeed in car-crazy times . The 80′s and 90′s didnt seem to be that into cars, did they ?

The movies can be grouped into racing movies(including all forms of racing like NASCAR,Champ car, Drag strip, street racing, illegal racing), chase movies (car chases and crashes), Bio-pics(about famous racing legends), Horror , Drama (deeper story around car theme) and also finally about driving( typically high speed driving, stunts, long distance, getaways). Chases in movies comprise close to 35% of movies on my list and Race themed movies comprise 46% of the list. Interestingly the percentage of movies having critically acclaimed chase scenes in the 70s was around 18% and race themed movies at 76%.In the last 9 years the ratio is 57% chase scenes and 28% on race themed. The ratio has turned 180 degrees around in 30 years !

The earliest car themed movie I could find was the 1913 movie -Speed Kings, based on automobile racing. If there is anything earlier than that please let me know. There was a movie called Speed in 1935 that was also based on auto racing which was pretty popular then.

All time popular cars and movies they appeared in:

• The Bond movie Goldfinger (1964) was the first movie the Ford Mustang appeared in (it was launched in 1964 as well). Also this was the first movie the Bond car was set as the Aston Martin DB5. The same car now owned by Spielberg appears in 2002 movie Catch Me If You Can.
• The Herbie Series is probably the most loved series with the VW Beetle Show up in 5 movies from 1968 till 2005.
• The DeLorean in the Back to the Future series shows up in 3 movies from 19855 to 1990.
• The Mustang Fastback “Eleanor” shows up in two movies of the same name Gone in Sixty Seconds from 1974 & 2000. The second GISS movie seems to be the first of many car themed movies that were released after 2000.
• Ford Mustang:  Bullit(1986),Gone in 60 Seconds(1974),Gone in 60 Seconds(2000),Fast & Furious Tokyo Drift(2006), I Am Legend( 2007), Death Race (2008)
• Mini Cooper: Italian Job(1969),Italian Job(2001) & Bourne Identity(2002).
• Ford Gran Torino: Charlies Angels : Fullthrottle (2004) , Starsky & Hutch (2004) and Clint Eastwood movie Gran Torino (2009), Fast and Furious (2009) has a 1972 Gran Torino Sport.
• Pontiac GTO:  Two Lane Blacktop(1971),Bullit(1986), XXX(2002). The Last Ride(2004) a TV movie featured the GTO “Judge” and also had the latest iteration of the Pontiac GTO.
• Chevrolet Corvette: 1970 Corvetter in Death Race 2000(1973), 1973 Stingray in Corvette Summer (1978)
• Chevrolet Camaro:  Transformers (2007) had the 1977 and 2009 Camaros, 2 Fast 2 Furious(2003) had a 1969 Camaro, 2009 Fast and Furious has a 1973 Camaro.
• Dodge Charger: Dirty Mary Crazy Larry(1974),The Fast and the Furious (2001),Dukes of Hazzard(2005) – “The General Lee”
•  Dodge Challenger: Vanishing Point(1971), 2 Fast 2 Furious(2003)
• Scary Cars: Modified 1971 Lincoln Continental in The Car(1977), 1958 Plymouth Fury in Christine(1983) , 1954 Buick Roadmaster in From a Buick 8(Upcoming movie for 2009). 
   

• Upcoming Car Themed movies for 2009 and beyond are:
  • From a Buick 8 ( Horror movie based on a scarily good Stephen King book expected in 2009)
  • Transformers II: Revenge of the Fallen (The transformers sequel expected around June 2009)
  • Cars II (The sequel to Pixar Cars expected in 2012)
  • The Limit( A movie on Grand Prix racing with Toby Maguire expected in 2012)

   (Do check up on www.carsplusmovies.com for more updates. Its a great site with tonnes of car movie related links. I got the above list from there.)

  Download: You can download my list of movies as a free PDF file download. Do take a look and let me know if you come across any good car themed movie I may have missed from the list. Also do pass on the pdf to your friends who may be interested.

   

   

DuPont  releases data on vehicle color popularity for major markets across the world and in 2008 have included India data separately. I hope it will be tracked going forward as well.  Here is the DuPont report for 2008. Lots of interesting data point there including variants on core color types, finishing, textures [...]]]>

DuPont  releases data on vehicle color popularity for major markets across the world and in 2008 have included India data separately. I hope it will be tracked going forward as well.  Here is the DuPont report for 2008. Lots of interesting data point there including variants on core color types, finishing, textures etc. While mentioning the textures something very interesting is Chrome finish paint. An example is seen here.

They have been tracking such data for US, Europe and Japan for close to ten years now. Though they haven’t given it in one single chart – Zimbly Cars spent the time to collate it from data made public by DuPont.  Here is the trend for the past 8 years. 

**2001 – I wasn’t able to find data for this year on the net – if anyone has it or knows someone in DuPont please let me know.

The most popular colors over the past 8 years for cars are White, Silver, Black and Blue. These have been fairly consistent and have not lost their charm over time.

Red has been a consistent color with no changes in popularity since 2004. Grey has been steadily increasing in popularity since 2004 and may be a serious contender to Black.

Black though considered a timeless color went through a small dip in popularity between 2002 and 2005 but has been increasing in popularity since 2005.

The Indian Buyer chose to stay conservative in car color selection and mainly stuck to White and Silver for over half the vehicles purchased in 2008. (No wonder it is difficult to find white or silver cars in parking lots.)  The remainder was made up by the other colors as seen in this graph below.

Following are the trends for other major regions.

An interesting post I came across while researching this post was one talking about the meanings of colors in general and in meanings in various parts of the world: http://www.bizzia.com/brandcurve/color-theory-primer-part-7-color-meanings/.

I associate the following meanings with common vehicle colors in India:

Black: Aggression, closed, secretive (a lot of SUVs are in this color). Best suited for large vehicles – looks a bit out of place on small cars. One of the most difficult to maintain colors as scratches on black show up as white and look very bad. Dust and dirt dull the shine very quickly.

White: Purity, honesty, dishonesty, politics (most cars/SUVs owned by Politicos are in this color). It was a very popular color in the 80s and 90s and is making a comeback. A color that seems to suit most vehicles regardless of size. Fairly easy to maintain – but splashed with mud looks pretty bad. A color that seems to have a slightly negative association for certain models because of being typical cabbie vehicles. Examples include the Indica, Tavera, Sumo, Ambassador, Omni. Very few private buyers would buy these models in white – since they don’t want to be called cabbies by their friends.

Gold:  The metal that most Indians want to own and wear. There is a significant amount of gold/champagne colored vehicles. A color that I personally feel doesn’t suit many vehicles. Also an easy to maintain color.

Silver:  A very techie color (most vehicles owned by techies are in this color). A color considered very serious and classy – a very aspirational color. One of the easiest colors to maintain. I used to own two cars which were silver in color and both would still look good even if they were dirty. Manufacturers poor people are forced to sell cars in silver due to the demand. I remember in 2001 or 2002 Honda removed silver from their sales catalogue for the Civic in the USA because the previous year most Civics sold were in silver.

Green: Fertility, money, a color associated to religion.  Dark greens seems to be fairly well accepted but some bright greens do hurt peoples eyes. The parrot green Santro is the only example I can think of.

Blue: Water, Oceans, calmness. This color has a wide variety of tones available that make it appeal to a wide audience – but doesn’t have the same magnetism of a red or yellow. This color is a guaranteed color in most manufacturer color palettes year on year.

Yellow: Associated to being bright and sunny – but again a color that isn’t offered by many manufacturers. Maruti is probably the only one that dared to sell yellow cars. Looks good on smaller cars – I haven’t seen a yellow SUV till now – I hope I don’t have to.

Red:  Anger, speed. A color best suited for sports cars, sporty cars and hatchbacks. Red is to be avoided on large SUVS since they look like huge tomatoes. Mahindra and Tata sell their Scorpio and Safari in red and people still buy it! Some variant of red is usually available at almost each manufacturer.

Purple: Originally associated with royalty – now considered an offbeat color that has guaranteed very poor resale value of the vehicle since very few people like the color purple. Very minimal choice when it comes to buying cars in this color. I can think of only the Fords, Marutis coming in this color.

Earth/brown:  A very simple and bland color which is easy to maintain if it is “light brown”. Dark brown is a rare color which again isn’t very popular. Mostly sold by Hyundai and Mahindra. Some Tata vehicles as well.

What are my favourite colors ? So far I have owned 1 car in blue, 2 cars in silver and 1 in red. I hope my next car whenever I get one will be in black. I like the pearl white color as well and may seriously look at that as well.

What are your favourite colors for cars and what will be your next cars color ? Do let me know.

Updated April 3: Results of the Nano Poll so far:

Looks like there will be a lot of Re or Gold colored Nanos on the road as they seem to be the most popular colors so far.