thusi

Please note: 1. I specifically stated that in my posts that they were my own experiences, and I also mentioned that I was aware that there were shortcomings in Indian Alto. 2. I was not aware of any 'cheap marketing' attempts for Maruti done by other forum members earlier or any such attempts on other parallel post threads 3. I am me I don't post anythings under other names The ending of my last posting on Sep 23 2009, 04:44 PM was: "I came to understand that it (AL forum) is only for car enthusiasts, and not for those of us who own cars whose primary purpose in life is simply to provide transport and nothing else..... I apologize for posting my comments in this esteemed forum. BTW, this would not have continued this far had someone pointed this out in the first place that the forum is only for enthusiasts." Since that have stopped posting any comments, but decided to add this small note to emphasize the above 3 points. Thanks.

If you read my posts really slowly and carefully you will see that I have never said that Alto is a "superb car" nor have I criticized any other car. Also, have I in any instance tried to defend Altos when others talked about lack of safety of lack of comfort ? Please check. I simply stated some stats I found myself. That's it. Regarding the links to the Indian sites, there also, as I explained, I wanted to show the improvements in the newer/upcoming model when compared to older/existing Indian models we have. Those of you who took the effort to check them would've seen for yourselves. I never said they were the best cars or any such thing. As per the forum disclaimer "...our forum is freely available to all members of the site ...", but just now only I came to understand that it is only for car enthusiasts, and not for those of us who own "cars whose primary purpose in life is simply to provide transport and nothing else, essentially cars that are interchangeable with domestic appliances" or "pappadams" and "boxes with wheels" as some called them. I apologize for posting my comments in this esteemed forum. BTW, this would not have continued this far had someone pointed this out in the first place that the forum is only for enthusiasts.

Yeah, how can you guys be so cruel.... :'-( I am about to have a nervous breakdown

If one reads my last post 'Experience With Indian Alto', it is clear that I never said that anything about safety or comfort - I merely stated some things I experienced. That's why I said "I was fully aware of the features/benefits/disadvantages of the Alto....". But I guess anything is a good reason for those who are always ready to bash Maruti. Since I never said Altos are superior or other cars are inferior or vice versa, I wonder how some came to the conclusion that there is an inferiority complex involved. May be I got this inferiority complex after I got the Alto ? Or is it the other way around - my inferiority complex forced me to buy an Alto? Had I continued to used my old Corolla, could I have escaped this fate ? Are there any shrinks in the forum who can explain it better ? Come to think of it, what could be the reason that for some forum users, 'Maruti' users are 'boys' while users of other cars are 'men' ? And why do some think that Marutis don't get stolen ? Why do some think that those who write anything good about Marutis are employees of AM# or at least paid by them to do so? Do these guys write such things due to a 'superiority complex' ? Shrink advice needed again

What I stated was my experience. Buying or not buying an Alto is a personal choice. But majority of comments simply showed the level of intolerance that we Sri Lankan have regarding the views/actions/ideas of others. Going by the way that Maruti users are judged by others (at least most), I think it is safe to assume that in addition to owning the latest and the best cars, those ‘superior’ car owners have not settled for nothing less than the best in other things in life - best education, best jobs, best houses so on… Regarding the fuel measurements, I would like to add that all those are true. But I have noted through fuel gauge viewing that for Colombo running it doe only about 10 to 12 km, and also if I do more than 80k/h, that also burns more petrol. Since there were some comments about my driving (“Soo would you be the kind of guy that tries to creep in when there’s a long queue of traffic coming from the right/left side ?????”), I would like to add that I am well-behaved than most of drivers of “superior” cars. The only group I sometimes act against aggressively is the three-wheeler drivers BTW, regarding the quality of Indian cars, I admit they are not as good as Japanese ones. But things have improved – for example if you compare a Maruti of years back with the current model. Also check these : http://www.marutisuzukiritz.com/Ritz_Features.aspx http://www.marutisuzukiestilo.com/features.asp http://www.marutisuzukiastar.com/photogallery.html http://www.marutisx4.com/home.html# http://www.grandvitaraindia.com/home.html

What I stated was my experience. Buying or not buying an Alto is a personal choice. But majority of comments simply showed the level of intolerance that we Sri Lankan have regarding the views/actions/ideas of others. Going by the way that Maruti users are judged by others (at least most), I think it is safe to assume that in addition to owning the latest and the best cars, those ‘superior’ car owners have not settled for nothing less than the best in other things in life - best education, best jobs, best houses so on… Regarding the fuel measurements, I would like to add that all those are true. But I have noted through fuel gauge viewing that for Colombo running it doe only about 10 to 12 km, and also if I do more than 80k/h, that also burns more petrol. Since there were some comments about my driving (“Soo would you be the kind of guy that tries to creep in when there’s a long queue of traffic coming from the right/left side ?????”), I would like to add that I am well-behaved than most of drivers of “superior” cars. The only group I sometimes act against aggressively is the three-wheeler drivers BTW, regarding the quality of Indian cars, I admit they are not as good as Japanese ones. But things have improved – for example if you compare a Maruti of years back with the current model. Also check these : http://www.marutisuzukiritz.com/Ritz_Features.aspx http://www.marutisuzukiestilo.com/features.asp http://www.marutisuzukiastar.com/photogallery.html http://www.marutisx4.com/home.html# http://www.grandvitaraindia.com/home.html

I have been reading many comments in Auto Lanka discussion forums about Indian Alto - from those I saw, most were against it. With my experience of one year with an Alto, I thought of sharing my own experience. My last car was a Toyota Corolla KE74 (1984), which I used for 8 years, and in 2008 I bought a Maruti Suzuki Alto (brand new basic model). The main reasons I went for an Alto were: 1. I wanted to go for a brand new car so that I could use it for sometime without worrying about any major repairs 2. Fuel efficiency 3. Price 4. Ease of handling in city traffic 5. Small/easy enough so that my wife could also use it I was fully aware of the features/benefits/disadvantages of the Alto, so after buying I never had any regrets. I have done 13,500km in 12 months now, which doesn't look strange. But considering that my daily office trip is less than 10km, that means that I have done lot of additional trips. I would also like to give some fuel usage measurements I did. These were accurately measured from 'full tank' to 'full tank' 1. To Matara :20.2 km/l 2. To Polonnaruwa : 20 km/l 3. To Ella/Badulla/Wellawaya and back : 16.5 km/l 4. To Kataragama and back : 18 km/l For other trips and Colombo running I have not done exact measurements. Overall I would say from personal experience that it is not a bad car as some say. Even though I was not much worried about the re-sale value, I can now see that it does have a good re-sale value also. (The price of a brand new model has risen by 110,000 within the last year).