What a silly question, you may ask!

After all, my car is made in India; It's an Indian car. It's as Indian as the RSS and VHP combined. It even goes to a temple on weekends (ferrying me) to certify its 'Indianess'. Pray, what is this controversy about it being Indian or not?

No Sirs and Madams! A Pepsi or a Coke being manufactured in India does not make it Indian (Don't ask me, ask the RSS), Valentine's day being celebrated by millions of teenagers in the country does not make it Indian (All questions forwarded to ABVP and RSS). On a serious note a VW Golf being manufactured in Brazil does not make it 'Brazilian'. Similarly a Chinese made Audi A6 is not a 'Chinese' car.

I define an Indian car as one which has been conceived (?) and designed (??!!) in India, has at least 85% of its components 'Made in India', by an Indian company (Sure, there aren't many left, but still rules are rules!).

So when you rate each car in the Indian market against my requirements, you get the following very interesting facts: -

THE GORY PAST!

The official mascot of the Indian political system, the Triassic-era Ambassador has little Indianess in it. To start with, the name isn't Indian and that's only the tip of the iceberg. The design came from Morris Motors and the present petrol power plant and drive train are Isuzu throwaways. The diesel version has a BMC engine. Of course everything is made in India now, but do you call a tree your o rwn if its roots are in someone else's courtyard.

The other pre-Cambrian relic, the Premier Padmini, which till a few months back was adorning showrooms throughout the country. Its in the market since my grandpa learnt driving and at the time of its going to grave, the Padmini was a completely made in India product. But again, there's very little Indianess about the car, except maybe the name Padmini. The design (including the platform, engine and drive train) came from Fiat of Italy. So heavy was the Fiat influence, that half of India knew the car as Fiat rather than Premier Padmini. The same design existed in India through the years with little changes in the nuts and screws.

The Contessa sure is the Indian interpretation of a limousine, but make no mistake, the concept may be Indian but the product wasn't. The design came from Vauxhall Victor/Cresta, the engine from Isuzu and the name from someone's brainwave. To add to the insult, the dies and plant for the Contessa were transferred to the HM people after the Europeans started finding the car obsolete.

The second model from PAL was the 118 NE, the designation 118 NE denoting 1180 cc Nissan Engine. There you have it, the foreign connection. Nothing Indian about this car too. The design was from an old Fiat, which was transferred to India after its demise in Europe, representing the sickening hand-me-down technology transfer the Indian auto industry was used to.

It's no use going into the details of the other past trashcans. Standard 2000 used to be Rover 2000 before being handed down to Standard Motors. That the car was not even properly Indianised; far less Indigenised speaks volumes about the 'standards' of the company. Then there were the Gazelle and it's other brothers and sisters, which were nothing but hand-me-down British products. The Gazelle was adapted from some past Triumph model.

Sipanis were true patriots. Their Montana did not boast of any foreign collaboration. It only got its inspiration (In Anu Malik lingo) from other Indian cars, which in turn were foreign in origin. The styling reminded me of the Maruti 800, and the fit and finish made me long for my original Maruti. The parts were all from the Maruti and Mahindra bin. The market response to the Sipani Montana was euphoric but it died once the people saw the car for real. The Indian customer was quality conscious, even though the companies were not. The Sipani Montego was one helluva modern product, although it was as Indian as the Big-Ben. Skeptical about their own reputation in the market, Sipanis sold the car as the Rover Montego (which it was). The car, reminiscent of the half-cooked apologies for cars being put on the road by our 'Indian' manufacturers died a quick, painful (for those who bought it) death. The Badal was not even a car so lets not bring it into discussion here. Anyway its design came from the British Reliant Kitten.

THE DIM PRESENT!

The present day stunner from HM is the Lancer. As with HM products from the past, the Lancer is a borrowed from abroad product. The saving grace is only that this Lancer is a contemporary model and not some "we are fed up with it, you may take it now" product from the west.

The erstwhile Premier Auto Ltd. no longer exists. The nearest thing to it in the present is Ind Auto Ltd. I presume that Ind is an acronym for India or Indian, but the products are all borrowed from Italy. The Uno came to India after the Mafiosi had their fill with it. The Siena is a very contemporary model and even though I don't have anything against the Siena, It being a good car and all, but I always wonder why Fiat doesn't launch it in their motherland. What's this 'special' car for India, Brazil, Africa, Latin America inc.

When the Indians failed at it, how can I expect the Koreans to produce an Indian car? The products from Daewoo Motors India Ltd. and Hyundai Motors India Ltd. are nothing but local assemblers for their parent companies. To give Hyundai its due, it had the sense to change the looks of the Atoz (and the Santro was born) before bringing it to the country. Maruti may please note that it could have done the same for the Wagon-R, which looks damn ugly. So with the Japanese. Honda-SIEL Cars Ltd. brought their South East Asian car, the City to India. I don't have any complaints against the car, but the 'Indian' in me longs for a made in India, for India and by India car. "Toyota-Kirloskar Motors brought the MUV Kijang, the one which was even phased out in Indonesia. I don't need to say any thing more. The same with the German onslaught of Opel and Mercedes. Mercedes at least has the dignity of launching their latest model in the country soon after its international launch.

Ford did take the pains to design an India specific car, the Ikon. So does the quest for an Indian car end with the Ikon. No I don't think so. First thing, the company is American. Secondly, the Ikon's platform is that of the Fiesta, nothing else. So the only thing Indian about the car is the 'Josh' advertising gimmick.

I am left now with the so-called 'Indian' manufacturer vis. Maruti, Telco, Mahindras and Bajaj Tempo. Starting with the official one, i.e. Maruti, the company, since its inception has changed the automobile scene in India completely. It's has been the number one manufacturer before my legs even reached the pedals, churning out close to 300,000 cars last year. At last count it held a 64% market share in the passenger car market with four out of every five cars on Indian roads being Marutis. Every year it rakes in multi-billion rupee profits, and, yet the company is nothg more than Suzuki India Ltd. Whatever product Suzuki dishes out for India, Maruti puts it on the road. The whole Maruti product portfolio is nothing more than Suzuki products in toto. Indigenisation levels might have reached 90% but the products are as Indian as MiG-21s. To top it all this present state exists in spite of the fact that Maruti is one of the few automakers in the country that have the finances to really develop a car on their own.

The 'Tempo Trax' has a license from Mercedes diesel engine, drive train and the axles. That leaves very little part of it Indian. To top it all, even the engine and other bits and pieces from the Mercedes bin are obsolete bits of technology picked up cheap.

Mahindra & Mahindra started with the borrowed from the US Willys Jeep and sticked with it for long. Later they plonked a diesel engine, courtesy International Harvester, borrowed a four-speed gearbox from Kia. So the platform from one company, the engine from another and the gearbox from a third and you have the mechanical interpretation of a Frankenstein monster rolling on the Indian roads. Later M&M replaced the engine with another diesel engine and gearbox, this time from Peugeot. They have now dumped in another diesel engine from Peugeot to compensate for 'modern technology'.

This brings us to the last of the lot, to the only 'Indian' manufacturer, i.e. Telco. Sure Telco is a completely Indian carmaker with no major foreign collaborations. Their Indica was much touted as 'The Indian car', but it was styled by I.D.E.A of Italy. The engine technology had inputs from 'Moteur Modern' of France. In effect it was the case of an Italian body being wrapped around Indian mechanicals. Frankly I would have preferred an Indian body wrapping an Indian platform.

But do the last 1,562 words really make any sense!

In this era of business beyond barriers, where words like 'Globalization' and 'Global Economy' have become as popular as 'Sorry' and 'Thank you'; it really is being myopic when you start blabbering about 'Being Indian' and all. International borders have really paled in significance for global corporations and the auto industry is in fact one of the liveliest example of globalization. After all, not all autos manufactured in the US are American. They also carry their bit of foreign wizardry. Toyota sells in the US, BMW manufactures in the US and VW, Daewoo, Hyundai, Subaru, etc. and Co. all operate in the US. Similarly US, European and Korean cars are sold in Japan. Automobile manufacturers operating in these countries boost the economies of these countries, so it makes a lot of sense for them to permit these manufacturers to operate in their countries.

So why am I complaining, Why?

After all, it makes a lot of sense to allow foreigners to come into India and operate, as they will only help in the Indian economy to grow, and if Indian manufacturers buy technology from abroad then it would be for the betterment of all as the country will get access to modern technology.

So why am I complaining, Why?

Ladies and Gentleman, before ostracizing me for being in cahoots with the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, VHP, RSS and party, let us have a look at the facts.

The US does allow 'foreign' companies, cars and technology in the country!

GM and Ford are the world's largest manufacturers of cars, and they definitely are true-blue American.

Compare this to India, whose largest car manufacturer Maruti ranks 28th in the world. The rest don't count, so don't bother asking.

A few knowledgeable among you may start shouting from the roof-tops about how this comparison is really unfair in the light of the fact that the US invented automobile manufacturing and has been in the field since the early 1900s. India started only in the post-independence period. Also Indian economy is considerably weaker as compared to the US's and Indians have a considerably lower buying power. For their benefit, I am going to compare the Indian auto-industry with Korean one.

Do you know Korea? It's smaller than the state of Bihar. The Koreans started much later than we did. Sure they had their initial period of protectionism, but we had the same, and look where they are in the world today. Hyundai and Daewoo are recognized automobile manufacturers with a sizeable presence in the US and Europe. Sure our Maruti does sell a lot of Zens in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and some other European countries but not as the Maruti Zen! It gets its fame as the Suzuki Alto. Take away Suzuki and Maruti has little to show for itself. Not even gearboxes!

I am willing to go even lower, to Malaysia. Malaysia has only one auto manufacturer of repute namely PROTON. Maruti and Proton started at the same time, both with government as well as foreign equity and foreign collaboration.

Fifteen years down the line, Proton is independent, healthy, and raring to go while Maruti is, as I said before, Suzuki India Ltd.

Proton managed to come out of both the government and collaborator's (Mitsubishi Motors Corporation) clutches; Maruti was caught even deeper in the trap with the collaborator (Suzuki Motor Corporation) raising its stake to 50%.

The result: PROTON's 'Wira' is about to be assembled by Hindustan Motors.

I don't see Maruti Esteems (or is it Suzuki Cultus/Swift) being assembled in Malaysia in the near (or even in the distant) future.

Do you get my point?

So who is responsible for this mess that is the Indian automobile industry. Is it the government, which protected the industry all these years, but at the same time imposed severe restrictions on the growth of the industry? Or is it the industry and the industrialists themselves who did nothing constructive except maybe forming the 'Bombay Club' (And there was nothing constructive in that) The so called doyen of Indian industry could not even give one decent automobile to India.

My words may sound a bit harsh, but then they are the bare, naked, ugly truth. After all when the 'Doshis' and the 'Birlas' were making oodles and oodles of money selling trashcans to their fellow countrymen, they could have as well just spared a few bucks for an in house design capability to design better trashcans!

But then, why blame them, when even the government owned Maruti has no in house design capability to boost. Sure they have a department called the engineering department, which in fact is their R&D set-up. To give you a brief idea of the activities of their engineering department, I reproduce a piece of conversation I had with one of their fellows.

Me: Hi X, You are from the R&D department, aren't you.
X: Well sort of. Here we call it the Engineering department.

Me: What do you guys do in the R&D...Sorry Engineering section.
X: Well we carry out all sorts of tests on different components.

Me: Don't you guys design anything here?...Like engines, gearboxes, the works.
X (A little hesitatingly): Well not exactly, you see we are responsible more for the endurance testing of components, especially those supplied by OEMs. You see whenever an OEM modifies the existing component we do an endurance test on that. It's loads of work you know!

Me (A bit desperately): But don't you guys design anything.
X: Not really, much of that comes from Japan. We only do performance and endurance testing.

Me: I hear the new Esteem is really hot. Did you guys make the four-valve head and the MPFI system changes.
X: Oh no, that was done by the Suzuki chaps in Japan.

Me (A lot desperately now): But there are so many guys around here and lots of computers too, and a test track of your own. What do you guys really do?
X: Well, we do a lot of things you know!!!

At this point I really wanted to puke so I excused myself.

Well, here it is for you, the state of the mighty Maruti, a company which boasts of the nation's best technical manpower in its R&D. It ought to be the best 'cause they recruit from the IITs and other top notch engineering colleges. If this is the state of Maruti, what can be expected from lesser mortals like M&M, Telco, HM, etc.

But then, who is to blame?

Actually its me, its you, it's the industrialists and most of all it's the government. Me and you because we allowed people to sell tin-boxes by buying them in the first place. The industrialists for their myopic point of view and the government for its socialist policies.

Can anything be done now?

Very little. For one developing a new car involves a lot of money nowadays. The Tata Indica's development costs were Rs. 17000 million, the Chrysler Neon involved close to $800 million. Forking out this kind of money to develop a product with no guarantee of success is not a very prudent idea. After all good products may also fail e.g. Rover 75.

A better strategy would be to enter into an alliance partnership with some foreign manufacturer, which everyone is doing. Another reason why its not viable for an Indian manufacturer to start from scratch is that the Indian market does not offer that sort of volumes.

Again, for all the trouble the manufacturer may take in designing the new product, a bigger company may gobble it up. So what's the use. Who wants to sink a couple of thousand crores into designing and developing a new car.

My heart still cries for the elusive Indian car.

Professional compulsions dont permit the writer to use his real name. Your feedback can be sent to the writer at - icwcontra@consultant.com