WHILE THE CURRENT STORY OF VOLKSWAGEN IN
India is just ten years ago, the story of their interest in
India dates back to the years just after independence
when JRD Tata met Ferry Porsche in Switzerland to
discuss the manufacturing of the iconic Beetle in
India. However funds were an issue to setup a capital
intensive business and even though an MOU had
been drawn up, the chapter was closed in 1952.
The second chapter was in the seventies when
the Indian government scouted for partners to revive
Sanjay Gandhi’s Maruti Motors and Volkswagen AG
were the most obvious OEM shortlisted. VW came
in with a detailed approach to manufacturer the Gol
hatchback (a low-cost Golf) as well as the Jetta (a
booted Gol). However VW’s then CEO decided to
place their bets on China instead of India.
VOLKSWAGEN IN INDIA, AT 10
ISBN: 978-93-5346-501-8
` 2700
Available on Amazon India
The third chapter was an MOU that VW signed
in 1994 with the Eicher group and began feasibility
studies to manufacture the Polo in Pithamupur. In
fact the German brass were seriously considering
not just VW but also building Audis in India but
the project was shelved two years later when they
realised that the cheapest VW would be priced at
least 30 to 40 per cent higher than the Zen.
And so it was left to Skoda to start VW Group’s
operations in India in 2001, with the VW brand
coming in six year laters with the Passat.
Except VW would not have had to wait that long if
the deal with Porsche and Tata had gone through —
and the stumbling block was that Tata could not take
management control of Premier Automobile’s Kurla
plant, the plan being to set up the Beetle line next to
Chrysler corporation cars and trucks as well as Fiat.
What could have been!
That’s just a short summary of Adil Jal
Darukhanawala’s book on Volkswagen’s Indian
innings, full of interesting stories and anecdotes that
covers VW’s more recent journey in India. Another
must read for car enthusiasts!
Sirish Chandran (@SirishChandran)YES, THE GUYS WHO MAKE WATER PURIFIERS HAVE MADE A
dashcam, and is a bit different from the other ones out there.
The Kent CamEye connects with a micro-USB to USB type A to
the regular 5V charger, and gets an in-built battery that stays
on for an extended period of time even when the car is not
switched on. The set-up is fairly simple – download the app
from the AppStore or Play Store, scan the barcode on the device
and you are good to go. The DashCam has two cameras, one for
the inside of the car and one that faces outside.
It comes with a SIM card, allowing it to communicate without
a mobile phone nearby. This ensures that you can monitor your
car with the CamEye even while being at home.
The CamEye comes with a host of features. The cameras
can be used in conjunction with the mic and speaker in the car,
so you can have a conversation with the driver while looking
at the footage on the cameras. The quality of video and audio
depends on network connectivity. In our tests, we discovered
that certain parts of the city were problematic for the CamEye
as it relayed grainy video and poor quality audio as well due to
this.
The CamEye also automatically stores trip data such as
distance, average speed, time taken as well as engine idle
time. The movement of the car is tracked on GPS at all times
and is saved to be viewed later. You can also save a photo
of the driver and the CamEye uses this photo in its facial
recognition program to ensure secure access. However, the
facial recognition does take some time to work. There is also
the option to set in-car alarms for breaching a number of set
limits. For instance, you can set the speed limit at 80kmph and
as soon as the set speed is exceeded, an alarm will start blaring
in the car. Also, all trip videos are saved over the cloud and can
be accessed later.
All in all, the KENT CamEye delivers on all that it promises at a
price point few other DashCams can even compete with. Highly
recommended.
Afzal Rawuther (@Afzal_rawuther)KENT CAMEYE DASHCAM
`17,999
Cameye.com