Goodbye Maruti 800

In this brand bazaar…
Brands come and go.
But some doesn’t fade away so quickly with the advent of time.

They mean serious business.
They come, they see, they rule and they stay.
They become immortal because they get attached to our emotional chord.
We some how connect with them.
Either because they are the first to occupy our mind space
Or because they never ditch us.
Something like this is the story of a brand named Maruti 800.
I know you must be thinking that Maruti 800 will no longer be available to the public after some time.
As already the company has stop selling the car in 13 major Indian cities and will be sold in other cities only until 2015–16.
Then how come can I say that it will stay.
Yes it will in our minds and in our hearts.
Starting from Harpal Singh who is now 85 and who was the first in the country to drive home the iconic car in 1983,
Every 2.5 million buyer and their family members feel proud when they are asked about their car because it was or rather for many of them it is a part of their family.
The one who takes them to any family function.
The one who soaks in the rain but gives them a safe haven.
The one who accompanied many of their daughters when she left her own house and went to her in laws.
There are many such stories which may come out when we ask them about their experience with this car.
They’ll simply love to share it.
The common man’s car, the people’s car, the family car and by many other names we know it.
Starting its journey in way back 1983 when there were only Ambassador, Contessa and Fiat as its rival.
It saw globalization but till today multinationals are fighting it hard to stand their chance in the car market.
I know what comes has to go.
Nothing is permanent.
Life evolves.
But few things stay alive in history.
Maruti 800 is one of them.

Toyota - Reverse gear!

It takes eight brush strokes to write Toyoda in Japanese.
“Eight” which is considered a lucky number in Japanese.
So Kiichiro Toyoda decided to keep this name.
But Risaburo Toyoda, who had married into the family and was not born with that name, preferred "Toyota".
As Toyoda in Japanese means “fertile rich paddies” and then the company can easily be mistaken as any other farming company.
In August 1937 “Toyota Motor Corporation” was born.
And after that their was no looking back.
From U.S to Europe.
From British to French.
The ownership experience was just in line with the slogan used by the company which said "Oh, what a feeling!"
Soon Toyota was able to make a worldwide presence.
Things like JIT (Just In Time) and Lean Manufacturing (more value with less work) were introduced in company’s business model.
And again this was clearly reflected in its slogan "I love what you do for me, Toyota!" & "Who could ask for anything more".
So every time what Toyota did for its customers was backed up by a nicely written slogan.
Toyota soon grew to a large multinational corporation.
From motorsports to aerospace.
And robotics to hybrids.
Toyota’s technology was always far ahead than it’s competetors.
And this made Toyota from a small company to the world’s largest automaker.
KAIZEN, which means continuous improvement.
Topped the list of Toyota’s philosophy.
This time saying "Get the feeling!"
But who knew 2008 would not prove to be the Lucky 8 for the Toyota’s.
Due to global financial crisis, Toyota reported a record annual net loss of US$4.4 billion.
Well that was just the starting.
In January 2010, Toyota announced recalling up to 1.8 million cars across Europe following an accelerator problem.
Another 8 million in the U.S.
Some more million in Asia.
Brake problem,
ABS system,
all is keeping Toyota busy.
It was “RECALL” the buzz word in the entire automobile industry.
Well this time the slogan says:

Toyota “Moving Forward!”