Indian Auto Industry - History & Timeline


Joined
Dec 8, 2010
Messages
8,137
Likes
1,790
Location
Hyderabad
Re: Bajaj in 80s



1990 - Bajaj Sunny
The Bajaj Sunny was a scooterette produced and sold in India. Bajaj Auto no longer produces this vehicle. It has a 60 cc engine and a maximum speed of 50 km/h. It can carry a payload of up to 120 kg. It has a fuel tank capacity of 3.5 liters. Like most scooterettes, the Sunny is targeted at teenagers who are eligible to get a driving license for ungeared two-wheelers at 16 years of age.
View attachment 2594 View attachment 2595 View attachment 2596


Oh !! such a wonderful thread which refreshed entire memories of last 30 years of Indian Automobile!! Thank you all for such a nice contribution in this thread which really made my all old memories fresh for a while !!

I was searching to post these pics of a Bajaj Sunny which still runs well in our office. Nothing more than its rattling with the age, I really do not know which year make it is, but take it kick it, with one kick it starts and just keep going !! never troubled us in any big way so far apart from some very small issues.

Do not go with its ODO, it got stopped long back and it is not correct !!

I hope you enjoy these pics !! too, sorry the vehicle is bit dirty as it is used by everybody in office for any purpose !!
 

Attachments

Joined
Dec 5, 2012
Messages
42
Likes
48
Location
Ratnagiri
Well Coming Back To Commercial Vehicles, Everybody Forgot That There Was A Model Named As Tata 807 Which Was Very Powerful And Was Used As Ex-Army Vehicle
We Had One Till 2003/04 And It Had Military Cabin Which We Had Bought From Pune Taken Out From Military Disposal Vehicle. I'll Checkout All Albums And Will Scan N Post Pics As Soon As I Get Them :)
 
Joined
Jul 8, 2014
Messages
121
Likes
108
Location
Bangalore
Just came across this thread and recollected about two beautifully restored pieces of machine I came across.
1) Rajdoot G.T.S.
2) Standard Herald (1961)

Saw these at the Piccadily Theathre in Manali, belonged to the owner Mr.Shyamsunder.
First look at the Herald and you'll lose your heart to it.
Rajdoot G.T.S. shot to fame via the bollywood classic movie Bobby, had smaller tyres, but nothing short of exquisite in it's looks.

I have some pics of them; if the admins permit I can share the link to my picasa album
 
Joined
Oct 24, 2014
Messages
1,551
Likes
1,296
Location
Mangalore
@ RSM a Good compilation altogether, was surfing from the last page found this thread intresting. Commendable JOB thank you. Baleno Altura,Indigo Marina,TATA ESTATE are all station wagons.boy i Have goose bums all over while im writing. Thanks each and everyone who have contributed to this thread to make it so informative. I remember the ad for sumo with trailers of tanks and a sumo in front awesome days they were. and the TATA Sierra Ad which said TATA SIERRA IT TAKES ROUGH WITH THE SMOOTH. WOW what days they used to be.

Also if im not wrong CONTESSA was a look alike of VAUXHALL VICTOR isn't it.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Oct 24, 2014
Messages
1,551
Likes
1,296
Location
Mangalore
hey guys we lost out on SIPANI DOLPHIN
sipani.jpg
sipani 1.jpg
Sipani Automobiles Ltd was an Indian car manufacturer established in 1973, located in Bangalore.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sipani#cite_note-CBR-1 They mainly manufactured subcompact cars with fibreglass bodies. They also took over Auto Tractors Limited in 1991 and manufactured diesel engines and tractors in the old ATL factory in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sipani#cite_note-2

It was also used in rallies in the 1987

Reliant-based cars http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sipani&action=edit§ion=1

In 1982 the company began production of India's first three-wheeled car, a four-door model called the Badal. This was not a success, even though a four-wheeled version called "Badal 4" was developed. Sipani instead switched to building a copy of the British four-wheeled, three-door Reliant Kitten under the name Sipani Dolphin. The standard version of the Dolphin was light blue in colour. Being light and comparably powerful by Indian standards of the day, the Dolphin became known as a fast car and saw some competition success in India. Production of the Dolphin was eclipsed by the advent of the Maruti 800, to compete a five-door version of the Dolphin was developed, called the "Montana".
The Montana

Later they produced a car called the Sipani Montana D1, which had a body copied in plastic from a second generationDaihatsu Charade but equipped with an Indian-built Mitsubishi-Shakti diesel engine intended for a mini-tractor.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sipani#cite_note-3 These cars were very small players; in the fiscal year 1989-90 a mere 290 automobiles were built by Sipani.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sipani#cite_note-CBR-1
Montego era

Sipani lost money in most of these ventures, but owner R. K. Sipani somehow managed to get a contract to assemble theRover Montego from CKD-kits in India, following the market liberalization. It was not a success either: 236 cars left the factory in 1995, with only 51 more finding buyers in the next fifteen months. Sipani was running heavily into debt and was the subject of a rescue effort from India's Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction in the late 1990s.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sipani#cite_note-4
 
Joined
Dec 13, 2011
Messages
1,714
Likes
1,082
Location
Bangalore
Wow! What a brilliant thread. The whole idea of jorting down the timeline of an automotive industry is simply awesome. Read from page 1 till here, feels like time travel. Keep it coming!!!!!!!
 
Joined
Aug 25, 2016
Messages
5
Likes
8
Location
bangalore
Compared to the western counterpart we in India had our own slice of merry in the automotive sector.To be fair enough we had our share to boot and think of automobiles in our own terms.Be it a two wheeler a car a three wheeler or any other sort simply super.
Down my memory line here are a few important line-ups.
01. Sportiff a stylish moped with alloy wheels produced by Chamundi mopeds.
02.Priya,Girnar leo ,Pawan a variants of the vespa 150.
03. Pearl Yamaha subsequent to the Bajaj m.80.
04. Vidyut first electric two wheeler based on TVS frame.
05. Cadila first 4 stroke moped with fuel efficiency upto 100 kmpl.
06. Allwyn pushpak,Falcoln ,Avanthi scooters based on the Lamretta.
07. Vespa pl 170 and the Lamby Cento smaller versions from their predecessors.
08. Avanthi range of mopeds.
09. Silver Plus,Explorer,Fury from Zundapp of Germany.
10 BSA Falcon /Bond/Mascot/Spitfire variants of the Morrini from Italy.
Apart from the above we lived and breathed with 2stroke auto's of Bajaj and API.
Trucks by Studebaker,Dodge,Fargo,Premier Automobiles,Leyland and Tata.
LCV's of Standard Motors and Bajaj Tempo LTD.
Trishool a mini jeep,Arun a hatchback from Bangalore Based Suguna Motors which never took off.
Special mention to be made about the Hanseat Ranger a three wheeler goods carrier which made into the inroads of Bangalore like no other goods carrier.
Brief stint of the Ford motors in launching their commercial Vehicles in association with Simpson of Madras.
Even today my heart beats for Mr R K Sipani for his contribution in bringing the Baadal and a reckoning Dolphin and the Superb Rover Montego.The car which won accolades across the Europe failed miserably here.
 
Last edited:
Joined
May 11, 2011
Messages
4,095
Likes
948
Location
Bangalore
Compared to the western counterpart we in India had our own slice of merry in the automotive sector.To be fair enough we had our share to boot and think of automobiles in our own terms.Be it a two wheeler a car a three wheeler or any other sort simply super.
Down my memory line here are a few important line-ups.
01. Sportiff a stylish moped with alloy wheels produced by Chamundi mopeds.
02.Priya,Girnar leo ,Pawan a variants of the vespa 150.
03. Pearl Yamaha subsequent to the Bajaj m.80.
04. Vidyut first electric two wheeler based on TVS frame.
05. Cadila first 4 stroke moped with fuel efficiency upto 100 kmpl.
...
Trishool a mini jeep,Arun a hatchback from Bangalore Based Suguna Motors which never took off.
Special mention to be made about the Hanseat Ranger a three wheeler goods carrier which made into the inroads of Bangalore like no other goods carrier.
Brief stint of the Ford motors in launching their commercial Vehicles in association with
That's an amazing list autobabu! Never knew some names at all [surprise]
Of all, my favorite was the matador, was going to school in one of them and whenever i used to sit in the front seat, that was very much thrilling seeing those switches and steering wheel. Nice share.
 

Top Bottom