Fiat Grande Punto v. Tata Indica Vista Quadrajet

there is no restriction at all on running a car as a cab. I had mentioned in one other post as well that agencies are even running the merc as cabs. You even get S class. I saw this ad in the newspaper and was astonished. it said "all types of cabs available for short/long trips. Even merc s class available"(not the exact wordings though). Even in many marriages I have seen people renting out different types of cars ranging from indica to merc, audi and bmw, with yellow boards. Here in Pune a new hotel has been opened and they boast of having customer driven to hotel in an Audi.thats how the cab business is growing these days. Infact there is not even a single brand that is spared of being a cab TATA wanted to break the indica of the cab-car image and so they had made such restrictions. They strictly had the dealer sell the "indicab" for commercial purposes and the rest for personal purchases. but i have even seen the safari as cabs. so doesnt make any sense in restricting people


Why break rules when following them is much easier!!!

Steeroid, I feel the Tata representatives may be saying so to promote the sales & to create an image that Vista will not have the taxi image.  If they are really doing it by way of penalising the dealers, fine - trying to discourage Vista taxis (good for Vista owners).  But I strongly feel that no manufacturer/dealer can put such a restriction.  In any case, pvt. registration can be converted into commercial - it's not a big deal at all - not expensive either (discussed earlier).

Bhavin, such a restriction, if at all / any, will not be at RTO level.

Centaur, Indicab is priced without excise (exempted) - for taxi/commercial purpose.  If you go for pvt. registration, you will have to pay excise first.  It applies even at the time of converting Indicab from commercial registration in to pvt. registration.

Honesty is not a Spare Wheel that you pull out when in trouble. It's a Steering Wheel that keeps you on the right path throughout the life's journey.

thats true Pankaj and it also lacks many features of the normal Indica. It is solely intended for taxi usage.

Why break rules when following them is much easier!!!

Trust me on this - I have valid reasons for saying so.    

Keep those wheels turning!

Sure. In that case, it's in the interest of pvt. buyers like us - may it be Vista or Honda (or whatever).

Edit:  But my point is (only for academic purpose)... can a seller 'choose' a buyer?  I don't think he has 'rights' to do that.

Honesty is not a Spare Wheel that you pull out when in trouble. It's a Steering Wheel that keeps you on the right path throughout the life's journey.

given the slow sales of the indica vista so far, I think tata is already preparing for the evantuality where taxi sales will save it. And lets face it. the vista does have all the attributes cabbies look for. Its VFM, spacious, mostly reliable, and has two diesel engines, one which is cheap, reliable and familiar to the taxi wallah tribe, and the other boasts marvellous mileage and operating costs.

I think the introduction of mint white as an option , and the Terra trim of the quadrajet is evidence enough that tata is at least subtly trying to court the taxi market again