Hottest cars in town

By Sanchita Regmi Joshy

Looking for a car? Make sure you aren’t buying someone else’s problems. The advertisers might sell vehicle's history reports, which can alert you to major problems with a potential purchase.

Are you researching your next vehicle purchase, or do you just want to read about what’s in store for the new model year?

In the days, or those yesteryears, big was beautiful. But gone are those days. Now small and practicality is the priority of the present generation. Big, large cars are being replaced by small, fuel efficient and economic cars that practically sniff fuel. And in the past few years, small mini cars, which have come in attractive flashy colours, have seized the streets of Kathmandu, which is fast shrinking to the ever-booming number of vehicles and pedestrians.

Though older and bigger cars still continue to ply the streets of the country where cars appear never to be disposed at the junkyard and run up until the very last breath, they are in no match in efficiency, speed or glamour with these new mini cars.

Car companies are now beginning to concentrate in this corner of the market and the dealers in Nepal too are focussing their efforts on popularising and marketing these models. Cars like mid-sized Toyota Starlet, Nissan, Diahatsu along with min-sized cars like Daewoo, Matiz, indica or Daihatsu Cuore are brightening up our capital. But the most popular of these small cars are no doubt Maruti cars like the Maruti 800 or the Zen, simply because they are cheap and easy access to spare parts that come across the border without much hassle.

" Small cars have become the first choice of the car buyers today, according to Uttam Gupta, sales officer of Maruti Company. They are easy to operate and economic and not only that in a place where there is very small place for parking, such small cars will be the perfect match."

Besides being most attractively priced, its tailor-made finance options offer the choice of varying down payments starting as low as the price of a two wheeler. Also monthly attractive monthly installments that make it one of the easiest cars to buy.

While talking to one of the customers of Maruti, he says, besides easy parking, Maruti 800 offers us some advantages that no cars can offer. it has unsurpassed fuel efficiency, has low maintanance cost and the easy avalilability of genuine parts. One look and you know the Nissan Sunny is special, according to Lata Gurung, public relation manager of the Dugar Brothers and Sons. At Nissan, we place emphasis on providing a high level safety that allows passenger’s peace of mind. Our first commitment is towards customer satisfaction, adds in Lata. Through diligent efforts to develop new customers and expand our customer base, we are contributing to the ongoing progress and enrichment of the society.

Beneath the good looks, lies a wealth of advanced features to keep you and your passengers safe. Similarly, according to one of the customer, Nissan is dedicated to not only providing a high level of basic performance, but also advanced "triple safety" features covering every aspect of safe driving. First there is information safety to forewarn the driver. Next there is control safety to assist driving behavior to avoid accidents and the third, impact safety that acts to help reduce injury in accidents. She adds in, as a result you can enjoy driving Nissan vehicles with complete confidence and comfort.

It is seen that most customers, who buy vehicles for themselves, seek cars with some basic requirements. " A choice of powerful, fuel-efficient engines with low maintenance to get the job done efficiently is a must," says Prajwal Joshy who is a car holder. Nowadays, most cars have ergonomically designed seat, which comfortably supports the spine to reduce fatigue on long trips, and the new high endurance seat cushions to maintain the comfort for many years.

A vehicle’s basic performance comes down to its platform and all the automobile companies boast to be one of the best.

An owner of a Toyota pickup says, thanks to tough construction, which gives years of trouble free operation. He says, another advantage of the highly rigid body is steering respond. Offering plenty of interior room with all controls properly positioned to facilitate operation as well as full range of handy amenities is a worldwide favourite.

Because the pajero has never led by standing still, Mitsubishi has now introduced a new, full model change Pajero. The new model, the third generation Pajero, retains the essential qualities of all Pajeros. According to LB Shah, PR and sales manager, the Pajeros are so expensive and because of the high tax rate, it is difficult for the individuals to buy. He says, that only big companies can afford buying. New, advanced technology and groundbreaking combinations of existing technologies enhance the Pajero’s position as the world’s leading all-terrain vehicle in terms of performance, ride and safety.

We have noticed that lots of people in our country, due to low income, go for reconditioned cars. Such cars are also taking up the market. One important feature of such cars built since 1975 is the catalytic converter. When properly functioning, catalytic converters and electronic engine systems can reduce harmful emissions by up to 90 percent. Some car owners and mechanics tamper with their emission control equipment, under the mistaken impression that performance and fuel efficiency will be improved. In fact, emission controls are integral to the functioning of one’s car’s engine; if it has been tampered with, both performance and fuel efficiency will be reduced.

And also, some car buyers go in for various deals like purchase price, financing terms and so on to minimize confusion and achieve the best outcome in all aspects of the buying process.

All companies and dealers have been developing new technologies in a variety of automobile for more than a couple of years. The focus is on total systems engineering utilizing various existing technologies and the development of new technologies providing diverse products for use on land, sea and in the air.

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