“No BMW, go for any other beast but not the BMW”, this is what my friend’s dad pressed when we decided to go for the vehicle. The whole family was against the idea as the beemer has been getting some extremely bad press for quite sometime. Whenever it has come in the news, it has been with connection to some hit and run case or the other.
India has seen two high profile hit and run cases recently, one involving Sanjiv Nanda, the grandson of a formal Navy Chief, and the other one involving teenager Utsav Bhasin, the son of a renowned industrialist. Both of them come from affluent families, and the car involved in both the accidents, was a beemer. Media, pounced upon the cases with the tagline - “BMW Hit and Run Case”.
The Indian television news channels, who aspire to be more sensational than the best thriller you ever saw, have also been more dramatic and repetitive than any daily soap can ever claim to be. Discussed around the television screens at an amazingly repetitive and sensationalized coverage, the general public has been more than confused. While many people may not know the name of the people involved in these incidents, or of the lives lost as a result, what has stuck is the brand of the car(s) in these incidents. The result – A tarnished brand image.
A basic fact that appears to have been overlooked in the media scrutiny of these cases is that cars don’t drive themselves. The name of the marque is repeated so vehemently in certain sections of these reports, it almost appears that the vehicle decided to disobey its master and to ram into some innocent bystander. So, I will take a leaf out of the television reporter’s dictionary and repeat myself; Cars don’t drive themselves. It is common sense that things will go awry when a person is driving under the influence of some kind of intoxication - be it alcohol or something else - the brand of the car involved is quite immaterial in such circumstances. When the reins are in the driver’s hands, why blame the brand?
Now to get back to our fascination for the beemer...no worries! With the arguments set out above, it was a matter of time before we made the elders see our point of view. No wonder, BMW won two Kelley Blue Book Brand Image Awards at the 2008 New York International Auto Show. Check out more in the gallery and decide for yourself.
BMW Cars Picture Gallery
Comments
amazinggggggggggggggggggggg
No doubt, these cars do look like beasts on the roads. During high speeds, the driver gets unable to take control of the vehicle which results in such incidents. Indian roads are not meant for such monsters and they should be kept out of this country. We need freeways everywhere in order to roam around in these high tech machines.
It’s not the vehicle but who occupies the driver’s seat, I think, makes the difference.
I fell on the road not because the peal of banana was thrown there but because I put my foot on it. Now the question remains who is to blame: me or peal of banana? And the answer is too simple...isn’t it?
Buy it , But have a safe drive .
Otherwise Indian media will not let you go.
You’re right Lalit, that Indian roads are not meant for high tech cars but all the blame can not be showered on the roads or the vehicle. Driver holds the maximum responsibility while driving a car. He has to make sure that he drives within a speed limit which he can control.
I agree...If the driver does not have the knowledge of the machinery then he should better sit at the back seat and let some knowledgeable person drive. Or should go and get the proper knowledge before driving such a vehicle.
BMW is a brand I ain’t letting go for any reason. The writer here has rightly made a mention of the fact stating - Car’s don’t drive themselves.
Be more cautious on the road my friend, the wheel’s in your hand... Why shall the brand matter then? Don’t the other brand cars have accidents?
This is weird, why should a car be blamed for bad and drunk driving. Come on guys BMW is a great machine, the safety features in the car are highly commendable, and they just gave their best in saving the driver in all those hit and run cases. Be it a BMW, a Ferrari or even a Maruti, there is no way a car can be blamed for bad driving.
I agree with you Vinod, definitely its a fault of person who are recklessly driving the car, all the cases were discussed in the article are the result of reckless driving and as Kamal pointed about the media. I think media is doing its job, its’ media, who has shown path to jurisdiction, otherwise culprit have left to the foreign, so here Mr Kamal you need to correct yourself about meida.
And about BMW, wish I own it someday,,,,,,,,,
The name ’BMW’ is a class in itself. Every other day, we hear of Hit and Run Cases, but we never heard of a headline that read ”Maruti Hit and Run case” or a ”Hyundai Hit and Run case”. Why just BMW be made the victim?
Drive safe - this is what matters the most!
I totally agree with what is written in the article that ‘cars don’t drive themselves’. Only the driver should be held responsible for such accidents. One has to realize his responsibilities while driving to be careful in every aspect.
I think here govt should take some responsibility on its shoulders. It should provide separate license for the high tech cars. People should be tested on various grounds including the machinery and the car control and then provide them with the driving license. Not that any 19 yr old or 22 yr old new driver starts driving cars like BMW.
Why just BMW, any car driven rashly will kill people. That’s common sense. It has nothing to do with the brand. The only thing that matters is that how well trained a driver is. If he’s some new comer in the field of driving, the risk of accidents automatically increases.
Hit and run cases are very much usual in India, for that I feel the machinery is not the one which is to be blamed but the person who drives it. These cool looking cars are a dream of every one, so go buy them but drive slow and safe :-)
I own a BMW and would say that these kind of cars definitely need good roads and the freeways. I’ve been to India and have seen that the condition of the roads are not good there. Plus the roads are jam packed with traffic and the people walking along the roads. You can’t even imagine to drive on high speed there.
The driver has to be blamed for these kind of accidents but we can’t deny the fact that the parents give undue liberties to the kids at the age that they don’t deserve. Its the basic duty of the parents to think about the consequences of the careless driving of their child. It puts his and other people’s lives at risk. they should be blamed either.
True. There are many cases observed worldwide where teenagers slams the cars here and there as they are unable to control them at the high speeds. They either kill people on the road or kill themselves. Parents have to be very careful and should make sure that children are not given any such chance to take risks.
I will also say the same thing that the hi tech cars are just meant for professional drivers who gets the proper training for such vehicles. Children strictly should not be allowed to drive them. Plus a separate license concept is a great idea. Afterall human life holds some value and we all need to take care of this.
Why there are no accidents or hit-and-run cases of Maruti? We have to see both the “HIT” and “RUN” side. You can easily “RUN” with a super car engine under your bum after the deadly “HIT”. The company too is the culprit if it’s not designing vehicles according to the target users of a country. I’m sure you’ll find most of the drivers on the roads today without license. Ok, that’s a different problem. Moreover, the models, like SUVs or other sports models, should be sold only to specific customers. Which is not possible in India, or is it? In this scenario, how one can ensure that the “Power would always meet Control”. If you’re designing a vehicle for the F1, it’s okay, go ahead. But not the same for the common man in India. BMW can easily introduce a technology to track the driving habits of drivers – including average speeds, frequency of use of breaks and other data – to design cars specifically as per the comfort level of the driver. The car shouldn’t move a single inch the moment it realizes through the breath of the driver that he is under influence. I’m not demanding them to deliver some futuristic vehicle here. This is all possible, especially when they are investing so much on research too. But they have failed to do this; we expect them to do this. They have to meet their sales targets too. Right? This is the main reason of the rising hit-and-run cases and so many deaths of innocent people. When someone commits murder with a local gun, don’t you go and try to catch the suppliers and makers of the weapon?
Frankly speaking there are more than 1000 times hit and run cases from Maruti then BMW.
And any common man can confirm that. The only reason BMW has been accused so much in India, is because media wanted so.
Salman Khan or his driver when drove over people in Mumbai, then which vehicle he was in. If I remember correctly it was not BMW, but Land rover or something.
Why not his vehicle is not in news? Isn`t it strange?
I do believe the same thing. Blame the accidents on the driver, not on the car. It just so happened that a lot of reckless drivers would drive a BMW and get into accidents.