Car and Culture

Yes, I'm feeling quite the Honda mood today. It's one of my favorite brands and produces capable and potential machines all throughout the globe. So I thought "Okay, why not talk about one of my favorite and Underrated Chassis of the Decade (at least as far as I know) ?" So my friends, ANOTHER HONDA EXPERIMENT in the Indian market, which unfortunately failed unlike the City - yeah it's the Brio.  History of the Brio: The Brio was an experiment carried out by Honda in the Southeast Asian markets as a budget-friendly hatchback that slots below the Honda Jazz / Fit. The design of the first-generation Brio was quirky and funky, appealing to Youngsters and Gen-Z ( that's what Honda executives thought XD), who were mostly first-time car buyers. It rolled out of the factory with a 1.2-liter, SOHC, petrol, 4-cylinder (L12) that was derived from the L15, the famous 1.5-liter engine found in the Honda City. It was mated to either a 5-speed manual or a CVT.  The Brio ent...

The year was 1996. The world saw the newest iteration of Honda's popular city car- as it goes by its name-the CITY. But it also marked the entry of the brand into a country that made globalization liberal quite sometime before- INDIA. Fast Forward today, the City still stands as one of the greatest and most loved sedans in the Indian market. Despite the decline in sales of sedans, the city has managed to maintain its popularity for 25 years- yes you heard me right, more than 2 DECADES and 5 GENERATIONAL changes, having initially entered a market that was dominated by hatchbacks and currently faces competition from SUVs. But according to the popular saying, "Every tall building needs a strong foundation", the foundation for the City brand stands strong on the reputation of the first City that Indians saw- The Type 2. The pre-facelift Type 2: The original type 2 City was launched as a subcompact four-door sedan targeted for developing Asian markets such as Thailand, Indones...