Automobile Technology

I was having a debate with my friend yesterday as to why the SRS Airbag safety device is considered as an optional accessory in a car being sold in the market. Hyndai i10 for example has different versions in the market - Era, Magna, Sportz and Asta. And only the high end models come with SRS Airbag device. Its the same with other manufacturers too. Shouldn't it be made mandatory that every car out in the market has this feature built into it and priced accrordingly? Is'nt as important as having the seat belts in all cars?

I was in the cab on a long drive to the office this morning and decided to scribble down the top five good looking sedans from the rear. Here is the list.. Corolla Altis Sonata Embera Honda Civic Honda City ZX Fiat Linea. These were the vehicles I could see on road today. I might have missed some good ones out there. If I happen to see them and if it impresses me then I shall update the list above. Until then this is what I have.

I drove the Tata Indigo CS - Diesel in Mumbai. It was the first time I ever drove a diesel car. It felt good inside and the controls were not that bad. However what disappointed me was the sound of the engine and the movement of the gear handle if I happened to not accelerate enough while moving in the first gear. The vehicle had a good pickup and was quiet descent in its performance. The issues above could also be because of the poor maintenance as my friend did not care much to keep it in good shape. Who said Tata Motors manufactures cars that felt like trucks?

Tata motors wins at the Royal Automobile Club, Brighton at the London future Challenge. The Tata Indica Vista EVX can hit 96 kmph in 10 seconds and bagged the top honours as a passenger electric vehicle. Good going! Something Indian but developed in UK.

I was on my way to the city from the Airport in Bangalore in a cab and I did not expect Mahindra Logan to be so smooth. I don't know if it was the skill of the driver or the car but sitting in the back seat I simply enjoyed the drive. The gear shift was smooth, engine was smooth, pickup was good and he easily hit 120 in less than maybe 15 secs. And what really got me wondering was the smooth suspension. I could not feel a thing. I was comparing it with the i10 I have and I asked my wife if she felt the smooth suspension sitting inside our car and she said the cab seemed to be better; or maybe he was driving so fast she could not feel a thing.

Nissan's first hatchback for the Indian market. And Ranbir Kapoor is helping with the sales ;-). Hmmm! lets see... button start and stop, intelligent key system, clever arrangement of the interior buttons, 18.06 kmpl and slightly different looks. It looks like A-star when seen from the front. Nothing more. And  yes! A very bad website. I am curious to know how much better it is in comparison to the other hatchbacks we have in the market; especially the Polo. I have not seen a micra on road in Bangalore yet. Its just a matter of time.

The new scooter from TVS. Looks sleek and sweet. This product from TVS would be a tough competition to Honda products - Dio and Activa. It is more or less a slightly modified version of the scooty but TVS has made sure there is something in this that makes it different from the rest in the market.  It comes packed with a 110cc engine, 12" wheels, external fuel inlet and more. Check out their website here http://tvswego.com/

First long trip to Mangalore since I bought my Hyundai i10 kappa and I simply loved it. The AC sets to work within seconds and the engine does not feel underpowered at all. The max speed I attained was 120 kmph. I was not confident going faster than that because I was worried if I would lose control. So I maintained a steady speed of 80 to 90 kmph. While going it was via Madikeri and the total distance was about 375 kms. Computing the average the vehicle gave around 17 kmpl. And this is not bad at all. My AC was on most of the time. We were three of us while heading to Mangalore. And full house (five) while coming back to Bangalore. While returning it was through the ghats, via Hassan. Happy with the vehicle so far.

So far so good. The drive has been good and so is the performance of the vehicle. Will initiate a long drive very soon. Lets see how it goes. I have just been busy at work. And now that it is done.. its time to rock! More updates after the trip. And yes.. Had been to the service center at Sheshadripuram and the experience has been ok. It was delivered a day later. I had an scratch and requested them to do a good paint job but unfortunately they could not find the right color to match the white color of my car. Finally they did SOMETHING. There was nothing much I could do. Why make life complicated for such meager issues. I left it and now my car looks like it is sporting a earring or something. And after that I had one major scratch (with a dent) and two more (one of which I don't know how it happened).

Now I am saying to myself every time..... "The car is good... the driver is bad....". I had been on a long drive to Innovative City - Close to 120 kms. The drive was good but I seemed to have a problem with the first and the second gear most of the time. For some reason I feel the shift sometimes tight. The third and fourth however had no issues. I thought it was probably me not pressing the clutch fully. This would be an issue I shall rectify during my first service. I am going to end my review on this car here. But I conclude saying this - "It is a great car for a populated city like Bangalore. Its kappa, so I have nothing more to say.".

There were some goof ups with the executives in the showroom. Missing documents, loose screws, the stereo deck popping out etc.. but it was soon rectified. The most important thing anyone must do is check if all the documents is available. I failed to do this and then had to call them back and they promptly attended to the request. My schedule that week had been very hectic and had a lot of back logs to attend to. Anyways now almost a week I must say I like it so far. In fact I had few people knocking the windshield while in traffic asking me if the vehicle was good. Good interiors for a hatchback, great design, great engine and off course the bells and whistles. What more can you ask for?

Finally after a long time a Hyundai i10 1.2 Kappa is going to be a part of my life. Had to do a lot of research before deciding on this. Its small, wider, comes with loads of features, slightly overpriced, got a good engine, has a descent mileage, and also a good resale value.

Nice! but a little disappointing. From the side it looks no different from Maruthi Suzuki Ritz. It is three-door hatchback small car designed by GM Daewoo with an automatic transmission.

Both these cars look great. The first thing I noticed is the clean finish. And after a very long time I am finally seeing a car with a difference. Today I got to see about three Lineas and two Puntos on the streets of Bangalore. And they seem reasonably priced as well. The Linea is priced at a max of 8.3 L in bangalore and the Punto at a max of 6.3 L. This is the ex-showroom price. It is definitely admiration guaranteed for me.

Hmmmmm.... 12 lacs???? why would I want to buy this car when can I get a spacious Toyota Innova for close to 5 lacs lesser? And whats with the interiors? 12 lacs buddy, its half the price of a good posh flat in a city like Bangalore and all I get is a Maruthi Alto kinda interior??? Huh! You must be kidding.. I would recommend GM to go back to the drawing boards and come up with some changes and a sensible pricing for this vehicle. I would only be surprised if it becomes a hit in the market. Good luck.

Sorry for not having posted a blog for so many days. I was in midst of so many other things. So.. whats new.. hmmmmm.... ah! Harley Davidson. Yes all biking enthusiasts.. Harley Davidson is now in India. The company founded in 1903 and headquartered in US is now whetting its hands in India. So the website is http://www.harley-davidson.in/ . Give it a shot. They have the following bikes in store for sale. The famous Sportster, DYNA, Softail, VRSC, Touring and VSO. The V-ROD VRSC is simply mouth watering. Phew! what a vehicle. Have not had a chance to know the prices of these vehicles though. If anyone knows how much it is do comment on it. Some say that it might take another year for the vehucle to actually be on Indian roads. Lets be patient until we see the light at the endof the tunnel. So for now just enjoy!

Toyota has launched the Toyota IQ which is considered the worlds smallest four passenger car. This car is primarily targeted for the European market. Its about 9.8 ft in length and about 4.9 ft in height.

TVS has unleashed a new high performance bike of the Apache RTR (Racing Throttle Response) 180. The new ARE website of TVS features galleries of stunts and gimmicks done on this bike. Check out the new ARE website . This is similar to Bajaj's move on the Stunt Mania. Here ARE stands for Apache Racing Experience. The 180 RTR sports some latest cool features now. As days pass by the manufacturers come up with new things to spice up the existing models in the market to meet customer expectations. The Bull Horn Grab Rails and the Air Scoops are some noted features of the Apache RTR. The latest features I like is the removeable rear mud guard. This was done to give the bike the superbike look. But Apache is too small and style like this might not suite it quite well. However it is a great feature. And yes! The bike now comes in white color. The black and white combo looks great but I think it is best suited for the traffic policemen and not for aaam aadmi! Have a look at their website f...

Though General Motors is entering the stage of seeking brankrupcy protection from the U.S governmnt, it still has some plans for India. Don't worry, this is not another Tata Nano on streets now but rather another strategy for the company to sustain itself in the market. At a price tag of less than 2 lakh the company was looking at developing a car that would be positioned below the 'Spark' mini car. Besides India it would also be sold in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa and China.

Be it TVS Apache or Bajaj Pulsar or any other 4 stroke cool bikes we have on road in India; there is one thing I am quiet not clear with. Why don't these bikes have a under seat box for storage? It's quiet obvious that the seat box comes as an accessory, but hey, it is a matter of convenience. The seat box is very uncomfortable for a pillion rider and it spoils the beauty of the vehicle too. Do humans really lack ideas? I am saying this because I enjoy travelling in my Honda Dio. I also have a TVS Apache. Nah! it's not about speed, but the sexy space that the vehicle has is just amazing. When it rains for instance I can simply dump all my gadgets and items inside that huge under seat box and happily get myself drenched. But imagine doing this on TVS Apache or Pulsar and you have to sacrifice something. The seat we have in TVS Apache, Doh! Such a weird thing to do just to remove it. First you have to remove the box to the side of the bike, then pull that string and then the ...