Automobile Technology

From BBC "BMW lists many milestones throughout its near-100-year history, though one stands tall amongst the rest: the rescue of the entire company by a short bubble car. You see, though BMW was very good at making aircraft engines during WW1 and WW2, and produced some iconic cars including the stunning 507, by the end of the 1950s it was facing financial ruin, teetering on the brink of being sold...." Check out the concept cars : BMW concept cars

There is no doubt that Sonata is an exceptional car.  Boasting a stunning design and lots of features it is definitely miles ahead of its predecessors in all aspects. And now, Hyundai becomes the first car maker to offer Google's Android Auto System and exclusively in its Sonata model. Basically, a smartphone inside the car. Google and Apple compete with each other to offer smartphone services with leading automakers in the world. Apple has signed deals with BMW and Honda to promote its system called CarPlay.

It was a thing in the past that only the rich could afford exotic bikes like Harley or Yamaha VMAX and you would expect some class in the person riding these bikes. Basically, when you got lucky to see one on road, you had this 'wow' factor looking at both the bike and the rider. They are a perfect match, amazingly symmetric and appealing to the eye; a burst of excitement like you fell in love for the first time. And now, all of a sudden everyone is having one. I mean, how often do you get to see three Harley's (two street 750, one V-Rod) on a single stretch of road? I have no issues with the bike, but the sight of a someone with a bag, silly pair of shoes and formals riding a Harley just blows my mind. I think a 'wow' sight these days is a glimpse of suzuki 'Shogun', suzuki 'Samurai' or perhaps even the classic 'Yezdi'. Do you agree?

Few years to hit the market?? It would be awesome.

Yawn!!! Lodgy is a contender to the Ertiga and Honda Mobilio, but you will be disappointed with the looks. The vehicle is boxy and does not have the ergonomic design of the Ertiga or Mobilio. This is because most of its design is derived from its sibling, Duster, which was is not great in looks either. However, there are few good points inside the car. 1) Space. Lots of it. Lodgy gives you the option to disassemble the third row seats if needed. The second row has tumble option. 2) Seating in the second row is good, but not the case on the third row. There is no option to slide the seats. 3) Dashboard layout is similar to the Duster but feels a little premium than the Duster. For some reason their website gallery does not an image of the rear side of the car. Wonder why?? Everything else is as usual. It is priced at 8.1 lacs ex-showroom Delhi. It's going to be tough for Renault to sell this.. but who knows. I have seen few Nissan Evalia's on road :-) ...

The baddest and meanest bike from Bajaj! Stunning!!! Here is the first look from PowerDrift. One more from Overdrive

Some shots of the Suzuki Gixxer. Great bike, but errrrr!! isn't it pretty similar to my TVS Apache in terms of features that I purchased in 2008?

Saw the ad in the new papers and flipped to the next page within few seconds. Not sure why, but its become a habit for us to blame the company for its poor quality of build - engine, clutch, interiors and so on and also that it is one of the most preferred (or should I say was one of the most preferred..) brand by the cab services in the nation.  I commute to work by office cab and the owner has a fleet of Tata cars. The owner who is also the driver says that it is affordable for him to buy a Tata car taking into consideration the cost of maintenance. Once in a while we commute in his Tata Manza and I must say it is spacious, has good interiors and the engine seemed responsive. I had to change my mindset and re-think Tata Motors as a brand that now owns Jaguar and Land Rover and expect some level of richness in their vehicles. Looks like they have achieved this through Zest and it is going for the kill. Watch this video from AutoCar to know why. So, will you change your...

Help me! Duster or the EcoSport.... I am not able to make up my mind....

Ertiga! Ertiga! Ertiga! and as I was about to make my mind a new mini-SUV a.k.a  MPV renders on the TV screen.Yes! The new Honda Mobilio. But, seriously? Is that a Brio dashboard in Mobilio? And the front side of Amaze? My interest on this vehicle plummeted. Well, that is what I care about, but your requirements could be different. So lets see where the Mobilio is better than the Ertiga. It has a bigger boot space Is stylish; rear look inspired from the Civic Comes with 1.5 Petrol and 1.5 Diesel when compared to Ertiga's 1.4 Petrol and 1.3 Diesel variants. Has good knee room, legroom and headroom for all three rows; the second row can be folded Refined Honda i-DTEC Engine  Stable and refined driving Find the review from Autocar below

I am falling in love with Hyundai; more and more for its stunning design implementation. I saw an ad in the paper but in reality this SUV looks awesome! My friend and I were recently having an argument over Gionee ELife E5 smartphone vs the Apple ipad mini; obviously the comparison is between a phone and a tab, but our argument was about the features. While he boasted about the DTS sound, Super Amoled screen and 8 MB camera, I simply told him that I had a Skoda Rapid and he had the Hyundai Accent. Anyways, Santa Fe is not the old conventional looking SUV anymore. Its stylish and is loaded with chrome. The design of the vehicle from the front to rear is flawless and is miles ahead of the previous version launched in India. Watch this review from AutoCar.

Woooo!! They nailed it again. First they tried with the Ertiga, and now with the Celerio. We all agree that traffic in a big city is always a PITA, and it gets worse during peak hours. I recently got diagnosed with back pain and though the doctor advised me not to drive but instead arrange for a driver or use the cab, he gave me an other option of switching to automatic gear shifting. So, there is definitely one other thing good about automatic gear shifting and Celerio provides you that and at a very very very very reasonable price. Lets see how. The auto shift gear is called EZ Drive and ensures efficiency similar to manual transmission. And then they also have this EZSpace, EZStyle and EZGizmo technologies. Don't worry, they are just fancy terms. It will be available in six variants, 3 in manual and 2 in auto gear shift. The price ranges from 3.90 lacs to 4.6 lacs between LXi, ZXi and Vxi. Lxi and Vxi have the auto transmission. It sports a 1000 cc engine and is aluminum cast...

I get very puzzled at the design of the Yamaha Bikes with the elevated seats. What is the need for it? Check this out.

Power to weight ratio is equal to the engine's power output divided by the weight of the vehicle. Its as simple as that.

It is absolutely brilliant to be able to park a car using a mobile app. At the same time, just for parking? Can't you simple do it? Anyways, its awesome, especially when you see it from the rear sitting inside the car. Check out this video from YouCar.

Normal petrol price in Bangalore is 78 rupees and premium is 88. I had to fill premium today as I was in a little hurry and it came to about 800 ml short of the normal petrol. The premium petrol was the XtraPremium petrol from IndianOil which has an octane rating of about 89 - 93. It usually means that the petrol has been mixed with other additives that makes it suitable for high performance.  These additives help in keeping the engine clean by preventing carbon deposits and also increase performance of the engine by ensuring complete combustion of fuel enabling you to use higher gears comfortably and thereby increasing the mileage. However, there is a catch. These additives are suitable only for high performance cars and add no benefit to normal ones. Therefore, you are simply burning your pocket filling XtraPremium petrol. Most manufacturers recommend normal unleaded petrol. I think its best to stick to that. Also, how would you really know its XtraPremium once its inside t...

This is mission impossible. He must have been one crazy kid with a lot of perseverance. However, I could not find any information about how it works. Any idea? Anyone?

In Bangalore I have seen a lot of women driving the Ford EcoSport. I must say it looks good to see a woman drive a SUV. Sometime last month I noticed my wife admit that too. However, I am not sure if she was giving me a clue to gift one for her. Anyways, a white Ford EcoSport, a beautiful lady inside, Ray-Ban glasses, chewing gum.... imagine that and you will know what I mean.Women definitely want it big nowadays. I meant the car.                                                 What were you thinking???

What can I say? I don't have words... Money can make you go crazy.

I generally avoid watching videos like this but today I wanted to give it a try. A video from Autocar India. Its about John Abraham and his Gallardo.