CARS and the ART of Ads

Saw this advert during a Program Management workshop recently! Had to search for it for a few minutes on youtube!



Some of the other absolutely phenomenal Car Ads that I remember watching are

Honda


And the super HOTT Mercedes SLS AMG advert...

Don't say TATA to TATA!

Why So Serious!!! This is the tagline of Honda that I did not like, because they have picked it up straight from Knight Rider! Now apparantly after someone buys a Honda, they would not be serious anymore! And rightly so, Honda cars are a pleasure to drive! smooth, silent, efficient, and so on!

On my way back home, last friday, I saw just the opposite... a gentlemen in his mid 30s, extremely serious while his driver was at the steering wheel of the brand new red Jazz! his discomfort and total lack of confidence was oozing out of all the windows of that otherwise comfortable car! I really wanted to ask him "Why so Serious?" , record it and send it to Honda!

All of that was beside the point though! The point here was that I was driving a 12000 kms old Indica Quadrajet! and was I pleasently surprised or was I?

The Quadrajet is a FIAT engine, and is expected to run extremely well, however that engine in the TATA body is making that car feel like a different animal on the road for sure! As soon as you rev up the engine beyond 2000 rpm, the car really transforms into a different avatar! The build quality is quite alright of the Indica, much better that the previous versions, though it still looks and feels very plastic as compared to cars in the similar category! AC is alright! Space is NICE, and the legroom at rear is very comfortable for 3 adults!

I was driving the fully loaded version which comes with a CD player and integrated bluetooth telephony system! it basically sucks though! I can do without it!

The ABS would come handy as the car seems to have a more than adequate amount of Body roll!

There is very little engine noise, thanks to the refined FIAT engine, and the throttle response is more than pleasing!

Let's come to a few thoughts keeping in perspective, the closest competition for this car! A fully loaded Swift VDI!

None of the two have a set of Alloys with the fully loaded version... Swift VDI has better build quality for sure, however that comes with a premium of about Rs. 70000 as compared to the Indica Quadrajet. Is it worth it? Not really sure till I drive a Swift VDI, but for now, the Indica Quadrajet seems to be a good value for money!

I also feel that things like

- Tachometer

- Digital Clock

- High mounted rear lamp

- Follow me home headlamps

- Delayed cabin lights

- Headlight on warning

and a few more! Don't see why these have to be included as "features" anymore in car brochures!

Point and Beep

I find it funny that a lot of people stretch their arms to point towards their cars while using remote locking!

The heart and home gets a BEAT!

So finally after a wait of about 50 days, we got our third car!

First White, then Red and now a Blue... my family tends to stick with the primary colors only :)

Radha and Meera outside the house :)

Let's talk about the good in this car as I observed in the first 5 kilometers of my drive

1. The front of the car is very bold, and aggressive. Makes it stand out well!

2. The lights are smartly designed, though I would have liked a different set of headlights. GM has toned down some styling to cater to the cost conscious Indian market.

3. The rear door handle is cleverly concealed next to the window, and does not show up on the door, giving it a two door feel in the first quick look. The original (which was first seen in Transformers 2 is a two door)

4. The interiors are futuristic... Brilliantly designed dashboard, gives it a sports car feel, and the matte chrome three spoke steering wheel is just adequately sized.

5. The rear lights are big and would be helpful in Delhi fog

6. The head room is great

7. 14" wheels are standard and that gives the car a better fuller look, plus helps a bit of stability

8. The LT version that I got has an integrated music system which makes for a good looking interior and plays my iPOD

9. The seats hold the back very nicely and have a decent lumbar support too

10. The speaker system is decent if you do not want to spend more on thump and sound volumes

11. The paint job is nice and clean and the build quality of the vehicle is good. This is anyway expected from GM

12. The car is extremely silent

13. There are intelligent spaces in the car to keep things

A few things that are not so good about the car

1. The boot space is bad and so is the glove box. Its very small too.

2. The tires are thin... 155/70R4 is something screams for an upgrade to atleast 170/65R14... It would take away a few previous kilometers from the mileage though...

3. There is no left foot rest!!!! What was GM thinking? That will make long drives difficult!!!

And now because I have been driving a FIAT... let's talk about how BEAT feels when compared to a PALIO

1. It feels light.. very light... has both advantages and disadvantages..

2. Palio feels very rich in terms of its interiors as compared to the Beat...

3. The tyre upgrade that I did for Palio makes it feel more stable... I am already waiting for my first tyre upgrade

4. The doors of a Palio close with a THUD... and the Beat closes with a slightly subtle thud... makes me feel strange!

5. Palio has door stoppers which stop the door from swinging open when you get out of it.. you always have to make an effort to open the door... That simple functionality has helped me a lot in the last 5 years of owning the car!

Its great to have two good cars now.. One which is very slick, modern and smart, and the other which feels safe, strong and is still going very strong after 5.5 years of a trouble free ownership. And both bold, aggressive, and very stylish in their own worlds!!!!

Its about the choice I make...

and not just at one time, but always !!!

I can either decide to sulk over something that I don't have or "can't" have, or decide to be happy about what I have....

I choose the latter for most part of my life these days and that makes me breathe easy !!! a lot easier than the times when I used to see the space around, instead of things that fill some of it !!!

For instance, I cannot buy the cars that I see on the roads here every day ! BUT, I have an option of renting them :) and in the last four weeks I enjoyed driving

Mazda 6

Chevrolet Impala

Ford Fusion

and this weekend, a huge Chrysler 300

I will write about my personal opinion about these cars sometime later (can't stay without driving a car and noticing a few things about it)

But the point is,

I choose what direction I turn my head it, I decide to turn in what is more satisfying !

Meanwhile, enjoy a view of 4 of the 9 awesome beauties that I own here in America !!!

Yea, I like miniature cars ! must have at least 20 of them back home in India !

Why, Let there be light?

I have recently noticed (ok, not too recently) but I have noticed a unique design by Maruti Suzuki in their recent cars !

A small red light, at the lower end of the rear bumper in the center. It does not come on with the rear or the brake lights, but apparently has a separate switch to operate!

Now I am wondering what thought might have gone into putting a light there, just about 10 inches above the ground !!! The light at the rear top makes sense as it increases visibility from a distance, plus gives indication of applied brakes to vehicles which are relatively higher and following you at a very close distance and is a backup light just in case one of your bulbs for the brake lights is not working !

But this light in question, is only increasing costs, but making the bumper more customized, added light (prone to damage more often, while parking, backing up etc), extra wiring and above all, a stupid look...

Can someone help me make sense of that light please !

Having said that, I still love to drive my first Maruti 800, Tushar's old Zen and Aro's really old esteem ! What brilliant engines they are! For some, Maruti might have come a long way, but from where I see it, it produces much worse cars then it used to in terms of finish, durability, and build quality ! Swift, though really strange design ( strange fattish look, and extra small windows), is a car that I like because of the work inside the car, below the hood (a bit of my liking for swift is because of the FIAT diesel engine that it uses :P) Do read about the interesting design story for the SWIFT here, and check out the two door and convertible Swifts ! they look brilliant ! I just hope they improve the paint job on the Swift ! The red one looks like years old even after a few months !

Oh, and have a great week ahead ! the next week is just a few days away !

Japanese American or American Japanese !!!

A few days back I saw a car on the road here, I recognised it and smiled because I feel good if the same models are introduced in India and outside !!! For me that represents a growing India...

Honda Accord, CRV, Civic; Toyota Camri, Corolla; The Chevrolet UVA (Aveo in the US) are exactly the same models !!! nice... Ok, back to the incident !!!

Everything was fine till I saw the logo of the brand, and I was shocked !!!

The car looked like the Chevrolet Optra and it was carrying a Suzuki Logo... Pretty interesting eh !!!

Check out the following links for yourself !!!

Suzuki Forenza (USA)

Chevrolet Optra (India)

I don't see much of a difference !!! Do you?

*Listening to Don Davis - Navras (Matrix Revolutions Soundtrack) {Fantastic track; High Energy; Sanskrit ; Rock ; Instrumental; What not}

For the Kid in Me... ( Three of Ten :)

(need to take this picture again... and the one below too)

I got more :) sometime later :)

50000 and still going strong !!!

A lot of people find me and my love for my car crazy... I don't blame them for that passion is close to insanity anyway :)

Li'il do they realize that this probably is the level of commitment that I set for myself :)

About three and a half years after I bought my car, I still feel as great as I felt the first time I went out for a drive...


and this Sunday, we reached a milestone of 50000 kms... a journey worth it !!!


We met people during these years and kilometers, we lost some, we still have some... we saw people who loved us and understood us, and we also met people who did not understand the bond between the living and the non living... At one instance, I was even asked to go to hell and make babies with my car :D hahaha.. how I wish !!! A lot of my friends would not have to wait for the lakh rupee Nano then... I would have given them a lot of smaller cars for free !!!

So me and her when look back saw a lot that has happened in the last 50000 kms and we smile together !!!

It has been a life worth living !!!

and hope it stays that way !!!

God Bless !!!

and Heaven IS !!!!

And I did not mention it before...

Heaven is your darling (read Radha) with you... you two roaming around the roads for no apparent reason... just zipping past some traffic at times, or slowing time just to let some suckers move ahead and feel good...

having the windows rolled up...

listening to your favorite CDs one after the other like there was no tomorrow...

Heaven is when you are with yourself and someone you love from the bottom of your heart... and you can't figure out the different between the two :)

all this really makes me feel that Heaven IS...

Of Curves and Cuts on Tyres...

This year's Auto Expo (one of the exbitions that I love to love) looks like one of the more practical ones in the last few years...

Two things that I have been following and am happy about are...

1. The cheaper Car - Nano... The claims are that it costs a lakh, however when you add things like road tax, insurance, a few accesories etc this should be around 1.25 on-road for the base model... not bad at all for a 33bhp 600 odd cc engine... I think this should be a very practical buy for city driving... The only thing that will keep me away from it would be the poor Tata build quality in cars... except the Safari, the plastics of most cars are cheap, and they can start rattling in about 6 months of regular usage... Indigo is a delight to look at, and has one of the best ACs that I know of in Sedans in India, however the sound that it starts making after a few months is something that is a big put off... Ankur now has a Safari and I am really looking forward to some first hand reviews from him...

The sad part is after I have driven the FIAT, the build quality of almost every car that I have been into seems inferior...

2. The new SUMO... relabelled as the Sumo Grand... though the looks seem to be coming a lot from the LandRover, minus the headlights which still have a dated feeling... the first looks at the SUV made it look impressive... again.. the TATA build quality is something that I would really like to consider before I would recommend this to anyone... Mahindra seems to be much better in their engine refinement and the quality of the vehicles when it comes to a comparision between the Sumo and the Balero and the Scorpio and the Safari...

But with this new good looking Sumo, and the "I so want it but cannot afford it" Safari, things might be a li'il tough for Scorpio and likes...

Another news that I have been waiting for was the launch of SKODA Fabia... Its a premium hatchback, which personally makes a lot of sense to me, and comes with the SKODA tag... needless to say the safety, reliability, build finish and quality are the things that you can assume coming with this car by default... Not sure how successful it would be though in the very cost concious Indian market... We are not too keen on paying a premium for a smaller car which comes with added benefits... If the Fabia 1.4L Diesel engine delivers like the much higher and bigger Octavia does... they already have a customer in line for the car !!!

Honda also had on display the Honda Jazz which is a sleek looking 5 door hatchback... Another car to look forward to in terms of reliability and performance...

Oh, and yes I also saw a few pictures of the new Suzuki Dezire... the sedan version of the SWIFT ( which is a nice car) but Dezire is one of the most stupid looking cars that I have seen in recent times... Looks like there is a competition of sorts about who makes worse car backs between Mahindra Logan and Suzuki Dezire...

All in all, this looked like a good beginning for the potential car buyers, and people who are looking at decent upgrades for their existing vehicles...

I am looking forward to another FIAT though :)

The Itch to Drive...

18060007, originally uploaded by ~OM~ ॐ "FoTo-SoFiCaL" Bhardwaj.

A = Accelerator
B= Break
C = Clutch
D = Drive
E = Exciting
F = Fkking Exciting
G = God, when do I drive again?
H = Hoping to Drive soon
I = I want to drive
J : Jab I drive, tab I have fun
K : Kabhi na kabhi, I will drive from JK to Kanya Kumari
L : Long Drive
M : Mornings are the best time to drive
N : Nothing else but Palio
O : Ooops, i forgot one CD.. damn..
P : Phull Time Masti
Q : Questions on the rules here...
R : Raring to Go
S : Speed thrills, but kills...
T : total funn...
U : U turns to boring places not allowed
V : Very nice thoughts
W : Whole of India..
X : Xciting
Y: Y wait...
Z : ZZZZ never while driving.. but i like if the rest of the gang is sleeping and i am driving :)

and one song that I have to have to listen to when I am out on a drive is All Star by Smashmouth... check out the lyrics below... its been my favorite for ages now...

Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me
I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed
She was looking kinda dumb with her fingers and her
Thumb
And the shape of an "L" on her forehead

Well the years start coming and they don't stop coming
Back to the rules and I hit the ground running
Didn't make sense not to live for fun
Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb
So much to do so much to see
So what's wrong with taking the back streets
You'll never know if you don't go
You'll never shine if you don't glow

Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play
Hey now you're a Rock Star get the show on, get paid
(And all that glitters is gold)
Only shooting stars break the mold

It's a cool place and they say it gets colder
You're bundled up now but wait 'til you get older
But the media men beg to differ
Judging by the hole in the satellite picture

The ice we skate is getting pretty thin
The waters getting warm so you might as well swim
My world's on fire how about yours
That's the way I like it and I never get bored

Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play
Hey now you're a Rock Star get the show on, get paid
(And all that glitters is gold)
Only shooting stars break the mold

Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play
Hey now you're a Rock Star get the show on, get paid
(And all that glitters is gold)
Only shooting stars...

Somebody once asked, "could you spare some change for gas
I need to get myself away from this place"
I said yep what a concept
I could use a little fuel myself
And we could all use a little change.

Well the years start coming and they don't stop coming
Back to the rules and I hit the ground running
Didn't make sense not to live for fun
Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb
So much to do so much to see
So what's wrong with taking the back streets
You'll never know if you don't go
You'll never shine if you don't glow

Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play
Hey now you're a Rock Star get the show on, get paid
(And all that glitters is gold)
Only shooting stars break the mold

(And all that glitters is gold)
Only shooting stars break the mold

BeSt TiMe !!!

275 Kms...

5 hours flat...

With a break of about 45 minutes...

The best I have done on NOIDA - Delhi - Chandigarh Route...

With a few better roads... I should be able to do better... bye bye the Indicas, the Zens, the Taveras, the Qualises, the Innovas, the Wagon Rs, the Indigos, a few Accents, and Ikons toooo :D

I know what being high is... thanks to my CAR !!!