Delhi Roads – What Is Going On?

I am sure everyone would agree that the capital has by far the best roads in the country, compared to any other metro. I have seen Bombay, and the state of affairs there is pathetic. The only city which comes close is Bangalore, though it’s not as good.

But off late, it seems Delhi is loosing its sheen. One season of heavy rains and everything has gone haywire. It looks as though there wasn’t such a thing as roads in Delhi, ever. Want to time travel? Come to the capital and we’ll take you at least fifty years back in time. Want to go to the moon? Well don’t wait, come to Delhi and we’ll make you the thirteenth man on the moon. NASA should test their next lunar rover/mars lander right here in Delhi. We have got the best of lunar surface complete with craters and what not. Atacama Desert pales in comparison.

Doesn’t matter which car you are in, our roads will let you know about every single crater your expensive set of wheels falls into. What you need is not a 7 Series or an S Class, what is needed is a Tata 207 to make it to the destination. It costs less to repair a 207 than the Merc or the Beemer.

Flyovers. The worst I tell you. Most often than not something or the other brakes down on it’s way up. This usually is a truck, which is not allowed to ply on roads during day time, but do that anyways by bribing the cops. Why these idiots drive up a flyover on a full load (overload?) is a mystery, which not even the full complement of scientists at CERN can solve. Origin of the universe doesn’t even measure up.

These trucks usually drive on full racing slicks and with rocks protruding out of the road surface in all their glory, a puncture is inevitable. This happens mostly during rush hour traffic, and to add a bit of excitement to the proceedings, the biggest boulders in the vicinity are placed around leaving three-quarters of a lane for the rest. A Russian Obstacle Training course is a cake walk.

The state government has got grand plans for the Commonwealth Games 2010, and by the looks of things all their plans have fallen off into one of the innumerable craters found all over the place. The only way Delhi will look like Beijing for the 2020 Olympics, if they do come to Delhi, would be a miracle of god.

Singapore Grand Prix - What Gearhead Thinks

If ever there was an example of F1’s double standards, this is it. These guys talk about cost cutting and what not and then go and want to conduct a race at night time. Do they know how much money could have been saved on cabling and lighting equipment?

These people want to introduce KERS in a bid to extract more energy but they have no idea of how much energy would be wasted in lighting up the whole track. I’m guessing enough to power a small village in India for a week. And what is wrong with the Europeans anyway. Can’t they get up early to watch a day race? I know we stay up late to watch the Canadian and the Brazilian races.

A totally bogus idea I say. I just hope nobody gets hurt during the course of the race.

Future Fuel

Fuel prices are going up like there is no tomorrow, and those science lessons from class six don’t seem too far off the mark now do they? Hundred years it said right? Make that eighty, will someone?

Everybody wants to replace the precious liquid with something a little ‘less precious’. This search for an alternative source of energy is driving everybody from Bush to Bittoo, crazy. Okay, everybody but Leno.

The ‘new’ fuel has to be cheap, easy to manufacture and clean too. So, what are the options? How about corn or sugarcane for ethanol? Naahhh…if the fuel prices don’t kill you, the hunger will. So that is a big no. Bio-diesel? Growing Jatropa has it’s side effects in farmers switching from food crops to cash crop and again that shortage of food thing ‘crops’ up its head. Similar is the story for bio-diesel from edible oil. No, nuclear energy in your boot is not an option. We’re still a few years away from the Jetsons.

So what is the right way to go? Electricity seems right. Yes, the electric motor. Remember the one that the IC engine killed at the beginning of the last century. Electric two wheelers are already selling like hot cakes in the country and though the Reva might not sell in huge numbers, the positives out weigh the negatives. Now one might argue that plugging your car into the socket will the send the emissions to the power plant. But consider the fact that hydel and nuclear power are cleaner than thermal power.

Also, producing electricity must be cheaper than making bio diesel (I’m just guessing here. Heck, we’ve been producing electricity for a while now). Battery tech is only going to improve from here and expect weight to come down while the charging interval and capacity to improve.

Another thing that just might work is the fuel cell. NASA has been using these for past few decades in their space program. The technology is proven but still not cheap enough. And Honda has just manufactured a batch of FCXs. The fuel cell can be used to charge the batteries of your vehicle either at a charging station or while in motion.

So there you have it. In the years to come, the most likely question a buyer is going to ask the dealership is not Average Kya Hai? but Range kya hai?.

Honda Civic Hybrid – What Does It Mean For Honda

Every time someone talks about a hybrid vehicle, the first thing that comes to mind is the Prius from Toyota. It has been a Hollywood favorite for a while now and has sold more than a few for Toyota to keep making it. Honda’s attempt at a hybrid, the Insight, was not a match for the Toyota though and Honda cut its life short.

Honda has already gone on record saying that the Civic Hybrid will be launched in India. Undoubtedly it will cost a lot more than the regular Civic, since it will be a CBU import. Honda will be happy even if they sell a few in the country.

Now why would Honda launch a hybrid in India knowing that it’s a cost sensitive market and that the car itself is not going to be anywhere near the regular car in cost as well as performance fronts. Actually Honda have played a brilliant round. One should not forget that ours is a country where mileage kitna hai is second only to the buying costs. The launch of the Civic Hybrid is a good thing in the long run. Here’s how.

There are (were) no regulations in the country for a Hybrid drive systems in cars. Honda has worked closely with ARAI in laying down the rules and regulations for a Hybrid Drive System for car. Everything they will be using in the car has to meet certain laid down rules. These rules have been put down by ARAI in conjunction with Honda. This will benefit Honda in the future and force other manufacturers to meet the same standards and functional requirements in their cars. Now Hybrid technology is relatively new as compared to the internal combustion engine, and all those developing their own versions of the same are going to differ. And no one is willingly going to share their intellectual property with others.

Secondly, with the fuel costs soaring virtually everyday the day isn’t far that hybrids become a common place. By then the costs involved in making a hybrid drive system would also have come down substantially. And with India being one of the largest car markets in the world, selling hybrids would also mean big business for the manufacturers. This is where Honda will definitely take a lead.

Also by introducing the Civic Hybrid, Honda would make a name for itself in the country as the one to go for as far as alternative fuels/hybrid systems are concerned. The FCX which Honda has shown on numerous occasions runs on the Fuel Cell technology and if the Civic Hybrid is able to garner the kind of attention Honda want, and fuel cells being the future, Honda will go up against the rest of the field.

So, again it seems that Honda has played their cards well and read the situation better than the rival Toyota. It will be a great see how Toyota reacts to this particular move by Honda considering it is a leader in this field in the foreign markets.

Do You Even Know What A Banshee Is?

I don’t know if you have ever realized this, but a lot of motoring jurnos seem to use the phrase ‘revs like a banshee’ with a regularity that matches the regularity of Bush's bloopers. Anyhow, it all sounds nice, but do they even know what a banshee is? I’m not sure they do.

A banshee is:

A 2D shoot-em-up released by Core Design, circa 1994.
A banshee is also a member of the X-Men and first appeared in 1967.
It is also the name of an audio player for Linux OS.
And last but not the least; the banshee is a part of the Irish folk lore, supposed to be some sort of a crying ghost women.

The last one is quite interesting. It is derived from the term bean si. The term was used to describe the women who would cry at funerals. The louder they cried, the better it was and more the demand for them (check Rudali for Indian counterpart). Later they were referred to as the ghost who would cry and wail and warn of an impending death in the family.

Now if, according to these jurnos, the engine ‘revs like a banshee’, do they mean that the engine is warning of an impending death? If yes, then whose death is it? The car or themselves? I think the term has been used way too often by this ignorant lot. Maybe they ought to use something else too. Just for a change.

Is Fast Safe?

If you have seen a 10000 meter track race, you would know that there is a pace setter for the event. The job of the pace setter is to give the competitors a good start. It is his/her job to set the pace in the initial few laps. If the pace setter goes too fast, the competitors will be all too tired before the end of to really push in the closing stages. If he/she goes too slow, they will again be too slow to pick up the pace in the final few laps.

It’s a similar story in a cross country or a marathon. The leader is the one dictating the pace for everybody else behind. That is why it is important to have a good start in these events. If the person behind the leader can keep him within sight, he won’t pick up his pace. If he sees the leader increasing the gap, he will try and catch up with him.

So is the case on roads. You see a gap in front and you just feel like covering up the distance. If there are a smidgen more vehicles in front you, you inevitably slow down. I have been told before that driving/riding fast/faster is generally the safer option. You get out of trouble quicker. But one can also get into trouble as quickly. Think about it for a minute.

I don’t think driving/riding fast/faster is the safer option. Neither is going slow. Infact, going at the optimum relative speed is much safer. Going too fast and you will have to maneuver around the vehicles on the road. Go too slow and there is a chance of someone else having to maneuver around you. On the other hand if you are going at the pace of the rest of the traffic, there is lesser chance of you ending up in an accident.

So remember, you don’t have to be Michael Schumacher on the roads, or Ralf for that matter.

Biking Capital Of The Country??...Really??

I recently got the chance to visit a city people like to call the biking capital of the country. No it’s not down south, nor is it up north, but somewhere in between. The major industry in this region is the auto industry with a lot of big names in both the two wheeled and the four wheeled world having operations here.

Anyways, everybody seems to be calling this beautiful city the biking capital of the country, but the ground realities don’t quite seem to match up to all the hype. From the middle aged uncle, on his CD100 to a college kid on his Pulsar 220, to the PYTs on their twist-and-go. Neither seems too concerned about their safety. I hardly saw anyone put on anything close to even resembling a helmet in all the time I was there. No doubt all the saner ones did and always stood out in all the chaos on the streets.

Young men all seem to hate even the sight of a helmet and the women folk like to cover their faces and heads with a duppatta. What I would like to say to the guys is, investing thousands on ‘modifying’ your ride can wait, but buying a good quality helmet cannot. To the ladies, all I have to say is that duppatta might save your pretty faces from the sun but god forbid, if something terrible happens that thing will turn to smithereens and so will that pretty face of yours. No offence.

Would you also believe that there is a rule to compulsorily wear a helmet when riding a two wheeler in place for the last few years? But no one seems to care, neither the riders nor the police. I characteristically remember that when the regulation to wear a helmet came out, there were ‘anti helmet’ rallies in the city. I think the government should just give up trying to get the people here to wear helmets. Since protesting against something built to save their heads proves that the head doesn’t have anything worth saving in the first place.

I’m not the only one saying this. While I was there one of the newspapers carried a story, accompanied with pictures, of how people get their driver’s license by giving the mandatory test without a helmet to the RTO.

In the capital on the other hand, there is a similar ruling, but people actually do wear helmets, even if it’s out of the fear of the Police slapping them with a hefty fine. Also there were no protests against the rule. None that I can recall. One cannot even imagine going out of the house within the locality without a helmet, so strict is the Police in enforcing the rules. They might trouble you at times but try passing a manned intersection and you have to be the luckiest one around to get away without being pulled over.

Biking capital of the country??...Really?? Not in my books it isn’t.

Happy Holi

Have a colourful and a prosperous Holi everyone.

Honking - The Necessary Evil

Warning: You might want to replace the term ‘honking’ with ‘judicious use of the horn’ in the following post.

Just the other day I was going through an old issue of one of the automotive magazines I have, and I went through an article by one of the staff. The author brought out the fact that how he never or very rarely uses the horn while driving. How when he used the car of one of his acquaintances, that how the fellow was shocked that the author did not realize the fact that the horn in his car was non functional. This, in spite of the fact that the author had driven the car for a whole day.

All very well I say. Congratulations sir. Guess you have mastered the art of ‘silent driving’. No noise pollution either. Now all this sounds very good when you read about it. But does this actually work. Have you ever tried this? I did yesterday and it scared me silly.

Picture this, morning nine o’clock, I’m about to make a left turn on the T-junction, the first turn at the end of the lane where I live. I take this turn everyday. Doing less than 10 on the speedo. I forgo the usual practice of giving a ‘warning honk’. As I am about to turn the car, another car approaching from my right, brakes hard on seeing me. Misses me by a miniscule margin. Gives me a glance, and a few expletives as bonus. I give a wry smile back. So much for a good start.

Ten minutes into the drive, and I’m already being extra cautious. On the Ring Road. Traffic is pretty smooth. Doing about 55. An Accord decides to change the lane without warning. Careens across the lane in front of me. Again I forgo the customary ‘angry honk’. Left muttering a few curse words, and he didn’t even hear em.

Reached the destination, entering the Parking Lot, this lady is fighting with the attendant and blocking the passage in. I come in behind her. No warning what so ever, she has had enough and decides to reverse out of the place. I’m flashing the beam, but no, she’s in a hurry. Thank god for the attendant’s presence of mind he stopped her. Or else she would have reversed right into me. Lady drivers.

Later in the day, coming out of the Parking Lot, this guy is just sitting there not doing anything. Again, since it’s a ‘no honking day’ I roll down the window and shout at him to move. Guess what, he can’t hear me since he has his windows up, no response to the high beam flash either. I finally give up and punch the horn in disgust. Not that it matters, since it always sounds the same. You don’t expect me to get out of the car and knock on his window do you?

On the way, I decide to give this peaceful method another shot. Thankfully no problems till I reach my locality. Feeling good about the whole thing. Maybe I’ll try it again tomorrow. Entering the roads in the locality, around four thirty or so, again less than 10 on the speedo. This time I’m entering the lane leading upto my house from the other side. These kids are playing hide and seek or something to that effect. One of these little fellas decides to dodge the seeker and change his hiding place. Wrong timing buddy. Appears out of nowhere right in front of me. I brake hard and give him the good old ‘what the hell are you doing honk’. Poor kid froze in the middle of the road and guess what, he’s been caught.

What did I learn from this no honking business?

1. I almost got hit not a hundred meters into the drive. Had I done the usual warning honk, maybe he would have been more cautious, and not fired those expletives at me.

2. Had I gone with the ‘angry honk’ I would not have lost my cool while driving. Well I didn’t completely loose it, but I came pretty close. At least a honk would have reduced the anger and let the idiot know what I thought about his driving skills.

3. Had I honked at the lady at least she would have known somebody was behind her. Maybe that would have changed her ‘oh shove it’ reactions to the attendant.

4. Kids, they are all over the place during the evenings. Had the little guy got a warning from me beforehand he might have stayed put and had not come close to being hurt.

So what do I think of all this ‘I don’t honk’ thing? B******t.

Back after a while

Missed the Auto Expo. Something came up. But it's good to be back

Happy New Year!!

Wishing everyone a very happy and a prosperous new year!!!

Driving/Riding is one of the greatest pleasures of life. Don't dilute it with alcohol. Drive/Ride Safe. Keep Seatbelts/Helmets on. Best wishes.

Merry Christmas

May Peace Hope and Love be with you Today Tomorrow and Always Merry Christmas!