Eleven Twelve Thirteen Memorabilia

So the year 2013, yes it passed faster than I took a lap in the 600 some horse power Mercedes SLS AMG. The date 11/12/13, will come once every century. Sadly though till the next time i'll be barely available to write an overrated post here, so I'm taking this opportunity to rewind my life a little bit. It all started when I was born....and after 21 years came the dreadful year of 2013. Perhaps I was overtly excited to have lived the end of the earth and shall brag about it for the years to come, but nothing was closer to the feeling of cracking a merchandising deal with a corporate giant like INFOSYS.

The thought of living my life on my own terms that seemed a distant dream seldom came and so did the gossips of me being eligible for marriage. All this drama followed by my internship with JLR gave me a perfect kick also did the opening of my new office for Betrix. Everything seemed pretty well and as smooth as double cream.

Came a day when the world shook, the loss of my childhood bud Mayank had terrified my thoughts since the inception of his news. A prolonged wave of misery had struck the senses. This made me delve deeper into my thoughts and realise, day in day out, that in all this while, me, the cold blooded selfish guy had lost a lot more than meets the eye. Before I could run away from this thought, life brought me to a catastrophe. A fatal car accident while taking my mother and grand dad back home. Blessing were those people who broke our car with hammers to pull us out and as I gained momentary consciousness I saw my mom crying at me to save grand dad. Pulling him out I lifted him in my arms and sat in an escorting car to the hospital. My grandfather asked me of what had happened and put his hands on my head and breathed his last. That moment shivers me down the spine. Still does.

The man who gave me the strength of following my passion when the whole world was against it was sleeping on the pier that I lifted to the crematorium. 23rd June will terrify me ever after. Loss of loved ones can never be forgotten. But the tinge of misery was soon disappearing, the mind shifted to thinking of today and steadily the routine had come in.

25th August had arrived, KuDoship day it was. A day that I marked on the calander as the day I met my beloved childhood heart-throb for the first time after more than half a decade. and rather being in the state of remembrance for my hard found and lost love, I took a step forward to end the book written on it and move on from the ever anguishing thoughts. 'Road to Paradise' came to an end.

The following morning Mercedes-Benz people  dropped a call and made my world go bonkers. I was selected in the final 12 out of 3233 participating drivers in their Young Star Driver Programme. The childhood dream of becoming a racing driver was no more distant. Thoughts prevailed of me not able to buy tickets to watch formula 1 racing when it first came to India and now will be driving million dollar super cars day in day out on one of the world's finest race tracks. Sunshine came after the fatal tsunami into my life. The night before my first day at the buddh international circuit - BIC, I was sent a ferry Mercedes car to drive back to the arranged hotel. Morning light shone upon my curtains and I rushed towards the circuit for my first day. Tears in the eyes of my passionate soul, I was absorbing every moment of this beautiful sight of tarmac, sky and super cars. I jumped with joy and bow down to kiss my worship land. After 4 days of training came the race day. Focus, sweat and hard work brought me to the fifth position making me eligible to compete with the others on top for the name into the GT3 Le Mans racing.  Interviews on TV, articles in the newspapers, magazines and websites were bringing the days of perfection at my disposal.

On the other side, of all my hard work, Betrix, my company, saw a great demand in the market. My once struggling firm had caught heat amongst corporates, small and big. Happier times engulfed me, paid my college fees and home commodity bills for the first time with my earnings. Felt elated, felt joyous, felt grown up, so wore a suit and treated myself a pizza, a big one yes.


And it was soon before long, that I met a girl who loves me for who I am and not what I do. That last pinch of isolation, faded off and away. I had become a happier man.
.
 Today, on eleven twelve thirteen, it's 2am. And I have no idea what conclusion have I come to after figuring the minute details of my year that was. Most of you might be wrapped in quilts and would be romancing your favorite things in your dreams. I, on the other hand, am in my balcony sitting on a chair, glancing at the stars. Thinking. Yesterday was history, tomorrow is a mystery but today is a gift, of which I'm clueless about. Maybe that's why they call it a 'PRESENT'

#PeaceAndLove

MAGNIFICENTISM , The Skoda Superb 1.8 TSI A/T

Skoda has put in a lot of interesting cars in its portfolio since its inception in the Indian subcontinent. Starting off with the Octavia, the company has brought a smile on the Indian Automobile Fanatic’s face. Bringing in cars like the Octavia vRS and the later Laura vRS, Skoda had claimed its plot on the entry performance segment. But what if that performance segment lover needs a booster juice of luxury at the same time without compromising on the performance?

The Superb 1.8 TSI is exactly what Skoda wants to showcase to such a buyer. The sharp creases on the body and brilliantly designed panels and the attention to detail in the exterior are worth noting down in the history notebooks of the beautiful automobiles.

So what does the specification sheet say?

The superb is powered by a 1798cc, turbo-charge induced petrol engine which produces 160bhp of max power at upto 6200 revs and 250Nms of max torque. This engine is mated to a 7-speed dual clutch automatic gearbox (DSG) which indeed is extremely potent and does the job of seamless gearshifts optimally.

Turbo-charged engine. Hmmm... how’s the turbo lag?

Turbo charger spools in at 1500rpm, so whether you’re ferrying your kids to school in traffic or exercising your right foot on the twisted roads of the hills, the jerk free acceleration makes every moment of driving this car and extremely comfortable and exciting one.

How comfortable is it?

The Superb is an epitome of luxury, refinement and comfort in its segment. To prove this fact, I took it to one of the most crowded roads in the capital city of New Delhi, Palam colony, which I found has the largest potholed roads and the maximum number of red-light honkers you’d find anywhere else in the city. And to the most I chose the time of maximum traffic, somewhere around 6pm in the evening on a Monday, when all the office dwellers are desperately rushing towards their homes.

Sadly though they do that at a top speed of around 3-4kmph. Bumper to bumper traffic means lots of pressing the Accelerator, Brake and Clutch, lots of changing gears from neutral to first, maybe second and neutral again, lots of calls from the wife and kids and most of all lots of frustration.

Thanks to superb’s butter smooth automatic gearbox and double glazed windows, you’ll be cocooned in the confines of the car like you’re sitting in a library full of books made of sponge and wool.

Pushing along the car on the potholed roads, one can easily feel as if you’re gliding over a tarmac full of double whipped cream. The all round independent suspension setup and multi element axle at the rear means the superb glides over any kind of surface seamlessly. And more to that the superb in India boasts 205/55 high profile Goodyear NCT  tires  wrapped around the 16” wheels which provide good overall grip and low tarmac noise as speed progresses.

Ok, how luxurious is it?

Skoda made sure they load the superb to the gills with all kinds of gadgets and gizmos which a major number of perspective owners are fond of in present times. But these features aren’t just for show! They are very practical and useful indeed. But the equipment loading the superb is so much, that it puts cars like the Mercedes E class to shame. The interiors are well laid out with all the controls within the reach of the driver. 

Soft touch materials, lacquered wood inserts and sumptuous leather is there wherever you may touch and lay your eyes on, and this makes the interiors of the superb all the very good place to lounge yourself in. There’s glove box which opens in slow motion as if the curtains of the opera are unfurling, talking of curtains the rear seat gets rear windscreen and side window retractable curtains, AC vents are placed on the B pillars rather than being behind the front central console. There’s mood lighting, puddle lamps, floor lamps, courtesy lamps, lamps to read your Maxims and a lamp to even dial a number on your non back lit mobile phones! The car can pair with upto 5 mobile phones at a time to receive calls and stream music. 

Talking of music, the car has an 8 speaker sound system which has a pretty good bass and treble output. These speakers receive their sound from the Skoda’s ‘SWING’ audio system with built in amplifiers and a touch screen with which you can pair a variety of inputs like your mobile phone, ipod, there is an SD/MMC reader to plug and play the music from your cameras and it also has a 6 CD changer where you can slot in your 19^th century classic Opera discs whenever you need a vintage boost, it also boasts various in car information like the temperature settings and puts on the visual parking assist system as soon as you slot the gear into reverse. Sadly though there isn't any parking camera to see the beautiful legs of the girl standing behind your car who is intruding the way or a Navigation system to find the way to the nearest florist because it’s your girlfriend’s birthday. What is there is a sunroof, which looks kinda tiny for a car of this size but it does the job well of blowing the wind in your hair when it had stopped raining on those mountain passes. 

There are memory seats for you can adjust to your seat position at a touch of a button after your son just drove it back from a late night party reclining the seat back like a lounger. 

And to my surprise there is an umbrella holder hole inside the rear door for the valet to pull it out and make you exit the car like an Arab sheikh on his oil field trip. The last car I saw with that umbrella thing was in the Rolls Royce Phantom! 

The twin door system for the boot lid which makes the superb a hatchback at a click of a button for loading those wardrobes with your favourite ZARA and ALDO apparels.  

Alright, so the car is luxurious and spacious, how is it on the performance front then?

To find this out I took the superb to the place where they say are the most twisty and slippery roads in India. The road from Kotdwar to Lansdowne in the state of Uttarakhand. To play the game of ‘legends of the hidden temple’ with me arrived the rains. Most people travelling northwards would step backwards in caution to the subdued landslides and other calamities. I then took this as an opportunity to find empty roads till the top. Superb has an array of safety and driving electronics. Things with abbreviations like AFS, ABS, EBD, TCS and other scientific 3 lettered combinations of A,B,C,Ds,  all of which help to make driving your superb more comfortable and safe.

You can corner hard through hairpin bends tightly on the slippery hill roads, as the Electronic Stability Control, Traction Control and Electronic Differential Lock are working 25 times per second to keep you balanced and stable and prevent oversteer or understeer. A three stage ABS system to stop this ship when a pretty woman with a fixation with her blackberry messenger jumps in the middle of the road. Bi-Xenon lamps to spot that herd of lamb crossing the country roads half a kilometer ahead of you so you can break gradually.

But what fun is with all these electronic goodies doing the job that I should be doing and spoiling the sheer pleasure of driving enthusiastically. Some toggling through the settings and I succeed in switching off all the electronic driving aids on the car. As I shove my right foot into the floor a cloud of white burnt rubber smoke emerge in the rear view mirror as I dart forward. The sheer feeling of mechanical parts making contact with you is so satisfying that I have no appropriate words for it, closest best I would say, It’s like eating an ice cream of your favourite flavour with double the ingredients. The steering, it has such a great feel to it, you can feel every inch of activity happening under the front wheels. As I emerge towards the hairpin bend in front of me I was sure that the long overhangs of the car at the rear are bound to slide off since the stabilizing gadgets were off and so can the car understeer since most of the power is propelled to the front wheels.

But none of that happened! The steering was precise, like point and shoot, the car oversteered but that was counter controlled by the Electronic Differential Lock system which couldn't be turned off. The sheer pleasure of tail whipping a 4.8 meter long limo is beyond the word thrilling, that too when you do it 1600 meters above sea level with a massive drop down to the river Ganges.

So, what’s the Verdict?

The acceleration is seamless. The handling is absolutely brilliant, the body control is magnificent, even the fuel efficiency of this monster limo will keep your pocket hot and full, except when you do things that are as aforesaid above by me, the interiors are as close as a first class airliner as it can get. One can go on with innumerable adjectives from the thesaurus to describe the sheer feeling of driving the superb.  At times I think the blokes at the Czech Republic shouldn't have named it the Skoda Superb, It should rather be Skoda Magnificent.

Drive Safe, Wear your seat belts..Always!

Car Tracking - MADE EASY!

I was watching TV, a news channel perhaps and the news of a huge number of cars being stolen in my locality shook my nerve. That was the day I decided to go for one of those Car Tracking Devices. 

So I make a visit to one of the Hyundai dealerships since I drive a Hyundai, asked the gentleman at the accessory shop of the dealership for that tracking device.

He gets the same to my disposal, a black colored box, which looks something similar to my Wi-Fi router.

The cost?

Rs.9000/-

I could buy a smart phone and a drink for a pretty lady with that kinda money.

It is an expensive affair to be tracking your vehicle.

I go on with my questions about the device and I come across the Pros and Cons of it.




Pros-

If you are an employer using GPS in your employees work vehicles you will be providing them with a way to navigate roads and neighborhoods they are not familiar with. This means less of a chance that your employee will get lost while traveling for work, which saves the company both time and money.

GPS tracking helps you monitor the current location of any employees you have on the road, tracks the exact route they are driving, how many stops they make, how long they stay stopped for and the total mileage they are putting on their work vehicle.

If you are running a delivery company, you can use GPS vehicle tracking to provide your customers with the exact location of the item being delivered at any point during the process of shipping it from the warehouse to the customer.

GPS tracking has resulted in more productive and efficient employees for many companies.

The number of traffic accidents involving those driving company vehicles has gone down since GPS vehicle tracking was installed. This has saved many companies thousands of rupees in damages and raised insurance premiums.

Cons-

Many people consider the act of tracking vehicles to be an invasion of privacy. When many businesses started using GPS tracking, employees became angry and stated that they felt like the company no longer trusted them. They felt that by tracking where they traveled for work, the company was questioning their loyalty. Many employees also felt that it was an invasion of their rights under the Constitution.

There is much debate about the use of GPS tracking in criminal cases. In one case, a man used a GPS device in his wife's car to prove she was cheating on him. This resulted in the wife and her boyfriend being murdered. The family of one of the victims tried to sue the husband. In the lawsuit, the family claimed those who created the GPS technology were responsible for their loved one's death. They lost their case in a court of law. However, the incident brought a worldwide debate to light.

It doesn't work when the battery is disconnected. Which perhaps is the major issues with these tracking systems not working because we think thieves are stupids. No, they're not!

But, I don't have employees with cars or trucks.
It's my personal car.

So, I had to come out with a cheaper solution to get this problem fixed since I do drive and park my car at places where it is skeptical to be stolen. And I think It will help a lot of people who do suffer similar issues in their locality.

This one is a fantastic idea for those who can't afford Comprehensive Car Insurance or Tracking System. 

How to Get Back Your Stolen Car?

It takes only 2 minutes for a car thief to runaway with your car. No matter you have a tracker and auto-alarming devices fitted in your car.

The best safety for your car is a Live and Active Mobile Phone hidden in a safe place in your car.

And here's what you should do:

1. Buy any low price mobile phone with longer standby time. (eg. a Samsung Guru 1200, which I use costs only Rs.900 which is 10 times cheaper.)

2. Install a mobile connection which has best network in the country. (eg. BSNL, AIRTEL, RELIANCE)

3. Turn this mobile on complete SILENT mode (double check it should not vibrate while you turn it on SILENT mode).

4. Wrap it up slightly in a plastic sheet or a well sealed box, so that it should not get dirty and dusty during its hidden use.

5. Make sure it is perfectly responding by calling its number from another mobile phone.

6. Hide this mobile in a safe place in your car (like inside the fuse box, under the central console, in the seat covers or even under the battery). And that’s it…!!!

If your car is stolen, immediately inform your local Police Help Line 100. Give them phone number of the mobile hidden in your car. Police can easily track the location by calling that number. Chances are that you may get back your car within the shortest possible time.

And finally do not forget to charge this mobile at least twice a week and hide it back in your car in active position.

I hope you guys might have found this information useful and will pass it on to your friends and family.

Cause for some people a car is like their baby.

Ishaan Bharadwaj...

Litre Class Rocketship - Ford EcoSport 1.0 EcoBoost Petrol - Part 1/3

It has been more than an year since we're hearing news about Ford's mini SUV to hit our markets. In one year Hyundai launched almost 4 cars and 12 new variants into its portfolio. It's Friday today and I've been invited by a young female voice to take the EcoSport for a spin around the venue of their media drive. It's bright and sunny and yes very very hot. Thanks to my i20's brilliant 'made for India' air conditioning system I am least bothered by the weather. I get out of my car get cooked and walk like Mahatma Gandhi with taller steps towards the venue, not because i'm in a hurry but the venue chosen has wet mud all around. Anyways, after some formalities the car is brought at my disposal.



A snazzy, futuristic looking,  Mars Red colored EcoSport with 1.0L EcoBoost petrol engine which is essentially a tiny engine which is of WagonR's displacement mated with a SUPERCHARGER. That's like saying I study in the 5th standard but I had 20 shots of cognac with double gordon's gin with a squeeze of lime and then I set my mouth on fire 'cause i wanted a boost. 123bhp on paper sounds good with the word go, and with the 1200 some kgs of kerb weight it has a power to weight ratio of around 100bhp/ton, that makes it better than SUV rivals like the Renault Duster, Mahindra XUV500 and sedans like the Hyundai Verna, Volkswagen Vento, even the Jetta TSi!

Exteriors, well, when I saw the EcoSport for the first time at the Delhi Auto Expo more than an year ago I had mixed emotions and opinions about it, because at that time we were more used to Pajeros and Fortuners. SUVs were meant to be big and butch than small and tout. Since the launch and success of the Renault Duster in India, the mindset of a buyer in that segment has changed dramatically. A car which is a little bigger than a large hatchback, has a good space on the inside, is frugal, is easy to park and isn't as expensive as the usual SUVs are. This concept of a mini SUV has worked wonders and has made Renault, a company which was in a condition of a massive loss in sales to one of the top gainers in the last one year. Ford for one took it's own lazy time to put things in place for our market.

 The first thing you notice is the key, for obvious reasons you won't be trying to drive without it, but then you don't usually use it. The design is like a nail clipper or a bottle opener. The entry is key less, all you have to do is keep the key in your pocket, press the black request button on the door handles and open it. The handles themselves feel nice an chunky to hold unlike other ford cars which feel like spearmint chewing gum. The doors are large and heavy, something like the XUV500, takes a good time to get used to such weight.




At the rear, the boot lid opens sideways than upwards. Ford? seriously? It's an urban SUVs, It's meant to be practical! Imagine a household woman carrying shopping bags opening the boot and hitting someone's BMW 5 series in shiny black color with it. That's one pathetic design element in 21st century vehicles. The boot on the other hand isn't as big as its arch rivals, but think of a large hatchback of similar price-tag and you are sorted. The seats fold down completely flat to give that extra bit of luggage space that your wife may require to transit her new bought dressing mirror or your kid's new adult cycle. The boot lid has a handle neatly tucked inside the tail lamp in place of the right side rear tail lamp. The rear boot lid also houses the spare wheel and yes, it is a standard fitment across the range.

Moving to the front, the first thing most of the people will notice is the huge Hyundai-esque grill. Cut in hexagonal shape, makes an image of a Hyundai car than a ford, it's only when you see the tiny blue colored oval badge which says Ford in cursive font. The grill has nice looking slats of chrome all over it giving it a more premium feel. The headlights are too tiny for my liking, I mean, come on, It's an SUV right? aren't they supposed to be large and bulky looking? It's only when it is dark and dingy do they really blow your mind with the level of luminescence they provide on the road ahead. There are fog lamps, which are standard on the top variants, tucked neatly inside a chrome-lined cup shaped housing. The front is somewhat a reminiscent of the current Ford Mondeo that's sold across the globe.

The side profile is nice and butch and look a notch above its arch rivals. The EcoSport sports 16 inch multi spoke alloy rims, with 205/60 R16 Goodyears. The roof is ribbed for structural strength.

about the interiors and the performance in the upcoming parts of this review.....

Audi Week - Driving the S4 part 1/2

So I reached Audi Delhi West today, Pankaj, the yard manager, came up to me and said "the S4 has gone to the gurgaon showroom sir, we're sorry we didn't inform you about it". The waves of sadness had hit my mind and my heavily expanding grin had taken a U turn. "We've got something better for you to look at today". 

My head goes up and my mind starts working way too quick. As I walked towards the alley I see this mighty black beast under cover, the bumper was visible and so was it's quad exhaust pipes. Behold, as they uncover it. The S4. The ultimate 'budum dum thishh' moment of my day. 

I sat in, adjusted my seat position ,turned on the engine, geared down to P-R-N-D....'S' :P . Dynamic mode selected. Prod my right foot deep into the floor and 'BOOM'. 350bhp supercharged V6 pulling like a boeing 737 with no passengers in it. The incredible shove in the back was apparent. So good i'm not a frequent flier or i'll be used to that kind of shoves. 

Quad butterfly tail pipes sound a bit too dull when the windows are pulled up. It's only when you rev hard and either your sunroof or the side windows are open could you hear that growl of the beasty supercharged V6. 

The car from the inside feels and looks like any other A4 except for a few bits and pieces. Like the instrument dials which glow red the instant you put the car in the dynamic mode. And the S4 stitching on the seats ofcourse. The same story is on the outside, you just can't make out the distinction points between a normal A4 and an S4. It takes a true audi fanatic to point out these, like the 4 tail pipes, the V6T badging on the flanks and the brushed aluminium rear view mirror housing and that's it!! Coming back to the performance, err, well wait for my next post because there's lot to be said.

(To be continued....)