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PRICE `25MAY 2013 VOL1 ISSUE 9

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FROM THE PIONEERS IN AUTO JOURNALISM

TEST DRIVEN

SPECIAL FEATURE

CELEB'SCHOICE

FILM DIRECTORKAMALVOLKSWAGEN

PHAETONPHAETONPHAETONPHAETONPHAETONPHAETON

Aircraft Hotels

TEST RIDE

BMW R1200 GS

TEST DRIVE

REVA e2o

BMW R1200 GS

PHAETONPHAETONPHAETONTEST DRIVE

Premium Class Luxury Saloon

TEST RIDE

KAWASAKININJA 300

Aircraft HotelsHOT COMPARISONMaruti Dzire Vs Honda AmazeEntry Level Sedan Shootout

AUTOGUIDEAIR CONDITIONER

KERALAKERALAKERALAKERALAKERALAKERALAKERALAKERALA

SUPER STOCKIST (ALL INDIA):HOT TRACKS, No. 17 Victoria Road, Bangalore-560047 Tel: 080-25361442 Mobile: +91 9886657766/9945131419

04 smart drive may 2013 smartdriveonline.in

The publisher makes every effort to ensure that the magazines contents are correct. However he can accept no responsibility for any effects from errorsor omissions. All material published in SmartDrive is copy right and unauthorized reproduction is forbidden. Printed, published and owned by Baiju N Nair, 31/586-B2, Second Floor,Excel Dream Home, Nambikkodathu Road,Vyttila,Kochi 19, published from Smart Drive, Cross Roads Media, 31/586-B2, second floor, Excel Dream Home,Nambikkodathu Road, Vyttila, Kochi 19, and printed at STR & Sons, Kochi. This magazine contains 84 pages including both covers.

Forget the old Reva! The new Reva E2O has come after a stunning makeover. It comes with a hatch-back’s interior space. P28 Like/follow us on Facebook, twitter &

google plus @smartdrive

SPECIAL

FEATURE

WORLD OF LOGOS

44

Forget the old Reva! The new Reva E2O has come

TEST DRIVEN

THIS MONTH

TEST DRIVE 18. PALACE ON WHEELS

VW PHAETON

TEST RIDE 32. CLIFF HANGER

BMW K1200 GS

36. LET'S PLAY

NINJA 300R

CELEB'S CHOICE50. DIRECTOR KAMAL

SPECIAL FEATURES40. GROUNDED

46. MODIFIED CARS

COMPARISON22. AMAZING DEZIRES

AMAZE & DZIRE

YATHRA54. ROADS LESS TRAVELLED

TECH-KNOW65. SMART GADGETS

REGULARS05. EDITORIAL

14. WORLD THIS MONTH

68. BOOK REVIEW

72. MY CHOICE

82. ROADSHOW

CAREER70. FISAT ANGAMALY

BUYERS GUIDE76. PRICE & SPECS

Those who passed on

The other day, a young biker drew an eight figure on the road to scrape against my car. After giving me a fleeting glance, he sped away imme-diately. I was in no mood to let it go. I

chased him for half a kilometer and rounded him up. The kid acted as if he never knew any-thing. But I laid out my case like a forensic ana-lyst. I pointed out at the paint scraped off his bike and my car. I yelled and screamed at him. He finally gave in. After he gave his guilty sub-mission, I showered him with advice and admonition.

After a while, I replayed the scene with me and the chap in my mind. I chuckled to myself, because I was reminded of my own predegree era. I was a constant nuisance on the road for everyone. I dashed around my locality in my Bajaj Chethak and Yamaha RX100. ‘If you want to see your son alive, then ask him to ride prop-erly’, people used to come regularly to my father with similar statements. And I used to ride my bike with more alacrity in front of these people, challenging them. I thought to myself that I must be a stud with the young ladies around. I enjoyed my life with my friends on our bikes. We dashed, bolted, swerved and flew in our two

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road accidenTs

smartdriveonline.in may 2013 smart drive 05

editorial

Oh God! Those who died are with You happy and content. I thank Thee for not making them go through such an excruciat-ing life.

Every Indian is in a mad rush. The pedestrian, the car driver, the bus driver, the biker, the bus passenger, those who cross roads. Even if one is crossing the road to sit joblessly next to a tea shop. If he doesn’t cross and get to the other side on time, probably his ‘spot’ will be occupied.

Everyone has one linger-ing mantra inside their heads: “I’m going first, I’m going first”.

Bus and tipper drivers are cannibals. Vampires, even. Even if his own father, mother, wife or child gets squished under his wheels, he will still be happy that he got to the next stop before the next bus.

A friend once advised me: “we must always drive on the road thinking that all except oneself are crazy”. But I wouldn’t agree to that. Everyone, including me, is a madman. Everyone wants to wage a war on the road. We speed ahead, we over-take, we take wrong sides, we challenge each other, we become stubborn, we even kill people.

Swami Vivekanand once called Kerala a madhouse. I wonder if his vision had extended to the current times. He must have imag-ined us crazy drivers and must have concluded thus.

Then there is Manoj who died being hit by a lorry while crossing the road. Then there is cheriachen who died squeezed in his car after being hit by a bus. The grim memories were overflowing.

wheeled machines.Ajeesh, one of those

friends, is no more now. So is Kurien. Even Mathews. All of them passed on to the heav-ens along with their bikes.

Then there is Manoj who died being hit by a lorry while crossing the road. Then there is Cheriachen who died squeezed in his car after being hit by a bus. The grim memories were overflowing.

Kunjumon, the epitome of masculinity, was killed on his bike after being hit by a bus. He was on his way to see his new born kid in the hospital.

Binu had his legs cut off. He was making the usual turn from the main road to the side road on his Yezdi bike.

Saju. Lost eighteen years of mental growth and memo-ry, and lives even now like a three year old. After that fate-ful accident.

Baiju N Nairchief editor

r Malayalee’s dearest Baiju Chettan,

� e Cambodia trip in the Yathra section in the last volume was really good. It is quite di� er-ent from other travelogues. SmartDrive has really done it well. Best wishesSanthosh

r I am a Harley devotee, and my love for it is undying. Other than seeing it directly, I have never been able to ride it at all. After reading the Harley Nightrod fea-ture, I had goosebumps all over. I would really like to know these superbikes up close. I can expect more of these to come, can’t I ? Justin

r It was good to read the test drive of the steam car in the April issue. Information about old gen-eration cars are really a treasure for the new generation. Hoping to see more of such features.Emil

r I was destined to be an ardent car lover. It was my childhood dream to become an automobile journalist. I used to regularly read the automotive magazine of another company. Once, while on a train trip, I stumbled through the SmartDrive magazine in � rissur. I just � ipped through the pages, and I fell head over heels for your magazine. � e new and enchanting writing style, and the fea-tures which evoke social respon-sibility are all really good. � e photos are even better.Steaphen Padiyath

r It is unthinkable to travel in a

car without air conditioning dur-ing summer. Especially while being stuck during the terrible city tra� c. Only after reading the Beat � e Heat car maintenance feature did I actually start think-ing about the air conditioning. As

far as a car owner is con-cerned, I understood how

grave even small defects of the AC can be. � anking all the SmartDrive members.

John Alunkal

r� e ‘World of Logos’ articles were a completely new experi-ence and knowledge for car lov-ers. SmartDrive is really di� erent from other car magazines.Abraham Steaphan

r It was really exciting to read the Marauder article of the April issue. I would like to call the Marauder the father of all inde-structible vehicles. It feels so good to see the giant get past all its obstacles. Here’s wishing all the best to the SmartDrive team, and may you cross all your obstacles to become invincible.Sony Joseph

r� is is the reference to your rev-eiw of the new Isuzu MU-7 and D-max. � ese both are good o� er-ings from isuzu, but could do with better styling. Both have boxing design. But MU-7 might be a huge leopard. MU-7's grill project look alike a downmarket image. It might be a huge reason for their possible failure in India. Because we the young Indians love style and looks both. Simon M.T, Kovalam

r� e last issue features on the vintage car rally was excellent. � e restoring side of the classic cars was very excellent and edu-cational. However, after reading it and realiasing the dedication involved in bringing these classics to their original condition, was someone's hard work and it was really appreciational. Anyone from the classic auto enthusiastic will become in adrenaline mode when they saw this feature.Jebastine Das


LETTERS mail/tweets/comments

YOUR SAYBest mag ever read... Kudoos smartdrive team

Anfal Anu

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comment me [email protected]

And the winner is...

MAY 2013VOLUME 1 ISSUE 9

creditsChief Editor

Baiju N Nairchiefeditor@

smartdriveonline.in

Chief CorrespondentNaveen Bhaskar

[email protected]

Sub editorManu pramad

Eldho Mathew ThomasShehnaz JaffarHaris Ibn Sahir

[email protected]

CorrespondentJubin Jacob

[email protected]

Overseas CorrespondentVijo Varghese

(Bangkok)Viju Varghese (Sanfrancisco)

GM – operationsLaila George

Chief PhotographerJamesh kottakal

PhotographerLalu thirumittakode

Art DirectorMachu

DesignerBivin Xavier

Sr. ManagerBusiness Development

Rakesh Babumarketing@

[email protected]

Officer- MarketingRajesh K nairSanthosh K.G

[email protected]

Circulation ExecutiveEmmanuel Antony

AccountsSwarna Sunil

Joisy Sony

EDITORIAL & ADMINISTRATION

OFFICE

SMART DRIVECross Roads Media31/586. B 2, second floor

Excel dream homeNambikodath road

Vyttila, Kochi- 682019Ph.04844000855-

9746745163

www.smartdriveonline.in

A Crossroads MediaInitiative

Distributed worldwide by Mathrubumi ptg &

Publishing company Ltd

SmartDrive has really done it

I am a Harley devotee, and my love for it is undying. Other than seeing it directly, I have never been able to ride it at all. After reading the Harley Nightrod fea-ture, I had goosebumps all over. I would really like to know these superbikes up close. I can expect more of these to come, can’t I ?

It was good to read the test drive of the steam car in the April issue. Information about old gen-eration cars are really a treasure for the new generation. Hoping to see more of such features.

car without air conditioning dur-ing summer. Especially while being stuck during the terrible city tra� c. Only after reading the

r It was really exciting to read the Marauder article of the April issue. I would like to call the Marauder the father of all inde-structible vehicles. It feels so good to see the giant get past all its obstacles. Here’s wishing all the best to the SmartDrive team, and may you cross all your obstacles to become invincible.Sony Joseph

r� is is the reference to your rev-eiw of the new Isuzu MU-7 and D-max. � ese both are good o� er-ings from isuzu, but could do with better styling. Both have boxing design. But MU-7 might be a huge leopard. MU-7's grill project look alike a downmarket image. It might be a huge reason for their possible failure in India. Because we the young Indians love style

HONDA DREAM NEO

Mahanidra & Mahindra will turn into specialised projects of multipurpose vehicles, rumours say. The company presently makes SUVs and other vehicles.2015

Design awarDIndia Design Mark: Gold Design Award goes to Maruti Swift DZire and Maruti Ertiga. Design, efficiency, value for moeny were the criteria considered. Last year, the same award had gone to Wagon R.

Vento style The special edition of Volkswa-gen’s Vento has come out. The name is Vento Style. It has alloy wheels and floor mats. It also has leather seat covers, chrome trim in the front and both doors have spe-cial door seals. The petrol variant is 8.33 lakhs and diesel variant is 9.41 lakhs at exshowroom price.


UpDATES This Month

sunny automatic Nissan Sunny’s automatic variant to hit the market. The automatic gearbox used in Renault’s Scalia is used here too. The 1.5 petrol engine delivers 99.6 bhp. The Sunny CVD has a mileage of 17.97 litres, the company claims. The price might be 8.90 lakhs.

Honda’s commuter bike Dream Neo is out, posing a threat to Splendor. The 109 cc engine delivers 8.2 bhp at 7500 rpm and 0.85 KgM torque at

5500 rpm. The bike’s engine is designed based on Honda’s ultra modern HET technology.

Honda attempts to make a mark for itself in India’s most vibrant entry level commuter bike segment. it is available in spoke, kickstart+alloy and start+alloy variants. The delhi exshowroom price of Honda Neo is 43,150 – 47240 rupees.

bitz

newsregional & national

BMW’s small car Mini Cooper will begin production in Chennai. The first plant outside Europe is the one starting oper-

ations in Chennai. The company plans to manufacture Mini Countryman in the Chennai plant. Mini Cooper D Countryman, Mini Cooper D Countryman High are being made locally.

The company also says that it will con-tinue the import of other Mini models such as Mini Cooper S and Mini Cooper Convertible.

Mini Cooper is a world famous car in the hatchback segment. This small car continues

to be one of the favourites in the world, even in movies. Even though it is a small car, it belongs tot he sports/luxury segment.

Mini Cooper plant in Chennai

honda neo

The delhi ex-showroom price of Honda Neo is 43,150 – 47240

rupees.

Honda number one dealer awardAutoban Benz

Honda Amaze BMW 7 series

launchnational & international


bmw

BMW X1 2013 model has come

to India

EVM Honda MD Sabu Johnny receives 2012-2013 award for best Honda dealership from president Kiyata Muramath

Minister PK Kunjalikutty inaugurates Calicut showroom of BaharatBenz. Muhammed Farzad, VRV Shivaprasad, Eric Nesselhoff and Babu Moopen seen around.

From the release function of Honda Amaze in Kerala. Honda’s sen-ior vice president Jnaneshwar Sen, and South Zone head Rohit Kumar.

BMW 7 series 2013 model was dislplayed at Delhi JW Marriot hotel. BMW India’s managing director Philip Von Sahr nearby.

Mahindra Adventure-INRC championship Mahindra XUV500 gets selected as the fastest vehicle in all categories, especially car SUV category, in the South

India Rally of the Indian National Rally Championship.

lAUNCHeS This Month

Technology advanced Hearing Aids High Performing Highly Reliable Hearing Aids No More Intrusive Background Noice Feedback & Echo Wireless technology Automatic Adaption Automatic Adaption Facilities Natural Sound Balance Small and Very Deep in canal technology Speech Enhancement Spectral IQ

AUDIO SERVICE (SIEMENS)

LAMBORGHINI TRACTORS TO HIT INDIAN MARKETS

Aventador SV, the prototype model of the Lamborghini Aventador, is set to hit the market in 2015.2015

ESCORT RETuRNS Once upon a time the Ford Escort was a symbol of lux-ury. But over time, it slid back into oblivion. Factors that led to its decline include price rise in servic-ing and spare parts and less mileage. Now the company has decided to solve these issues. The Escort is set to enter the compact saloon segment. It’s concept model was displayed at the show.


updAteS This Month

New Bullet ClassiC The new Bullet Classic 500 of the Royal Enfield has hit the market. It’s a perfect blend of vintage and mod-ern styling. The new engine is a change from the old one which was based on fuel injection technology. Since a carburettor is being used, the power is a little less. This engine can deliver maxi-mum torque at lesser rpm. The bike is available in a new colour combination called Forest Green.

Italy’s prominent vehicle manufacturer Lamborghini is launching its new Tractor in Indian Market. In fact, Lamborghini first started

their business manufacturing tractors. The company started building tractors for the Second

World Warwhen Mr. Ferruccio Lamborghini came up with Lamborghini Trattori brand which became one of the largest agricultural equip-ment manufacturers during 1950s. The Italian manufacturer is now emphasizing on its range

of tractors and considering the introduction of premium tractors in India. In the 1960s, Lamborghini started selling sportscars with the help of Ferrari and Masserati.

The tractor might cost more than 10 lakhs. But if they start

locally producing them, it can cap the price at 10 lakhs. SDF Indi a managing director Bhanu Sharma announced the entry of Lamborghini tractors into India and that they had been working on this for quite some time.

regional & national

The Indian car market scene is changing. Every car maker is now behind making multi purpose

vehicles. Chevrolet’s MUV Enjoy is set to come to India very soon. This vehicle is the right blend os style, space and comfort. Enjoy is strong enough to compete against

Maruti Ertiga, Nissan Evalia and Mahindra Xylo. The joint family culture of India has influenced their decision to make all the seven seats spacious. The main features include dual airbags, seat belt with load limiters, ABS and tubeless tires.

CHEvROLET ENjOy

lambo tractor

In the 1960s, Lam-borghini started selling

sportscars with the help of Ferrari and

Masserati.

news

Bitz

news Autoworld


Lamborghini takes on the lead role in the latest Need For Speed movie. Th e

movie’s main attraction will be the Sesto Elemento. Th e Lamby leads other cars including Mclaren P1,

Koenigsegg Agera R, Bugatti Super World Record Edition and GTA Spano. Th e movie is being

produced because the Need For Speed games became a huge hit with youngsters. Tobey Marshall

Th e Eleanor cars which did the title roles in the 1967 Hollywood movie Gone in Sixty Seconds have been put up for auctioning. Th ese were the Custom Ford Mustang fast-backs which were built in the design of the original Shelby Eleanor. Th e Eleanor was the Ford Mustang variant which found a

place for itself in history. Th ese cars were the fi rst products which came into existence even before the word ‘replica’ was coined for the car world. Th ese cars are the main attraction during the 26th Original Spring Classic Auction taking place in Indianapolis. Th e auction contains a variety of antique objects from every fi eld. Eleven cars were produced for the movie. Only three of these are still in working condition.

The world’s longest bus has started running in Germany. 256 persons can travel in the Autotram

Extra Grand. Th e bus is 30 metres

or 100 feet long. Th is bus was designed by Fraunhofer IVI and the Technical University Dresden.

Th e Autotram has design which resembles three buses

eLeanOr FrOM gOne in siXTY seCOnDs FOr aUCTiOn

LeADs In neeD FOR sPeeDLAMBORGHInI sesTO eLeMenTO

Autoworld news


The older, the costlierA 115 year old motor cycle was sold in an auction for Rs 25 lakhs! British auctioning company Bonhams sold the 1898 model Phebus motor tricycle for this price. Since 2009, this motor tricycle had been in France. Mike Penney, a vehicle modifier, had been responsible for restoring and maintaining this vehicle.

Phebus motor vehicles were built between 1899 and 1903 by Noe Boyer & Cie in the Parisian suburb of Suresnes.

The motorcycle has a 2.75 bhp engine. Its top speed is 63 kmph. Phebus motorcycles were manufac-tured by a British company Clement and a French com-pany Gladiator. The engine belongs to the French com-pany Aster.

The auctioneer has not made the buyer’s details clear.

FiaT 500 geTs a new hearTThis new heart transplant bears good resemblance to that in the 1996 movie Dragon Heart. In the movie, a dragon’s heart is placed into a prince’s body to save his life. This time the Fiat 500 has received the mighty Lamborghini Mercilago V12 engine with an output of 580 bhp.

A group of engineers from Italian company called Oemmedi Meccanica have created what may well be the most powerful Fiat 500 out there. This is not the first heart transplant the Fiat 500 has accepted. The Fiat has earlier accepted Porsche’s 3.2 litre engine and Ferrari’s V8 engine with open arms. The Fiat has undergone several critical changes to accommodate these engines too. One of the changes is an extremely wide body kit.

The vehicle contains many handling difficulties due to the big sized engine. The sound that this monster emits gives goosebumps. The Fiat 500 has other specialities. These include the self raising spoilers, superchargers and the Lamborghini’s tires.

Mads Østberg breaks snow juMp record -The world record for the longest snow jump has been broken. Wolrd rally championship driver Mads Østberg is the one who broke the record. Mads used the Ford Fiesta car which took part in the WRC rally to break the record. The Mads’ re-cord stands at 197 feet or 60 meters over a snow laden way. This news first appeared on WRC’s official twitter page. Travis Pastrana made an 82 metre (269 feet) jump in 2009, but this was not on ice.

will be the main protagonist of the movie and will be played by Aaron Paul. Fresh out of prison, he joins a cross country race to get his revenge on a wealthy busi-ness associate who framed him. The former partner finds out about Tobey's intentions and places a large bounty on his head.

attached to each other in a straight line. The vehicle runs on the same technology as a train. The bus has four axles. An electro hydraulic actuator system controls

these. Just like any bus, this can be driven only forward and back-

wards. The steering of the second and third buses are controlled by a computer.

world’s longest bus

preview Benz G 63 AMG 6x6


Text: Baiju N Nair

Have you ever felt that your off-roader could do with more than four wheels?

Then, please take a nice look at the Mercedes Benz G63 AMG 6X6. This six wheeled off-roader, which Mercedes Benz designed along with the Austrian company Magna Steyr, has presented every car buff a truly hair-raising experience.

The G63, in summary, has six tyres, low range gearing, 5 differential locks, tyre control system and 37 inch alloy wheels. The company likes to describe this vehicle as ‘the last word in forward thrusting power from a beaten track’. After the Benz SLS this is said to be the most expensive model. The price will be approximately 2.8 crores.

The G63AMG will be pri-marily used for military uses. Australian armymen have already adopted this vehicle. The next delivery is set for the Swedish army. Only after the G63 fulfils its duty towards the army, will it be allowed for civilian purposes.

This vehicle has a 5.5 litre V8 engine with twin chargers.

The engine, which was developed by Benz’ performance division AMG, will deliver 536 bhp. Its maximum torque is 759 Nm. This engine is powerful enough to cat-apult this 3775 kg vehicle.

The 7 speed G-tronic engine automatic gear is suitable for on and off roading. The off-roading transfer case gives a ratio power of 0:87:1. The power is provided by the extra shaft located in the rearmost axle. The five electronic differential locks efficiently lock all the six wheels. Three switches on the dashboard control this.

The G63 is a burly vehicle: 5875 mm long, 2110 mm broad, 2210 mm high and 3120 mm wheels base. The ground clear-ance is 460 mm and the tyres are 12.5 inches broad. This vehicle will be able to traverse any hor-rendous terrain.

It needs just 6.2 seconds to achieve the 100 kph mark. Its top speed has been controlled at 150 kph.

Benz expects to sell 20-30 G63 AMGs every year. Will this monster enter India? Let’s all kneel down and pray!

big lizardMercedes Benz comes to the scene with six wheeled offroader 6X6. This monster is called G63 AMG which belongs to the G class. CAR BUFFS ALERT!

litre V8 engine

bhp power

kg weight

mm Length5. 5 3775 5875536


enGine 5.5 l,v8 AMGDisplAceMent5.5 l

MAx power536 BhpMAx torque 560 lb feet

trAnsMission7 speed AuTolenGth 5875 mm

wiDth 2110 mmheiGht2210 mm

kerB weiGht 3775 kgGrounD cleArence

460 mm price2.8 cr. (est.)

specBENz

g-63 Amg 6x6

suits deserts cruising

Comfortable backseats

dashboard similar to G wagon

differential lock switches Meter console

benz

G 63 amGwill this mon-

ster enter india? Kneel down and

pray..

mm Length

mm ground clearance

just 6.2 seconds to achieve the 100 kph100460

test drive VW phaeton


text: Prasobh Reji Photo: Jamesh Kottakkal

Sometimes perfect engi-neering gets even perfect. There were times when cars were only known for

transportation. Now beyond that cars are considered as a part of life and life signature. The car we drive shows our signature and that is why we become very con-fused when choosing a car. Volkswagen, the German giant always focused on bringing in products that suits everyone’s life. Volkswagen is a group which has

Palaceon wheels

Phaeton is the most expensive volkswagen model available in india. Only two people in Kerala own this extremely luxurious car. A test drive report.

a whole lot of products under dif-ferent brands; of which Phaeton – a premium luxury model that everyone in India is not aware of because of its limited sales. There are only two cars in Kerala. Today Smart Drive gets a unique chance to test drive and review The Volkswagen Phaeton 3.6 V6. This exclusive luxury moving palace is brought to Kerala by Shri.Monson Mavunkal, Managing Director of COSMO Group, who is a petrol head and likes to own unique

cars. Being just two cars in Kerala,

the Phaeton has an exclusive value wherever it goes. The Phaeton competes with the Audi A8, BMW 7 Series, Merc S – Class and the Jaguar XJ. You might be wondering why I’m keep on say-ing it as an exclusive car. Volkswagen doesn’t promote the Phaeton through any mode of advertisement because they wanted the customers to feel the Phaeton from its heart. No one can treat this beast as a normal car because it is a real deal and that is why the Chauffer of the

test car that we got – Mr.Aji treats it as the pupil in his eyes. The Phaeton is an expensive car to buy and even more costly one to run. The car’s execution is seam-lessly faultless but the VW badge simply isn’t desirable enough to compete in the segment. Let’s see and feel in deep the real fascia of Phaeton’s character.

ENGINEThe Volkswagen Phaeton comes with a couple of engine options in the international market but the Indian market is complemented with only a single engine option.


ENGINE v 6DIsplacEmENt3597 cc

max poWEr280 Bhp@6250 rpmmax torquE 370 Nm@3500 rpm

lENGth 5175 mmWIDth 1903 mm

hEIGht 1450 mmGross VEhIclE WEIGht

2200 kgGrouND clEarENcE128 mm

prIcE85 lakhs ex-show room delhi

specVW

Phaeton

vw

phaetonthe six speed

automatic gear box comes with

a paddle shifter.

The 3.6l V6 petrol engine is a real gem among the petrol heads. This thirsty V6 makes the drive a complete fun pack. It is clear from the very beginning that this engine is perfectly engineered. It is so silent that we need to step on the throttle to see whether the engine is running or not. You’ll barely be aware of any mechanical pro-cess under the hood at all; it’s that quiet. Refinement levels are top notch and it matches to any other premium cars in the segment.

The Phaeton is powered by 3597cc V6 Petrol engine that pumps out 280 bhp of power @ 6250rpm and a whopping torque of 377nm @ 3500rpm.

The transmission used in Phaeton is the renowned

DSG Gearbox which is a trade mark of the Volkswagen family. This particular machine uses a 6

speed automatic trans-mission that is comple-

mented with paddle shifts. Just as the way its rivals do

the job, this transmission also

Hid projector lamps

Led tail lamps

dashboard reminds of a plane cockpit

makes the scenario picture per-fect. There is no much sluggish-ness in the initial response and gets into the right track in a frac-tion of second. Even though this car belongs to the premium lux-ury segment where it is more chauffer driven, the character of this beast changes dramatically as the sport mode is turned on. That makes the speed fanatics thrilled like nothing else.

The power delivery is smooth and tactile. It clocks o-100kmph in 8.6 seconds and the top speed is electronically limited to 250kmph. The drive train is a full time AWD. Since it is powered by a V6 petrol engine, fuel efficiency is a cause of worry. It returns just 4 kmpl and that is why this beast is known to be costlier to maintain.

test drive VW phaeton


interior is very luxurious, a world of safety and comfort

Only petrol variants available. the looks don’t kill.

flight with all the switches and levers in it. The steering wheel is smooth and progressive which complements the handling parameter. It helps in manoeu-vring this limo easily through the hectic traffic conditions of urban world. The centre console has a large display that gives all the val-uable information about the car. It has a Bluetooth enabled 6 CD changer music system that sounds perfect. The suspension settings of the car can be con-trolled via this display unit. In the cabin, there’s no arguing with the standard kit list, or the levels of comfort. The 18-way adjustable front seats are as supportive and relaxing as ever, the famous draught-free ventilation system (which can keep the cabin at 22deg C when travelling at 186mph in 50deg C heat) is extremely efficient and the execu-tive toys - which now include Google internet, headlights that ‘blank off’ sections of main beam for oncoming traffic, and full iPod control, will please gadget enthu-siasts. It’s all beautifully finished with wooden inserts and classic gauges like analog clock. The rear

seats are the perfect point inside the Phaeton. It has

enormous amount of leg space and is highly comfortable with mas-sagers. The central arm rest can folded

down to access a chiller box which is an add-on

during these summer days. Phaeton gets other regular

gizmos like the electronically con-trolled sun roof, tilt and telescopic steering column, satellite phone etc. No matter how the Phaeton performs in the sales chart, the interior of this moving palace can compete with any other premium car in the segment.

Although it looks like a bloated Passat, keen atten-tion has been given to lux-ury and performance. excellent drive. the rs. 85 Lakh is well justified.

sdverdict

looKsPhaeton is not a piece of art work which grabs our eyes on the first sight. It follows the distinguished Volkswagen family styling. The first sight brings in memories of the earlier generation Passat and can be mistaken for a bigger Passat. The Phaeton is 5 meter in length which is really long and will be undoubtedly classified as a limousine. The front has enor-mous amount of chrome sur-rounded which is in fact consid-ered as a big deal for the Indian customers. It comes with HID

vw

phaetonOne thing needs to be said. its en-emies are more stylish than the

Phaeton.

3.6 v6 petrol engine

Boot space is huge rear passengers have many facilities

projector headlamps that deliver clear visibility even in the darkest of dark world. The 14 spoke alloy wheels surrounded by big 17 inch wheels give the Phaeton more muscularity. The side profile, especially when it comes to the C pillar clearly shows in the inner headroom with its edgy roofline. The rear portion is apparently very plain in view which may not appeal to everyone. The Volkswagen logo and the Phaeton badge along with the engine vari-ant name complete the rear styl-ing cues. In order to add

sportiness to the car, Volkswagen has given the Phaeton twin exhaust pipes. The recent facelift given the Phaeton has brought in more styling cues like the day time running LED lamps. It is a fact that Phaeton struggles a lot in the segment with other competi-tors like the BMW 7 series, Jaguar XJ, Merc S Class and the Audi A8 since these beasts are far more stylish.

INtErIor The interior of Phaeton is a place where every-one wishes to spend for a long time. It is perfect piece of artistic portrait that indulge luxury in each nook and corner. Apart from the new gener-ation premium cars who are try-ing to reduce the number of switches on board, Phaeton has a huge some of switches cluttered in it. Volkswagen say that there are 142 switches incorporated inside the Phaeton. The dash board resembles the cockpit of a

the Phaeton has Bentley continental Gt’s plat-form. the stability that this aluminium chassis gives is commendable.


test drive Comparison

honda amaze

it has an output of 98.6 bhp, but does not seem very apparent

text: Jubin Jacob Photo: Jamesh Kottakkal

AmAzing Dezires

Its never too late for surprises. Honda has really astonished all of us by releasing a diesel engine car. We introduced

Honda’s diesel car Amaze in the last volume of SmartDrive. The new car is nothing

short of amazing. Amaze tries to capitalise on the lesser tax on cars below four metres in length. Lets do a comparative drive between the Suzuki Swift DZire, which came out recently shorter in length.

LooksEven though the Amaze is the sedan version of the Brio, the front grille is different. The Amaze’s rear looks exception-ally beautiful. The extra boot doesn’t seem to jut out at all. The rest of the design is the same. At the first

glance, I got reminded of my friend’s son’s words: “A

nice candy car!” Yes, the Amaze looks overall like a candy.

At the exact time that we started getting

tired of the DZire’s looks, the same car is

released with a significant


Comparison test drive

Honda comes to make history with its diesel sedan Amaze. A car comparison between the current winner Maruti suzuki dZire and Honda Amaze.

AmAzing Dezires

cut in the rear end. Diff erent peo-ple have diff erent opinions on the DZire’s which is dentical to the Swift and the modifi ed boot. Th ere are criticisms about appar-ently unclean attachment of the boot to the end. Instead of the name sedan, the name notchback suits both Amaze and DZire more.

inTEriorTh e Amaze has more interior space than the Brio due to the increased wheel base. Th e dash-board is identical to Brio’s. Th e seats and the door trims are of good quality. Th ough there are a few diff ering opinions regarding Amaze’s interior, the design is quite practical and suits the

exterior design well. SmartDrive received the middle version of Amaze. Th e middle version did not have the top end mode alloy wheels, basic trip computer, elec-tric foldable rearview mirrors and the ‘eco’ mode indicators.

Th e DZire seems ahead of Amaze in terms of interior. Th e same layout used in the

LooksHonda Amazesuzuki dzire

Honda Amazesuzuki dzire

engine & Performance

test drive comparison


Both of them gave us a commendable perfor-mance. Both of them have a background in Japa-nese technology

Swift has been used in the DZire too. Th e instrument console and dashboard are of higher quality now. Th e beige and black fi nish gives a loevely touch. Th e interior space is commendable too.

driVEAmaze is the fi rst diesel Honda car to come to India. Th e 1498 cc four cylinder, 16 valve unit engine has an output of 98.6 bhp at 3,600 rpm. But this power does not seem very apparent. Th e car revs up quite slowly. Honda claims that the fuel effi ciency is 25.8 kms. If so, then lets ignore the slightly initial pulling. sturdy ddis engine

Good leg space behind

316 litre boot space

Amaze ‘looks’ longer than dZire

Who’s got better booty?

Hawk eyed headlamp

interior borrowed from swift

University Country

Kyrgyz RepublicKyrgyz Republic

ChinaChina

PhilippinesUkraineRomania

HungaryCzech Republic

UkraineRussia

St. Lucia, Caribbean

60,000 INR1,20,000 INR1,76,000 INR1,76,000 INR2,10,000 INR2,20,000 INR2,34,000 INR

2,47,000 INR2,73,000 INR3,50,000 INR3,65,000 INR5,50,000 INR

Osh State University Kyrgyz State Medical Academy

China Medical UniversityNingbo University

Virgen Melagrosa UniversityPoltava State Medical Dental University

Univercity of Medicine & Phamaracy"Carol Davila"

University Of DebreceenPalacky University OlomoucDonetsk National University

People’s Friendship UniversityAmerican International Medical University

Approx. Fees per Year in Indian

Rupees

Starting fromonly `65,000 per year

Reserve your seats now.

University Country

Kyrgyz RepublicKyrgyz Republic

ChinaChina

PhilippinesUkraineRomania

HungaryCzech Republic

UkraineRussia

St. Lucia, Caribbean

60,000 INR1,20,000 INR1,76,000 INR1,76,000 INR2,10,000 INR2,20,000 INR2,34,000 INR

2,47,000 INR2,73,000 INR3,50,000 INR3,65,000 INR5,50,000 INR

Osh State University Kyrgyz State Medical Academy

China Medical UniversityNingbo University

Virgen Melagrosa UniversityPoltava State Medical Dental University

Univercity of Medicine & Phamaracy"Carol Davila"

University Of DebreceenPalacky University OlomoucDonetsk National University

People’s Friendship UniversityAmerican International Medical University

Approx. Fees per Year in Indian

Rupees

Starting fromonly `65,000 per year

Reserve your seats now.

test drive comparison


Amaze proves Honda’s driveability, dZire proves its power

Legroom, headroom in the Amaze, dZire’s bootspace has reduced

Honda’s first diesel car Amaze will surely be a crowd puller. some people complain that the 1.5 litre engine’s strength is not all that apparent. the dZire’s lesser length has pros and cons. the beauty of its booty is lesser, and the bootspace has reduced to 316 litres.

sdverdict

Another problem is the engine noise which seeps into the cabin. Honda has conveniently forgotten about the insulation in their efforts to reduce the production cost. The transmission is very crisp and suits the engine well. The handling and riding comfort underlines Honda’s reputation for driver’s cars. The steer-ing is very responsive. The braking is quite efficient. The AC is effi-cient too.

DZire houses the same 1.3 litre engine which was there in the Swift. The DDIS engine which uses Fiat technology does not need a special introduction. Its output is 74 bhp at 4000 rpm. The DZire’s tuning would give the impression that it has more power then Amaze. DZire diesel is good

even in terms of fuel efficiency. DZire’s transmission gives clearcut shifts. The handling is better than its previous models. DZire is full of Maruti’s signature trustworthiness. A normal car

cannot easily defeat this car.

FinaL wordAfter getting the car into the road track, the real things became clearer. The Amaze is a

surefire competitor for DZire, which is considered

as a trendsetter in Indian market. Both the cars stay

abreast each other in terms of fuel efficiency. Both of them gave us a commendable performance. Both of them have a background in Japanese technology. The compe-tition between them is going to be very cutthroat indeed.

Honda’s first diesel car

Lesser leg room behind

400 litre bootspace!

Brio’s interior itself

Amaze’s ABs and eBd are standard; dZire has optional

Amazing black eyes

maruti

dziredZire’s tuning would give the

impression that it has more

power

-vehicle provided by: Peninsular Honda kochi, 0484 2705547, indus Motors kochi +91 9745997354

iPad

iPad

iPad

test drive Mahindra Reva e2o


butteR flyMahindra Reva The


engine 3 Phase induc-tion MotorMax poweR

19 kW @ 3750 rPM Max toRque 53 n-M @ (0-3400 rPM)

batteRy 48v LithiuM-ionlengtH3280 mm

widtH 1514 mmHeigHt 1560 mm

KeRb weigHt 830 kggRound cleaRence

180 mm pRice6.70-7.05 lakhs, (ex-show room kochi)

specMahin-

dra reva

text: Baiju n nair Photo: Jamesh Kottakkal

butteR flyMahindra Reva The

Mahindra

revathe body is

made of mul-tilayered high impact plastic.

When you look at Mahindra Reva, you will definitely have a laugh for yourself.

It looks almost cartoonish. Its smallness makes it look like a Disney character.

You might be amused by the way it looks, but in terms of practicality, Reva is way behind the scale. The main reason is that the space in the rear seats are too less. The vehicle is just too small. The irony is the high price. The Reva did not perform well even after Mahindra bought the original company Maini due to this reason.

But thankfully, Mahindra has spotted this weakling and has decided to buff up the vehicle. Mahindra will also bless this car with awesome marketing. The company knows well that the car will finally click with the Indian

buyers.Mahindra has released the

buffer version called Reva E2O.

looKsSome time ago, a leading vehicle

designer Dileep Chhabbria had modified the Reva. I

had seen the modified vehicle, called NXR in its plant in Bangalore when I had visited there in 2007. The cur-

rent Reva is almost in the same look.

The Reva no longer pos-sesses that old toy car look.

The E2O has really matured in terms of appearance and has what every other car has.

The body is made of multilay-ered high impact plastic. The front houses a big netted grille. The clear lens dual headlamps look pretty. The wheel arches are bigger.

The Reva looks

forget the old reva! the new reva e2o has come after a stunning makeover. the exclusive test-drive...

exceptional beauty

test drive Mahindra Reva e2o


ample interior space, increased production quality, beautiful design

fully charged reva runs only 100 kms, price is a tad too high.

the price of reva e2o’s two variants in kerala is 6.7 and 7.05 lakhs. compared to the previous one, the newer reva has progressed leaps and bounds in terms of interior space, beauty and production quality. it can be driven without any lag. the reva can be crowned as a good city commuter.

sdverdict

exceptional from other cars from the side profiles. The doors are just two. But the rear seat passen-gers are provided with big win-dows. But these windows cannot be opened.

The rear profile looks good too. The rear windows can be opened to find a very small boot space. The older Reva cannot be com-pared to the new one. The makeo-ver is that mindblowing!

insideThe lack of space in the older Reva has been solved in the new one. A switch in the front seat can be pressed for a way to appear to get to the back. There is ample leg space behind. The big windows behind eliminates the congested look of the passengers.

The black themed dashboard is goodlooking. A huge touch-screen interface takes up the space in the centre. The touch-screen has the options to control media and navigation.

The digital meter cluster is really handy. Information regard-ing the distance that can be trav-elled with the level of power is

available. The air conditioning and power windows are quite good too.

dRivingReva doesn’t have an engine or a clutch or a transmission system. It runs on an electric motor. The 48 volt lithium ion batteries get fully

charged within five hours. A fully charged Reva can run for 100 kilometers. The battery power is 19 kilowatts at 3750 rpm. Its top speed is 81 kph.

The Reva has an option called ‘revive’ which can be availed in case the battery charge is over. Via this option, 10 more kilome-ters can be covered.

The Reva E2O has the facility to connect the driver’s

smartphone with the car. Through this facility, one

can switch on the AC, lock/unlock the car and check the car’s charge levels.

Even though Reva E2O is small, it has 10 on

board computers. This makes Reva as good as other

cars in terms of technology.

vehicle provided by: tvs Mahindra cochin +91 9946663121

Quality interior

ample glass area on the sides

Mahindra

revathe spaceless-

ness in the older reva has been solved in the

new one

small bootspace

charging socket in the boot

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test ride bmw r1200 gs


cliff


EnginE4-stroke 2cyl.DisplacEmEnt1170 cc

max powEr110 Bhp@ 7750 rpmmax torquE

120 Nm @ 6000 rpmtransmission6 speed

whEEl basE1495.00 mm fuEl tank20 ltrs

tYrE front 110/80 r-19tYrE rEar150/70 r-17

kErb wEight 203 KgpricErs 19 Lakhs

(ex-showroom price, delhi)

the testride of the worlds biggest selling dual sports motorcycle BMW r 1200 Gs saying a prayer in mind, i pulled the gear down. the r1200Gs crossed the hump like a feather.

text, Photo: Jubin Jacob

The other day, I was watching the movie Resident Evil. Suddenly, I noticed the heroine’s

bike. It was a BMW, a K Series. My mind blew away seeing the K1200 hit the hot sands of a desert and cascading through the dunes. A short while later, another bike appeared in front of me. It was BMW’s top selling bike R1200 GS. Let’s meet the world’s largest selling dual sport motorcycle.

The R1200GS is a dual sport bike. The Ducati Hypermotard,

BMW

R 1200 GS the r1200Gs came out in

2004

which SmartDrive had covered a few volumes ago, belongs to a similar bike segment. The R1200GS has been built to be used on roads and off roads equally.

at first glancEThe R1200GS was released in 2004. The bike is quite different from the traditional looks of sports and touring bikes. Recently a friend told me that one may find many irregulari-ties in the BMW Motorad at first glance. Nevertheless, there is an incomparable excellence in its design. Its stature on the elon-gated forks gives it a majestic look. The ‘hot red lips’ on top of its mudguard look luscious. The twin headlamps are different in terms of diameters. The big and transparent fairing protects against wind. On the fenders on either side tank contains the

BMW badging. The engine is very attractive. This is a flat twin boxer type engine which has cylinders jutting out on either side. BMW has been using this flat configu-ration on its bikes, a design which is a rarity in the world. This

1,170 cc air/oil cooled boxer engine delivers 109 bhp

at 7,750 rpm. The arrangement in the rear is quite simple. Split seats and thick

cast alloy luggage car-rier behind it. The

R1200GS has LED tail lamps and small flashers

making its rear completely trim. The exhaust pipe, against con-vention, has been provided at the rider’s left. The hub behind holds only at one side. This eliminates a lot of congestion in the design.

tEstriDEThere are very little bikes with such a high seating position. The control switches can

hangEr

specBmw

r 1200 gs

test ride bmw r1200 gs


cause a little bit of confusion. I started it. Th e noise that came was a nice deep one, though coming from a twin cylinder. I stepped down on the fi rst gear, and the R1200GS started off with a jerk.

Th e torque is not provided by a fi nal drive chain or a belt; it was a

shaft! Th e R1200GS was surging forward like a wild mountain goat, so powerful and strong. I smoothly shifted from one gear to the higher. I reached the sixth gear and the bike tipped 130 kph, and lo! Th e road ended itself in front of a speed breaker. Saying a prayer in mind, I pulled the gear down. Th e R1200GS crossed the hump like a feather. I was totally mesmerised. BMW’s very own tele-lever suspension did the trick. Th e technol-ogy is based on a spring which is linked to the two sturdy telescopic forks. Th is enables the R1200GS to achieve stability even at high speeds and

terrible road conditions. Th e rear has what is known as a para-lever suspension. Th is stabilised sus-

pension is not the only one responsible for the stabil-

ity of this bike. Th is sus-pension comes with an electronic adjustment facility as an option.

Th e bike’s brakes con-sist of 350 mm disk in the

front and 265 mm disk in the back. ABS comes as

optional. Th e bike which I am testing now has ABS.

Th e bike has 150/70 R17 tyres behind, which can be used eff ec-tively on road and off road. Th e front wheel is 110/80 R19. Th e taller wheels in the front contrib-ute to the majestic stature of the bike.

Every globetrotting biker will easily fall in love with the magnifi -cent R1200GS. Since 2005, the R1200GS has a version called ‘Adventure’. Th is model contains many changes which strengthens the bike to endure off road biking. In 2012, BMW released the next model named R1200GS LC. LC stands for the liquid cooled engine it has.

(In Remembrance

Kevin Ash, one of the most revered auto journalists in the world, died this January in South Africa. He was involved in an acci-dent while riding the BMW R1200GS LC during a media drive there. He died on the spot. I was one of his ardent fan and this test drive brought memories of his death. I dedicate this testdrive to the memories of Kevin Ash.)

thanks to: nahas ommer/ faizal

Build and strength made to conquer any terrain

seating position, weight and pricing are major let-downs

the r1200Gs gives an exceptional riding expe-rience compared to other super bikes. this bike is fully capable and fl exible to suit any condition. the high seating position switches and the weight could confuse you.

sdVerdiCt

the technology is based on a spring which is linked to the two sturdy telescopic forks.

BMW R 1200 GS

since 2005, the r1200Gs has a version called

‘Adventure’

the back profile looks hefty

BMW’s signature headlamps

digital analog combination

Final drive shaft

the r1200Gs is quite away from the traditional look

tele-lever suspension

1.2 Ltr. flat boxer unit

test ride Kawasaki Ninja 300


LET's PLAY

ENgiNEFour-stroke, Parallel-twin disPLACEMENT

296 cc MAX PoWEr39 Bhp @ 11000 rpm

MAX TorQUE27 Nm @ 10000 rpmTrANsMissioN

6 speed WHEEL BAsE1405.00 mm groUNd

CLEArENCE140.00 mm FUEL TANK17.0 ltrs

diMENsioN LXWXH2015x715x1110PriCE

rs 3.56 Lacks(ex-showroom price, Kochi)

specNINJA300 R

Kawasaki Ninja 300 test ride


LET's PLAY

Long ago, there existed socialism amongst bikes. Th ere was absolutely no segmentation between

sports, commuter and perfor-mance bikes. All of them were identical to each other. During this era, there were no more than a few companies competing with each other for market share. If it had a modest mileage and a good per-formance, the bike buyer was happy. One of the most prominent bike manufacturers of that era was Kawasaki. Th e Bajaj-Kawasaki friendship was our pride. Th e same union pro-duced many wonderful bikes such as KB 100, KB 125, Calibre, 4S Champion, Boxer, Wind etc. Th ere are many who are alive even now. But then, somewhere and somehow Kawasaki regressed into oblivion. Even though an occasional KB 100 reminds us Kawasaki’s heydays.

After 2003, we could not see any new products from the union.

Years passed by, and fi nally Kawasaki stepped into a segment it had never ventured before. In 2009, it released the Ninja 250R into the entry level sports bike segment. Th e Ninja ruled over the segment. Even though the

other 250cc bikes posed challenges, the Ninja was

always a step ahead in terms of performance. Th e Ninja carried on like this for four years.

Kawasaki realised that this cannot carry on for

long. Th ey decided to tweak their kid this time, and for a dif-ferent segment: 300cc. Th e latest Ninja has been released after stopping the production of the 250R. Ninja is Kawasaki’s inter-national model. Th e same Ninja 300 which is sold in countries like Europe, Australia and North America has been brought to India as well.

NiNja 300

Kawasaki released Ninja 250r in 2009

the Ninja 250r carried on for four years. Kawa-saki realised that this cannot carry on for long. they decided to tweak their kid this time, and for a different segment: 300cc.

text: Manu Pramad Photo: Jamesh Kottakal

test ride Kawasaki Ninja 300


the Ninja 300 has the best gear positions in the entire segment

the seat quality gets tiresome in long rides

LooKThe main complaint about Ninja’s design is that it is not at all updated. There were many who grumbled that the 250R’s design was not fit for the era. Kawasaki has redressed these complaints in its Ninja 300. It has been given a nice futuristic design. The Ninja is now well prepared to face its main competitors.

Let’s start describing its front first. The ensemble of the dual headlights, V shaped front fairings

and the rear-view mirrors which resembles a bull’s horns is the same as other bikes. The side fair-ings house the indicator lights. Even though the front fair-ing grants the bike a slightly heightened position, if a six feet tall man gets on the bike, it makes it looks rather smallish. The Ninja 300 has alloy wheels of the latest designs. Even though the alloy wheels don’t

look that premium, it certainly does match the bike’s overall look.

The side profile is the most breathtaking of all. The side fair-ings and the engine cowls give the bike a remarkable beauty. Especially the air intake holes in the side fairings add a special flair. Even the black colour of the side fairings enhances the beauty. The meter console is very simple

and has analog tachometer and digital speedometer.

The fuel tanks look much chiselled. Ninja 300 has the same split seats of the previous Ninja. The exhaust

pipes are hexagonal. Chrome finishings have

been given here and there. The tail lamps are very

lovely. Below that lies the rear fairing with the indicators.

ENgiNEThe engine is a 296 cc liquid cooled, parallel twin engine. It has eight valves and six speeds. Its output is 39 bhp at 11000 rpm. The torque is 27 NM at 10000 rpm. The Ninja’s advantage is the crys-tal clear gear ratios.

TEsTridEThe most attractive factor of the Ninja is its sound. The sound is mature and steady. This kind of sound indicates that the engine is well refined. Even though the per-formance in the beginning doesn’t seem to be great, from the third gear it brings on its full game. The bike gives good stabil-ity and control. The company says that the bike’s top speed is 170 kph. At higher gear ratios, the 300 takes higher speeds. The bike’s

true power is hidden in the high gears. The anti slip clutch also enhances the speed.

The seating position is the same as the 250R. The seats could have been better. The riding posi-tion is thoroughly sporty. The position is aerodynamically appropriate for the rider. The 300 has been built using a new frame. The new frame awards more ground clearance, more wheel base and better stability. Even though the bike is huge, the han-dling does not suffer at all. The Ninja can be handled just like a commuter bike. The braking sys-tem is new, and its performance is great. Even at high speeds, the brakes never disappoint.

Without doubt, the Ninja 300 is capable of putting a firm affront with, or probably is a step ahead of the other bikes in the 300 cc segment.

NiNja 300

the engine is a 296 cc liquid cooled, parallel

twin engine

296 cc liquid cooled engine

Pretty and small tail lamps

Headlights look familiar

simple instrument cluster

Hexagonal silencer

Ninja 300 looks lively

the great performance at high gears is the factor which makes the Ninja so irresistible. Lower gears are a small letdown. even the price might seem a little too high.

sdverdict

-vehicle provided by: KTM VYTTiLA+919895805657

special feature Aeroplane hotels


We usually ‘ground’ the cars and cycles which have lost their utility for us. They are demoted to the position of ‘scrap’. These vehicle end up as rusted garbage in a scrap seller’s backyard.

There are some grounded aircrafts which have lived the life of luxury, even when they have not been used for a long time. These are well protected in different parts of the world. In their former lives they were aircrafts. Most of them have reborn as hotels. Lets meet some of the aircraft turned hotels.

The name ,Hotel Phoenix, may give an impression of an ordinary Hotel, but in reality ,it is a 727 Boeing turned into a marvelous property.This Boeing was once the passenger carrier for South African Airways and Avianca Airlines of

Colombia. The 1965 model aircraft later was found resting in the corner of San Jose Airport ready for the final verdict by some scrap buyer for the disassembling,decommissioning and dismantling pro-cess for scrap. But the aircraft caught the attention of a hotelier who owned ,Hotel Costa Verde in Costa Ricca ,and bought it. He managed to dismantle and transport it to the safety of the jungles in Manuel Antonio in Costa Ricca, in 5 large trucks .The dismantled aircraft was reassembled into an exclusive jumbo hotel suite ,fixed on a 50 ft platform.The aircraft was refurbished well and the interiors, fully panelled with Indonesian Teak wood. Two A/C bedrooms with attached bathrooms and a well contained living room was built inside the aircraft in an unique style and the dinning facility arranged on the wings to enjoy the nature while dining. It is only Rs 7000 for a night to stay and enjoy the lush greenery and the blue sea outside , which is certainly an exquisite treat for a holiday maker who wants to enjoy his holiday in an exclusively different taste

into the hotel

One bedroom

Balcony

Welcome room

HOTEL PHOENIX

Pheonix

this was once a rusted aircraft in the san Jose

airport

GROUNDED


Aeroplane hotels special feature

living room Bathtub in the hotel Bedroom

HOTEL SUITES

One can sleep in all types of accommodation but not in an aeroplane in perfect

comfort and style. Planning to spent an over

night in luxury in a plane grounded ? When in Netherlands your dreams can come true.Close to the airport in Teuge ,you will find a board ,Hotel Suites N.L and you walk in and book a room by paying only euro 350 for a night. There can be nothing left in terms of comfort and design. From the large designer bed to the lounge area, its all in leather, black and white color scheme ,with an

outdoor terrace over looking the air field. It even has a facility to host a conference for 15 people., The interior carries a modern ambiance with retro influences and recurring elements that com-plement the theme –orals and cir-cles, from whirl pool to separate shower, infra red sauna',blue ray DVD player, 3 flat t.v,s coffee machine and a microwave oven. The cockpit has been kept in tact and one can even sleep in it ,as such is the grandeur inside...

llyushin 18 was an aircraft used exclusively for the German government during 1960.

GROUNDED

hotel suites

served in cuba, china, Vietnam and russia till

1986

special feature Aeroplane hotels


AIRPLANE HOME

In Waitomo , New Zealand, you can see a 1950 Bristol fighter plane converted into a small

beauty hotel. This fighter plane was used as

a cargo plane carrying 25 cars and to transfer American soldiers to Vietnam during the Vietnam war time.

A living room, 2 bed rooms, besides the cockpit turned bed-room contain all the comforts and the necessary amenities. The room tariff is only 195 new zea-land dollar.

BRISTOL HOTEL

plane in the forest restaurant living room bedroom

JUMBO STRIPIn Sweden, at the Arlanda air-

port (Stockholm),the mil-lionaire, Oscar Dios decided

to decommission a double decked Boeing 747-200. Jetliner into a luxury hotel, which was grounded at Arlanda airport uncared.. Though he had actu-ally planned for a transit hotel near to the airport, he thought why not turn an aircraft into a hotel.? and the remodelled Jumbo strip has 27 luxury

rooms and can accommodate 79 guests. The cockpit has been converted into super deluxe double bed room with all com-forts. Now the jet turbines are being converted into double bed rooms due to the huge demand from the tourists.

The converted cockpits with its panoramic view of the air-port ,no seat belts, no restricted sittings or jet lags gives the guest an unique experience. This

Boutique hotel is the first prop-erty made out from a 747 Jumbo flight.

A/C,. Jacuzzi, Infra red sauna, Minibar, 3 flats TV, DVD player, Pantry, free Wi Fi, etc enhances the comfort for the money paid.Moreover,the tran-sit passengers need only 6 min-utes to reach the airport and breakfast is served early morn-ing at 3 am itself.

Jumbo

hostel450 seats were

removed to make the air-craft a hotel


Aeroplane hotels special feature

Ms Joan Ussery is a hairstylist,who lived in a wooden house in her own estate

quite disillusioned of owning such a house with continuous repairs and maintenance that cost her a fortune and frustrated her.Her brother who was an ex Air Traffic Controller with the Greenwood airport ,suggested her to think of an airplane

converted house which needed very minimum maintenance. That inspired her to take notice of a red bordered 747 aircraft of Continental Airlines among lots of other aircrafts which found permanent abode after retire-ment at Greenwood Airport. . She immediately bought it for a price of $30,000 and transported it to her estate and converted it into a magical home with

a fountain overlooking it. She converted the inside into three bedrooms with Jaccuzis, carpet floorings, latest kitchen gadgets

and a stylish living room. Even after 20 years it still stands up in mighty and glory .

It was the first Boeing 727-224 , which was used for EASTERN AIRLINES, AIR SPAIN AND DOMINICAN AIRWAYS from 1968 to 1993 ,until it was grounded to rest at the Green woods airport and by luck to get a second lease of life to give abode to Ms Juan.

AIRPLANE HOME scrap tO scrap- Salvaged from airplane grave yard and recycled in to an unique airplane hotel and returning to the graveyard was the fate of the first Boeing 747 Jetliner.Juan T Tripp, was the inspira-tion behind the making of Boeing and moreover was the brain behind commercial planes' concept. This unlucky Boeing served PANAM AIRLINES, owned by Juan Tripp, from 1969 to 1999. It flew passengers in large num-bers to Nigeria, Somalia, and to different states of USA. ,Once it was grounded ,in 2001, a Korean couple took fancy to it and bought it for $10 lacs, dismantled it into 58 pieces and shipped it to SEOUL,by spending another $10 lacs.They set it up 25 km away from Seoul into a beauti-ful restaurant expecting to get the returns within a short time. Unfortunately ,even after 10 years of business ,they went bankrupt and had to close down the restaurant and send it for scrap. As an old saying goes every rice grain is written with a name of the consumer on it, may be even on every retired aircraft too it's fate written as "cradle to the graveyard"or "cradle back to cradle" ............

If you happen to fly over Oregon jungles, and look down, you are in for a shock to

find a large aircraft within the thick ,green bushes and huge trees of the dense forest. It’s not a crashed aircraft, but a aircraft converted home of a crazy engineer.

Olympic Airways Boeing 727-284 which commissioned it’s flight in 1967 and flew until 1999 , retired at Hillsboro airport in Oregon.Before being abandoned fully, it was bought by an electrical engineer Bruce Campwell.His

lifetime dream to own a home, had to be one that would be a long lasting piece of architecture, with bare minimum maintenance. The solidness of the building had to ensure strength and safety.And the sturdy body of Olympic Airways 727 aircraft matched his requirements of the dream envis-aged ..He did not want any wood ,nails and holes on his building.

It took about 4 months to tow the aircraft to reach his 10 acres of land near Laurel. The Boeing cost him $ 1 lac, and another $12,500 as transportation charges

727 house

rooms have not been built, a

new kitchen was added.

let’s get in

cockpit

inside the house

ESTATE HOUSE

SPECIAL FEATURE World of logos


A logo or an emblem is the symbol

of a company’s identity. The logo specifies the company’s

name, fame and field of business. There are even logos which

have no specific stories to tell or which happened by

‘accident’.

smartdriveonline.in

FORD

Birth date:1903

Birth Place:USA

The logos of car compa-nies are probably the most

noticed in the world. Every car buff knows to distinguish the company by its logo within sec-

onds. That is how prominent a logo is in a vehicle’s

identity.

The following pages will introduce

you to the stories behind the logos of some prominent

vehicle manufacturers. The reason behind the company taking it as the logo and the

meaning of the logo is listed out.

Lotus has been the manufacturer of world famous sports cars. � ough Lotus won 79 championships

in Grand Prix--F1 races and many other creditable achievements to be proud of ,it ran into severe

� nancial crisis by 1980. Mr Antony Collin Bruce Chapman ,� e Chairman , founder, designer and

builder of Lotus, who brought in much innovations to the company suddenly died of cardiac arrest.

� e company had to � nd alternate ways to save itself.� ough many car companies like General Motors,

Toyota, Bugatti tried to salvage Lotus,it did not do well as expected.. Presently , Lotus seems to be in the safe

hands of the Malaysian car company Proton.

� e logo of LOTUS is quite an unusual one.A circle with yellow color within;� e initials in the logo, are

larger than the word LOTUS. � e badge on the hood of a lotus and jumble of letters A,B,C,D above the

company name Lotus forms the logo.� e triangular lozenge is colored British Racing Green, which is

the o� cially designated color for British Race Cars. A,B,C,D are the initials in the name of the founder

Antony Collin Bruce Chapman. � e yellow color ,which was later given within the circle ,is a sign of sunny

days ahead for LOTUS.

LOTUSBirth: 1954

Birthplace:England

44 smart drive may 2013 smartdriveonline

days ahead for LOTUS.Birthplace:England

A Prancing Horse on a yellow background with letters SF which stand for Scuderia

Ferrari, the founder of Ferrari.� e prancing horse gives us a feel of luxury,

prestige,speed and race cars.

� ere are three interesting stories behind the making of this logo.

1. Ferrari family had a passion for horses and owned a stud farm full of horses. Studs rep-

resent strength, power and speed and this could have been one reason to have chosen the

logo.2. � e second story goes as , the emblem, on a crashed � ghter plane during World War I ,

was of this prancing horse ,which inspired Ferrari to choose it ,besides it being the symbol of

Stuttgart, a city, in Germany.

3. � e third carries more authenticity as the symbol of the prancing horse was used by a

young Italian ace � ghter pilot Count Francesco Baracca,on his � ghter plane during world war

1. He died at the age of 19 during the war to become the national hero.. His mother Countess

Paolina happened to meet Enzo Ferrari during a car race in 1923 and suggested to use this

lucky charm as a symbol for more victories.It later became the world famous logo of Ferrari

to last till date.FERRARI

Birth 1947

Birthplace Italy

W RLD F L G S


World of logos SPECIAL FEATURE

M in the middle repre-sents Mazda with the

image of wings on both sides, showing agility,

speed and growth.

In 1920,Jujiro Matsuda starts a cork company in Hiroshima in Japan which after 11 years gets con-

verted into an exciting automobile manufacturing company. In 1931 the name Mazda was born and

in 1959 only ,the Mazda logo was o� cially announced. � e bold emblem represents the golden age

of style and innovations in automobiles.Blue and silver shades in the Mazda logo depicts the calm

and composed features of the company. Mazda means God of Light ,an ancient Persian God's name. and

God of Wisdom in Indian mythology.

M in the middle represents Mazda with the image of wings on both sides, showing agility, speed and

growth. In 1991,it was redesigned with wings,sun and a circle of light like an OWL logo, with reshaping M

to look in a distinctive V shape in the center, denoting V for victory.

The name Mitsubishi is the union of two words. Mitsu meaning"� ree" and Bishi meaning '"Rhombus- Diamond" or even a water chestnut which is a Chinese food ingredient. � e logo means ''� ree diamonds''. � e shape of the logo denotes reliability, success and integrity and hence is the seal of the deal to it's customers.� e logo has a red and elegant font which signi� es

excellence,trust, safety and superior performance.

Mitsubishi company was established as a Shipping company in 1870 and later 25 other companies were incorporated under it. � e company which declared a commendable pro� t returns in 2010 and still extends it's growth into wider business spectrum such as Real Estate to Mining and much more. Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of Mitsubishi has the sign of the 3 rectangular shape of the water chestnut plant in

his family legacy. He chose this for his company logo which was aesthetically designed into the three dia-monds logo.

MAZDA

Birth date:1920

Birth Place: Japan

MITSUBISHIBirth date:1870

Birth Place:Japan

smartdriveonline.in may

speed and growth.

n 1920,Jujiro Matsuda starts a cork company in Hiroshima in Japan which after 11 years gets con-

verted into an exciting automobile manufacturing company. In 1931 the name Mazda was born and

Probably the only logo which has not made much make over, over the 120 years , could be the logo

of Ford. � e only time a slight change was made in 2003 to honor the centenary of the company.

More than 50 years, the oval shape trade mark of the logo stood steady. To commemorate the 100

years , the blue color was added to the logo which was then renamed as Centennial Blue Oval.

Mr Ford's right hand man Harold Wills earned his livelihood by designing and printing cards. When

Ford asked him to urgently design a logo for his company, he used the type face he had used on his own

visiting card. � at was the oval of FORD which appeared in 1912 and the blue liner was added in 1927

which still remains without any change as it is much appreciated by many car lovers. � e logo re� ects

simplicity and openness without any complications to decipher.

Every logo carry an unique history. With over 40 years of experience in advertising career, Mr

Gernsheimer, the famous logo designer, who has more than 500 logos to his pride says that before

designing a logo, he would carry in his mind a promise to himself 'A logo to endure for decades' and

for many automakers, the logos contain and re� ect the ancestry of the car, be it a century or a day

before it is born....

FORD

Birth date:1903

Birth Place:USA

Mercedes is the name of the beautiful daughter of William Mebeck, named after the beautiful car, who along with Daimler Motoren and Benz n Cie created the name Mercedes Benz which has swept the hearts of billions in the world.� e original logo of Benz was a 4 point star. Later the company had a 3 star

point star too and got both the logos registered under trademark rights. It was

Mr Gottlieb Daimler who created this logo. Since then many variations were made on this logo such as, a circle around the logo, the words Mercedes Benz in

a circle and a raised 3 point star without a circle.� e three sided metallic grey hue colored logo embodies the company's dominance over sea, land and air.

MERCEDES BENZBirth date: 1886 Birth Place:Germany

W RLD F L G S

special feature Modified Cars


text: Eldho Mathew photo: Jamesh Kottakkal

A few days ago, Vin Diesel’s Hollywood movie Fast Five was released in theatres in

Kerala. Theatres were jam packed with young people, and the

goosebumps at the sight and the sound of these out-landish cars. But one is left to doubt, how pop-ular is car modification in Kerala?

The doubt had to be cleared. We reached Chalakkudy to see a fantab-ulous array of 16 such cars. These

movie was a huge hit the Malayalee youth. Some people wondered, what was so special in this movie. The movie’s central theme revolves around modified cars. The audience were left with

sxe cre wcars belong to the members of

the group SXE Crew. It was like watching Fast Five all over again. The entrance of the crew members reminded us

of the entrance of the characters in the movie.

Each crew member is a car eccentric. Each of their cars

sxe crew

the group has 16 owners of modi-

fied vehicles

Modified Cars special feature


sxe cre wwas the epitome of modification. They fished out new generation cars and modified them into superb cars. These cars don’t run on the streets, the flow on the streets. The cars have been cus-tomised as such. Skirtings which almost touch the ground, shock arm lowerings which resemble a stalking cheetah and spoilers

which look like plane wings.This crew is made up of young

men from Kottayam and Ernakulam. It was Tom Ambukkan, from Mala, who put forward the idea of forming such a team. The name SXE Crew has been used for other car lovers group in other countries as well.

Even though these individual have participated in various auto-shows, they always wanted a team of their own.

It was three months ago that the group was formed. They had kept team meets twice till now. The first one was in Cherai, and second time they went for an

Ernakulam-Athirappilly trip. More than a few members have more than one car. The group has 22 customised vehicles on the whole. Cars like Honda Civic, Honda City, Ford Figo, Mitsubishi Lancer, Mitsubishi Sedia, Hyundai Verna, Maruti SX4 and Mahindra Thar.

Many foreign coun-tries have modified car lovers groups. there exists a simi-lar group in our own little Kerala. Pre-senting.. SXE Crew!

toyota innova, one of the leading multi utility vehicles, has under-gone modification. this car belongs to arun Kumar Kavitha. it has 17 inch 10 J alloy wheels. it also has a pete’s tuned engine. the owner spent rs 5 lakhs on this car.

tom ambukkan has modified ford’s small car figo. He has used 16 inch 8J alloy wheels to lower the car. the engine output has been upped to 93 bhp. expense: 1.5 lakhs

earlier this was a Honda civic. the owner is Vimin Var-ghese. the vehicle has been lowered using 17 inch 10 J alloy wheels. pete’s engine tuning has been used here too. expense: 5 lakhs.

special feature Modified Cars


the original is a Honda civic. using the Mugen kit, the skirting grille and spoilers have been changed. 17 inch alloy wheels and audio sys-tem present. Owned by John thomas. expense: 4 lakhs

this swift, which uses low profile tires, be-longs to Manu pidiyan. 17 inch alloys used. the Galaxy tuned audio sys-tem is notable. expense: 1 lakh.

a Mugen kit has been used for body widening in this civic. 17 inch alloy, Gal-axy audio. Owner’s name sharan. expense: 4 lakhs.

Vaishakh’s Mitsubishi sedia is replete with tweaks. 17 inch 9 J alloy wheels, automech ex-hausts, sparko rally seats, im-ported lancer evo steer-ing wheels. expense: 1.5 lakhs

this Verna has fully custom-ised body skirts. 17 inch alloy wheels. the owner Nezin has applied lowered suspension and designed lights. expense: 2.5 lakhs.

stock Honda city finds customised body skirtings,

lowered suspension, 17 inch alloys. Nihas

is the owner. expense: 3.5

lakhs.

Hyundai Verna’s modified version. specifics include 16 inch alloy wheels and tuned audiosystem. Belongs to she-bil. expense: 60,000

sxe crew

though there are only 16 mem-bers, there are

22 cars

Modified Cars special feature


rupesh Krishnan owns this magnifi-cient thar crDO. it has offroading tires, Hella fog lamps, customised grille and an alpine audio system. expense: 1 lakh

tdknMv kvss{S¸v D]tbmKn¨v kpµcam¡nb Cu em³kÀ kRvPp sskaWnsâbmWv. IÌssakvUv t_mUn kvIÀ«vkv temthUv kkvs]³j³ IÌssakvUv FIvkvtlmÌv Fónh {]tXyIX. sNehmb XpI 1.5

Nihas owns this tiny Micra. it has 17 inch alloys, tuned audio system and bumper splitter. expense: 1 lakh

fiat palio. the spe-cial edition colour has been used. it contains auto-mech exhausts and sparko rally seats. Owner’s name is siyad razdan. ex-pense: 1.5 lakhs

Vimin Varghese got his Hyundai i20. specs include 17 inch custom painted alloys and lowered suspension. expense: 1 lakh

tibu Mathew from changanassery owns this sX4. it has 18 inch alloys, tuned audio sys-tem and automech head exhausts. expense: 2.5 lakhs

this modified skoda rapid belongs to rahul George. includes 17 inch alloys and lowered suspension. expense: 1 lakh

lancer

customised body skirts,

lowered suspen-sion, customised

exhausts


celeb's choice Kamal

Director Kamal is shining bright with his new state and national awards. Another important even in Kamal’s life: he bought a new bMW 3series car.

sceNe 1 : D RiVe


Kamal celeb's choice

sceNe 1 : D RiVe

The man who reminded us Malayalees of the subtle memories of yesteryears with his movie ‘Cellluloid’, is

here now with a similar story to tell. A story about the cars that came and went from his life over the years. A good storyteller that Kamal is, he serves up a beautiful tale for us. So natural is his narration that we feel as though we have been there ourselves.

Scene One: Th e fi rst ever memory I have about a vehicle is when I visit my ancestral home, where I would see a gigan-tic Plymouth car there. Even though I have no vivid memories of travelling in it, I still hold the image of that car close to my heart. It belonged to my grandfa-ther’s younger brother. After some-time, my father bought a Lambretta scooter. Once I crossed my child-hood, and entered my adolescence, I

took the scooter for a ride with my relative. My adrenaline rush was

on a high, and the next thing that happened was an

accident. I still have the scar on my hand (Kamal beams with pride). Th at was my fi rst road accident. For quite sometime after that I couldn’t muster the courage to ride. Only after my predegree did I fi nally learn to ride a scooter.

Later when I got involved in the fi lm business in Chennai, I really felt the need to learn driving. Both

Sathyan Anthikaad and Sreenivasan went for driving

lessons at that time. Once I saw Sreenivasan gripping onto the steering wheel of his driving learner’s car in

the rush of Chennai. I also learnt driving then; but I

never acquired a license. By mid eighties, Maruti 800 began

selling like hot cakes. I started aspiring for a car for myself. If I were to book a Maruti, I would have to wait a long time. So I dismissed the thought of buying a Maruti. I ended up buying Edavela Babu’s elder brother’s Premier Padmini. It was a paradise of modifi cations. Even though I brought the car back home, I wasn’t brave enough to

Text: Jubin Jacob

KAmALrecently, Kamal

bought himself a bMW 320 D

celeb's choice Kamal


drive it. In one of the next few days, I went along

with my assistant to Ramanilayam in Thrissur to see Ranjith for the discussions of the movie Peruvannapurathe Visheshangal. At that moment, love for driving a car had bloomed in my heart. In Ramanilayam’s compound, I decided to drive my Premier Padmini for the first time. Sadly, I lost control and hit a wall with it. But I never lost hope. I got into an Ambassador car which was lying there. Before the movie was released, I had mastered the art of driving. I got a driver’s license too.

Not long after, I bought an aerodust colored Maruti 800. For a long time, this was my fre-quent commute. By the mid nineties, I bought a Maruti Zen. Before long, I switched to the beautiful Mitsubishi Lancer. But one fateful night I had to bid adieu to her.

Once, after attending an award night in Kochi, I was waiting to travel to Kozhikode for a film festival. Sibi Malayil, Hariharan and S.N. Swami came along and joined me. Since there

were four people, I asked the driver not to come. When we reached Chavakkad, Sibi Malayil replaced me on the driver’s seat. Hariharan and S.N. Swami were sound asleep in the backseat. On the road between Puthuponnani and Ponnani, the car went off his control somewhere. The car careened and somersaulted after hit-ting somewhere. The car was com-pletely destroyed. All four of us miracu-lously survived alive from the accident. Only, I had a small fracture in my hand and a steel rod had to be surgically placed in my hand.

Barely a week before this accident, Shaji Kailas’ Lancer was involved in an accident. After my incident, the film industry started to believe that the industry artists have a bad zodiac compatibility with the Lancer. I always try to reduce travelling alone by night.

To replace the Lancer, I bought a Hyundai Accent. For three years that followed, the Accent was my trusty ride. After the Accent, I

The most scary travel experience was when i travelled with Mam-mooty. it was decades ago while we were travelling from Kodaika-nal to Thrissur.

bought a Skoda Octavia. The Octavia ran 1 ¼ lakh kilometers within seven years. That is the longest ever with any of my cars. The rest have run for a maximum of 50,000 kilometers. Recently, I bought a Mercedes 320 D.

Even though so many cars have come and gone, I still have that ole aerodust colored Maruti 800. I have a slight partiality towards it because it was my first car.

(Kamal typically never complains about that the comfort is not enough or the cool-

ing is too less. He says that the safety is always the most important. If a man

of his calibre, who gifted us with more than forty movies, the new generation might feel surprised.

Even though he repeatedly says that he doesn’t know much about cars, he

explicitly points out at a vehicle’s prime purpose: safety.)

The most scary travel experience was when I travelled with Mammooty. It was dec-ades ago while we were travelling from Kodaikanal to Thrissur. Not yet an independ-ant director at that point, I prayed to God to direct atleast one movie before dying.

(God’s plan indeed was to make Kamal live longer to give us some of the most memorable and meaningful movies to the Malayalee audi-ence. The man is the epitome of simplicity, one would say. His talks and demeanours are as lucid as a beautiful Ghazal song.)

bmw 320 d

Kamal sold his skoda octavia,

which ran 1 ¼ lakh kilom-eteres, to buy

the bMW

ENGLISH MALAYALAM

FROM THE PIONEERS IN AUTO JOURNALISM

ENGLISH

MALAYALAM

FRO

M T

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PIO

NE

ER

S IN

AU

TO

JO

UR

NA

LISM

ENGLISH

MALAYALAM

FRO

M T

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PIO

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www.smartdriveonline.inTo read the digital version, Log on to

Archana Motors is one of Tata’s com-mercial vehicle dealers in Thrissur. Within a very short span of time, Archana Motors came into the best

books of Tata Motors. They possess an achievement which probably cannot be claimed by any other dealer in India. It is the number of cars it has sold. Archana Motors began operations in 2011. In that year, it sold 85 cars. A number which is good performance for a beginner. But in the second year, the sales became manifold. Archana Motors sold 486 vehicles in two dis-tricts. This is a historical event, one would say. There might not be another dealer in South India to have sold so many cars in just two districts in one year.

Arachana Motors began in 2011. It is the sheer hard work of a young man name Shibu

commercial success

dealer's Profile Archana motors


inside the showroom

Heavy vehicle service centre

Text: Manu Pramad Photo: Lalu Thirumittakodu

Job from Kunnamkulam, Thrissur is behind the success of this establishment. Shibu was already the CEO of a leading passenger car dealership in Thrissur. In 2009, he stepped into car sales by starting a Bajaj dealership of his own. This was part of his dream to start a busi-

ness of his own, he says. Shibu started his career in a banking institution where he

very soon claimed a spot of his own in the director’s board. He undertook the car selling unit of the same insti-tution. His father in law, who was

leading in the hospitality and electri-cal field, gave him full support. Archana Motors offers a complete

array of Tata commercial vehicles from the truck Prima to the tiny Magic Iris. The company first took in charge of dealerships based in Palakkad and Thrissur. Later, they started outlets in Kodungallur and Paliyekkara

in Thrissur district and Mannarkad, Pattambi and Ottapalam in Palakkad district. Shibu says that Archana Motors has won due to team work and hardwork. Archana Group has well trained personnel who know very well about the vehicle they are selling and how to sell it

archana motors

in its first year, more than 2800 Tata commercial

vehicles were sold

Archana motors dealer's Profile


archana Motors becomes the most successful Tata commercial vehicles dealer in south india. Thrissur based archana Motors have gained popularity. Within just two years, it sold more than 2800 vehicles.

Heavy vehicle workshop ample yard

archana motors Md shibu Job c.

best.Archana Group arranges the best service to

its customers. This dealership has an ultra-modern, hi tech service centre. The customers are completely satisfied with the sales, services and spares available at Archana Motors.

YATHRA North East India-7 Sisters states


motorcyclediaries

North East India-7 Sisters states YATHRA


To young men from Kerala, Swaroop and Nithin Vettom traverse seven states of India. The most dreadful terrains of the Northeast. A travelogue of 6000 kilometers of swashbucklin’ action!

diaries

The Seven Sisters: Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram,

Nagaland and Meghalaya. These seven constitute what is known as North Eastern India. This area is one of the most strategi-cally important areas for the Indian Army. It shares its bor-ders with China and Myanmar.

The sprawling terrain is one of the most dreadful ones in India itself. It has had its fair share of insurgency and politi-cal unrest. Though the people are generally are quite peaceful, it is clear that antisocial ele-ments are always waiting on their heels to create a ruckus somewhere. Well, ‘the more ter-rible it gets, the better’ we

thought. Myself and my friend Nithin

Vettom decided to take our bikes and tour this formidable terrain. We have the KTM Duke and the Pulsar 220 as our com-mutes. We started our journey from Howrah, Kolkata. We packed our litters and began slowly and steadily. Those 16 days were indeed the most unforgettable days of our lives. Here is a detailed day-wise itin-erary of our awesome trip.

Text&Photos: Swaroop K / Throttlers.net



DAy 1Howrah to Siliguri. We started our journey by 7am in the morning from Howrah and ended at Siliguri by 11pm. We travelled 700 kms in the first day. It was filled with some fun filled and exciting biking moments.

DAy 2Siliguri to Guwahati. The roads were not as bad as we expected. But we wouldn’t say it was the best either. We reached Guwahati by 7pm.

DAy 3 Guwahati to Tenga. Another biking group awaited us at Guwahati – Ryders@50kmph joined us for the Arunachal ride. We had planned to cross Assam border to enter Bomdila by that day. But the adverse weather conditions forced us to stop in Thenga that day we had too settle that day, 40kms away from Bomdila. A sumptuous dinner was served for us.

DAy 4Tenga-Sela Pass. The fourth day was probably the most

happening day in our ride. We started a little late that day by around 10am, very excited with our new found friends. Compared to the previous days, we had scheduled lesser kms to cover that day. We were to pass the

worlds 2nd highest motora-ble pass, the Sela Pass

that day. A bike in our group had got punc-tured and this slowed the rest of us down a

bit. We reached Sela pass by around 4pm.

Suddenly, the climate changed and snow started to

fall. All eleven of us bikers got stuck at this point. To add to our misery, it was steely cold and not a single soul was there in sight. While we passing the entrance of Sela pass, we saw a broken down Army truck and some houses. We asked for help and directions from the Army men. They said that there is a wireless station base camp situated 800 meters ahead. We went to the base camp to report and from there we had to go 5kms to another camp for halting. We planned to walk the five kms in that sub zero tempera-ture. Thankfully, a lorry appeared in front of us and army talked to

the lorry men to drop us at their camp. We reached the camp at 10 am. After having food, we were told that we had to go back around 1 km for sleeping. We got on our feet and reached there by 1 am, slept well.

DAy 5Our bikes were covered with last night’s snow. After cleaning our bikes, we started for Tawang.

When we reached the Jaswantgarh War memorial, we bought some thermalwear for ourselves. And we reached Tawang by 3pm.

DAy 6This day was reserved for explor-ing the beauty of Tawang.

DAy 7Tawang to PTSO Lake to Bomdila

The seventh day was

day 4

\memw Zn-\-am-Wv bm-{X-bn-se G-ähpw kw-`-h-_-lp-eam-b

Zn-hkw.

The rainiest region, Chirapunjee

Swaroop and Nithin



scheduled for travelling from Tawang to the PTSO Lake and then to Bomdila from there. We started at 7 am and reached the lake at 9 am. After spending some time there we started off to Bomdila. We reached Bomdila by 7pm, settled a hotel in the city itself for our budget.

DAy 8Bomdila to Kaziranga

The riders that accompanied us from Guwahati left us as we reached Kaziranga. The rest of our journey was completed by just the two of us on our bikes. We started by 9am from Bomdila and reached Kaziranga by 7pm.

DAy 9The ninth day was reserved for travelling from Kaziranga to Jorhat. We started from Kaziranga by 10am and reached Jorhat by 2

in the afternoon. To eliminate the wear and tear of the journey so far, we gave our bikes for ser-vice and stayed at Jorhat for that day.

DAy 10Jorhat to Kohima. We started by 7am and reached Dimapur by 10am. We went to our friends’ house and from there they joined us to Kohima. We reached Kohima by 2pm. We vis-ited a World War II cemetery, and settled down for that day.

DAy 11Kohima to Imphal. We started by seven in the morning and reached Imphal by 11 in the noon. We took rooms and unpacked our luggages. Later, we went to Loktak lake, the world’s largest fresh water lake.

DAy 12Imphal to Aizwal via Silchar. Started the day’s journey by 7am. As we expected, the roads were terrible. We travelled around 80kms off the road. The railway tunnel construction at certain points made the journey very laborious. On the way, we met a few Malayalee CRPF employees and they welcomed us to their camp. They served us a wonderful breakfast with sweets. On the way to Silchar, we had to cross some bridges which were in dangerous conditions. Only one vehicle at a time could pass these bridges. The roads had hundreds of lorries parked in a queue waiting to cross. Before reaching Silchar, we were faced with heavy rain and wind and became a barrier to our journey. After we reached Silchar by 6pm we took some rest and had food. Later, we started for Aizwal. That was our 1st night ride to one destination from another. We reached there by 11pm and were searching for a hotel. We didn’t know that all the hotels will close by 9pm. A security guard from a hotel told that he can arrange accommo-dation for us. But the rate he said was too high. Then a taxi driver came to our help. He called his friend's hotel and arranged a room for us in our budget rate.

DAy 13Aizwal to Mamit.

We serviced our bikes and by afternoon after having lunch we began for Agarthala. We expected a good national

highway; Google Maps indicated a NH44/44A. But all we found were single lane Ghat roads. We took some hours to cover 100 kms. After covering around 120kms, we reached a place called Mamit. We took a break there and had some tea with snacks. Later, we started off to Agarthala. We enquired to the locals about the route to the Mizoram-Tripura border. They informed us that there are two routes. We took the first route but it ended in a landslid area. By night

Ice lake in Sela Pass

Welcome to Nagaland

Assam Arunachal border

We expected a good national highway;

Google Maps indicated a NH44/44A.

Bikers who joined us from Assam



we came back to Mamit for accommodation. We got a single room for two at the Mamit Tourist Lodge Th ey provided us good food and tea.

DAy 14Mamit to Agarthala. We started from Mamit by 8am after having breakfast. We took the 2nd route as the police suggested. Th e road wasn’t that bad though. We reached the border by 2pm, had lunch and started our journey to Agarthala. Th e Tripura Ghat roads were fi lled with peril. Small Army huts were visible above the hill. By 7.30pm, we reached Agarthala and settled at a hotel nearby the palace compound.

DAy 15Agarthala to Khliehriat. As always, we started off by 7am. We went to a petrol pump. Th e employees there gave us a warm welcome with tea and biscuits after getting to know that we were two Keralaties on a North East tour.

We started our journey in rain and after covering a 50kms, the rain seemed to have pulled back. Before reaching Khliehriat it started again raining. We had to halt at Khliehriat for the day because of the rain and road conditions.

DAy 16Khliehriat to Shillong to Cherrapunji to Guwahati

We started early in the morn-ing at 6am and we reached Shillong by 10am. Th ere our friend Jean Daniel was waiting for us. After having breakfast from his offi ce canteen, we all started off to Cherrapunji. Reached there by 2pm, went to a waterfall, washed our bikes and came back because we had to reach Guwahati on that day itself. We started by seven o clock in the evening and reached Guwahati by 11pm. We took a room nearby the railway station for catching our train next day to Kerala.

16 days of long and tiring

journey now come to an end. But it was like a dream come true. our journey back to Kerala strarts in the morning. we thank our part-ners Motul India, Spartan Progear Co, Biking Spirit touring Equip, Autoqueen, Our Friends - Utpal Hazirika, Ethan Hustan, Anjuman Handique, Jean Daniel Jdan, Pansui, James, Pintu, Drupa, Ranjith Murali.

Traveller’s paradise, Chirapunjee

On the way to Tawang

Buddha statue in Tawang

Kaziranga National park Tawang war memorial

Cold snow

Terrible road to Tawang



Channels Interviewing the riders

Tank used in Indo china war Eternal Lamp in monastery

Elephent ride in Kaziranga Assam Arunachal border Arunachal border

On the way to Arunachal A Buddhist monk infront of Tawang monastery

A Buddhist monk A sight from Tawang war memmorial

Skull of a Rhino

7 states of India. 7 dif-ferent cultures.6000 Kilometers. Two youths from Kerala- Swaroop and Nithin- started an epic journey to visit these magnifi-cent 7sisters. a visual travelogue

career & study FISAT


text: Eldho Mathew Photo: Lalu Thirumittakkodu

Most engineering col-leges are run by pri-vate management institutions. But the

FISAT engineering college located in Karukutty is different from them. The Federal Institute of

PerFecT Science and Technology is run by a prominent trade union in Kerala. FISAT has the title of being India’s first professional college to be run by a trade union.

FISAT was established in 2002 by Kerala’s own banking

institution Federal Bank. The motto was to nurture a sense of responsibility towards public good. This institution is based in Mookkunur, the birthplace of Federal Bank’s founder KP Hormis. Approximately 2,500 stu-dents study here in courses including BTech, MTech, AMA and MCA. The college is situated

in a very green area in forty acres of land. The best environment that SmartDrive has seen so far exists right here in FISAT.

It took just six years for FISAT to join the big league of the best engineering colleges in India. The college received a commendable victory from the first batch which passed out in 2006. Even last year,

ProFeSSIonAlISm

FISAT career & study

FIsat was established in 2002 by Kerala’s bank-ing institution Federal Bank. the motto was to nurture a sense of responsibility towards public good. this institution is based in Mookkunur, the birthplace of Federal Bank’s founder KP Hormis.


Precision farmingv-Th e precision farming proves that FISAT loves the environ-ment. Th e Green FISAT-Clean FISAT plan is being pursued to encourage love for farming, soil and trees among the youth. Th e various empty spaces in the campus have been fi lled with trees and small farms by the students and teachers here. Th e whole ‘green eff ect’ has been super-vised by a teacher name Gigi.

FISAT has ensured a good place for itself in several ranking lists. Th e college not only grants good educational excellence but also helps in terms of the student’s career. Th e placement and train-ing centre conducts special train-ing programmes for making the students better equipped. Th e professors are the best and the

most experienced.Very good class-language-lab

facilities are provided here. Th e college library is one of the most comprehensive engineering libraries. It contains 50,000 books, more than 200 journals, more than 5000 electronic journals and other digital facilities. Th e campus has a good wifi connectivity,

internet and medicare facilities at every inch. Th ere are many research centres which work here to hone the research skills of the students here. Mumbai IIT has selected FISAT as one of its remote centres. Th e FISAT stu-dents give undivided attention to extra curricular activities apart from studies. FISAT also has plans

to build houses for homeless peo-ple and training centres for disa-bled children as part of its tenth anniversary.

FISAT is the fi rst college to put in to practice the MICTI’s plan to fi nancially help students who secured high scores in entrance exams.

students with ‘shift assist’, a manual to automatic gear facility

students with their project

cNc machine cost 21 lakhs

career & study FISAT


the Mechanical department’s support is needed for any engineering de-partment’s operation. the labs are an indispensible part of the mechanical department.

mechAnIcAl dePArTmenTThe mechanical department is considered the cornerstone of all the other departments. The Mechanical department’s sup-port is needed for any engineer-ing operation. The design, devel-opment, production and man-agement have to undergo the var-ious levels of the mechanical department. Mechanical engi-neering is omnipresent in con-struction, automobile, robotics, aerospace, chemical and even

pharmaceutical fields.The labs are an indispensible

part of the mechanical depart-ment. These labs are facilitated with modern technology which assists experiments and further study. The labs include hydrau-lics, heat engine and mechanical engineering labs, CAD camps, heat transfer labs and production engineering labs. Even the work-shop facilities are very much val-ued by the students.

The CNC machine in the mechanical department

increases the students’ expe-rience. In most other col-leges the CNC machine is just used for training the students. But the CNC machine used in FISAT is worth rupees 21 lakhs and is a profes-sional machine.

The head of the mechanical department is Prof Jose Cherian. In the same department, there are sixteen other expert teachers. The department takes heed in providing exposure to the

students and to reach the latest technological developments to the students. In the beginning, this department had just 60 stu-dents. But this year, 120 students are making an entry. The depart-ment itself provides CAD design, after knowing that those students

who are interested in engi-neering design are relying

on other private CAD design centres. The mechanical depart-ment students associ-

ation Metrics organise various project exhibi-

tions and tech festivals.

FIsat college of engineering, Mookkannoor, angamaly.Ph: 0484 - 2616267, 2616403, Website: www.fisat.ac.in

fisat

college got a commendable victory from

the first batch passed out in

2006.

student’s project on his own bike college’s vegetable garden

ultra modern labs

convectionary power for home

the design and fabrication of hovercraft project, waiting for its patent

Smart Gtech AUTO

Sony has released an entry level photographer’s camera called the Cybershot DSC-RX100. The speciality of this model is the 28-100 mm Carl Zeiss lens. This lens can take really good wide and close up photographs. The 20.2 megapixel CMOS sensor, ISO of 80-6400 which allows photography in low light scenes, 1080p HD video are all contained in the camera. The 3 inch wide screen shows pictures quite

well. The manual control setting present for video taking is present in this camera, which is usually missing in other professional cameras. The design is very lovely. Facilities such as GPS and wireless technology is missing. It costs rupees 34,990.

The Hiriko is a car which is able to navigate easily through small side roads of the city and park in any nook or cranny. The Massachussets Institute of Technology (MIT) in America is responsible for its design. The designers have taken into con-sideration the problems

increased traffic can create. The Hiriko which can seat two peo-ple is 100 inches high. Once a switch is pressed, the car shrinks itself and becomes just 54 inches. The wheels can turn in any direction too. This enables the driver to park the car in a very small space. The car has

apower of 20 bhp and its top speed is 35 kph. The manufac-turers claim that the Hiriko can travel for 120 kms for just 15 minutes of charging. The Hiriko is expected to cost 7 lakhs

GooGle Glass

The Google Glass, which is said to overturn the world of mobile computing, might come by the end of this year. This invention has paved the way for a new generation of body attachable gadgets. The Google glass consists of a small computer, camera, GPS facility and battery inside one side of an eye glass frame.

Android, Google’s mobile operating system, is used in the Google Glass. The gadget requires just seconds to take photos and videos using a voice activated command sys-tem and upload these on social networking sites. By connecting the device to a phone via Bluetooth, one can talk, text and browse the

internet. Google

claims that the digital voice assis-tant on this device ena-

bles the user to send emails

and find directions through Google maps. it will be available for less than rupees 50,000.

HirikO FOld ElETcric cAr

Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-rX100


The Google Glass, which is

said to overturn the world of mo-bile computing, might come by the end of this

year.

LoGitech mini BoomBox

After you start listening songs in the new Logitech mini boombox, you will real-ise that the stuff lies not in the size. The sound quality is tremendous coming

from this tiny speaker. The Logitech boombox can play songs via Bluetooth and cable from

your phones and Apple iPods. The microphone which comes with the boombox can be used as wireless speakerphones as well. The mini boom-box has two speakers of 3 Watts. The rechargea-ble battery can be charged using a mini USB outlet. Price: rupees 4,999.

Prepared by: Anoop Chandran

2013 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Formula 1


Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya becomes the sole Spanish stop on the Formula 1 calendar this

season after Valencia's with-drawal owing to the country's pre-carious � nancial climate.

For the � rst decade or so, the race was little more than a foot-note on the schedules of Spain's bike-mad motor racing public. But the rise of Fernando Alonso changed all that and fans now � ock to the circuit in massive numbers.

� e venue's mix of corners makes it an ideal proving ground for the grid's new cars and the F1 adage is that any car which is fast at Barcelona will invariably be fast everywhere else.

� e introduction of a DRS

zone down the long main straight has gone some way to adding the opportunity for overtaking to the mix, with the � rst corner remain-ing the most feasible scene for a pass - although the speed cars travel through turn one is said to be a hindrance.

Another opportunity is at the Turn Ten hairpin following the back straight. � e corner was modi� ed in 2004, tightening the apex, whilst creating room to run the car wide on the exit.

Other changes have not proved so successful, however. Tasked with making the circuit more overtaking friendly, Hermann Tilke's solution was to redesign the � nal two corners and create a chicane to try and keep the cars closer together

CIRCUIT DE CATALUNYA BARCELONA 12 MAY 2013

CIRCUIT STATS

4.655 kmTRACK LENGTH

1991First Grand Prix

1:21.670LAP RECORDK Raikkonen (2008)

6MOST WINSMichael Schumacher

66TOTAL LAPS

16TOTAL CORNERS

307.104kmRACE DISTANCE

SPANISH GRAND PRIX

2013 FIA F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Circuit

Start

Marshals

Finish

Safety Car

TimingSector

Braking

LateralG-force

SpeedKmh

Gear

SectorTime

LapTime

Medical Car

Run-off Areas

Gravel Traps

Light Panels

Sector 3

Sector 2

Sector 1

35.31:26.7

T3

1503

1.5

heading onto the pit straight.Alas, the tweak proved both a

failure and arguably a detraction from the circuit's � ow, with fans since denied the sight of the cars operating at the peak of their capacity as had taken the sweep-ing two corners � at out.

2012 PODIUM

CIRCUIT DE MONACO

This track re-quires attention

while driving than any other

tracks

1.Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1:39:09.145

2.Fernando Alonso Ferrari +3.1 secs

3. Kimi Räikkönen Lotus-Renault +3.8 secs

2806

0.0 1.5

2135

-0.5

1854

-1.5

2004

9

8

76

5

4

3

21

10

11

1213

1415

16

DRS ACTIVATION DRS DETECTION

PIT LANE

28.41:21.8

T3

22.7T1

30.7T2

0.0

3057

-2.0

1403

-2.2

1403

0.1

2606

-4.0

2606

3.0

1333

Formula 1 2013 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

CIRCUIT DE MONACO MONTE CARLO 26 MAY 2013

CIRCUIT STATS

3.340kmTRACK LENGTH

1950First Grand Prix

1:14.439LAP RECORDM Schumacher (2004)

MONACO GRAND PRIX

1. Mark Webber Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:46:06.557

The Monaco Grand Prix is the one race of the year that every driver dreams of win-

ning. A combination of preci-sion driving, technical excel-lence and sheer bravery is required to win in Monte Carlo, facets which highlight the dif-ferences between the great and the good in Formula One.

� e Armco barrier-lined circuit leaves no margin for error, demanding more con-centration that any other Formula One track. Cars run

2012 PODIUM

2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes +0.6 secs

3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari +0.9 secs 2013 DRIVER

STANDINGS1 Sebastian Vettel 7 72 Kimi Räikkönen 673 Lewis Hamilton 504 Fernando Alonso 475 Mark Webber 326 Felipe Massa 307 Romain Grosjean 268 Paul di Resta 209 Nico Rosberg 1410 Jenson Button 1311 Sergio Perez 1012 Adrian Sutil 613 Daniel Ricciardo 614 Nico Hulkenberg 515 Jean-Eric Vergne 116 Valtteri Bottas 017 Pastor Maldonado 018 Esteban Gutierrez 019 Jules Bianchi 020 Charles Pic 021 Giedo van der Garde 022 Max Chilton 0

2013 TEAM STANDINGS1 Red Bull Racing-Renault 1092 Lotus-Renault 933 Ferrari 774 Mercedes 645 Force India-Mercedes 266 McLaren-Mercedes 237 STR-Ferrari 78 Sauber-Ferrari 59 Williams-Renault 010 Marussia-Cosworth 011 Caterham-Renault 0

CHINESE GP WINNERS

BAHRAIN GP WINNERS

1.Fernando Alonso1:36:26.945 2. Kimi Räikkönen +10.1 secs 3. Lewis Hamilton +12.3 secs

1. Sebastian Vettel 1:36:00.498 2. Kimi Räikkönen +9.1 secs 3. Romain Grosjean +19.5 secs

victories, whilst Stirling Moss and Jackie Stewart each won here three times. But the record of wins in the Principality resides with the Senna, who won in Monte Carlo six times.

This month’s F1 scenes. Every driver’s nightmare, the Monaco circuit. The Barcelona Circuit.


8

7

4

321

5

101112

13

14

1516

17

18

19

9

DRS ACTIVATION

DRS DETECTION

2706

0.0

2756

-2.52.0

652

2.0

1053

-1.0

1103

19.8T1

37.41:15.7

T318.5

T2

1654

0.2

0.5

2505

4.0

2255

2806

0.5

1.0

1253

-1.0

1153

1704

0.2

3.0

1333

2756

1.5

with maximum downforce and brakes are worked hard. Overtaking is next to impossible so qualifying in Monaco is more critical than at any other Grand Prix.

� e Portier corner is key to achieving a good lap time around Monaco. It is preceded by the Loews hairpin, the slowest corner in Formula One, and followed by the tunnel, one of the few � at-out sections of the track. Some great names have ended their races in the barriers here, most notably Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. Both Graham Hill, the man nicknamed 'Mr Monaco', and Schumacher have won it � ve times, Alain Prost took four

6MOST WINSAyrton Senna da Silva

78TOTAL LAPS

19TOTAL CORNERS

260.520kmRACE DISTANCE

F1 has been described as a "saga of agony and ectasy".To understand this emotional roller-

coaster, one has to know about the personal experience from the greatest driver the sports has ever seen, ,Michael Schumacher, the unbeaten champion of many unbroken world records and the only racer to have an entire season of podium finishes,the book The Edge of Greatness by James Allan, is a perfect testimony.

I find not much Indians have seriously understood what F1 race is all about. Maybe the common man thinks it is the rich man's sports.So before opening the first page of the book on World's greatest name in F1 Race, Michael Schumacher,,let me explain about F1 for the beginners.The name FORMULA 1 comes from the formula or rules that should satisfy with regards to power,weight and size of the car used for the race. No.1 is the designation for the world's highest form of a sport held only during week ends.F1 is also called GRAND PRIX and drivers need to have the most highly conditioned athletic bodies specifically adapted to jet fighters.Unlike any other sports,this is a spine-chilling,exciting race from the starting point itself. Every lap, every corner of the circuit sends chills to the spine of the viewer.

Which FI or any sports car race lover can resist a book on Michael Schumacher who is

statistically the greatest driver, the sports has ever seen? He is the fastest of the faster racing drivers in the world.Yet he said ''Every year we find something new,we go more faster and that's what FI is about.'' What an anomaly Schuey sometimes is!

The author James Allan is a well known BritishT.V ,Radio commentator for FI races. This die hard fan of Michael Schumacher and Ferrari, would always support and protect Schumacher in his commentaries and interviews. Allan was always criticized by the GRAND PRIX lovers for his unjustified favouritism for this race king. The first book he compiled on Schumacher , '' Driven to Extremes'' was solely a book of praise and

honor for Schuey . But''The Edge of

Greatness'' took me for a shock. The high speed of thought of Allan has given an objective,unbiased write up on this super sports star. His sim-ple language explains to the reader the triangular formula of the dynamics between Schuey, circuits and his cars. Allan's honest presentation straight from his heart cer-tainly created an electrifying impression in my mind on Schuey,as he is called dearly by his fans and foes.

The book is a story about a sagacious man with a rare blend of driving gallantry,ruthlessness and incomparable inner strength,truthfully portrayed.Allan's first hand information from Schuey's former team mates Ruebens Barichella and Eddie Inrine is bru-tally honest.Comments from Mark Webber in this book is rather rash and ostentatious.A col-lection of remarks and mem-oirs on this FI fanatic has been penned down in the pages with the right conviction by the author.The manipulations, using his position to his advantage in many issues ,dis-putes with his rivals,Ayrton Senna and Alonso,the chang-ing of loyalties from Ferrari to Mercedes ,the planned exploi-tations on the circuits during races etc certainly makes the book interesting till the last page like a thriller novel..Allan has sincerely, given a balanced

view of Schuey's personal and career lives, to make the man-uscript a fascinating,and exhil-arating one for the FI fans.

The author clearly sub-stantiates on the truth about how Schuey changed the" ONLY THE RICH MAN'S SPORTS" of FI, to WROOM to the common man's heart, to passionately fall in love with. Schuey never gave himself to others to dissect him,hence the interviewers always

drew a picture of controversy,contrary to his simplicity, like his charming smile.He never bothered to contradict on the revealing comments from his former team mates Eddie Irvine and Reubens.It is quite obvious that in such tough competi-tions to win,soft strategy may not be possible,hence ruthless manipulations may slip in to reach the victory stand.One cannot blame Schuey alone for this.

Though the book is catego-rized under Biography, Allan has also given much informa-tion on other famous star FI racers like Jim Clark,Ayrton Senna etc This thought pro-voking book filled with the explored and unexplored side of the charismatic icon of FI circuit could be considered as a serious contribution i n the

field of GRAND PRIX FORMULA 1 CIRCUIT

and a delight to the collection of the reader's library. Allan has to be

applauded for his whole hearted enthu-

siasm in explaining the agony and ecstasy of

Schuey in this macabre race sports.

The cover back is designed to catch the attention of any FI Fan for sure.The presentation and language is catchy and the photos mind boggling.Allan has invested enough for the reader to read and see, with due obeisance, affection,awe and excitement.

The author James Allan is a fan of Schumacher and Ferrari, would always support and protect Schumacher in his commentaries and interviews

The Edge of GreatnessJames AllenHeadline Book Publishing.Price: $ 14.95

The Ford Micheal Schumacher


The Edge of Greatness book review

Schumacherwhich Fi or

any sports car race lover can

resist a book on Michael Schu-

macher?

words: Laila George

THe edge ofgreATness

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MARUTI SUZUKI ERTIGA

My last car was Maruti Esteem. I wanted to buy a Renault Duster and made a

booking. But since it was a � ve seater, I avoided it. I chose a Maruti Ertiga instead.

My first car was Maruti 800 DeluxeI had used the o� ce Ambassador for years. � e � rst car I ever owned was the Maruti 800 Deluxe. I used the car for � ve years. Why this car?Mainly because it is a seven seater car. Ample space, and a big family can travel comfortably..-

To prospective buyers:� e Ertiga is a spacious family car.

Dream carI don’t have any dream cars as such. But I like SUVs more. � at is why I booked the Duster � rst.

MY CHOICESHERIN ALUNKAL STEELBIRD HELMET DEALER

ME & MY CAR Maruti Ertiga


for years. � e � rst car I ever owned was the Maruti 800

seven seater car. Ample

.-

MY DREAM

CARI like SUVs more

car care Air Conditioning (part II)


Text: Baiju N Nair

Caring for the mechanical parts of the AC can increase the cooling and lifespan of the AC.

Additionally, attention to certain things can increase its perfor-mance even further. Some tips:

If the car has been parked under harsh sun, the window glasses have to be lowered after

If you are ready to give the ac careful and regular treatment, it will perform better and even last longer. One thing to remember: wear and tear on the ac creates a hole in your wallet. So it is better to start loving your ac now. (continuation from the last issue)

you get into the car. Then, switch on the AC and select the ‘fresh air’ mode. This mode absorbs the fresh air from outside and directs it inwards. After driving the car four half a kilometer, lift the win-dow glasses and switch the AC to its normal mode (recirculation mode). Doing this effectively releases all the hot air from inside

glued on too. It would need 70 percent transparency. This law is applicable for the films stuck onto the car glass. This itself is enough to do the job.

Roadside vendors crowd around cars to sell netted shades during traffic stops. Buying this and sticking them on the rear window glasses can prevent the sun’s direct rays from affecting the passengers.

During extreme heat, it would be good to pour water in the

the car to the outside. this increases the efficiency of the AC as well.

While parking the car in sun, cover the dashboard and the steering wheel with a thick mate-rial. This stops the temperature inside from increasing. Also, this allows maintaining the plastic used on the dashboard and steer-ing wheel.

Tinted glasses always increase the efficiency of the AC. Alternatively, tinted films can be

beAt the heAt!

Air Conditioning (part II) car care


well. There is no need to lose val-uable cooling to the rear where there are no people.

Having the AC function in the recirculation mode is much bet-ter. Absorbing the air from out-side is what the fresh air mode

radiator and condenser of the car. This increases the cooling even on high speed.

If there is a passenger only next to the driver’s seat, then adjust the blower vents to chan-nels the cooling to their feet as

Fitting an AC in a car which does not have previously company fitted AC requires a lot of care. Be careful to note

that the compressor size, condenser and evaporator etc match the engine capacity of your car. If you fit a big compressor into a car

with a small engine capacity, you and your car is about to be burnt out. Nowadays, many car companies have started selling compati-ble AC for their models through their dealer-ships. This would be a good way to get yours too.

AC mechanics have also discovered many successful ways to increase the efficiency of the AC. For example, two condensers are fit-ted to increase the AC’s efficiency in a Maruti Omni. There also instances where the con-denser has been fitted onto the rear of the car and giving it electric fans in small cars like the Maruti 800. This prevents the block-age of the air circulation of the radiator while the AC functions.

does. These are two modes which are usually available in AC sys-tems. The recirculation mode cools the air within the car again and again. Conversely, the fresh air mode takes in new air from outside. The AC will require more energy in cooling this new air. Also, the dust and smoke from

the atmosphere enters the car.The AC works according to the

speed of the engine. So when you crawl through traffic blocks and the city crowds, always use low gears. Since the engine rpm increases at lower gears, the AC will also increase accordingly. This delivers more efficiency.

ac curbS MIleage The most important thing to remember: switching on the AC reduces the mileage of the car. Also, while the AC is on, the pickup of the car also reduces, especially during city commuting. And if you conduct the aforementioned experiments on the AC, the mileage is bound to dip down even more.

Well, with every good thing there is a bad flipside!

While Fitting the AC

car a/c

refrigerant of new a/cs need refilling every

four years

Price

(Lak

hs)

Engin

e

No: o

f Cylind

ers

Bhp/Powe

r

Torque

(kgm

)

Audi A41.8 TFSI (P) 29.21 1768 4 168 32.61.8 TFSI (P) 31.31 1768 4 168 32.62.0 TDI (D) 31.37 1984 4 140.8 32.03.0 TDI (D) 51.90 2967 4 241.3 51A62.8 TFSI (P) 43.24 2773 V6 204 28.52.8 TFSI (P) 50.43 2773 V6 204 28.52.0 TDI (D) 36.60 1968 4 177 38.73.0 TDI (D) 51.95 2967 V6 245 51A 73.0 TDI 82.93 2967 V6 445 513.0 TFSI NA 2995 V6 296 45A84.2 FSI 127.49 4163 V8 372 45.33.0 TDI 94.69 2967 V6 246 56.14.2 TDI 122.46 4134 V8 350 81.6Q32.0 TDI 34.75 1968 4 174 38.74Q52.0 TFSI (P) 45.01 1968 4 211 35.72.0 TDI 45.43 1968 4 170 35.73.0 TDI 50.86 2967 V6 240 51Q73.0 TFSI NA 2995 V6 333 44.93.0 TDI 56.28 2967 V6T 240 564.2 TDI 89.60 4134 V8 340 77.5bMw 3 SerieS320 D Base 30.50 1995 4 174 35.7320 D Luxury New 34.59 1995 4 174 35.7330 D 81.01 2993 6 243 55.1M3 (Conva.) 102.03 3999 V8 414 55.15 SerieS520 i 42.95 1997 4 184 27.5525 d 46.42 2993 6 202 45.9520 d 42.95 1995 4 184 38.7530 d 55.60 2993 6 243 55.16 SerieS650 i Coupe. 109.07 4395 V8 407 612640 d Coupe. 97.75 2993 6 313 64.2650 i Conver. 120.91 4395 V8 407 61.27 SerieS730 Ld (D) 97.79 2993 6 245 55.8740 Li (P) 94.96 2979 6 321 45.9750 Li 106.69 4395 8 407 61.9760 Li 141.47 5972 V12 543 76.5X1s Drive 1.8 i 26.01 1995 4 150 20.4s Drive 20 d 28.05 1995 4 177 35.7s Drive 20 d(Exc) 33.56 1995 4 177 35.7X3x Drive 20 d 46.63 1995 4 184 38.7x Drive 30 d 53.36 2993 6 258 57.1X5x Drive 50 i NA 4395 V8 407 61.2X Drive 30 d 79.79 2993 6T 235 53

Price

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X6x Drive 40 d 98.66 2993 6 306 60.0x Drive 30d NA 2993 6T 235 53X6M NA 4395 V8 547 69.3CHeVroleT AVeo1.4 LS (P) NA 1399 4 94 12.951.4 LT (P) NA 1399 4 94 12.95beAT1.2 PS (P) 3.94 1199 4 79 10.911.2 LT (P) 4.70 1199 4 79 10.911.2 LT (Lpg) 5.05 1199 4 79 10.911.0 (D) 4.79 936 3 58.5 15.21.0 LT (D) 6.07 936 3 58.5 15.2CAPTiVA2.0 LT (Mlt) (D) NA 1991 4 148 32.62.0 Extreme (D) NA 1991 4 148 32.62.0 LTZ (A/T) (D) 25.14 1991 4 148 32.6CruzeLT 14.09 1991 4 145 33LTZ M/T 15.30 1991 4 145 33LTZ A/T 16.22 1991 4 145 33oPTrA MAgnuM1.6 LS (P) 7.61 1598 4 104 15.092.0 TCDI LT (D) 9.71 1991 4T 120 32.10SAil u-VA1.2 (P) 4.26 1196 4 86 11.31.2 LS (P) 4.82 1196 4 86 11.31.3 TCDi (D) 5.38 1248 4 78 20.51.3 TCDi LT ABS (D) 6.80 1248 4 78 20.5SPArk1.0 LS (P) 3.64 995 4 63 9.21.0 LT 3.94 995 4 63 9.21.0 LS (Lpg) 3.92 995 4 63 9.21.0 LT (lpg) 4.21 995 4 63 9.2TAVerANeo 3 (10 seat) 7.35 1994 4 105.3 26.8Neo 3 ( 7 seat)(C) 9.18 1994 4 105.3 26.8Neo LS (10 Seat) 8.98 1994 4 105.3 26.8Neo LS (7 Seat) 9.11 1994 4 105.3 26.8Neo LT (8 Seat) 10.72 1994 4 105.3 26.8Neo LT (7 Seat) (C) 10.98 1994 4 105.3 26.8fiATgrAnde PunTo1.2 Active (P) 5.18 1172 4 67 9.761.2 Dynamic (P) 5.42 1172 4 67 9.761.4 Emotion (P) 6.99 1368 4 89 11.671.3 Multijet Active (D) 5.89 1248 4 75 20.071.3 Multijet Emotion (D) 7.18 1248 4 75 20.071.3 Multijet 90 HP (D) 7.56 1248 4 90 21.3lineAActive Fire (P) 7.29 1368 4 88 11.7T Jet Plus (P) NA 1368 4 88 11.7Active Multijet (D) 8.34 1248 4 92 21.31Emotion Multijet (D) 9.76 1248 4 92 21.31forCe MoTorSforCe one

A-Z CAR SPECS

HondA AMAze

kAwASAkininJA 300 r

rs.5.24 -7.85Lakhsex-showroom delhi

rS.3.56 Lakhsex-showroom kochi

Mode

l

Mode

l


Rajaji Road, Near Sunny Diamonds, Kochi, Ph: 0484 401 5786 / Mob: +91 99957 54786

Bike accessories & gearBike accessories & gearRide the wind

Price

(Lak

hs)

Engin

e

No: o

f Cylind

ers

Bhp/Powe

r

Torque

(kgm

)

Price

(Lak

hs)

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ers

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(kgm

)

in March 2012, the car sales record was bro-ken in the indian market. but in March 2013, sales has reduced by 13%.

Vehicle market is

down

Engine: 1198 CC (p), 1498cc (d)Max.Power:86/98 bhp TORQUE: 109Nm / 200Nm Smartdrive rating

Engine: 296 cc, 4strokeMax.Power:39bhp @ 11000rpmTORQUE: 27Nm @ 10000rpmSmartdrive rating

Mode

l

Mode

lForce One (6 Seat) 11.99 2149 4 139 32.7Force One (7 Seat) 11.91 2149 4 139 32.7fordendeAVour2.5 L 4x2 (D) 20.11 2499 4T 143 33.73.0 L 4x2 (D) 21.60 2953 4T 153 38.73.0 L 4x4 (D) 23.40 2953 4T 153 38.7fieSTA1.5 Ambiete (M/T –P) 7.64 1499 4 107 14.281.5 Titanium (M/T-P) 9.34 1499 4 107 14.281.5 Style (A/T –P) 9.49 1499 4 107 14.281.5 Titanium (A/T-P) 10.23 1499 4 107 14.281.5 Style (M/T-D) 9.49 1498 4 88.7 20.81.5 Titanium (M/T-D) 10.53 1498 4 88.7 20.8fieSTA ClASSiC1.6 Lxi Classic Solid (P) 5.86 1596 4 99.6 14.81.6 Cxi Classic Metallic (P) 6.56 1596 4 99.6 14.81.4 Lxi Classic Solid (D) 7.07 1399 4 67 16.31.4 Cixi Classic Metallic (D) 7.54 1399 4 67 16.3figo1.2 Lxi (P) 3.98 1196 4 70 10.41.2 Titanium (P) 5.22 1196 4 70 10.41.4 LXI (D) 4.98 1399 4 68 16.31.4 Titanium (D) 6.22 1399 4 68 16.3HondAACCord2.4 MT (P) 20.60 2354 4 177 22.22.4 AT (P) 21.40 2354 4 177 22.23.5 V6 std. 27.74 3471 V6 271 34.5brio E M/T 4.17 1198 4 88 11.1S M/T 4.66 1198 4 88 11.1S (O) M/T 5.16 1198 4 88 11.1V M/T 5.44 1198 4 88 11.1CiTyCorporate M/T-P 7.33 1497 4 114 14.9V M/T 9.10 1497 4 114 14.9V A/T 9.85 1497 4 114 14.9V M/T Sunroof 9.95 1497 4 114 14.9V A/T Sunroof 10.69 1497 4 114 14.9CiViC1.8 S M/T 12.87 1799 4 130 17.51.8 V M/T 13.92 1799 4 130 17.51.8 V A/T 14.71 1799 4 130 17.5Cr-V2.0 2 WD (M/T) 23.15 1997 4 143 19.32.4 AWD (M/T) 24.65 2354 4 167 22.22.4 AWD ( A/T) 25.42 2354 4 167 22.2JAzzJazz 6.15 1198 4 89 11.2Jazz Select 6.40 1198 4 89 11.2Jazz X 6.72 1198 4 89 11.2HyundAiACCenTExecutive 5.26 1495 4 95 12.7Exe LPG 5.64 1495 4 95 12.7eon

Dlite 2.89 814 3 55 7.6ERA + 3.33 814 3 55 7.6Magna + 3.64 814 3 55 7.6Sportz 3.93 814 3 55 7.6Dlite (lpg) 3.46 814 3 55 7.6Magna (lpg) 3.91 814 3 55 7.6elAnTrAVTVT S 12.92 1797 4 148 18VTVT Sx 14.17 1797 4 148 18CRDi 13.33 1582 4 127 26.5CRDi SX 15.13 1582 4 127 26.5i 101.1 Dlite 3.84 1086 4 68 10.11.1 Magna 4.33 1086 4 68 10.11.2 Magna 4.52 1197 4 79 11.41.2 Sportz 4.83 1197 4 79 11.41.2 Sportz A/T 5.41 1197 4 79 11.41.2 Asta M/T 5.59 1197 4 79 11.41.2 Asta A/T 6.34 1197 4 79 11.41.1 Era (lpg) 4.47 1086 4 68 10.11.1 Magna (lpg) 4.66 1086 4 68 10.1i 201.2 Era 4.92 1197 4 83 11.61.2 Sportz 6.05 1197 4 83 11.61.2 Asta 6.51 1197 4 83 11.61.4 Sportz A/T 8.01 1396 4 98.6 13.91.4 Era CRDi (D) 6.17 1396 4 88.7 21.41.4 Sportz CRDi (D) 7.29 1396 4 88.7 21.41.4 Asta CRDi (D) 7.76 1396 4 88.7 21.4SAnTA fe4x2 M/T 23.86 2199 4 194 42.94X4 M/T 26.04 2199 4 194 42.94X4 A/T 27.02 2199 4 194 42.9SAnTroGL non A/C 3.05 1086 4 63 9.8Gl Plus 3.74 1086 4 63 9.8GLS 3.97 1086 4 63 9.8GLS (LPG) 4.17 1086 4 63 9.8SonATA2.4 GD i M/T 19.11 2359 4 198 25.52.4 GD I A/T 21.23 2359 4 198 25.5VernA1.4 VT VT 7.35 1396 4 105.5 13.81.6 VT VT 8.29 1591 4 121.3 15.81.6 SX A/T 10.26 1591 4 121.3 15.81.4 CRDi 8.60 1396 4 88.7 22.41.6 SX CRDi 10.08 1582 4 126.2 26.51.6 CRDi A/T 11.59 1582 4 126.2 26.5JAguArXF 3.0 (D) 58.43 2993 V6 271 61.2XF 5.0 portfolio 81.08 5000 V8 385 51.5lAndroVerdiSCoVery 43.0 V6 SE NA 2993 V6 245 61.23.0 V6 HSE NA 2993 V6 245 61.2rAnge roVer eVoQue2.2 Pure (5 door) NA 2179 4 187 42.8


a-z car specs


Biking gearFor you and your ride

A-Z CAR SPECS

Price

(Lak

hs)

Engin

e

No: o

f Cylind

ers

Bhp/Powe

r

Torque

(kgm

)

Price

(Lak

hs)

Engin

e

No: o

f Cylind

ers

Bhp/Powe

r

Torque

(kgm

)

Mode

l

Mode

l

A/C (5 Seat) 3.66 1196 4 73 10.3Std. (7 seat) 3.53 1196 4 73 10.3erTigALXi (P) 6.36 1373 4 93.7 13.2ZXi (P) 7.91 1373 4 93.7 13.2LDi (D) 7.84 1248 4 88.7 20.4ZDi (D) 9.17 1248 4 88.7 20.4grAnd ViTArAManual (P) 23.86 2393 4 163 23Automatic (P) 25.84 2393 4 163 23kizASHiManual (P) 16.92 2393 4 126 23.4Automatic (P) 17.93 2393 4 126 23.4oMniMPi (8 Seat) 2.79 796 3 35 6.1LPG (5 Seat) 2.83 796 3 35 6.1riTzLXi 4.54 1197 4 84 11.5ZXi 5.48 1197 4 84 11.5LDi 5.63 1248 4T 74 19.37VDi 5.97 1248 4T 74 19.37SwifTLXi 5.13 1197 4 86 11.6ZXi 6.00 1197 4 86 11.6LDi 5.83 1248 4 74 19.3ZDi 7.12 1248 4 74 19.3SwifT dzire LXi 5.17 1197 4 86 11.6ZXi 6.67 1197 4 86 11.6VXi A/T 6.99 1197 4 86 11.6LDi 6.31 1248 4 74 19.3ZDi 7.75 1248 4 74 19.3SX 4VXi M/T 7.78 1586 4 103.2 14.79ZXi A/T 9.27 1586 4 103.2 14.79VDi M/T 8.69 1248 4 90 20.39ZDi M/T 10.24 1248 4 90 20.39wAgon rLX 3.83 998 3 67 9.18VXi 4.34 998 3 67 9.18VXi ABS 4.66 998 3 67 9.18LXi lpg Duo 4.63 998 3 67 9.18MerCedeS benzC-ClASS C 200 Elegance NA 1796 4 186 29C 200 Avantgarde NA 1796 4 186 29C 250 CDi Avantgarde (D) NA 2143 4 204 51C 63 AMG (P) NA 6208 V8 457 61ClS-ClASS CLS 350 NA 3498 V6 306 37e-ClASSE200 Avantgarde(P) 41.36 1796 4 183 29E250 CDi Avantgarde (D) 45.68 2143 4 203 51E 220 CDi Elegance (D) 41.82 2143 4 170 40.8E 350 CDi Avantgarde NA 2987 V6 228 55E 350 Coupe NA 3498 V6 272 36.1

AudiCOCHIN

0484-4147777bMwPLATINO CLASSIC

0484 4009966CHeVroleTGERMAN MOTORS CLT

0495 2383680/81GEEYEM MOTORS EKM

0484 2703245/46DEEDI MOTORS TVM

0471 3257777benzRAJASREE MOTORS EKM

0484 2706432RAJASREE MOTORS CLT

0495 2767155HinduSTAnMARIKAR MOTORS TVM

04712471814GEO MOTORS EKM

0484 2306411GEO MOTORS PKD

0491 2572167fiATRF MOTORS EKM

0484 2555055CONCORDE MOTORS EKM

0484 6602000HYSON MOTORS TCR

0487 6457777KULATHUNKAL MOTORS TVM

0471 6627200fordKAIRALI FORD EKM

0484 2551310MALAYALAM FORD EKM

0484 2304567KAIRALI FORD KTM

0481 2566326KAIRALI FORD TVM

0471 2501564KAIRALI FORD TCR

0487 2388797PVS FORD CLT

0495 2326060VolVoMGF AUTO EKM

0484 2666689,2668846HyundAiMGF HYUNDAI EKM

0484 2705589POPULAR HYUNDAI EKM

0484 2803500VTJ HYUNDAI EKM

0484 4230423MGF HYUNDAI KTM

0481 2564743APCO HYUNDAI CLT

0495 2743963KTC HYUNDAI KANNUR

04972702955ST.ANTONY’S HYUNDAI KOLLAM

0474 2707980KTC HYUNDAI TCR

0487 2381501PALAKKD HYUNDAI PKD

0491 2572861HILTON HYUNDAI TVM

0471 2310745POTHANS HYUNDAI TVM

0471 6050500KTC HYUNDAI CALICUT

0495 2367600HondAPENINSULAR HONDA EKM

0484 2705547COSMIC HONDA EKM

0484 6606660VISION HONDA KTM

0481 2361150PENINSULAR HONDA CLT

0495 2462199MUTHOOT HONDA KLM

0474 3013333SIGNATURE HONDA KNR

0497 2717171MAHindrAITL CLT

0495 3300222ITL MOTORS TCR

0487 3300222TVS EKM

0484 25375420484 2537543ITL MOTORS KASARGOD

9388396051ITL MOTORS PKD

0491 3251011TVS ALPY

0477 2252082TVS KOLLAM

0474 2731320

deAlerS direCTory

2.2 Dynamic NA 2179 4 187 42.8freelAnder 2 TD 4 SE NA 2179 4 148 42.8SD 4 HE NA 2179 4 187 42.8rAnge roVer4.4 V8 SE NA 4367 V8 309 71.45.0 V8 Super Charged NA 4999 V8 503 63.7rAnge roVer SPorT 3.0 V8 HSE NA 2993 V6 245 61.25.0 V8 Super Charged NA 4999 V8 510 63.7MAHindrAboleroSLE 6.63 2523 4 63 19.8SLX 7.15 2523 4 63 19.8ZLX 7.31 2523 4 63 19.8SCorPioLX 8.60 2179 4 120 28.5SLE 9.92 2179 4 120 28.5VLX M/T 10.89 2179 4 120 28.5VLX A/T 11.67 2179 4 120 28.5THAr4X4 CRDe 7.26 2498 4 103.5 25.194x4 Di 5.27 2523 4 63 18.25VeriToG2 (P) 5.33 1390 4 75 11.2G4 (P) 5.61 1390 4 75 11.2D2 (D) 6.19 1461 4 65 16.3D6 (D) 7.20 1461 4 65 16.3XuV 500 W6 4x2 12.34 2179 4 140 33W8 4X2 13.95 2179 4 140 33W8 4x4 15.06 2179 4 140 33XyloD2 7.50 2489 4 95 22D4 7.92 2489 4 112 26E8 9.53 2489 4 112 26E9 10.87 2179 4 120 28reVAStd. 4.03 Ac Elec. 13 kw 5.3 E2O T0 6.70 Ac Elec. 19 kw 5.4Classe 7.50 Ac Elec. 19 kw 5.4 QuAnToC2 6.32 1493 3 100 24C8 7.89 1493 3 100 24MAruTiAlTo Std. 2.53 796 3 47 6.7Lxi K 10 3.40 998 3 67 9.18Vxi K10 3.53 998 3 67 9.18AlTo 800 Std. 2.94 796 3 48 6.9LXi 3.33 796 3 48 6.9A-STAr LXi 4.03 998 3 67 9.18ZXi 4.62 998 3 66 9.0eeCoStd. (5 Seat) 3.36 1196 4 73 10.3



Bike accessories & gearBike accessories & gearRide the wind

Maruti alto is the undefeated champion in terms of sales. 27,356 altos were sold in March. sales has dipped by 11.2%. DZire takes the second place at 20,078 units.

alto, still the number

one

Price

(Lak

hs)

Engin

e

No: o

f Cylind

ers

Bhp/Powe

r

Torque

(kgm

)

Price

(Lak

hs)

Engin

e

No: o

f Cylind

ers

Bhp/Powe

r

Torque

(kgm

)

Mode

l

Mode

l

deAlerS direCTory

TVS TVM

0471 2490527TVS KTM

0481 2309455/429VolkS wAgenEVM MOTORS EKM

0484 4040404PHOENIX CARS CLT

0495 3300000MAruTi SuzukiINDUS MOTORS CLT

0495 2765285POPULAR TVM

0471 2343493INDUS COCHIN

0484 2358587INDUS TVM

0471 2445774POPULAR COCHIN

0484 2330039A.M MOTORS MALAPURAM

0483 2734676BRD CAR WORLD TCR

0487 2424373POPULAR CLT

0495 2370007ABT CLT

0495 3929423HAR CAR KANNUR

0497 2766477SITARAM PKD

0491 2504211HERCULES AUTOMOBILES TVM

0471 2720152/53HERCULES AUTOMOBILES ALP

0477 2265565POPULAR KTM

0481 2560492SARATHY KOLLAM

0474 2729618KVR AUTOCARS PMNA

04933 236000AVG KTM

0481 2560492SAI SERVICE KOCHI

0484 4445555TATA RF MOTORS EKM

0484 2555055CONCORDE MOTORS EKM

0484 6602000HYSON MOTORS TCR

0487 6457777VIJAY MOTORS PKD

0491 6455555KVR TATA KANNUR

0497 2837071MARINA MOTORS CLT

0495 2436100KULATHUNKAL MOTORS KOLLAM

0474 2554234KULATHUNKAL MOTORS TVM

0471 2554234MOHANDAS MOTORS TVM

0471 2374999SkodAMARIKAR SKODA EKM

0484 416666MARIKAR SKODA TVM

0471 3299455MARIKAR SKODA CLT

0495 323970ST.ANTONY'S SKODA EKM

0484 2347999VISION SKODA CLT

8606986652MiTSubiSHiGEO MOTORS KTM

0481 236325GEO MOTORS EKM

0484 3202366GEO MOTORS TCR

0487 3201665PVS AUTOMOBILES P LTD CLT

0495 2762255niSSAnEVM AUTOMOBILES EKM

9995066666MARIKAR TVM

0471 2740505renAulTRENAULT COCHIN

0484 4141666ToyoTAAMANA CLT

0495 3000333/111NIPPON EKM

0484 2701533NIPPON TVM

0471 2417733forCePOOMKUDY FORCE EKM

0484 2336227


a-z car specs

g-ClASSG 55 AMG 134.70 5439 V8 507 79.3gl-ClASSGrand LX (5 Seat) NA 2987 V6 224 52Grand Edition Exe. 71.81 2987 V6 224 52Grand Edition Luxury 76.44 2987 V6 224 52M -ClASSML 350 CDi 67.04 2987 V6 255 63.2r-ClASSR 350 CDi 59.86 3498 V6 272 35.7S-ClASS S 300 L(P) 85.20 3498 V6 272 35.1S 500 L (P) 111.49 5461 V8 369 51.5S 350 CDi L V6 (D) 99.96 2987 V6 210 49.1Sl-ClASSSL 350 NA 3498 V6 316 36MiniMini Cooper NA 1598 4 1172 16.3Mini Cooper S NA 1598 4 181 24.5Mini CooPer CounTryMAn Mini S Countryman NA 1598 4 181 24.5MiTSubiSHi CediA Cedia 8.31 1999 4 115 17.8eVoluTion XEVO X 50.00 1998 4 291 37.3MonTero 3.2 Di – D (A/T) 41.70 3198 4 199 45ouTlAnder 2.4 MiVEC (5 Seat) 20.73 2360 4 167 23.052.4 MiVEC (7 Seat) NA 2360 4 167 23.05PAJeroSFX DS 4 NA 2835 4T 107 28PAJero SPorT2.5 Di (D) 23.21 2477 4 175.6 40.8niSSAneVAliAXE (D) 8.85 1461 4 85 20XV (D) 10.42 1461 4 85 20MiCrAXE (P) 4.37 1198 3 75 10.6XV Primo (P) 5.94 1198 3 75 10.6XV (D) 6.18 1461 4 63 16.3XV Primo (D) 6.84 1461 4 63 16.3SunnyXE (P) 6.18 1498 4 97.6 13.6XV (P) 8.19 1498 4 97.6 13.6XL (D) 8.45 1461 4 84 20.4XV (D) 9.86 1461 4 84 20.4TeAnAXL (P) 22.01 2496 V6 180 21.2XV (P) 25.93 2496 V6 180 21.2X-TrAil LE (M/T) (D) 22.97 1995 4 180 32.7SLX (M/T )(D) 25.55 1995 4 180 32.7SLX A/T(D) 27.44 1995 4 180 32.7

PreMier rioGX NA 1173 4 75 10.6GLX NA 1173 4 75 10.6renAulTduSTerRxE (P) 7.93 1598 4 104 14.5RxL (P) 8.86 1598 4 104 14.5RxE (D) 8.66 1461 4 85 20RxZ (D) 12.11 1461 4 110 22.5fluenCe E2 M/T (D) 14.01 1461 4 105 24.4E4 M/T (D) 15.12 1461 4 105 24.4E4 A/T (P) 15.47 1997 4 135.4 19.3koleoS2.0 A/T (D) 24.35 1995 4 150 32.6PulSeRxL (P) 6.13 1198 3 75 10.6RxZ (P) 5.71 1198 3 75 10.6RxL (D) 6.13 1461 4 63 16.3RxZ (D) 6.84 1461 4 63 16.3SkodAfAbiA 1.2 MPi Active (P) 5.07 1198 3 75 11.21.2 MPi Scout (P) 6.89 1198 3 75 11.21.6 MPi Elegance (P) 6.65 1598 4 105 15.61.2 TDi Active (D) 6.29 1199 3 75 18.31.2 TDi Scout (D) 8.20 1199 3 75 18.3lAurA1.8 TSi M/T Active (P) 14.78 1798 4T 160 25.51.8 TSi A/T Ambition (P) 15.79 1798 4T 160 25.52.0 TDi M/T Ambition(D) 16.30 1968 4T 110 25.52.0 TDi L&K(D) 19.44 1968 4T 140 32.6rAPid1.6 MPi Active (P) 7.18 1598 4 105 15.61.6 MPi M/T Elegance (P) 8.46 1598 4 105 15.61.6 MPi A/T Elegance (P) 9.47 1598 4 105 15.61.6 TDi M/T Active (D) 8.47 1598 4 105 25.51.6 TDi M/T Elegance (D) 9.09 1598 4 105 25.5yeTi2.0 TDi 4x2 Active (D) 14.86 1968 4 110 25.52.0 TDi 4x4 Elegance 18.53 1968 4 140 32.63TATA MoTorSAriAPure 4x2 LX (D) 10.26 2179 4T 138 32.6Prestige 4x2 (D) 15.65 2179 4T 138 32.6Pleasure 4x4 (D) 14.56 2179 4T 138 32.6Pride 4x4 (D) 17.37 2179 4T 138 32.6grAnde diCor CX NA 2179 4T 118 25.4LX 8.17 2179 4T 118 25.4EX 8.61 2179 4T 118 25.4GX 9.35 2179 4T 118 25.4indiCAeV2 Le 4.22 1193 4 64 10.2eV2 Xeta GLX (P) NA 1193 4 64 10.2eV2 Xeta GLE (LPG) NA 1193 4 60.9 10.2eV2 Xeta GLS (LPG) NA 1193 4 60.9 10.2


Biking gearFor you and your ride

Price

(Lak

hs)

Engin

e

No: o

f Cylind

ers

Bhp/Powe

r

Torque

(kgm

)

Price

(100

0's)

Displac

emen

t (CC

)

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f Cylind

ers Bh

p/Powe

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(Lak

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(kgm

)

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Mode

l

a-z car specs

bikebAJAJ Avenger 220 DTSi 79.33 220 1 19Discover DTS Si 45.41 94.3 1 7.7Discover 125 ST 57.73 124.6 1 10.8Discover 125 DTSi (Disc) 52.84 124.6 1 10.8Discover 150 DTSi 54.62 144.8 1 13Platina 40.87 99.3 1 8.2Pulsar 135 LS 61.25 134.6 1 13.5Pulsar 150 DTSi 69.19 149 1 15Pulsar 180 DTSi 72.46 178.6 1 17Pulsar 220 DTSi 83.99 220 1 21Pulsar 200 NS 87.77 199.5 1 23.52KTM 200 Duke 117.32 199.5 1 25Kawasaki Ninja 300R 356.86 249 2 33HeroCD Dawn 36.92 97.2 1 7.7CD Deluxe (Spoke, Self) 41.21 97.2 1 7.7CD Deluxe (Alloy, Self) 42.72 97.2 1 7.7Splendor plus 44.74 97.2 1 7.4Splendor NXG (Self) 46.45 97.2 1 7.7Super Splendor 51.30 124.7 1 9Passion Pro 49.38 97.2 1 7.8Passion Pro (Disc) 51.40 97.2 1 7.8Glamour (Drum, Self) 53.09 124.7 1 9Glamour (Disc, Self) 55.11 124.7 1 9Glamour PGM-Fi 62.19 124.8 1 9Ignitor (Drum) 56.80 24.7 1 11Ignitor (Disc) 58.81 24.7 1 11CBZ Xtreme 70.77 149.2 1 14.4Hunk 69.61 149.2 1 14.4Impulse 70.29 113.2 1 14.4Karizma 79.40 223 1 17Karizma ZMR 99.67 223 1 17.6HondACB Twister (Kick/Drum) 48.85 109 1 9CB Twister (Drum) 52.46 109 1 9CB Twister (Disc) 55.66 109 1 9Dream Yuga (Kick/Spoke) 48.79 109 1 8.5Dream Yuga (Kick/Alloy) 50.31 109 1 8.5Dream Yuga (Self) 52.36 109 1 8.5CB Shine (Drum) 56.08 124.6 1 10.3CB Shine (Disc) 59.28 124.6 1 10.3CBF Stunner NA 124.7 1 11CBF Stunner PGMI-Fi 60.80 124.7 1 11.6CB Unicorn 68.77 149.1 1 13.3CB Unicorn Dazler 51D 70.81 149 1 14.3CB Unicorn Dazler 61D 71.85 149 1 14.3CBR 150R STD 125.34 149.4 1 17.5CBR 150R DLX 126.38 149.4 1 17.5CBR 250R STD 155.92 149 1 25.8CBR 250R STD Tri colour 156.95 149 1 25.8CBR 250R ABS 182.48 149 1 25.8CBR 250R ABS Tri colorur 183.52 149 1 25.8royAl enfieldBullet 350 98.63 346 1 19.8Electra 110.32 346 1 19.8

a-z bikespecs

Due to space limitations, certain Models and Variants haven't been mentioned here.

eV2 LS (D) 4.21 1396 4 69 14.2eV2 LX (D) 4.97 1396 4 69 14.2indigo e-CS GLS (P) NA 1193 4 64 10.5GLX (P) 5.09 1193 4 64 10.5LS CR4 5.76 1396 4 69 14.2LX CR4 5.97 1396 4 69 14.2indigo XlXL (P) 6.12 1396 4 99 12.6XL (D) 5.93 1396 4 70 14.2MAnzASafire Aqua(P) 5.67 1368 4 89 11.8Safire Elan (P) 7.25 1368 4 89 11.8Quadrajet LS (D) 6.08 1248 4 89 20.4Quadrajet Elan (D) 8.24 1248 4 89 20.4nAnoStd (P) 1.57 624 2 37.4 5.2CX (P) 1.90 624 2 37.4 5.2LX (P) 2.15 624 2 37.4 5.2SAfAri STorMeSTORME LX 10.38 2179 4 140 32.0STORME VX 4x2(D) 13.09 2179 4 140 32.0STORME VX 4x4(D) 14.41 2179 4 140 32.0SuMo gold3.0 CR4 CX (D) 6.20 2956 4 83 25.53.0 CR4 LX (D) 6.60 2956 4 83 25.53.0 CR4 EX (D) 6.91 2956 4 83 25.53.0 CR4 GX (D) 7.55 2956 4 83 25.5ViSTASafire 65GLS (P) 4.77 1172 4 64 9.8Safire 65GVX (P) 5.01 1172 4 64 9.8Safire 90 GZX (P) 5.53 1368 4 89 11.8Quadrajet LS (D) 5.19 1248 4 74 19.3Quadrajet ZX (D) 6.50 1248 4 74 19.3ToyoTACAMryW1 M/T (P) NA 2362 4 167 22.5W2 A/T (P) 24.44 2362 4 167 22.5CorollA AlTiS 1.8 J (P) 11.92 1798 4 138 17.61.8 GL (P) 15.01 1798 4 138 17.61.4 J (D) 12.56 1364 4 87 20.91.4 GL (D) 15.93 1364 4 87 20.9eTioS J (P) 5.62 1496 4 90 13.4VSP (P) 7.27 1496 4 90 13.4GD (D) 6.86 1364 4 68 17.3VD (D) 7.97 1364 4 68 17.3eTioS liVAJ (P) 4.74 1197 4 79 10.6V (P) 5.72 1197 4 79 10.6GD (D) 6.15 1164 4 68 12.2GD SP 6.48 1164 4 68 12.2forTuner2WD M/T (D) 22.38 2982 4 168 352WD A/T (D) 23.39 2982 4 168 35


4WS M/T (D) 23.66 2982 4 168 35innoVA2.5 G (7 Seat) 10.80 2494 4 102 20.42.5 G (8 Seat) 10.85 2494 4 102 20.42.5 VX (7 Seat) 14.43 2494 4 102 20.42.5 VX (8 Seat) 14.49 2494 4 102 20.4lAndCruiSer lS 200 200 Premium(D) 101.01 4461 V8 285 66lAndCruiSer PrAdo 4x4(D) 65.25 2982 4 170 41.8PriuS1.8 29.75 1798 4 134 14.48VolkSwAgenbeeTle2.0 (P) 21.24 1984 4 114 17.5JeTTA2.0 TDi Trendline M/T (D) 15.06 1968 4 140 32.62.0 TDi Comfortline M/T (D) 16.55 1968 4 140 32.62.0 TDi Highline M/T (D) 18.21 1968 4 140 32.62.0 TDi Highline A/T (D) 19.07 1968 4 140 32.6PASSATTrendline(D) 22.25 1968 4 168 35.7Comfortline(D) 25.56 1968 4 168 35.7Highline(D) 27.57 1968 4 168 35.7PHAeTon3.6 V6 (P) NA 3597 V6 278 37.7PoloTrendline (P) 4.71 1198 3 74 11.2HIghline (P) 6.29 1198 3 74 11.2HIghline 1.6 (P) 6.49 1598 4 105 15.6Trendline (D) 5.84 1199 3 75 18.3Highline (D) 7.42 1199 3 75 18.3VenToTrendline M/T (P) 7.39 1598 4 104 15.6Highline A/T (P) 9.79 1598 4 104 15.6Trendline M/T (D) 8.65 1598 4 104 25.5Highline M/T (D) 10.29 1598 4 104 25.5VolVoS60 D4 Kinetic (D) 27.96 2000 5 163 40.8D5 Summum (D) 34.60 2400 5 215 42.8T6 Summum (P) 36.72 2955 6 304 44.8S80D4 Kinetic(D) 35.21 2000 5 163 40.8D5 Summum (D) 42.00 2400 5 215 42.8XC 60 D5 Summum (D) 41.43 2400 5 215 42.8XC 90D5 Summum (D) 49.05 2400 5 215 42.83.2 (P) NA 3192 6 238 32.0

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lSuPer CArSASTon MArTinDB9 Coupe 2.21 cr 5.9 V12 477 600DBS Coupe 3.08cr 5.9 V12 517 570Rapide 2.55 cr 5.9 V12 477 600V12 Zagato 6.50cr 6 V12 510 570Vantage S Roadster 1.86cr 4.7 V8 430 490Vantage V12 2.25cr 6 V12 510 570Virage coupe 2.55cr 5.9 V12 490 570Virage volante 2.74cr 5.9 V12 490 570R8 Spyder 1.48cr 5.2 V10 525 530RS 5 Coupe 74.59 Lakh 4.2 V8 450 430benTley Continental GT 1.94cr 6 W12 575 700Continental 1.80cr 6 W12 560 650Mulsanne 3.00cr 6.8 V8 512 1020bugATTi Veyron Grand Sports 16.00cr 8 W16 1014 1250bMwM3 Coupe 81.04 lakh 4 V8 413 600S6 M 1.30cr 4.4 V8 555 680ferrAri458 Italia 3.09cr 4.5 V8 570 540California 2.68cr 4.3 V8 453 585FF 4.12cr 6.2 V12 660 683JAguArXKR Coupe 1.11cr 5 V8 510 625XKR S 1.52cr 5 V8 550 680lAMborgHiniGallardo spyder 2.50cr 5.2 V10 560 540Aventador 3.69cr 6.4 V12 701 690MASerATiGrand-cabrio 1.76cr 4.7 V8 440 490Grand Turismo 1.60cr 4.2 V8 405 460Quattroporte GTS 1.76cr 4.7 V8 433 490MerCedeSG55 AMG 1.30CR 5.8 V8 507 700SLK 350 68.46lakh 3.5 V6 306 370SL 63 AMG 1.64 cr 6.2 V8 530 630SL 65 AMG 2.40 cr 6 V12 618 10000SLS AMG 2.47 cr 6.2 V8 570 650niSSAn370Z 57.17lakh 3.6 V6 335 363PorCHe911 Carrera 82.00 lakh 3.6 Bxr0.006 648 390911 Carrera Cabriolet 93.06lakh 3.6 Bxr0.006 648 390911 Targa4 96.53lakh 3.6 Bxr0.006 648 390Cayenne 58.05lakh 3.6 V6 300 400Panamera 1.04 cr 3.6 V6 300 400Panamera Turbo 2.07 cr 4.8 V8 500 700Boxster Spyder 65.11lakh 3.4 Bxr-6 320 370Boxster S 69.03lakh 3.4 Bxr-6 313 360rollS royCe Ghost 2.50 cr 6.6 V12 568 780Ghost EB 3.88 cr 6.6 V12 568 780Phantom 3.50 cr 6.8 V12 460 720Phantom DC 4.65 cr 6.8 V12 460 720

super car specs

Thunderbird 350 127.78 346 1 19.8Classic 350 117.37 346 1 19.8Classic 500 150.21 499 1 27.2SuzukiHayate 43.60 112.8 1 8.3Hayate (Self) 46.40 112.8 1 8.3Slingshot 49.90 124 1 8.6Slingshot (Self) 54.58 124 1 8.6GS 150 R 69.90 149.5 1 13.8TVS Apache RTR 160 68.65 159.7 1 15.2Apache RTR 180 73.65 177.4 1 17.3Apache RTR 180 ABS 83.40 177.4 1 17.3Max 4R NA 109.7 1 8.2Star sports 38.60 99.7 1 7.5Star City 43.20 109.7 1 8.2Jive NA 109.7 1 8.4yAMAHACrux 37.80 105.6 1 7.6YBR 110 44.70 106 1 7.6YBR 125 50.95 123.7 1 10.8SZ-X 55.09 153 1 12.1SZ-R 59.50 153 1 12.1FZ -16 70.02 153 1 14FZ-S 72.20 153 1 14Fazer 77.49 153 1 14YZF R15 114.99 149.8 1 17SCooTerHeroPleasure 42.57 102 1 7Maestro 48.27 109 1 8.2HondADio 48.36 109 1 8Activa 51.28 109 1 8Aviator STD 51.94 109 1 8Aviator DLX 57.35 109 1 8MAHindrA 2 wHeelerSDuro NA 124.6 1 8Duro DZ 48.56 124.6 1 8.1Rodeo 49.41 124.6 1 8Flyte NA 124.6 1 8PiAggioVespa 125 SL 62.44 125 1 10.06SuzukiAccess 125 52.20 124 1 8.6Swish 125 53.20 124 1 8.6TVSScooty Pep + 38.90 87.8 1 5Scooty Streak 40.50 87.8 1 5Wego 48.40 109.7 1 8yAMAHARay 46.90 113 1 7

super bikespecs

Due to space limitations, certain Models and Variants haven't been mentioned here.


SuPer bikeS APriliA RSV4 17 lakh 999.6 177 115Dorsoduro 12.0 lakh 1197 130 115Mana 11 lakh 839 75 73Tuono 13 lakh 997 130 101bAJAJNinja650 R 4.57 lakh 649 72 66bMwHp2 sports 25.7 lakh 1170 106 118Husqvarna 18 lakh 900 100 105K1300 R 21 lakh 1293 176 140K1600 23.20 lakh 1600 161 175R1200 GS 10.81 lakh 1170 111 120R1200 Adventure 17.68 lakh 1170 111 120S100RR 18 lakh 1000 194 112duCATi848 13.94 lakh 849 135 961198 17.35 lakh 1198 171.1 131Diavel 17.06 lakh 1198 163 127.5Diavel Carbon 22.06 lakh 1198 163 127.5Diavel Carbon Red 22.43 lakh 1198 163 127.5Hyper motard1100 12.60 lakh 1078 96 103HM 1100 S 13.60 lakh 1078 96 103HM 796 10.28 lakh 803 81 75.5HM 796 S 9.10 lakh 803 81 75.5Monster 11.99 lakh 1078 96 103Multistrada 1200 16.83 lakh 1198 150 118.6Sports Classic 11.06 lakh 992 92.9 92Streetfighter 15.85 lakh 1099 156 115HArley dAVidSonFat Boy 19.03 lakh 1584 NA 120Nightstar 10.26 lakh 1200 NA 107Nightrod 19.55 lakh 1250 NA 111Heritage Classic 20.07 lakh 1584 NA 117Roadster 7.74 lakh 883 NA 70Sportster 7.17 lakh 883 NA 131Ultra Classic Electra Glide 36.06 lakh 1803 NA 151HondACB 1000R 10.20 lakh 998 125 100CBR 1000RR 13.30 lakh 999 125 100VFR 1200F 18.60 lakh 1237 172 129HyoSungGT 650R 4.75 lakh 647 73.6 60.9GT 650N 4.60 lakh 647 73.6 60.9ST7 5.96 lakh 678 62.5 57.3SuzukiBandit 1250S 8.80 lakh 1255 99 108GSXR0.001200 13.75 lakh 999 191 118Hayabusa 13.00 lakh 1340 197 154Intruder M 1800 R 13.25 lakh 1783 125 160Intruder M 800 8.88 lakh 805 53 68.4yAMAHAFZ1 8.70 lakh 998 151 106MT0.0001 10.50 lakh 1670 90 150VMAX 20.00 lakh 1679 199.3 166.8YZF R1 12.50 lakh 998 189 118

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ROAD SHOW


O people, I ask you one thing: “Is your life or your honour more valuable?” This question can fit perfectly well in every walk of

life, but right now I mean it in the name of vehicles. Because the first time this ques-tion blazed in front of me when I was trav-elling with my wife in an Innova on my wedding day. The wedding took place in Thrissur, After the wedding, we were head-ed towards my village in Pathanamthitta. The Innova stood infront of us newly mar-ried couple beaming with pride. As I entered into the car with my beautiful wife, the old MGR song “Raajaavin paarvai rani-yin pakkam..” rang in my mind.

Anyways, the driver was nothing short of a daredevil himself. At the very precise moment he started the car he got pos-sessed by Evil Kneivel’s ghost. The Innova slipped and careened, and God knows what. It was like marble left to roll on a wet floor. The evil man paid no attention to the road and decided to look back at us and pass some mushy jokes. My heart thumped even more. I was in a dilem-ma; if I ask him to

drive slower all my macho buff would deflate in front of my wife. I thought again. Were my moments of wedded bliss coming to an end? Will this flower covered Innova become my death hearse?

I asked the driver, “Chetta, how long have you been a driver?”

“I started driving this thing only a month ago. I was a tipper driver before that.”

A chill ran down my spine. A scream escaped my mouth, “Driver the damn car slowly, then!”. The people inside

the car got a shock. I got my peace of mind back, and my life.

Another time, I was travelling with my wife in a private bus. The bus was swerving through a bad road.

Pedestrians scampered away with their lives.

The same blazing question stood infront of me: “Is my honour greater than

my life?” My wife was seven months

OveR SpeeD Can’t a citizen speak up against overspeeding in a public vehicle and have a hand in controlling its speed? Doesn’t the Indian law allow a reckless bus driver to be questioned by a passenger?

DO OR DIe pregnant too. This ride might not allow me to become the father to my child, I thought. I went ahead to the driver and requested him to go slower. Ordered him. Begged him. Yelled and screamed. The bus stopped, and the busmen asked me and my wife to get down. We refused. And then what? The bus continued at the same speed itself. The fact that i got out of it allowed is God’s pure blessing.

Can’t a citizen speak up against over-speeding in a public vehicle and have a hand in controlling its speed? Doesn’t the Indian law allow a reckless bus driver to be questioned by a passenger? I was prompted to actually think about these clauses after reading a news in the paper the other day. A young man named Vibin (27) from Chemanjery in Kozhikode was assaulted by bus drivers. He was travelling with his wife from Kozhikode to Guruvayoor with his wife Lareena in a bus named Shakthi. He works at the Koodamkulam Nuclear Plant. The bus, like any other, went at a crazy speed. Vibin must have had the same blazing ques-tion in his mind. Unlike the rest of the pas-sengers, he decided that his life was more precious.

He got up to tell the conductor to slow the vehicle down a bit. The conductor told him to go tell the driver. When Vibin went upto the driver to tell him the same, the driver did not as much as bat an eyelash. The driver went on with his audacity. Vibin got up again. It became an issue, a fight. Atlast when the bus reached Guruvayoor bus stand, all the passengers except Vibin got out. He was blocked by the busmen and assaulted by the group. Vibin has filed a complaint with the police. Whether the assailants will be brought to justice will stay a question mark.

After this incident, I found a remedy if I find myself in a similar situation. And I’d like to share the same with you. Buy a music player, preferably a Chinese made one, for a low price. Fill it with songs. Be sure to select only melody songs. Plug your ears with the earphones and close your eyes tightly. When you reach your stop, check all vital functions and get off the bus. If you use this technique, you may escape poor Vibin’s fate. Neither will you be embarrassed. Because I have finally found the answer to the blazing question: My honour is bigger than my life..!

Naveen Bhaskar [email protected]

AMDISTRIBUTORS

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Palarivattom, Cochin 25, KERALA.Tel: 0484 2348977, 97464 75705

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SMARTDRIVE Magazine English May 2013 Price Rs.25 Reg. No: 47296/12

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