Zimbly Cars

To S(h)un-film or not to S(h)un-Film?

Sushil — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:00:13 +0000

: My Sun Filmed Swift

The Indian Supreme Court probably wanted to take a break from looking at more weighty matters and chose to focus on a frivolous PIL submitted by someone who claims to represent the “Mango” People (Aam Aadmi). Supposedly sun film is the cause for all the law and order issues in the country and that it should be banned altogether – there is no legal % of visual light transmission that can be used. Only factory fitted tinted and laminated glass that conforms to the CMVR rules can be used.

Legality apart -the sun film manufacture/sales industry supposedly provides around 150 crore to the Indian economy. These people will be badly hit if all sun film is made illegal to use. There is a fee for getting the sun film removed – this is not something that is usually done – but now the installers themselves are getting a chance to make money by “assisting” the removal for a fee of anywhere between 300 -500 Rs ! They hope to milk this for at least a month and then raise petitions to remove the ban. The ban will get removed within no time. Then again people will flock to get the film added back. With all the FUD going on people will gladly shell out more money to get costlier “clear” film that reduces heat transmission. The sun film companies make money either way.

Doing a net search shows sun film bans have been talked about since 2007 in parts of India – but this has not been consistently enforced. I remember having a dilemma when buying my Swift(photo in this post) in 2007 about putting sun film but since there was nothing clearly specified or enforced I went in with tints with 50% VLT which were legal at the time. However now 5 years later the same tints are now illegal. Our 7 year old Getz has films with around 70% VLT as well.

My Next Steps:

I personally will wait and watch what will play out. All speculation online points towards the drives to strip out sun-film to be strong for the next month or so at most if not less
Plan on keeping Rs 100-1000 as the fine for getting caught and pay it and get a receipt for the fine as well. Why the range – because the cops do not have a clear fine specified – it seems to vary !
If forced to remove the sun film by the cops I will do so – but feel I will also park at the side and then make sure they catch and remove sun film from all vehicles that go by including cops, ministers, actors etc.
I will not put back the sun film on my cars after that – hate to spend more money on a commodity which can be legal one day and magically be made illegal the next. Also hate the feeling of being taken for a ride by the cops and the legal system which is not consistent nor effective in its mandates.

Points to Ponder:

Different states seem to be interpreting the rule differently – some targeting only the darker tints while some are targeting even the lightest and even the clear films – if you are planning drives across states – make sure you drive without sun film to be in the clear.
Are the cops so good at catching anti-social elements/terrorists by visually identifying them from a distance ? This is assuming they don’t already move around wearing some disguise in crowded buses and trains !
As many online have commented – is there a way to measure the crime rate coming down drastically when vehicles do not have sun film ?
Wont the kidnappers/rapists start using panel vans/load carrying trucks instead of just vehicles with dark tints?

Some Fun:

Just because of a rising trend in vehicle accidents – is the solution a ban of all vehicles altogether?
Just like knives are used in murders – they should be banned altogether
Terrorists use hotels, houses etc – so can they be banned as well ? Or as an alternative – ban all windows, doors and hey why stop there – ban all walls – we just need protection from the rain and just need the roof over our heads – walls should not be there – just to make sure all the moral police can happily peer into our bedrooms and bathrooms !
Full face helmets with tints on them obscure the faces of the riders/also there may be some nefarious activities going on under the tinted face shields- can they be banned as well ?

Question:
What are your thoughts on this ban ? Do let me know and what will be your action – comply or get caught or what ?

Update – May 18th,2012:

Today’s news papers indicate that the Chennai City Traffic Police (CTP) has started their drive against sun films. They have posted a notice on their FB page as well. All are free to comment on this drive. I already have !

Do Show Your Support:

Do show your support against this ban by “Liking” this FB page calling for a Movement Against Supreme Court’s Decision to Totally Ban Suncontrol Films. There is also a petition here “The Supreme Court of India: Reconsider decision on a blanket ban on car films.”

Is This The Next Ford Mustang ?

Sushil — Wed, 09 May 2012 04:57:59 +0000

International news on Zimbly Cars is a rare occurance but could not resist this one about speculation of the next Ford Mustang to incorporate styling cues of the Evos Concept from Inside Line.

Inside Line has come up with some renderings that mash together existing Mustang design and the Evos Concept. The overall looks interesting though. (Rendered images of the blue Mustang on this page are from Inside Line website).

Why am I bothered – well the Ford Mustang has held a special place in my mind always and has been a car I have wanted to own during my Detroit days. The reality of having to struggle with a RWD in snow was what stopped me.

The Mustangs featured in Bullit and Gone In 60 Seconds (both the original and remake) and countless other movies have played no little part in adding on to their timeless charm.

My last 2 weeks in the US I had planned on renting a Mustang but as luck would have it the rental agency didnt have it in stock so had to drive around a stupid Monte Carlo instead . Anyways I hope Ford will sell the Mustang in India someday and that I will be able to save up enough to buy one (before I am too old/unhealthy to drive) !

Malayali Car Enthusiast to drive Tata Nano 25000 Km (Around India in 80 days) !

Sushil — Fri, 04 May 2012 05:55:05 +0000

: Photo Source : www.manoetnano.com

1 Car Nut + 1 Wild Dream + 1 Tata Nano + 25000Km of Road + 80 Days = Recipe for Epic Road Trip ? Definitely !

Kochi based auto enthusiast and long road trip geek (among a long list lot of other illustrious achievements) Mr Thomas Chacko cooked up this dream road trip while editing the trip details of Suresh Joseph who covered all Indian state capitals and all zonal railway headquarters in a Maruti Swift. Rather than do the same road trip he wanted to add some more excitement – by choosing to add in the farthest points of the country in all directions possible , making the distance to cover touch 25,000 Km and to do this in around 2.5 months. He managed to sweet talk Mr Ratan Tata(through a letter) to have Tata Motors sponsor a Tata Nano as well. Mr Chacko will be doing this trip without a convoy of on road assistance as well. He is planning on doing all the driving himself but will have company with him across the trip from his family – his wife, son, daughter, brother, sister and brother-in-law.The road trip has kicked off on May 3rd and is to conclude by July 20th,2012.

Just looking at the plans things seem easy – plain math says that 25000 Km in 80 days would come to 312 Km per day. Though the details of the specific daily routes/distances is not mentioned – it would mean driving a minimum of 6+ hours (assuming an average speed of around 55Kmph) each day. Of course this may vary depending on road conditions and traffic.

Using the Nano for such trips is not new – The Nano Superdrive event in 2010 covered 15,000 kilometers across 36 cities in around 26 days with multiple cars and drivers primarily with the intent to set at rest fears of the Nano’s reliability and safety. The Nano(s) came out of the experience unscathed.

However I wish there was a bit more to this road trip than the distance, endurance of man, machine and time factor – am sure its still not too late to use the publicity from this drive to benefit some charity or other. So far all that is clear is that the journey will be documented in a book called Mano Et Nano which obviously will be printed by Mr Chackos own publishing company. Will be a fun read am sure either way.

Do follow the updates from his blog www.manoetnano.com (I wish the site is updated frequently – it hasn’t been as of writing this post). Some funny comments to the initial post on the site ask if the Nano would crack first or the Chacko would ?

I salute Mr Thomas first for being a car nut and for being crazy enough to embark on such a trip. Am also happy to see his family come forward to participate and support him on the trip. It is truly an inspiration to see such road trips being planned and executed. Hope to do something like this before my bucket kicking.

What to do – You are driving and hear a siren ?

Sushil — Thu, 03 May 2012 01:30:02 +0000

This is one of the first of a series I hope to write covering some tips and tricks useful in general city traffic and driving building in a flavour of road safety.

Situation: You hear a siren while driving a car/two wheeler. What should you do ? Click on the image below for a flowchart on how to go about this.

Key Do’s:

Switch off the music if playing in your vehicle and immediately determine the location of the siren.
Safely and quickly do what is necessary to enable speedy movement of the vehicle to its destination

Key Don’ts:

Block the vehicles progress
Chase after the vehicle after it has passed to utilize its pathway to make good time.

A Request:

Please provide your inputs / suggestions on similar issues / items to write about.

Please share this to your friends and lets do our bit to drive safely while fully aware of rules and regulations – hope we can be the change !

Attention Bachelors: Create your Auto Themed Bucket List before its too late !

Sushil — Wed, 02 May 2012 01:30:01 +0000

If your days of carefree life with minimal responsibilities(read- bachelorhood) are numbered, do take some time to prioritize how you spend your last years/months/days. After the noose – you will be expected to involve the other half in pretty much everything and you have to start thinking of a variety of things such as - purchase of a residence, loans to be repaid (college/home), future family(if kids on the way), emergency funds, kids education funds, annual holidays, household expenses – maintenance / first time purchase or replacement of existing – TV, Fridge, sofa, beds, washing machine, dish washer, vacuum cleaner, water purifier, household items, health care etc etc …this list goes on.

Rather than spend the rest of your (married) life wishing you had done this earlier – take a look at these and make your own bucket list (A Top movie of 2007/2008).(Buy the movie on Flipkart on VCD/DVD/Blue Ray if you don’t have it already – I definitely recommend watching this).

This Bucket List includes both products and experiences – what is listed is not a list you should blindly copy but use as inspiration to build out your own list. This could be a start to your own life time Bucket List as well that includes everything you want to do before finally giving that big kick to your bucket. Also make sure you remember this list when you define your budget for spending money as well .

Big Ticket/Luxury/Are you out of your mind:

Brand New Out of the ordinary vehicle – either a too small car like the Nano/ Reva or a 4×4 like the Thar or an SUV like the Bolero/ Scorpio etc.
Project Vehicle – Restoration of an antique / sentimental vehicle from scrap to a show piece
Jeeps – this is a topic in itself – If you ever had dreams of owning/driving an open topped 4×4 off road -and the associated accessories required for this. If there is only one item to have on your must have – this would be it. All others I feel would be possible with a lot of sweet talking
Convertibles – slightly more acceptable than the previous one
Vehicle with an out of ordinary colour – red/ yellow/ bright blue etc etc.
Design and build your own custom hot rod/sports car/replica/kit car.

You don’t really need this/Mid Level (you may get away with some of these – spread out over time):

In Car Entertainment – Touchscreens HUs/ head rest mounted displays /Speakers/ Amps etc.
GPS Navigation devices
Alloys / Up-sized Alloys / tires
Bluetooth /handsfree kits
Leather / Sports seats
Race tickets for events outside your city/state of residence (For. e.g. One F1 Event in India )
Performance/rally driving school training fees
DIY Racing Simulator – Gaming console, steering wheel, racing seats +big screen TV
Meeting a racing legend – Schumi/ Kimi / etc etc
Driving long distance across your home country / Driving long distance to some exotic location of your choice
Attending auto shows outside your city/state of residence

Lowest Level(Lowest impact – and cheapest – you may get minimal resistance but WW-III wont break out either if you get any of these):

Track Day outings and associated charges
Brand specific merchandize – Caps/Keychains/Clothes/Accessories etc etc
Subscription to Auto magazines like Autocar, TopGear etc
Movies – car themed movies – Bullit, Fast & Furious series,
Gaming PC/Game Consoles and associated racing games, gaming accessories – mice, steering wheels etc.

Again just so that it doesn’t seem that your life is over after you get married – just that you have one more voice that will speak practically (in addition to your own conscience ) – and that your priorities may change.

Please do share your own lists as well through the comments.

Please make sure you cross off at least one big ticket item before marriage and then try to aim for the smaller ones each year.

PS: Make sure your criteria for a future spouse has “must be an auto enthusiast” as one of the key items.