7 Gadgets You Wish Would Come Along With Your Car

With more and more cars rolling out of the factory gates with built-in Bluetooth and navigation systems, the market for in-car gadgetry should be drying up but there is still a wealth of interesting tech add-ons for your automobile.

Of course, one reason for this is that cars have a much longer life-cycle than gadgets. A four-year-old sat nav is a relic but a four-year-old car still almost new.

photo courtesy: pinterest

5 Simple Modifications to Make Long Rides on Your Motorcycle Comfortable

Who doesn’t love new bells and whistles for their bike, but they should have aesthetic and functional purposes too. There are tons of modifications you can do in order to increase performance or appearance of the motorcycle. Here are the few worthy upgrades which you can do in a functional way. For daily use, these can be used as well as for touring purposes, which is our main intention.

pic courtesy: royalenfieldblog

Top 3 Most Luxurious Cars in the World

When it comes to luxurious life, cars are always on the top. People having craze and love for luxurious things will give first look for such cars with unique features, full luxury and comfort, and also its look. So this is about cars and features.

#1. Aston martin Rapide

Launched in May 2010
Priced at INR 3.92 Crore
4-door, high-performance sports saloon
Engine- 5.9 L V12

BMW: History And Untold Facts

This blog of mine is dedicated to all BMW fans. BMW has not only evolved as an elite brand across the globe but also equally famous in India. Very few know that BMW stands for “Bayerische Motoren Werke” . It was founded by an aircraft engine manufacturer named Karl F. Rapp in 1913. Karl was a resident of Munich, Germany.

Toyota Platinum Etios - A Car for your Family

With the rising urban population and the income levels, there has been an astonishing increase in the purchasing  power of the consumers. This is directly proportional to an increase in the number of people who own vehicles and many are planning in the near future. However, the Indian Market is quite different from the rest of the world. Budget cars which have low ownership cost, larger cabin, and luggage space, comfort for the entire family, are some of the key considerations for the Indian car buyers. Toyota, which is one of  the world's most established automobile brands has been taking the Indian Market seriously and have launched a series of models on the same lines in the past few years.
Their latest entrant being the Brand New Platinum Etios.

Looking at a Yesteryear's Car - HM CONTESSA

In the late 70`s and early 80`s, HM was ready to launch a new premium car in Indian car market. After producing ageing old ambassador for three long decades, HM was able to procure the tooling of the Vauxhall Victor Series. The production started in spring of 1984 and continued till 2002.

The Contessa had two major rivals i.e.  Standard 2000(based on ROVER SD1) and premier 118 NE (based on Fiat 124). But they lived a short life and hence Contessa attracted Indian buyers and government officials.

Engine & Transmission

Initially, the Contessa was launched with a 1.5L Petrol engine which produced 50hp with a 4-speed transmission. The engine was borrowed from the Ambassador. The car had a mere top speed of 125km/hr. People went gaga over the ride of the car but were disappointed by the engine`s performance.

By the late eighties, HM tied up with ISUZU and started producing their 1.8L petrol engine which produced 86hp with a 5-speed transmission. This sorted out the Achilles Heel of the Contessa i.e. Performance. Due to the rising cost of petrol, HM launched a Diesel variant of the car. It was a 2.0L Isuzu diesel engine. Towards the end of the production, HM launched a Turbo Diesel variant also. Isuzu motors had a decent pickup and performance as compared to the 1.5L petrol motor.


Interior & Exterior

The interior of the Contessa was leaps and bounds better than the likes of its competitors. Initially, the car was a bare bone yet spacious but HM frequently gave updates to the interior of the Contessa like A/C, Power Windows and Privacy Glass at the rear, Power Steering, Wooden Dashboard, Better quality of seats. The front passenger seat could be folded flat which meant the boss sitting at the rear could put his feet upon just like an airline first class seat.

On the exterior, the car had a resemblance of muscle cars of the 60`s &70`s, albeit with four doors and puny wheels. Early 80`s Contessa came with flat type single unit headlight which housed the indicator and headlight, slimmer chrome bumpers etc. Later on, the car was given a minor facelift with twin barrel headlight, fatter bumpers which housed the indicators. 

The car came shod with 13-inch wheels with 175/80R13 tyres. Also, the car had a variety of colours such as White, Maroon, Grey, Black, Champagne Gold and Kielder Green etc.


Suspension & Brakes

The USP of the car was it`s comfortable ride. The car had an exceptional soft rear suspension which was far better than the likes of the 118NE and standard 2000. To some extent, the car cannibalised the sale of the ambassador. The stopping power was adequate for a car of this size as it had vacuum assisted disk brakes at the front and drum brakes at rear.

So a car so good and probably ahead of its time in Indian automotive market was phased out from the market. Why you may ask? Well due to the advent of the other companies such as Ford with its Escort, Maruti with its Esteem and Honda with its City,etc.grabbed the market. Also due to ever rising petrol prices, it was pulled out of the market due to its petrol thirsty models.



Written by Gautam V Arora
EDM lover | Tech- Freak | A foodie by soul | Vintage car lover | Believes in today’s junk is tomorrow`s gold

The iconic Ford Mustang finally arrives in India

The iconic All American Ford Mustang has been unveiled in India. The Unveil was held in AutoExpo16. The original Mustang was conceived when Lee Iacocca, the then President of Ford America decided to launch a small, sleek car with 4 seats. It was launched back in 1964. The car at that time was launched in 2 body styles – Coupe & Convertible. Lee Iacocca wanted to have a car which could be customised according to the customer. This car created a new segment which is known as Pony car, where the car has a long hood and short decked boot. Due to the high cost of import and ever so tightening emission tests, Ford never launched the car in India.

But after 5 long decades, Ford has decided to launch the Mustang in India. Ford will bring the Mustang through CBU route and in RHD configuration. The Ford is launching the Mustang in its top of the range model which is with a V8 engine with a 6 speed-SelectShift automatic transmission. This engine is a 5.0L V8 which will churn out 435bhp @6500rpm and 400NM @4250rpm. Ford is bringing the Euro-Spec version in India, which will be assembled in London facilities of Ford.
Most of the features of the American model are retained such as LED equipped HID headlamps, LED taillamps, dual-zone HVAC system, launch control, electronic line-lock, Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) with Cross-Traffic Alert, adaptive cruise control, drive mode selector, rain-sensing wipers, dual front airbags with additional curtain and knee bags, and independent rear suspension to name a few.

This will be Ford's third launch in the company line-up in 2016 after the recently launched Ford Endeavour and the Figo family.  The Mustang will act as a halo product for the company and will be launched on July 13, 2016, at Buddh International Circuit, Noida.

The car is expected to be launched in the price range of Rs.60 to 70 lakhs and will compete with cars like BMW Z4, Audi TT, and Nissan GT-R (To be launched).

Written by Gautam V Arora

EDM lover | Tech- Freak | A foodie by soul | Vintage car lover | Believes in today’s junk is tomorrow`s gold

Can driving a Hybrid Car save our Planet?

For a country like India with choked and jam packed city roads, hybrid cars are the best solution. Due to heavy traffic jams and painfully slow speeds hybrid vehicles are the ideal vehicles to be used. A country where clutch-brake-clutch is a default driving mode, hybrid cars are a solution which are more fuel efficient compared to other cars. Hybrid cars use the concept of regenerative braking system which stores and releases energy from the brakes applied.

Image credit: www.innovative.life

With this view in mind the government has planned to get 6 to 7 million hybrid cars on road by 2020. It will recognize the need of hybrid vehicle space. It is a national plan and goal to implement this objective so as to save energy and use more fuel efficient cars. The automobile manufacturers and engineering companies are advertising various models of hybrid cars so as to follow the norms and regulation so of the government. These automobile companies are being paid incentives by the government so that the concept of hybridization is enabled as fast as possible.

The government is offering incentives up to Rs.29,000 for bikes and Rs. 1.38 lakhs for cars.  These Eco-friendly vehicles are fuel efficient and will emit fewer amounts of smoke and carbon dioxide in the environment which will gradually reduce the problem of global warming. As we all know higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can be very dangerous as we are the ones who are inhaling these pollutants. 30 percent of total oil consumption in India is consumed by the transport department itself. But with the introduction of hybrid cars this percentage level will gradually decrease.

These hybrid cars will also reduce the greenhouse gas emissions which are harmful for our environment. Hybrid kits are being developed by automobile companies that will help convert the passenger car into a hybrid car in less than one day. These battery operated hybrid cars are quite reasonable and cost around Rs.80,000 to Rs. 1.5 lakhs. This technology of hybrid cars needs to be spread across the world so as to implement it as soon as possible.

The automakers are starting to launch various types of hybrid cars in the market so as to attract customers and influence them to buy it. The market needs to be expanded in terms of hybrid cars. All the benefits of the hybrid cars must be told to the customers so that they are motivated to buy this car. Thus, if the hybrid cars are able to conquer the market and replace the old cars then there is still hope of making earth a better place to live in.


Article by Anisha Dutta
She is a content evangelist who believes that the Science of today is the Technology of tomorrow. 
She can be reached at https://twitter.com/Anisha_Dutta29