2012 – Zimbly Cars

“How To” Guide to Remove Sun Film From Your Car

May 31, 2012 admin

Last Friday evening I posted some stats on sun film and what I felt was going on. I had managed to escape getting caught by the cops for a whole week and was a bit cocky because of it. I needed to go out a couple of times on Saturday and each time, I saw people get caught for sun film. I even had to take a side road to avoid going through a standard police check post – why invite trouble I thought.

By then I had decided that I was going to get the film removed. Had checked with a local accessory shop who quoted 350 on May 20th. I go in to check if they would work on my car that evening, when the same guy without batting an eyelid said the price is now Rs 500! Says labor rates have gone up since they have no further hope of employment since the ban. They were doing the equivalent of a slash and burn farming – in this case more like rip and scrape ! I scooted from there resolute that I would not pay them a single paisa!

I worked on one car that evening starting at around 6:45 PM and finishing at 8 PM (some items left unfinished were rear quarter glass film removal and some cleanup of remnants of film stuck between glass and rubber beading. I woke up at 6 and finished some of the cleanup but couldn’t proceed further as my parents needed to use that car.

Worked on the other car starting at 8:15 AM and finished around 10 AM – this was including all the quarter glass film removal as well. Then spent another 20 minutes removing the quarter glass sun film from the first car.

: My Swift after film removal

Money saved: Rs 1000 (going by the accessory shop quoted Rs 500 per car).

For those that want to attempt a DIY here are the steps I followed with the items required in a FREE downloadable PDF: How To Remove Sun Film

Hope you found the steps useful. If you have any suggestions for improving this “How To” please reach Zimbly Cars here: http://cars.zimbly.com/contact-carszimbly/

Have you removed the sun film yet ? Do let me know !

Sun Film Ban Infocharts

May 25, 2012 admin

My last post To S(h)un-film or not to S(h)un-Film? lead me to think a lot about the ban and around the ban from what all could be going on behind the scene. Here is an attempt to detail this out further using some Google Skills, Excel skills and some free time! I hope I don’t start seeing conspiracies in everything. I found it interesting that so much data is available for India online and free ! Here is the PDF file I created:

The Chennai Traffic Police were doing some stop , check , fine and rip operations in couple of parts of the city. However this seems to have lost steam as the week progressed. I am still driving with the sun film on and Rs 100 fine ready to be paid in hand. If caught I will pay the fine and remove the film only post that. Have also resolved to not fix it back later as well !

Do let me know if you have questions and also please do share this with your friends. Do feel free to re-post/share !

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

May 9, 2012 admin

: 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 ?

May 9, 2012 admin

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) !

May 4, 2012 admin

: 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 ?

May 3, 2012 admin

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 !

May 2, 2012 admin

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.

Vehicle Photos in Automotive Advertising

May 1, 2012 admin

: Mahindra Thar

It started as a one off thing but over time I have started noticing the embellishments that are done while preparing vehicles for photo shoots used for print ads and for the websites of the manufacturers selling vehicles in India. I know it’s the whole point of advertising to sell the product in their best possible light – but I feel these points should be known especially if you are in the market for a new vehicle.

Visuals of the cars on manufacturer websites usually are of the highest trim variant which comes with body colored bumpers, door handles, exterior body colored mirrors, alloys and in some cases wider tires.(All Manufacturers)(Best Example – even the Maruti 800 on its website is shown with Alloys. The Nano however does show wheel covers in most photos with some even without the wheel covers with just wheel caps)
Sometimes even the top end trim may not come with alloys – but still all photos will be with Alloys! ( Eg. Tata Grande)
In a lot of cases the photos are shot with wider than stock tires and with a much lower aspect ratio.(Tata Nano/ Tata CS).
Mudflaps are usually omitted. Especially the el-cheapo ones given for free by the dealers.(Most Marutis and Hyundais)
Dark tints are there on all windows including the front window- usually so dark that they could never be street legal. (Every single manufacturer does this)
Body Kits are usually added to boring models.(Toyota Etios Liva)
Boring/ugly rear ends are usually not shown – except for the 360 degree views where they have no choice.(Swift D’Zire, Toyota Etios)
Interiors are usually again shown of the top end trim level with steering mounted controls, tachometer, climate control(if present), music system and premium seating material. The lower trim levels without music system , speakers, parcel tray, floor mats, boot mats etc are never shown. (All Manufacturers)
Vehicle colors indicated and the actual color of the vehicle may have next to nothing to do with each other. Only colors like white, black and silver may look similar in real life.

Photoshop:

Colors are usually bumped up in contrast/saturation to pop off the page.(All Manufacturers)
Wheel are blurred to indicate it is in motion. (Maruti Swift usually looks like it is going to crash into something. Usually the rear wheels are not moving.)
The Mahindra Thar in the photo used as the cover for this post – looks absolutely pasted in ! Also note the bull bar,headlight grill,fog lamp,insect grill, alloys ,tint and the lack of driver :-). Oh and by the way the front right tire is just a bit smaller than the left. The weird lighting under the vehicle is very suspicious as well.

Open Challenge:

List the manufacturer websites where entry and mid trim variant photos are shown in the comments below.

8 Reasons to Hate the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga !

April 19, 2012 admin

There is a lot of mixed love and hate for the new Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and there is the news of 10,000+ bookings already within 5 days. While everyone will tell you why to buy the Ertiga – here is a list of why you shouldn’t buy it:

You want more versatility of seating and luggage than what is present in a small footprint – and not necessarily need 7 seats – go buy the Honda Jazz
You want a vehicle with a lot of first and second row leg room and boot space – go buy the Nissan Sunny !
You want a vehicle with great quality in and out, premium brand and luxury feel – go buy something from Mercedes or Audi or BMW
You want a 7-seater primarily for highway use and want to carry luggage for all 7 along with you all the time – better get the Toyota Innova and a roof rack and maybe even a trailer
You want a rugged off roader that will carry 7 people and go off-road – go buy the Mahindra Thar or build up one from an Army disposal MM550 ;-).
You have a family of giants (both tall and wide) – the Ertiga will be too small for you – go buy the Tata Winger/Force Traveller !
You want the laser edge of technology and features – you should have been already in line for the Mahindra XUV500.
You want to take the vehicle to the race track and are particular about cornering and response – go buy the New Ford Fiesta

Test Drive: Etios Liva GD SP Diesel

April 9, 2012 admin

LIV TMRRW 2DAY is the tag line Toyota is using for its entry level Hatch – pitched at the millennial generation looking for a high quality brand name car – easy to drive and maintain. Suddenly after a long time feeling the need to do a TD – I requested for a test drive through the Toyota website on a whim on a Thursday afternoon scheduling a time for the next day 5 PM. No call no email till Friday morning when a person called to confirm the test drive request and mentioned the sales person would call and confirm the time for the TD. This happened like clockwork within a few minutes. There was a change in plan from my side and requested the timing to be between 1:30 to 2 PM instead. This was agreed to. I gave my office address as the location for them.

At 1:28 PM I get a call from the sales person that he was outside our gate ! Wow – for the first time the TD vehicle has shown up at the time specified. The sales guy made sure the vehicle was turned around and made easy to drive out for me (from a service lane still under construction that had open manhole covers) . That was a nice touch.

Test drive car was in Ultramarine Blue and was of GD SP (Safety Pack) trim. The color reminded me a lot of my Getz Electric Blue :-). The test drive car came with a body kit that was an add on accessory – not part of the standard – but it definitely made the car look interesting and a bit sportier. The car without the under body skirts and spoiler looks very plain and unappealing.

There were stickers on the car to indicate it was a test drive /demo vehicle. Great – good to know am not driving a customer car. Digital odometer had around a bit over 9K Kms. Interior of the vehicle was spic and span and clean.

Steering wheel was nice and chunky and of the right size to hold with a thicker portion at 10 and 2. Steering wheel had height adjust but the seat did not. Seat felt a bit lower than needed but I was comfortable within a minute of sitting in it with just adjustment for leg room.

For my height (5’7″) there was decent leg space in the driver seat and my left leg didn’t foul with the dashboard like it did in the Figo. No dead pedal available.

1st gear slotted in nicely and surely and starting off was a piece of cake with the clutch being light and easy to operate even for a first time user of the car. No heavy diesel car clutch issues I was expecting.

Pickup from stop was decent enough – didn’t push it but when moved into second the vehicle seemed a bit slow to respond. Unfortunately the lack of the tachometer meant I had no assistance to tell if I was shifting too early etc.

Drive in 3rd and 4th were decent – again within city roads the ride was smooth and minor bumps etc were not noticed. Even on a badly paved road at slow speed the ride was comfortable. Only one sharp bump made the suspension make an awkward sound and the vehicle sprung up a bit.

The center mounted speedo is easy to read and I got used to it in no time.

Air-conditioning seemed adequate at fan speed #2 in the afternoon Chennai heat – but again the sales guys had the Ac running before the TD itself. Over #2 the noise was a bit much.

Doors felt a bit thin and didn’t have a solid feel on closing.

Rear hatch has to be opened via central locking and the hand grip of the opening was a bit awkward.

Positives:

GD trim comes with ABS. Need to go to GD SP for Airbags
Comfortable front seats – adjustable headrest can be lived with
Amazing space at the rear seat – 3 people in comfort with around 4 inches to spare of legroom till the front seat (set for my driving position).
Flat rear floor makes middle passenger comfortable
Fairly decent and usable bootspace of around 251L. When folded it goes to around 500L.
Service interval of 10K after initial service at 1K. Also option of Smile service packages for lower costs.
3 years 1Lakh Km warranty
ARAI claimed mileage of 23.59 (Not able to test mileage in the short drive I did)

Negatives:

Noise from the engine sounded like a share auto. This was heard over the AC. I guess one will get used to it over time- but for the entire duration of the test drive – this bothered me. The Figo in comparison had a muted thrum and the Maruti diesels had a similar muted thrum that was not annoying.
Horn sounded adequate but was only a single one.

Missing features (that would make this a truly great car):

Tachometer
Split folding rear seat
Seat height adjust
Music system (strangely they have speakers installed for the GD SP trim but no music system)
Fog lamps
Alloys
Climate control / switch for fresh air/recirculation – the slider is from 1980s !!!

Availability at this time is around 30-45 days. Price for top end GD SP Diesel trim on road Chennai is 7.14L.

Overall:

You get a Toyota badge on your vehicle for the price. Ride and handling are decent enough. Feature list is a bit short and makes the Figo seem like a major value for money deal.

Also points to think about – do you really need a diesel – if not then can you spend a bit more for the Etios sedan (in petrol) ? The pricing for the top end Etios Sedan diesel on road I felt was a bit too much coming at around 9.46 on road.

Other Notes:

PS: Images are from www.toyotabharat.com & toyotaetiosliva.in

I just noticed – almost every image of the Liva on the Toyota websites – are with the body kit and spoiler and with alloys (found only on the VX petrol trim) !!!! One has to pay extra for the body kit to be added to the diesels.

<- What it looks like without the body kit (see circled areas). Couldn’t find any other image without the body kit on the site :-).

<- Looks much more improved with body kit, spoiler and alloys(see circled areas). Fog lamps as well.(Click on image to view larger size)