Zimbly Cars – Page 9 – Zimblify everything …

Long Term Hyundai Getz GLS Review (4 yrs)

April 16, 2009 admin

We recently completed the 4 year anniversary of getting the Hyundai Getz GLS as of March 25th. It has covered around 20 thousand kilometers till now. The mileage has been low since it is my father that drives it during the week and I drive it during the weekends. Took me some time to write up this review – it is a long long one so I apologize in advance. Plus I can say you have been warned.

Why & how we chose the car: In 2005 we were looking for a replacement to the 9 year old Maruti 800 and we wanted a bigger car. At that point we had the Ford Ikon as well so we didnt need another sedan. The 800 was used for all errands and trips to places with bad parking while the Ikon was used only when going out to places with good parking and to Church etc. The primary driver was to be my Father so the primary requirement was something easy to drive and easy to park.

Features available was also a criteria. Having been spoilt with the Ikon I wanted power windows, central & remote locking. With the Ikon’s rear glass fogging up frequently I was adamant about wanting the rear wash/wipe and defogger. We started the process late February 2005. The decision was made for a hatchback and the budget initially set at around 4.3 L. A quick look around showed the choices with the features we wanted as the Santro and the Wagon-R. I was not planning on even trying the Indica, the Corsa Sail or the Palio which were also available at the time for various reasons.

Wagon-R blues: We went to Maruti and wanted to see the Wagon-R. The dealership we first visited didn’t have a demo car at their dealership when we went in so had to wait for them to bring one to us. One silver one was brought home and I test drove it and found to my horror that its speedometer was disconnected. Decided then and there that I am not buying from that dealership at all.

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Top Car Chase & Race Movies (with free pdf)

April 12, 2009 admin

: Eleanor the star of Gone in Sixty Seconds

Car themed movies are my favourite type. I have extended it into movies with really good car chase scenes. I have been carrying a list of around 60 movies to add to my existing collection for the past 2 years and adding them slowly one at a time when I find them. These are Hollywood movies in English and range from 1900 till 2009. I still have not built up a non-English collection (just noticed that there seems to be a good number of Japanese and French movies that fit the car theme). This weekend, I delved a bit deeper into the data of movies available and tried grouping them into categories and also sorted them by year. In the process my list of 60 suddenly became 135. I have added this list as a free pdf download. As of now, I own around 30 movies that I call car themed movies. If you have to ask who Eleanor, Bumblebee, Herbie, The Judge and General Lee are you should probably stop here and decide if you want to read the remaining.

The current decade (2000’s) seems to have the maximum number of car themed movies and movies with car chases occupying key parts of the storyline.The next closest decade was the 70’s. We are indeed in car-crazy times :-). The 80’s and 90’s didnt seem to be that into cars, did they ?

The movies can be grouped into racing movies(including all forms of racing like NASCAR,Champ car, Drag strip, street racing, illegal racing), chase movies (car chases and crashes), Bio-pics(about famous racing legends), Horror , Drama (deeper story around car theme) and also finally about driving( typically high speed driving, stunts, long distance, getaways). Chases in movies comprise close to 35% of movies on my list and Race themed movies comprise 46% of the list. Interestingly the percentage of movies having critically acclaimed chase scenes in the 70s was around 18% and race themed movies at 76%.In the last 9 years the ratio is 57% chase scenes and 28% on race themed. The ratio has turned 180 degrees around in 30 years !

The earliest car themed movie I could find was the 1913 movie –Speed Kings, based on automobile racing. If there is anything earlier than that please let me know. There was a movie called Speed in 1935 that was also based on auto racing which was pretty popular then.

All time popular cars and movies they appeared in:

The Bond movie Goldfinger (1964) was the first movie the Ford Mustang appeared in (it was launched in 1964 as well). Also this was the first movie the Bond car was set as the Aston Martin DB5. The same car now owned by Spielberg appears in 2002 movie Catch Me If You Can.
The Herbie Series is probably the most loved series with the VW Beetle Show up in 5 movies from 1968 till 2005.
The DeLorean in the Back to the Future series shows up in 3 movies from 19855 to 1990.
The Mustang Fastback “Eleanor” shows up in two movies of the same name Gone in Sixty Seconds from 1974 & 2000. The second GISS movie seems to be the first of many car themed movies that were released after 2000.
Ford Mustang: Bullit(1986),Gone in 60 Seconds(1974),Gone in 60 Seconds(2000),Fast & Furious Tokyo Drift(2006), I Am Legend( 2007), Death Race (2008)
Mini Cooper: Italian Job(1969),Italian Job(2001) & Bourne Identity(2002).
Ford Gran Torino: Charlies Angels : Fullthrottle (2004) , Starsky & Hutch (2004) and Clint Eastwood movie Gran Torino (2009), Fast and Furious (2009) has a 1972 Gran Torino Sport.
Pontiac GTO: Two Lane Blacktop(1971),Bullit(1986), XXX(2002). The Last Ride(2004) a TV movie featured the GTO “Judge” and also had the latest iteration of the Pontiac GTO.
Chevrolet Corvette: 1970 Corvetter in Death Race 2000(1973), 1973 Stingray in Corvette Summer (1978)
Chevrolet Camaro: Transformers (2007) had the 1977 and 2009 Camaros, 2 Fast 2 Furious(2003) had a 1969 Camaro, 2009 Fast and Furious has a 1973 Camaro.
Dodge Charger: Dirty Mary Crazy Larry(1974),The Fast and the Furious (2001),Dukes of Hazzard(2005) – “The General Lee”
Dodge Challenger: Vanishing Point(1971), 2 Fast 2 Furious(2003)
Scary Cars: Modified 1971 Lincoln Continental in The Car(1977), 1958 Plymouth Fury in Christine(1983) , 1954 Buick Roadmaster in From a Buick 8(Upcoming movie for 2009).

: Cover of From a Buick 8 : A Novel

Upcoming Car Themed movies for 2009 and beyond are:
- From a Buick 8 ( Horror movie based on a scarily good Stephen King book expected in 2009)
- Transformers II: Revenge of the Fallen (The transformers sequel expected around June 2009)
- Cars II (The sequel to Pixar Cars expected in 2012)
- The Limit( A movie on Grand Prix racing with Toby Maguire expected in 2012)
(Do check up on www.carsplusmovies.com for more updates. Its a great site with tonnes of car movie related links. I got the above list from there.)

Download: You can download my list of movies as a free PDF file download. Do take a look and let me know if you come across any good car themed movie I may have missed from the list. Also do pass on the pdf to your friends who may be interested.

Tata Xenon Copy Editing Fail

April 8, 2009 admin

I went to the Tata Xenon Site today after seeing an ad on one of the automotive websites I frequent. I was just telling someone that the Xenon would be a hell of a sight with a roll bar, wide tires and whole bank of heavy duty rally type lamps on the roof and of course a high lift kit – just the thing scare a lot of cabbies/autos/bikers out of the way :-). However looking at the site I may have to revise my opinion of the vehicle of being an “All Terrain Conqueror” – the copy makes me think it is not a conqueror but a conquest. Click on the image to see the “fail”.

Dear Tata Motors,

I tried to contact you with this but this resulted in another page that didnt work – another “fail”. Here is a screenshot of my attempt (I blanked out my email). FYI – The submit button doesnt show up on your site. Finally I still filled out a lot of info I didnt want to and then submitted. Hope someone reads it. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Regards,

Sushil

Can I add this modification to my car?

April 6, 2009 admin

: Image via Wikipedia

A common question and dilemma a lot of prospective vehicle owners have are around what modifications they can perform to their vehicle and what are best purchased as factory installed options. This post attempts to guide such buyers through that decision.

Modifications that cannot/should not be done after purchase of a new vehicle without considerable effort & cost and putting your warranty in question and having to deal with questionable quality:

Adding/changing air conditioning/heating /cooling systems/climate control
Changing engine
Changing from petrol to diesel
Changing from manual gear shifter to automatic
4×2 to 4×4
Modifications to doors,bonnet,trunk
Increasing/decreasing ground clearance
Rear defogger/wiper
Additional interior space
Additional fuel tank capacity
Performance/mileage modifications (Turbochargers, superchargers exhaust systems, chip modifications, tri-phase electrical, intake systems)
Changing vehicle color
Changing exterior so much that the vehicle is not recognizable. Some examples can be found at:Top Gear: http://www.topgear.com/content/timetoburn/sections/carbage/pages/0532/ & Team BHP: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/collection-best-threads/1954-pics-weird-wacky-mod-jobs.html#post21498

: Image by icathing via Flickr

: Image by joes2005via Flickr

(Please do think many times before you go down this path. Your/your parents’ hard earned money may make you the laughing stock of the world).

Thumb rule: If your rear spoiler is more than a few inches taller than boot/roof and looks like clothes can be dried on it and still does not have anywhere near as much horsepower as a spaceship: YOU ARE OVER DOING IT. You have enough warning from all websites ridiculing “show but no go” / “rice rockets” .

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Most Popular Vehicle Colors – 2000 to 2008

March 28, 2009 admin

DuPont releases data on vehicle color popularity for major markets across the world and in 2008 have included India data separately. I hope it will be tracked going forward as well. Here is the DuPont report for 2008. Lots of interesting data point there including variants on core color types, finishing, textures etc. While mentioning the textures something very interesting is Chrome finish paint. An example is seen here.

They have been tracking such data for US, Europe and Japan for close to ten years now. Though they haven’t given it in one single chart – Zimbly Cars spent the time to collate it from data made public by DuPont. Here is the trend for the past 8 years.

**2001 – I wasn’t able to find data for this year on the net – if anyone has it or knows someone in DuPont please let me know.

The most popular colors over the past 8 years for cars are White, Silver, Black and Blue. These have been fairly consistent and have not lost their charm over time.

Red has been a consistent color with no changes in popularity since 2004. Grey has been steadily increasing in popularity since 2004 and may be a serious contender to Black.

Black though considered a timeless color went through a small dip in popularity between 2002 and 2005 but has been increasing in popularity since 2005.

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Running Costs – Nano Vs Competition

March 25, 2009 admin

: age via Wikipedia

I came across an article in Money Today that talked about the running costs of the Tata Nano compared to the Maruti 800, the Santro and the Swift. It was a very interesting read especially since I was wanting to put up a running cost calculator of my own on this website. I felt a better comparison would be of the Tata Nano with the Maruti Suzuki 800, the Maruti Suzuki Alto, the Maruti Suzuki Omni, the base Hyundai Santro and the Tata Indica Xeta GL. These are the 5 cheapest vehicles currently available. I feel there is no point comparing it with the Swift. The only true comparison is with the M800. The others are much costlier.

I have used Chennai prices as my reference. Insurance values come from Carwale.com. For registration and life tax have used a standard 8%. I have used a different way to calculate costs and have added some parameters as well. Of course most of the parameters may need to be tweaked for actual use but hope this gives an idea.

Please click on the below image to view the comparison chart.

For 3 years the Nano has the lowest running cost with the 800 close behind. The Alto and the Omni are very similarly priced while the Santro and Xeta are also similarly positioned.

graphrunning1 Of course the maintenance costs of the Tata Nano still need to be seen. Hope the quality of the finished vehicle will be decent enough.

Am still working on an online running cost calculator. Will add it in when I am done with it. Till then do let me know your comments on this comparison. If you feel like you could also play with the excel I used to create it runningcostcalculator.

Accessorizing The Nano

March 16, 2009 admin

If you are planning to buy a Tata Nano and want help deciding how to accessorize it-read on…

A lot depends on the trim level you plan to buy. If you go in for the base version, you spend less on the car upfront and have money to spare to accessorize. You could also go in for a middle-of-the-road variant as well and accessorize accordingly. If you can afford the top of the line variant and still are not satisfied with the accessories, you may want to look at a costlier car :-).

The 3 variants details known as of now are (Source: MotorBeam.com, Vicky.in):

: Image via Wikipedia

Base ( On Road Price Approx: Rs. 1,10,000)

CX(Adds the following on the Base)( On Road Price Approx: Rs. 1,30,000)

Hopefully the CX gets body colored bumpers.

LX (Along with the features of Base CX Adds the following)( On Road Price Approx: Rs. 1,60,000)

You have to define your vehicle budget as the first step. Based on that you

: Image via Wikipedia

can determine what you need to or what you can add on as an accessory. Also decide if you have that sum all at once or if you need to spread it over a period of time.
For an all-at-once deal you could either spend it all on ICE and interiors, exteriors or on performance options or on a mix of it all. For a bit at a time you may want to do the exterior at one time, interior at another etc.

Factory installed options (must do at booking time):
The stop start technology is a must have in addition to getting a diesel if this is at all given as a factory option. This would improve mileage by a great deal. As of now only the petrol’s will be launched.

Must have exterior list:
Get exterior rear-view mirrors to make sure you are aware of what traffic is there outside. A single one shouldn’t cost more than Rs. 500. (Required on all models from Base upwards)

Must have interior:
Music system and a set of 4 speakers. This on a minimum would cost you around Rs. 8, 000.

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When upgrading your existing car

March 13, 2009 admin

The options available to a buyer have increased many-fold from early days where India had only the Fiat & Ambassador to choose from.This post attempts to help a buyer who already has owned a vehicle for some time and is looking to upgrade/change the vehicle. The way society/your peer group works you are expected to go on a path of A segment to B segment to C to D each time you look for a new vehicle. This approach is fine for someone with money and not very clear requirements and just wanting to ape the peer group.

This post is not for them but for someone who has a budget limiting them and for with a lot of unclear requirements. This is for someone having to squeeze out the last bit of value from their hard earned money.

Most usually you are changing your vehicle because you need more space. Be clear if you want interior space or luggage space or space for more passengers.

If you just need interiors that are roomy you can choose from a large tall-boy or B+ segment hatch which is still cheaper than most sedans. ( Hyundai Getz, Hyundai I10, Maruti Suzuki Wagon-R, Maruti Suzuki Swift ).

: Image via Wikipedia

If you need luggage space then a vehicle with a proper boot is required while if you need to ferry many people a mini-van /SUV is required.

Longer drives with luggage and mainly adult passengers may need a sedan or SUV / MUV while 2 adults and 2 children a hatchback may still be fine.

Frequent Long trips/road trips for multiple days warrant a look at SUV / MUV/minivans. ( Mahindra Bolero , Mahindra Scorpio, Mahindra Xylo , Tata Sumo, Tata Sumo Grande , Tata Safari, Toyota Innova, Chevrolet Tavera )

2006 Toyota Innova — Image by Shanghai Daddy via Flickr

Is there a vehicle that appeals to you in the list meeting all or most of your requirements? If there is you are lucky – just take a test drive to make sure.

If you had issues/missed features in your prior vehicle try looking for options that overcome those limits. For e.g. you didn’t have power windows & central locking on your first car and got tired of rolling up the windows and checking the doors were locked each time – you should look at a car with all of these.

Choose a color that you yearned for while you were driving your previous vehicle and for better exterior finishes. Maybe try a switch from a metallic color to non metallic color or vice versa. Or try a bright/bold color after a dull one. (I have made such a switch from driving boring silver cars one after the other to bright red and bright blue –

: Image via Wikipedia

makes finding your car in a large parking lot very easy).

Look for better quality/ looking/feeling interiors. Nowadays beige or two tone interiors are available instead of the usual dull grey. If your car will need to withstand a lot of rough use you may be better off with grey interiors since beige ones look dirty with rough use.

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Waiting for the Tata Nano

February 27, 2009 admin

Why should you buy the Tata Nano ?

The Tata Nano fits the budget for a small first/additional car. Taxes and insurance will not add much to the overall price of the car.

It is a definite improvement in safety and convenience over a two wheeler

nano1

It is the best size for crowded city streets and for peak traffic.

It gives good mileage (supposedly around 20 km/l)

It will be easy to park due to its size.

It will be easy to maintain due to the wide reach of Tata dealerships.

It will have reasonable maintenance costs since the input parts itself are capped within the 1 lakh mark.

The cost of parts for the Nano will come down drastically after around 2-3 years with mass volumes appearing. (I am very curious to know what kind of warranty would be provided by Tata for the Nano. An extended warranty, if provided, would have me signing up for it even on day one. I have the benefit of the extended warranty on our current cars and have seen the benefits. I’ve also seen the amount of money one can burn if you don’t have the extended warranty.)

If there is an option with an auto transmission it may be the best option for a driver not comfortable with driving in the city or novice in driving

Most cars depreciate almost the second you sign the papers paying your advance amount for booking it. In this case the Nano due to its high demand will not depreciate as much as other cars and as soon as the others. As it is most used car dealers are worried about being able to sell used cars at prices between INR 80,000 to 2,00,000 as most people when given that kind of budget may take a serious look at the Nano instead of a used car.

You will be able to buy a new car for around 1.25 -1.5 lakhs and still be able to spend even up to 30,000 rupees in accessorizing the cars. I am waiting to see a pimped out Nano with oversized alloy wheels and low profile tyres blasting out tunes painted in garish colors and with all possible spoilers and extra fittings in chrome added to it!

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