I realised that there were a few intriguing places that I had never visited so far, which I knew I would always be interested in discovering. Thus while drawing up a plan for the adventure of discovery the first place that came into my mind was Alang. It’s a graveyard for ships, a place where humongous monsters are laid to rest. But these monsters do not go down without a fight. They make sure that the mortals who slay them are bereft of even the basic amenities of life.
Archive for July, 2011
‘R’, they say, stands for royal – a royal class of family cars. This car is all about taking you and your family to places far away from home. It’s about driving in luxury while not forgetting that your family deserves an equally luxurious environment as you travel those unending miles. It’s about taking along the luggage of your complete family too. And, of course, all this with Mercedes’ trademark safety and speed.
It's raining sedans and raining hard. This monsoon Ford add their own splash to the segment with the new Fiesta sedan, aimed at humbling the competitors with its coupé-ish design. The new Fiesta remains true to Ford’s family design, with the blue oval badge on the grille over the signature inverted trapezoid lower grille opening. The foxy, multi-element headlamps taper as they reach the sweeping A-pillars. The all-round wedged and prominent shoulder-lines make it visually muscular and aggressive. However, the rear design of this sedan cannot be called its highlight, because it looks like an elongated hatchback. It has chamfered liftgate glass and honeycomb detailed tail-lamps mounted high on the narrow boot. The new Fiesta runs on 15-inch wheels (195/60 R15), which enhance ground clearance, but the 60 tyre profile fills up the wheel-arch, making it appear rather squat.
Scheduled for a September 2011 launch in India, the A6 will be offered in four engine options. The base model will be a 2.0 TDI turbo-diesel, producing 180 PS and will be priced below Rs 40 lakh, which could make it the most popular variant. There will be a couple of petrols options as well, namely, a 2.8 FSI and 3.0 supercharged TFSI. This month we tested the top-of-the-line 3.0 TDI Quattro that churns out 248 PS and 500 Nm, mainly targeting the BMW 530d, Jaguar XF-S and Mercedes 350 diesel.
This Nissan Qashqai is named after an Iranian desert-dwelling nomadic tribe. The name is supposed to summon psychological images in prospective buyers of adventure, endurance, dust, heat, treacherous roads, open roads and quixotic nights under twinkling stars.
However, it is little questionable for the Qashqai to accomplish the adventurous images since the car in fact is an entry level crossover SUV. The Nissan Qashqai applies a front-wheel drive which suggests more as an entry level for home appliance to drive for school or supermarket, rather than guarantees endurance in driving roads on Zagros Mountains where the tribe lives. Frankly, it is a good thing. Most customers don’t need all wheel drive, signifying what the Nissan provides in this model is sufficient for most drivers. What customers need is simple, safe, comfortable, affordable, convenient and reliable transport. And, the huge number of Qashqais we can see on the road these days has proven that the vehicle is able to meet their requirements.
Nissan of course puts concerns to give pleasures on this car driving experience. The manufacturer applies 18in alloys, a panoramic glass roof, satin-finish roof-rails, climate control, smoked rear glass, a trip computer, cruise control and Nissan’s Connect system in the standard package. Nissan Connect embraces an FM/AM radio, a CD player, a USB port and mini-jack socket. Moreover, it covers navigation system on a touch screen display, a reversing camera, traffic info, audio streaming with Bluetooth phone connectivity.
The vehicle may accelerate from zero to 62 mph in 12.2 seconds, and reach 108 mph for maximal speed using 1.5-liter dCi 4-cyl 8-valve engine that produces 106 horsepowers.