All Souled Out!

Today was D-Day and the Beast has left the building. Time to move on to another car and another Blog. The person who bought it was very pleased and I wish him many happy miles in it!!!

Nuff Said.

FOR SALE A Silver Safari 2.2 4X4 VX in Pune!

SOLD

Yes, my friends you read that right. I have decided to let go of my Beast. Due to pressures at work there will be no time left for recreation in 2008-2009, I rather someone who will really enjoy the beast take over as otherwise she is going to spend pretty much of most of the next 12 months sitting in the garage.

You can read her story for the last 12 months here on this blog. Just to recap what she's got:

1. Tata Safari Silver 4X4 in VX trim still under TATA warranty for another 36 months. (Kms done: 12460)
   
2. V-Kool Platinum Sun Film (Rs.32000/-)
3. Upgraded Speakers X 4. (Rs.5000/-)
4. Wireless Steering Remote for Music System. (Rs.1900/-)
   
5. I-pod dock cable. (Rs.5000/-)
   
6. 12 volt Fridge/Warmer. (Rs.9000/-)
7. Completely scratch and dent free in Mint Condition. (Priceless.)

The asking price inclusive of all the above is Rs.9,50,000/-

Do reply to this post to get my contact details.. Act fast as it won't hang around long enough. The dealers are already queuing up with quotes but I want someone who will truly look after her to have her.

All for now.

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Grande O Grande Where Art Thou!

On my recent visit to the Tata Showroom I finally go a chance to get up close and personal with the New Tata Sumo Grande. When it was launched I was quite taken aback by the bold design cues and it kind of me excited as showed the path TATA Motors are going to walk down in terms of styling of all new products from here on.

Then why have we not seen the roads chock-a-block with Grande's? (Given the excellent price point.) Why are they not flying of the ramps as I first thought? For one the rubbish advertising campaign did not help. Tag lines are strange creatures, they help build your brand when you get them right and mostly singlehandedly can also kill your product if you get them wrong.

"A Family Car that looks like an SUV" is a great example of the latter. This line tells us that the Sumo Grande is neither a family car, nor a SUV. It has been sent to the wasteland of insignificance in one fell swoop.

Leaving the ads aside let us actually look at the product. For one it is cramped inside. All 6ft of me could not get into the drivers seat without a big knee rub courtesy of the steering column. The driving posture is more 1908 than 2008. In a rush to fight the Scorpio and the Innova, TML has got the internal design all wrong. Space has not been fully utilized. The much touted 3 row A/C vents are a waste as the third row of seats is purely ornamental. Plastics continue to be El Cheapo.

So really from the inside out it is not much different than the Standard Sumo. All it gets is a smart new skin and that's it. Let's hope the next big product launch from TML is more than just skin deep.

Fuelorama!

Apart from the fact the fuel prices across the world are going through the roof, us Tata Safari 2.2 owners have the luxury of still choosing the "best" fuel for our beasts. My personal choice has been normal diesel with additives. I did use HP turbojet for about the first 2000 kms but found the engine to be quite noisy and unsettled with the same. As you probably know I have tried both System-D and STP. With System-D the following was reported:

• Engine became smoother and even more silent.
• Vibrations lessened.
• Slight increase in pick up.
• Overall better running in the city.
  

With STP this was the story:

• The pick up really improved.
• Engine smoothness increased.
• Overall better results on the highway.

Have almost done ten thousand kilometers now and the engine is zippy like never before. I have resorted back to System-D for now as I feel the engine sounds a bit harsh with STP in the city. At the end of the day the difference between the two is only slight in the city in terms of performance. On the highway though STP is the clear winner. Anything after 120 kmph with STP seems/sounds less strenuous.

Please note I am not an automobile engineer and am just sharing with you all my layman experience with the different fuel/combo options I have tried.

Trip to Mumbai coming up this week.

The Bump & Grind Of It All!

The beast has now got a new front bumper. It was done by Friday last as promised. My first experience with Insurance Companies in India. Largely the whole process was quite smooth. Here are the details....

As you know I did have a slight bumping into a few weeks back. Mainly the front bumper bore the brunt of the what I thought was a slight impact. But as the photo below suggests it was a little bit more than slight. Anyways went into the dealers and this is what I needed to get the job done:

1. Un-painted front bumper = 9032.00
2. Sump guard assembly = 2714.67
3. Front LHS Fog Lamp = 1068.44
4. Painting & labour = 3750.00

After Tax my total came to Rs.18,167.00

Decided to go with Insurance as wanted to keep my costs below the 10k mark. I paid 50% (Rs.8208.00) of all the parts mentioned above. As plastics and "delicate" parts are only covered for half their value.

Also got the Front Headlamp changed under warranty. Hope this one don't leak!

The picture of the Newly restored beast will be up soon.

Also, almost reached the 10000 kms mark. So will report on the same as well.

For The Love Of Cars & Other Things Nice!

Just found out a way to read the latest Car & Drive U.S. Edition right on your browser for FREE!

(Warning: Will get you access to other types of beauties as well!)

Click here for the instructions. Enjoy!

Back With A Bang!!!

The Beast is at the hospital getting a make over!