the-empegh

Sabtu, 12 Februari 2011

Supercar brands of the world

When we talk Supercars, road rockets come to mind. THINGS that fly on wheels usually recognized by their backsides on the road since their fronts are seldom not visible.Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti are some household names with Ferrari stickers on brooms and Lamborghini stickers on cricket bats. But there is more to the supercar world that Ferrari, Lamborghini and Bugatti.

McLaren: Was founded by Ron Dennis and is based in The United Kingdom.

Koenigsegg : Founded by Christian Von Koenigsegg and based in Sweden.

Pagani: Founded by Horacio Pagani and based in Italy.

Ascari: Named after Alberto Ascari and based in The United Kingdom.

Zenvo: The company was founded by Jesper Jenson and Troels Vollertsen and is based in Denmark.

Ultima: Ultima cars was founded by Ted Marlow and is based in The United Kingdom.

Panoz: was Founded by Danny and Don Panoz and based in the US.

Noble Automotive: was founded by Lee Noble and is based in The United Kingdom.

Marcos: was founded by Jem Marsh and Frank Costin and based in The United Kingdom.

Lotec: was founded by Kurt Lotterschmid and is based in Germany.

Gumpert: Was founded by Roland Gumpert and is based in Germany.

Arash Farboud: Was founded by Arash and Ahmad Farboud and is based in The United Kingdom.

Laraki: Was founded by Laraki group and is based in Morocco.

Mosler: Was founded by Warren Mosler and is based in The US.

SSC: Also known as Shelby Super Cars was founded by Jerod Shelby and is based in the US.

Caparo: formerly freestream was founded by Graham Halstead and Ben Scott Geddes and is based in The United Kingdom.

Marussia: was founded by Nikolay Formenko and is based in Russia.

Lotus: Was founded by Colin Chapman in The United Kingdom now owned by Proton.

Spyker: was founded by Victor Muller and is based in Sweden.

Aquila: was founded by Dan Suenson and is based in Denmark.

AC: was founded by the Wellar Brothers and is based in The United Kingdom.

Veritas: was founded by Georg Meier and Lorenz Dietrichand and Ernst Loof and is based in Germany.

Morgan:Was founded by H.F.S Morgan and is based in The United Kingdom.

Kamis, 20 Januari 2011

Boyracer Rips a Maruti Suzuki Kizashi weeks before the Indian Launch.

I have just entered my house after Test driving a Kizashi, nope ripping a Maruti Kizashi. Unlike most magazines, I will try to put down just the vital points in layman's language instead of giving the technical Testdriving details and review.

The First Impression

The mascular looks of the Maruti Kizashi take away most people's heart unlike the smaller sibling SX4 which it so closely resembles in India and elsewhere. Suzuki has changed the car a lot from the original concept it unveiled to make it more usable. Infact I liked the grown up look on the Kizashi unlike on the SX4. Maruti Suzuki has decided to follow other makers and give the cars a corporate look. The imposing chrome grille is the first of its kind chrome grille that I really liked. The rear is non-suzuki ish too with designer lamps. Nothing special here though apart from projector lamps which I thought wer Xenon at first.

The dual exhaust finish at the rear looks awesome from a distance but at closer look, we can see the exhausts ill fitted with silver accents in the bumper. But it is these exhaust which help the car give a throaty roar which demands respect. Love the sound!!!

The finer details

The Vitara engine was not smooth as expected (this was a new car and so roughness is expected) and neither was the gearshift the best in the business. It got stuck between 3rd and 4th on numerous occassions. The short gearshift is also nice to hold. The low profile rubber did let the shocks through but aided handling. Braking is mediocre at best. I liked the Handling and Cornering aspect better than some competing cars. Acceleration is not sudden but once the car is on the move, all the 165 horses move those big wheels (18-inchers??). I flipped it on the lanes and the car didnt budge my confidence at all. Awesome then.

I can safely say that I tried but could not relate the Kizashi to any other brand and it looks distinctive for a maruti.

I touched a top speed of 140 but my friend touched 180. I did a 0-100 in about 9 seconds but lost a vital half in the beginning at launch since I am not used to driving it. This I am saying purely based on seat of the pants experience. No, I did not do a Fuel efficiency average test and so I cannot answer your question 'kitna deti hai'. :P It is a petrol though so yes, the 2400 cc petrol engine will sip.

Living with the car

The plastic and interior quality are similar to that of a Vitara. I can say the quality is better than most Suzuki's you've seen. Seat comfort is excellent. I was fumbling to find a good driving position though. Also the headroom was not as generous as the legroom due to a slanting A-pillar which gives the car a nice low slung stance. The puddle lights and leg space illumination is a nice touch and looks beautiful too. But why different colours? Once can also access the boot throug the rear arm rest like many other cars in its segment.

The handbrake did not fall into the hand easily and the steering wheel is not nice to hold either . But steering wheel has rake and reach. Dead peadal is also standard. The car already had a Kinley mineral water bottle in the door so yes they can hold bottles and are not just for show. I had to pull the doors hard to close and that's a bad sign.

Luxuries

Cruise control is standard. So are Stereo buttons on the steering wheel.
Climate control is standard too.
Stereo doesnt sound good for the price segment. USB is present but no aux. The stereo seems to be a 6-speaker system with front door tweeters. Red lighting brings sportiness to the interiors.
The car I drove had leather upholstery and aluminium insers in the dash.
The light and viper stalks are American styled and not suited for India ala GM and Ford.
Interior is airy. Boot can be accessed from the rear seat arm rest.
Keyless operation is standard on all models.

Conclusion

The overall quality of the car is much better than most Suzuki's but the build is still Japanese Suzuki. The model I test drove was a CBU but lets expect more refined engines and better build as cars are indegenized for our fuel and lifestyle.

Minggu, 16 Januari 2011

Motorcycle body styles?

I write about Cars on my blog more but motorcycles remain my first love. There is a distinctive aura and charisma exuded by motorcycles which cars can never match. But the image differs from motorcycle to motorcycle and country to country too. for e.g. in Canada motorcycles are only used by a handful of the populace for recreation while in India motorcycles are used by a majority for their everyday commute. Also, India is the largest two wheeler market in the world. Just like cars motorcycles also have body styles.

1. Cruiser : Cruiser is the term for motorcycles that mimic the design style of American machines from the 1930s to the early 1960s. The riding position on a cruiser usually but not always places the feet forward and the hands up, with the spine erect or leaning back slightly. Mostly the engine capacities are much higher than normal bikes and also feature car engines on various examples.

Cruisers that are built uniquely or custom designed are called Choppers and mostly American in their origin.
Bobbers are cruisers which dont have front fenders mostly seen on Choppers.

2. Sportbike: A sport bike, also written as sportbike, is a motorcycle optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and cornering on paved roads, typically at the expense of comfort and fuel economy in comparison to less specialized motorcycles. The bodies are mostly fully faired (clothed) to providing for the best aerodynamic efficiencies aiding in performance and termed superbikes. Sportbikes are mostly classified bytheir displacements as

Lightweight (250cc),
Middleweight (600 cc),
Superbiker (1000cc) and
Hyperbike (above 1000cc).

3. Street bikes: A street version of sportbikes are known as street bikes. Mostly, the street versions are semi-fared or naked. Street bikes are classified as streetfighter, Naked bike. A Streetfighter is a street bike that is customized by removing the fairing, and making other changes that result in an overall more aggressive look. Beyond simply removing fairings, specific changes that exemplify the streetfighter look are a pair of large, round headlights, tall, upright handlebars such as those on a motocross bike, and short, loud, lightweight mufflers. Caferacers are also a part of streetbikes. Sometimes they are also called roadsters.

3. Touring: A touring motorcycle is a type of motorcycle designed for long-distance touring and heavy commuting. Although any motorcycle can be used to tour with, manufacturers have brought specific models designed to address the particular needs of these riders. Common to the touring motorcycle models is usually large displacement fairings and windshields (to offer a high degree of weather and wind protection), large capacity fuel tanks (for long ranges between fill-ups), engines offering lots of low-end horsepower, and a more relaxed, more upright seating position than sportbikes. They are further classified as

Sport tourers (fully dressed tourers) which includes features like A/C, Music players etc
Classic tourers are crusiers with a more relaxed riding posture designed for long distance touring
Dual purpose tourers designed specifically to provide global touring capabilities on both pavement and off-road with the intent of making virtually any destination reachable.

4. Off-road (enduro): An Enduro motorcycle is a motorcycle specially made for the Enduro sport, with the long travel and medium-hard suspension of a motorcross bike conjoined with features such as a headlight and quiet muffler to make the bike street-legal for parts of the track. The engine of an enduro bike is usually a single cylinder 2-stroke between 125cc and 360co, or 4-stroke between 250 and 650cc. Such bikes are also known as dirtbikes. They are classified mainly based on the races they are used for.

Moto cross
Supermoto (Dirt bike)

5. Muscle bikes: Just as the name suggests Muscle bikes like their muscle car counterparts are a type of motorcycle that puts a disproportionately high priority on engine power. Cafe racers are not exactly muscle bikes but are a breed of cruisers modfied for a sporty posture and performance.

Sidecar: An important role has been played by the sidecar in history of motorcycles. Such has also been the cas in movies. So a mention is obvious.