Who killed the Electric car ?

I watched a great documentary on “Who killed the electric car ?” today. It really shows how much power corporate america has over the federal lawmakers. Its amazing how far oil companies and auto makers will go to maintain their control over people’s life and make them slaves to oil. And we as consumers believe what the corporations feed us using their media. Watch it here.

Talk about bad timing

Timing can really make or break your efforts. Consider tennis for example, if you don’t hit the ball at the right time you won’t make a good shot. Buying stocks is another case, where timing is crucial. What you do with your life and more importantly WHEN you do it matters a lot !

This brings me to Formula 1, Honda shocked everyone by pulling out of F1 at the end of last season. I don’t blame them considering how pathetic their performances have been (1 win in almost 8 seasons and never finished in top 3 constructors championship). I belive they were finally going in the right direction in 2008 by hiring Ross Brawn who was the mastermind behind Schumacher’s multiple championships at Benetton and Ferrari. Coupled with the recent economic downturn and lack of success they decided to pull the plug on their F1 team. Ross Brawn had no input whatsoever on the 2008 Honda F1 car but they started work early on their 2009 car because of massive rule changes in 2009. Big sweeping rule changes like these have a side effect of bringing more parity among teams.

If I were Honda I would’ve waited at least another year to see what Brawn could do, but I guess they panicked with car sales dropping and sponsors not willing to spend more. This meant the entire team would be out of a job, but Ross Brawn managed to put together an offer for the team and bought it from Honda and partnered with Mercedes for the engines. He probably did not have a hard time finding sponsors because of his past track record and credibility. The team was called Brawn GP.

They had a mere 2 weeks of testing before the start of the season but they were on the pace from the very first test. And now with qualifying done for the Australian GP, Brawn GP has locked the front row of the grid with Button finishing first and Barrichello second. On top of that they were running heavy on fuel and had a massive 0.6 seconds over third place Vettel.

All those Honda executives who took this decision should be kicking each other in the shin right about now.

2009 F1 rule changes

My buddy at work sent me this video, explaining the rule changes for 2009 season. The cars defintely look cleaner but also uglier (looks are subjective) except a few like Ferrari and Williams ..

Save your money, buy from the US of A

I needed a set of winter tires and I was contemplating which ones to buy or where to buy etc etc .. I had a set of Bridgestone Blizzaks for last 2 seasons and they were very good for Ottawa winters .. Turns out they are expensive too ($120 a tire), last owner had bought them .

My friend alexei pointed out to me that Tirerack was having a clearance sale and my tire was going for $44 each ! I bought them at Tirerack, got them to ship it to an installer in Ogdensburg, which is an hour drive from Ottawa. Drove down to Ogdensburg, got the tires mounted and balanced on my winter rims, drove back and paid the GST/PST at the border.

My total was $225 for tires, $75 for install, $25 taxes, $30 gas = $355. This compared to $480 ($120 x 4) + taxes ($62) + install ($75) = $617 if I had bought them here in Canada.

Tata’s $2500 car is here

The People’s Car is here. Again.

Its mainly targeted towards developing markets like india, china, indonesia, thailand, where most people still use a two-wheeler. The Nano could be a disruptive innovation in the automobile industry by targeting consumers who previously couldn’t afford a car.

I’ve read some comments from people in NA and Europe saying how unsafe it is, how ridiculous it looks and the lack of amenities. They seem to forget that the fastest you’ll be going on indian city roads is 60 kmph and people wont care how it looks because its still better/safer than a 2 wheeler.

The fact that its so simple and bare means it should be very easy and cheap to fix.

Sub + Amps

I finally got my sub and amp installed in my car this weekend and and boy do I love it !!

I was looking for some extra bass but not insanely loud earth shattering bass because I like to listen to my music and not the loud farts.

For anyone wondering the amp is a MTX Thunder TA-3401 and sub is a Pioneer Champion 12″. I bought these used in great condition and saved a lot of $$$.

Also turns out that the last owner didn’t take out the wiring for his amp, so I saved another $80 on the wiring kit .

I got it installed at SAR Sound and the entire setup cost me $230 including installation.

Winter tires

I am really amazed when people buy $20,000 cars but refuse to spend any money on buying winter tires. Tires are what keep your car on the road, and if you live in Canada you definitely need a set of winters. I applaud the Quebec government for making it mandatory to have winter tires in winters. This not only increases safety for the driver and the other motorists but helps avoid fender-benders at intersections that just delay the traffic during rush hours. I am sure you’ve been late to work because some driver didn’t realize its winter and braked too late only to realize he didn’t have winters on.

Tata Motors to buy Jaguar and Land Rover

As reported by FT here, if this deal goes through it’ll epitomize the success story of the Indian economy. Its amazing how fast the Indian automotive landscape has changed, from 1950’s technology surviving till 1990’s. But post liberalization Hyundai, GM, Ford, Honda, Toyota, Renault, BMW, Mercedes etc. entered the market. The extra competition probably made Tata work harder and bring out cars like Sumo, Indica, Indigo which have been great success stories. Now its their turn to go buy premium brands like Jaguar and Land Rover albeit their loss making capability.

Oh and I wonder how Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear feels like on hearing this news .. In case you didn’t watch Top Gear, he doesn’t like cars from the East very much (with the exception of Japan) ..