Manishi's Blog

Growing up with diesels, I always have had a sort of soft corner for them. Diesels were noisy, spewed black smoke and every vehicle I remember had NVH levels not a soul in the developed world would have approved of. But hey, I grew up in India where diesel engines were ubiquitous, offered higher fuel efficiency, lasted longer, could easily run on kerosene (an even cheaper fuel) and often available for 1/2 to 1/3rd the price of petrol (or gasoline / gas as is known in America).  I have numerous memories of road trips I have taken in Mahindra Jeeps (yes the Jeep trademark was used in India till the 90s) and in Ambassador diesels. Conversion of old petrol vehicles to diesel ones was a fledging business up until the late 90s, so much so that this was eating into the sales of new "diesel" vehicles.  It was funny to see older Maruti 800s, which were too small and light to support a diesel engine being beefed up and a diesel engine somehow shoved into their engine bays. ...

Throughout the automobile history of almost 125 years, every major manufacturer has at some point in time produced a Station Wagon or Estate version of its most successful sedans. Some European manufacturers have launched a few models as estate only versions. Like other models, they have seen success and failures. In America however, wagons have never been able to enjoy the same success which other body types have seen. In Europe wagons are one of the most popular body types for family or personal transportation. They offer the comfort and driving pleasure of a car and can carry enormous amount of cargo. To me, this is one of the most sensible forms of family transportation. In the world's largest automobile market however, they account for less than 1% of total sales. The reason for this was pretty clear till the economy and oil prices started hitting us hard. Cheap oil for decades and the American culture of "make e'm big" meant that if you need a car with more spa...

There was a time when I was a huge fan of every vehicle Honda produced. This affection for the brand probably came from my liking of the Hero Honda 97.2 cc motorbike produced in India since the mid 1980s. I was fascinated by the sound of the 4 stroke engine as it reminded me of the Enfield Bullet (a bigger bike) with a much deeper 4 stroke note. People of my generation who grew up in India, always looked up to the Bullet as the ultimate riding machine (no offense, BMW). When I heard Hero Honda for the first time, my reaction (as would have been of every other Indian) was that " this sounds like a Bullet ". As I grew up, my affection for all things automotive and cars in particular also increased and Honda occupied a special place there. When Honda started producing cars in India, they came out with a model called the Honda City. Launched in 1.3 and 1.5L gas (petrol) engine configurations, these cars had a power output of 90 and 100 BHP respectively and were the most pow...

I have been closely following the big three car makers for the past many years. Though I was the least surprised on Chrysler's filing bankruptcy, the somewhat contradictory positions of the bigger two leads me to believe that to undo the shortcomings of the past, just good products are not enough. A better management plays a bigger role in a company's survival and recovery. Let me try to explain - Chrysler - Though the former name Daimler Chrysler leads one to think that the company would have had the strongest products line in the US, it seems Chrysler hardly benefited in any model launch since the marriage. Except for the Pacifica , I find it hard to find any other model which showed traits of German Engineering. In the past few years, the only cars worth remembering from this manufacturer are the Chrysler 300C and Dodge charger. Honestly, when I look at the older models like the 300, Concorde, Intrepid I wonder what happened to the design gurus at Chryslser th...